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Fruit: pears – the royal fruit, lots of calcium; pineapples – for digestion; apples; peaches; nectarines; plums; avocado; apricots (high in iron)
Caution: have only three fruit portions a day. If you are eating dried fruits, try to choose unsulphured ones and count it as part of your fresh fruit quota. In addition to whole fruit, you may have
/
of a glass (150ml) of pressed or squeezed fruit juice a day.
Carbohydrates: rice (preferably brown), corn pasta, oats, barley, lentils
Vegetables: cooked greens, marrows, cucumber, carrots, parsnips and, as a general rule, any local vegetables that are in season (as long as they are not on the ‘avoid’ list)
Meat: chicken and occasionally lamb
Fish: with the exception of tuna, all types of fish are good. Oily fish like mackerel and salmon (preferably organic) are particularly important because they contain omega-3 oils (see box below).
Omega-3 fats
It is important to make omega-3 fatty acids a regular part of your diet for the following reasons:
They help foetal brain and nerve tissue development.
They help boost your metabolism, immune system and skeletal system.
They are good for the brain, helping to elevate your mood and improve memory. They can even help stave off cravings for carbohydrates.
Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in oily fish such as anchovies, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardine and trout. Try to eat such fish three times a week at least. However, because of concerns about mercury and other contaminants in deep-sea fish, pregnant mothers may prefer to buy the fish oil supplement MorDHA, which has been filtered and chilled to remove mercury and other toxins. A vegetarian alternative is to get your omega-3 from oil: hempseed oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil (also called linseed) or from seeds: pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds. The oil or seeds can be sprinkled over foods such as cereal. (Note: Flaxseeds (linseeds) are very hard, therefore either grind them lightly (a coffee grinder is good for this) or soak them overnight.) You need about one large tablespoon of the oil or seeds a day. You can also buy the oil in capsule form. Recommended brands are: Mother Hemp Oil (hempseed oil), flaxseed oil, or Dr Udo’s oils. (For stockists of all sources of Omega-3 supplements see Appendix C, page 312.)
Note: Flaxseed oil is the world’s richest source of omega-3, containing double that of fish oils. The essential fatty acids omega-6 and omega-9 are also beneficial and are often found with omega-3 supplements. The ideal proportion of these oils is 3:(omega-3):2(omega-6):1(omega-9). This perfect combination is found in hempseed oil.
Nutritional and Herbal Supplements
As well as following the dietary guidelines outlined above I also recommend that mothers take nutritional supplements to maximize nutritional status and aid digestion. This is especially important during pregnancy as the digestive system is under a lot of strain during pregnancy and this can result in problems like constipation, heartburn, reflux and so on.
I recommend that every pregnant mother should take the following supplements:
A general vitamin, mineral and trace element supplement. These are widely available and called ‘Pre-natal’ or ‘Pregnancy’ vitamins. Solgar and Biocare are the brands that I recommend.
Probiotics are the helpful bacteria in the gut that break down the cell walls of vegetable matter and make the goodness within more accessible for digestion and absorption. They are available as capsules or tablets (Biocare and Dr Udo brands are good) and should be taken twice a day, half an hour before meals. Alternatively probiotic drinks and yoghurts from supermarkets can be taken if they are sugar-free and well within their sell-by date.
Herbs are also an important part of this programme and I recommend my mothers have two different sets of herbs. These help prepare your body for a gentle birth and should be taken daily throughout pregnancy from week 13. These come in the following forms:Herbal TeaIngredients: false unicorn root, squaw vine leaves, cramp cut bark, raspberry leaf. This tea detoxifies and tones the uterus. Place one teaspoon of the above mixture in a teapot then add one pint of boiling water. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then strain and drink slowly. You can drink it all in one go or half in the morning and half later (just warm it up). It can look an alarmingly large volume to drink but many of my mothers come to really enjoy it.Baladi Choornam drinkVarious Ayurvedic herbs are included in this powder (for stockist details see Appendix C, page 312). The powder is mixed with 1/2 a cup of warm milk (goat’s milk or rice milk is preferable to cow’s milk as it’s more digestible). It should be taken after your evening meal. This is started at week 13 of pregnancy. The herb Bala, the main ingredient of Baladi choornam, has the following properties:
– It reduces the undesirable effects of nervous excitability within the pregnant mother
– Has a calming effect on the central nervous system
– Regulates blood pressure
– Regulates the hormones of pregnancy
– Controls blood sugars thereby helping you to eat healthily (eating healthily can modulate your baby’s weight)
– Very mild diuretic
– Stimulates regular bowel movements
– Softens the cervix and pelvic tissues
In addition to these herbal drinks, you should also take a tiny pill of herbs called the Dhanwantaram pill – I call them ‘baby pills’. These contain potentized digestive herbs that are good for your digestion and absorption of nutrients and, as such, they help to nourish you and your baby. (See Appendix C, page 312 for stockist details.)
Dose: 1 a day along with your herbs.
Homoeopathic Tissue Salt Programme
During pregnancy the baby requires certain salts, which it gets at the expense of the mother. This programme will help to make good any salt deficiencies and help the baby with its salt requirement. Some health food stores sell tissue salts alongside their homoeopathic remedies, or alternatively try companies that supply homoeopathic remedies via the internet (see Appendix C, page 312). Alternatively, the Homoeopathic Tissue Salt Programme is available from the Jeyarani clinic.
Remedies:
Calc. Fluor. – for bone development and elasticity of connective tissue (helps prevent stretch marks)
Mag. Phos. – for heartburn and nerve development
Ferr. Phos. – for blood oxygenation
Nat. Mur. – helps control salt and therefore fluid balance, and helps prevent
swollen ankles
Silica – for teeth, bones, hair and general strength
Dosage:
Take one tablet of each twice a day, morning and evening. The potency is 6c. If you are lucky enough to have a homoeopathic pharmacy nearby, they will combine the required tissue salts into one tablet for you – in which case take one twice a day.
Pregnant mothers may also like to take the following supplements:
Digestive enzymes. I recommend Biocare or Dr Udo’s digestive enzymes as a digestion support for mothers with abdominal distension and discomfort. Take one with breakfast and one with your main meal.
Ambrotose. In the late 1990s a Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of 8 non-calorific sugars that make up cell membrane receptors for cell to cell communication. In nature all these 8 essential sugars should be available to us through the food that we eat; however, due to the storage of fresh produce and undesirable modern farming methods the food we eat is lacking in some of these nutrients. During pregnancy they are important for the development of the foetus and help the pancreas to normalize maternal insulin production and reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. Ambrotose can be obtained from Jeyarani (Appendix C, page 312).
Birth Story: Quick Labour Christine
On Sunday 12th September 1999, my contractions began at 5.00am. I visualized and meditated until they were 5 minutes apart, and decided to go to the hospital. My due date was the 20th September, so this was a week early.
We arrived at the hospital at 11.30am, where I was found to be 2cm dilated. We were told it could be early evening before the baby came, so we asked to be left alone so Mark could help me with breathing techniques and visualizations. He also massaged my back and big toes, especially during the longer contractions. Suddenly at 2pm, I had an almighty urge to push. Mark dashed off to find a midwife who was astonished to find that I was fully dilated. At 2.10pm, Logan Tyler Harris made his appearance, weighing 7lbs 15oz.
I’m proud to say that I took no drugs, had no tears, cuts or stitches and am recovering rapidly. I’m blessing my good fortune at having met Gowri, having heard many ‘horror stories’ about labour and the delivery.
Thanks to Gowri I could cope with labour and manage the whole procedure. I’m so grateful for the preparation that I learnt by attending her classes.
Ayurveda and The Gentle Birth Method
Ayurvedic remedies and philosophies feature strongly in The Gentle Birth Method. Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine that has become fashionable in the West in recent years, but it is an automatic reference tool for me – something that I grew up with which complements my conventional medical training. Literally translated, Ayur means ‘life’ and Veda means ‘science’. In India, where this ‘life science’ has been practised for thousands of years, it is a deeply respected and credible medical authority but I am particularly drawn to its holistic approach, especially its emphasis on emotional – as well as physical – caring for the pregnant mother and her unborn child.
Ayurveda groups the study of gynaecology, obstetrics and paediatrics together in a section of text called Kumara Bhritya, meaning ‘how to take care of the child’ and it draws a clear link between the mother’s well-being and the health of the embryo, including its impact on the implantation process, early foetal development and the whole pregnancy.
Ayurveda expounds that the character, physical attributes and health of a child begins with the mother and her pre-conceptual status – in terms of how well nourished, rested and emotionally prepared she is for pregnancy and motherhood. It also emphasizes the great need for the mother to be surrounded by the love and care of her partner. These values all align very closely to my own instincts about how we should care for expectant mothers and it is for these reasons that I allude to Ayurvedic wisdom throughout the programme.
Yoga is also an intrinsic part of Ayurveda and forms an important part of birth preparation. The section on exercise (see pages 75-83) outlines the benefits of yoga in pregnancy.
Ayurveda as a Diagnostic Tool
Ayurveda isn’t just a support system for my own beliefs. It is also a great clinical guide and its teachings on constitution and body type are used in my programme in order to further eliminate pregnancy symptoms and rebalance the body for birth.
In fact, these guidelines are so detailed and accurate that whenever a new mother enrols at my clinic, I can tell within moments the problems she is likely to encounter during her pregnancy. There’s nothing magical about it. In fact, many of you will be familiar with the physiological names given to physical builds – mesomorph, ectomorph and endomorph. Ayurveda works on a similar model.
In Ayurveda your body constitution is called your ‘prakruti’. Each person’s prakruti is composed of three body humours, or doshas, called vata, pitta and kapha. These represent a combination of the elements – water, air, fire, earth and so on – that, according to Ayurveda, make up the human body. Each dosha is responsible for different functions and parts of the body (see box below) so we each have all three doshas, although one or maybe two usually dominate. The dosha that dominates gives rise to a person’s prakruti, which governs their physical and emotional characteristics.
If a person lives a healthy life according to their ‘baseline’ prakruti (at birth) then they can remain healthy and in balance – as long as they do other things to keep themselves healthy, such as exercise and avoid drugs and too much alcohol. However, many people do not live healthy lives and their normal levels of vata, pitta and kapha become unbalanced, which can lead to ill health. In pregnancy particularly, there are sets of symptoms that each prakruti will be susceptible to, hence, by identifying which body composition you are, you can further tailor your diet and lifestyle to prevent some of the related problems.
So What Do Vata, Pitta and Kapha Govern?
Vata represents wind and movement. It governs motion, activity and sensory functions; it controls the activities of the nervous system, blood circulation, contraction and expansion of the lungs and heart, intestinal peristalsis and elimination, and the contractile process in muscle. Pitta represents fire and heating. It is responsible for all digestive and metabolic activities, regulating digestion and the secretions of the exocrine glands and the endocrine hormones.
Kapha represents liquid and cooling. It provides the static energy (strength) for holding body tissues together. It also provides lubricants at the various points of friction.
If any of the doshas become too dominant then the processes outlined above can cause complications.
On the following pages I have provided a basic breakdown of Ayurvedic principles, which you may find interesting and useful for more detailed diagnosis of how best to manage your pregnancy. However, whilst I am able to accurately use the Ayurvedic model in clinical practice, it takes many years to become an expert in the intricacies of Ayurveda, and it is not the aim of this book to list them here. I have kept the categories as simple as possible, but for those readers who still feel there is too much new information to absorb, stick to the general dietary guidelines at the beginning of this chapter. If, on the other hand, you are intrigued by the depth of an Ayurvedic assessment, I strongly recommend a personal consultation with an Ayurvedic practitioner, who can offer more comprehensive and accurate guidance.
Prakruti Analysis
Read each of the following statements and score them individually on a scale of one to five according to how accurate they are for you (0 = completely inappropriate, 5 = an accurate description). Add up the scores for each section – vata, pitta and kapha – and analyse the final scores to find your predominant dosha. Remember, the chart is a rough guide.
Your highest score indicates your dosha predominance. You could be a vata, pitta or kapha mother. I have described each type of mother below and provided advice on working with your predominant dosha in order to restore balance and optimum health. You may find two scores are very close – as many people are a combination of doshas rather than one distinct category – but regardless of how close the score, follow the guidelines for your dominant dosha.
Vata Mothers
Typical Characteristics
Lean, small frame
Dry skin
Mentally excitable
Weak constitution – prone to colds and illnesses
Poor circulation
Poor digestion with tendency to constipation
Low energy
May experience fainting
Vata in balance: alert and spontaneous
Vata out of balance: worried and experiences mood swings
During pregnancy
May show signs of clinical anaemia.
May feel mentally slowed down, sometimes leading to depression.
May experience aches and pains all the way through pregnancy.
May experience nausea in early pregnancy.
Note: Vata is often heightened during pregnancy, regardless of which prakruti you are.
How to Counteract Vata
Exercise
Exercise in moderation, as the vata mother is rather weak – engage in mild to moderate exercise only.
Walking and swimming are good.
Do indulge in some form of exercise – it has a mood-elevating effect.
Avoid going to the gym, especially in the first three months of pregnancy.
Food
Eat 3 to 4 regular light meals a day that preferably contain a representation of all the tastes like salty, sour, bitter, sweet, pungent and astringent.
Avoid snacks in between meals.
Choose clear soups.
Avoid mushrooms.
For non-vegetarians, chicken soups are recommended.
Fish is also good if you can tolerate it.
Avoid cheese as vata mothers have poor digestive power, especially in early pregnancy.
