eggs and peanuts – from before pregnancy, as well as any that you or your partner are specifically allergic to.
•Much as you like those lazy lie-ins, wake by 06h00 to keep your system balanced, or ensure that your body’s innate regulatory systems are performing optimally.
•For you, travel is therapy that keeps you young and happy. Arrange regular trips!
•Start a new hobby that will keep you energised and alert.
•Set your watch a little ahead for better timekeeping.
ALCOHOL, RECREATIONAL DRUGS AND SMOKING
Over the years, many women have contacted me to share their anxiety about the effect these habits will have on their newly conceived babies. By the time you confirm pregnancy, four to eight very important developmental weeks have already passed. These habits can wreak potentially devastating harm during this time.
Alcohol and recreational drugs
The only known safe limit for alcohol and recreational drugs in pregnancy is none. How your body reacts to alcohol depends on your individual make-up. According to all available research, an occasional glass of wine or liqueur will probably not harm Baby. Bingeing, even seldom, can be as detrimental as frequent heavy drinking. Spirits should be avoided. Heavy alcohol intake in pregnancy is associated with a whole syndrome of problems, including poor brain development. While very moderate use is not a reason for much concern, it is better to be safe than sorry. If there is any tendency to alcohol or other dependency in either family, even if you have no such problem, it is better to abstain during pregnancy and breastfeeding as this can trigger dependency in the developing baby.
Many women worry about alcohol used before they knew they were pregnant. It would be better to avoid or greatly reduce this if you are planning a pregnancy, in case conception does occur, but sometimes the unexpected happens. Although I cannot give absolute reassurance on this score, if alcohol has not been a problem for you or the baby’s dad, and you have not really overdone it in the early weeks, it is unlikely that you need be concerned.
Drug use and abuse is serious as it can trigger dependency in babies. If it is a once-off experience, your baby has plenty of time in the womb to experience nature’s healing and cleansing effects. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that no harm will be done. The early scan will usually show whether Baby’s development is on course.
Smoking
Smoking in pregnancy has a wide range of deleterious effects. Fertility is also compromised in smokers. The blood vessels leading to the placenta are more likely to have abnormalities which means that the placenta is usually thinner and more fragile. This is the baby’s life-support system, affecting oxygen and nutrient supply to Baby, and waste disposal. Smokers have twice as many miscarriages and stillbirths, possibly due to the poor state of the placenta or abnormalities of the developing baby that make Mother Nature abort spontaneously.
It is said that less than ten cigarettes a day is not too risky for a developing baby, but the hard truth is that these babies are more prone to respiratory conditions, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and allergies after birth, no matter the number smoked, although the less the better. It is not easy to quit, but if you can, you will be doing your baby a lifelong favour. I would encourage you to try. It is not at all risky to stop cold turkey and is really the best way to ensure Baby has the best environment in which to develop as soon as possible.
Generally, it is not easier to cut down slowly, although some people find taking just three or four puffs from a single cigarette and then putting it out and throwing it away helps them to cut down faster if they find it impossible to stop immediately. Nicotine has a range of effects as you smoke a whole cigarette. After a few puffs, the craving is not as strong as initially.
Expectant dads and close family and friends should know that this information is just as relevant to them, as passive smoking is just as damaging.
Often anxiety underlies smoking in pregnancy. A useful tip is to take the homeopathic remedy Sister Lilian Emotion tablets, as this helps you cope positively and safely. If the anxiety is about the pregnancy and birth, read more about labour and pain relief options. Should habit be the main reason, try to keep busy with creative activities and avoid typical situations in which you automatically light up.
TISSUE-SALT THERAPY PRIOR TO CONCEPTION
The following tissue salts are an excellent pre-pregnancy combination and can be taken in pregnancy too, to maximise assimilation of nutrients from food and optimise cellular function:
| Tissue salts | Field of action |
| Calc fluor | Tissue elasticity, dental development |
| Calc phos | Growth; development; peak body function; healthy teeth, blood and bones; improved immunity |
| Ferrum phos | Iron assimilation, anti-inflammatory properties, tissue |
| strength | |
| Kali phos | Healthy development of brain and nervous system tissue |
| Mag phos | Prevents cramping, optimises magnesium levels, helps prevent colic in babies from birth. |
A full discussion on tissue-salt therapy, as well as a questionnaire to determine which tissue salts you most need, can be found on in Part 6.
Emotional intelligence for parents-to-be
Why do we still have children of our own? For the most part, it is for all the old-fashioned reasons, even in this modern age. There simply comes a time when you want a child; it is a basic emotional and physical drive. Cryptically stated, you want a baby for what he or she can give you.
OFFERING BABY YOUR BEST
Just as we accept that it is our right to have and raise children according to our personal life views, so, I am sure, our babies come to this planet and our homes with certain expectations. And just as the ticking of the biological and emotional clocks may have made you decide that it was time to have a baby, babies operate according to natural laws too. They expect, I would imagine, the very best birth, postnatal care and childrearing on offer.
Children must adapt to their family and its norms. But there is no disputing that babies need the best birth experience possible. The laws of nature lead babies to expect a natural birth and this should preferably only be broken if either mother or baby is in real danger, at which stage intervention is the kindest option. Babies are also programmed to expect that their feeding will be the very best nature has to offer and you can bet your bottom dollar this does not come out of a tin!
I am aware that this might sound moralising, but it saddens me that we so easily pull the wool over our own eyes and, in the process, break our unwritten contract with our babies. It might seem that the man-made way is easier, more efficient and better than what nature offers with regard to pregnancy and childbirth. This Companion, while informing you of all your options, will help you to realise that in the age-old human activity of parenting, Mother Nature really does know best most of the time.
What a pity that the pace of modern life hardly allows for physical, let alone emotional preparation for parenthood. It is customary now for women to work right up to the end of their pregnancy, so that they can have as much time with their newborn baby as possible before returning to work. This means that there is not much time during pregnancy to reflect and prepare yourself emotionally. This is a great pity because creating, nurturing and rearing children impacts strongly on our lives. Women often become introspective during pregnancy, even to the extent of being averse to touch.
