“Morning Sickness” is a common early symptom of pregnancy, but it’s not normal.
It has been my observation over 30 plus years of providing supportive care for women during pregnancy that pregnancy tends to reveal preexisting weaknesses in a woman’s physiology. In other words, many women have “weak links” in one or more body systems that they may be unaware of until they become pregnant. The extra nutritional demands needed to build a new human often uncover low or borderline levels of functional nutrients.
Nausea, vomiting and heartburn are symptoms that suggest there is a weakness in the upper digestive system. I usually find there is a need for additional nutritional support that targets stomach and pancreatic enzyme production. Heartburn is often the result of not enough good quality stomach acid. As a result, food sits in the stomach too long, starts to putrefy, and produce nasty organic acids that bubble up into the throat. Supplementing with pancreatic enzymes (Multizyme) or betaine hydrochloride (Zypan) usually resolves morning sickness ( even when it hits all day long).
Adjusting the spine in the mid thoracic area and checking for cranial faults will free up some nerve energy to these organs as well. There are a few other causes of morning sickness, but they are much less common.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is another condition that often develops during pregnancy due to the higher demand for B vitamins including B-6. B vitamin deficiencies are extremely common. Many natural health care providers feel CTS is an indicator for B-6 deficiency even when you’re not pregnant. We are rarely deficient in only a single, isolated vitamin. It’s always better to use a broad spectrum, whole food based supplement to get the entire profile of nutrients and cofactors your body needs to function as it was designed. I prefer to use products like Cataplex B and/or Cataplex G from Standard Process.
Most OB/GYN doctors are recommending a Glucose Tolerance Test at some point during pregnancy. This is because blood sugar handling problems are often revealed during pregnancy. Blood sugar that stays high can cause a variety of problems for Mom and baby. It’s very important to follow a diet that eliminates starchy foods like all bread, potatoes, pasta and rice. Eat plenty of protein and good fats three times a day and avoid processed man-made foods. You may want a copy of our Phase II Diet for some healthy guidelines. Remember, you are building a child out of what you eat!
Edema often appears later in pregnancy and suggests weakness in the cardiovascular system.
Post-partum Depression is indicative of neuroendocrine weakness usually involving the adrenal glands. There are appropriate nutritional support devices for all of these conditions.
I am somewhat envious of pregnancy. There is a benefit to identifying a hidden physiological weakness because it gives you something to work on and strengthen before it hits you as a major health crisis later in life.
In a perfect world both the future Mom and Dad would spend 3 to 6 months cleaning up their diet and supplementing with high quality, whole food nutrition before conception. I believe this creates the greatest chance of having a strong, healthy baby better able to handle the world we live in today.
There’s no greater joy for me than helping a couple with fertility, pregnancy and lactation nutrition and Chiropractic care.
-Dr. Pence