Pregnancy Pains Cheat Sheet

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First of all, congratulations! And nausea is usually a good sign that baby's growing.

• Make sure you're eating first thing. Like first thing. A protein shake or eggs always work for me.
• Peppermint oil in a diffuser necklace, or just inhaling straight from the bottle in moments of desperation work wonders. Some days when I'm home all day, I'll just have the diffuser going with it.
• Ningxia Red - I noticed that my nausea ended much sooner with the pregnancies that I was drinking Ningxia in. My first, I had nausea and food aversions all the way to the end. With my second and third, it ended in the beginning of the second trimesters.

My midwife gave me one main recommendation for avoiding this and I was really diligent with it, never having any UTI's during my three pregnancies, and when I hinted towards one, it was quickly averted. The preventative? 

• Probiotics—I prefer to consume them, and noticed the best results in my vaginal ph balance when I regularly consumed a variety (e.g. kefir, kombucha, yogurt, sauerkraut, etc.). However, my easy button is Life 9 probiotic (by YL), which has a wide variety of cultures/strains. I resort to that when I'm not getting regular fermented foods in my diet.
• Cranberry juice. I also incorporate cranberry juice as a regular part of my diet. It goes nicely in my Ningxia mocktail. Make sure it's 100% cranberry juice, not that "100% juice" or cranberry cocktail garbage.

Sharp, debilitating pain in the center of your pubic bone

• Collagen has relieved this now three pregnancies in a row. The first two pregnancies, unrelated I started taking collagen regularly for a different reason and both times, my SPD cleared up in about 3 weeks or less. My most recent pregnancy I learned my lesson and started on collagen as soon as I started feeling it. I’ve taken various times of collagen at different times—do your research, there’s a lot of junk in some. Vital Proteins powdered, unflavored beef collagen is what I’ve used in the past. Again, lately supplements have been more of an easy button for me, so I’ve been taking Agilease, which is a concentrated beef collagen supplement, with the addition of some oils and things which increase absorption and specifically help with joint health.

Pelvic/Back pain

As your pregnancy progresses, your body produces more of a hormone called Relaxin, which does just what the name implies: relaxes. This reveals itself most often in random aches, pains, and maybe a tendency to trip or slip an ankle more frequently as our ligaments & joints loosen up to help prepare for baby “slipping through”, if you will. 

• I have found regular chiropractic adjustments, Epsom salt baths, and a monthly massage during pregnancy to be very helpful with keeping things aligned and minimizing the discomfort of the process.
• Staying active helps as well—specifically squats and exercises that keep your back, hip, and glute muscles strong.