Diet...

I'm really amazed at how some women can't set aside their own issues for 40 weeks and concentrate on the health of their baby. At the birth center clients do a diet recall at some point during pregnancy and it gets put in their chart. Sometimes I flip through them and can't believe what I see-- Lean Cuisine! What the f***?! I mean come on, your eating diet food that has about 200 calories a meal and absolutely no nutritional value. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised when 1 out of 4 women in this country have an eating disorder and 4 out of 5 have disordered eating. But, I really wish women could stop focusing on just themselves during pregnancy.

I really believe that what you eat during your pregnancy will have the biggest effect on how your pregnancy, birth, and baby turn out (that you have control over anyway). People even try to follow the Atkins diet while pregnant which is crazy when you are trying to grow a baby with a healthy brain-- neurons need a constant supply of glucose to function!

I would start with organic food, as unprocessed as possible, and lots of filtered water. It isn't rocket science. I would also avoid chemicals of any kind (even in personal care products). One study found 180 chemicals within the amniotic fluid-- so please try to do as much as possible to lighten that load. Welcome every pound that you gain, it is making your baby healthy and happy. Weight gained in pregnancy is one of the biggest predictors of health.