LifeCare Chiropractic

The Best Chiropractic Care in Mesa, Arizona

Healthy Pregnancy

IS YOUR PRENATAL GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR BABY?

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IS YOUR PRENATAL GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR BABY?  If it prescription, the answer is most certainly no.  Most are of such poor quality that it should be a felony to charge what they charge your insurance for them.

This particular study was looking at Vit D deficiency in the state of MA in newborns and their mothers.  The numbers should not be surprising, but are scary nonetheless.  58% of newborns were deficient, 38% severely so.  Keep in mind that this is deficient, NOT optimal.  It is likely that few would’ve been optimal.  Of the mothers taking prenatals, 30% were still deficient.

The long term problems with this are not good.  The sad thing is that this is so incredibly easy and inexpensive to avoid.  Every pregnant mother should be aware of her Vit D status or at least be taking 2,000 IU / day to make sure she and her unborn child are going to have optimal levels.

GESTATIONAL NUTRITION IMPROVES OUTCOMES OF VAGINAL DELIVERIES

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SHOULD YOUR OB BE DISCUSSING IN DEPTH NUTRITIONAL ADVICE TO IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF A HEALTHY PREGNANCY?  Of course the answer is yes, but unfortunately I think this is the exception, not the rule.  The bottom line is that the foods a woman eats during her pregnancy will affect the baby’s birth weight and improving the chance of going full term.  A woman’s weight before she gets pregnant also plays a role in healthy outcomes.

The bottom line is that few things will have as great of an impact on a healthy birth than the food that is eaten during her pregnancy.  That means that the ultrasound and regular visits to your OB are NOT as important as maintaining good nutrition.  In case you are wondering, that does NOT include midnight runs for fast food Mexican, but rather higher intakes of veggies, fruits, healthy fats (stick with low mercury, non-carnivarous fish like wild caught salmon) and NO refined carbs, artificial sweeteners and much lower intakes of omega-6 fatty acids (sunflower, soybean, corn, safflower oils).  Might as well throw in a good quality prenatal.  Incidentally, ALL of the prescription prenatals I have seen are of such awful quality they should be illegal (let alone $40 / month!!).

BLOCK TOXINS IN PREGNANCY WITH THIS

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Ever since Environmental Working Group conducted the 10 American’s study, we have been far too aware of the exposure of the developing baby to toxins from the environment. The toxic exposure is just plain scary.

They found nearly 300 chemicals in the cord blood of newborns. This means that the placenta, which we have always thought would keep everything but necessary nutrients from the baby, offers little actual protection against the chemicals mom is exposed to. Given that the EPA registers some 80,000+ compounds for use in the US, this is no small exposure. The list is nearly endless, but may include:

So, the first and most important thing to do is reduce your exposure–not just during pregnancy but permanently.  That also means bug sprays, flame retardant mattresses, fragrances, processed foods and pesticides. However, despite all of our best efforts, short of living life in the Biosphere in Tucson, it is impossible to eliminate all exposure. Luckily there is help.

It is pretty clear that nutrients and vitamins during pregnancy can protect against the birth defects that may occur during exposure to chemicals during pregnancy. Jumping straight to the top of the list is folic acid. Folic acid may very well work because it helps to protect our DNA from damage during an extremely critical period of development in the womb.

This particular article lends further support to this finding. Researchers found that folic acid supplementation helped to protect against the adverse effects of smoking on fetal outcomes. It goes without saying, however, that smoking during pregnancy is an unconscionable act. However, if folic acid can protect against a deliberate exposures like the hundreds of chemicals found in cigarette smoke, than certainly it may help with the unavoidable exposures that come with living life outside of a bubble.

AVOID THIS IN PREGNANCY TO PROTECT YOUR CHILD

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We used to believe that the placenta filtered out most of what mom was exposed to and kept the developing baby safe.  We’re starting to realize just how incredibly far from the truth this really was.

For me, the first slap upside the head was the 10 Americans’ Study done by Environmental Working Group (EWG.org).  They found an average of 200+ chemicals in the cord blood of newborns, meaning that these toxins had passed into the baby and the baby was exposed in the womb.  The long term results of some of these exposures may be impossible to quantify.

However, this particular study is able to quantify at least one aspect of exposure to BPA in the womb.  Some scary aspects to this study:

  • 97% of the pregnant moms had BPA detected in their urine
  • Each 10 fold increase in BPA levels worsened anxiety and behavior scores in 3 yr old girls

For years, the FDA stated that BPA was safe for use in food products.  The Susan G. Komen Foundation still does not acknowledge that BPA may contribute to breast cancer (I call them “slow learners…”).  In the past few years, however, the FDA has changed its stance and have begrudgingly agreed that BPA is toxic in a variety of ways, but that it is not too ubiquitous in our products and our lives to do anything about it.  So much for your tax dollars at work.

So what can potentially pregnant (and, quite frankly, all of us) do to lower exposure to BPA?  These items produce some of the highest levels of exposure and shoudl be avoided as much as possible:

  • plastic water bottles / polycarbonate plastics
  • canned goods (the liner is frequently made with BPA)
  • thermal credit card receipts

 

 

WHAT EXACTLY DOES “SAFE” MEAN WHEN PREGNANT?

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You’re pregnant.  You’re concerned with pretty much everything you do and how it may help or harm your baby (or at least you should be..).  So, of course, you value your doctor’s opinion on what is safe or not.

Interestingly, while volunteering at the Komen 3-day in the medical tent, I worked on a pregnant woman who was experiencing gestational diabetes.  When I queeried why she was sporting a Diet Coke when she was a. pregnant and b. experiencing GDM, she explained that her OB did not want her using stevia, but diet Coke was ok because Nutrisweet doesn’t cross the placenta.  Huh?

First of all, it doesn’t have to cross the placenta to wreak havoc on mom’s physiology and, in turn, her developing baby.  Second, I may have missed it, but I don’t think there’s ever been a study on whether Nutrisweet crosses the placenta, let alone a study that suggests that stevia is harmful during pregnancy.  Worse, she was on metformin and her doctor was going to increase the dosage further to control the blood sugar (that was probably being thrown off by the diet Coke…).

Anyway…the bottom line is that sometimes I think many doctors don’t read beyond the headline or the conclusion of a medical study.  If, of course, they are reading them at all.  Worst case scenario, the doctor is spoon fed information by the reps that have an obvious bias towards their product.

So what does all this rambling have to do with this particular study on the H1N1 vaccination during pregnancy?

If you happen to be under the care of a “conclusion reading” doctor, you would be guided by the conclusion of this article…”Review of reports to VAERS following H1N1 vaccination in pregnant women did not identify any concerning patterns of maternal or fetal outcomes.”

Doesn’t sound too threaten, right?  Here’s the actual findings from the study based on adverse effects reported to the Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System for the 2009 H1N1 vaccination:

  •  294 reports of adverse events
  • 2 maternal deaths
  • 59 hospitalizations
  • 95 spontaneous abortions
  • 18 stillbirths
  • 7 preterm deliveries
  • 3 threatened abortions
  • 2 preterm labors
  • 2 preeclampsia
  • 3 cases of additional fetal problems

Now, this kind of study says nothing about the actual incidence of how often this happened.  But certainly, these findings do not match up with the conclusions from anything but a sterile reporting style.  So yes–there WERE no strong patterns seen.  This may have been true.  But, try explaining this to one of the women on this list.  They would tend to disagree.

So, the bottom line is that you need to make sure that your doctor not only stays current with the medical literature, but that he or she goes beyond the title or the conclusion to read more into the study for a better picture.  If they’re not, maybe it’s time to find a new one who does…

 

A NEW 8TH BENEFIT OF BREASTFEEDING

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I know I may get some flax here as a male stating that breastfeeding should really NOT be an option, but if a couple makes a decision to have a child EVERY decision needs to be in that child’s best interest.  Some say that they couldn’t nurse–so what would’ve happened to that baby 1,000 yrs ago??  I don’t think Mother Nature would’ve planned for a large chunk of newborns to die because the mom couldn’t nurse.

Either way, the benefits of nursing are many.  Some are instantly noticeable, like better sleeping, a stronger connection between mom and the baby and healthier weights.  Some are a little more subtle.  Check these benefits out:

  1. Breastfed children have better focus
  2. Breastfed children experience less pain
  3. Breastfeeding protects against celiac disease
  4. Breastfed children are less likely to be hospitalized for respiratory disease
  5. Breastfed children have better visual acuity
  6. Moms who breastfeed have lower rates of breast cancer
  7. Breastmilk has twice the antioxidants of formula

This particular study adds the 8th benefit of breastfeeding.  Researchers found that exclusively breast fed infants had bone formation centers at the femoral head show up earlier than formula fed infants.  This may likely translate to better bone health and lower risk of osteoporosis decades later.

DO THIS TO LOWER YOUR RISK OF PRETERM BIRTH

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It is very well accepted that there are many things that can be done to contribute to a healthy, full term pregnancy. The healthier the couple is prior to conception (yes–BOTH parents), the NON-reliance on assisted reproductive technologies to achieve pregnancy and the better mom takes care of herself during the pregnancy to greater the likelihood that the pregnancy will be uneventful. So what specific things can we do?

One thing that has been linked to preterm birth is inflammation. Inflammation can be driven by an uncontrolled infection somewhere in the body. Bacterial vaginosis (infection in the vaginal vault) has been linked to preterm birth. Higher intakes of healthy fats in the form of wild caught, low mercury seafood has been shown to lower the risk of preterm birth. This is likely because a higher intake of omega-3 fatty acids along with a decrease in omega-6 fatty acids is anti-inflammatory.

This particular article gives additional insight into how controlling infection in the body can have an impact.

In pregnant women with periodontal disease who refused dental care, the use of a non-alcohol antiseptic mouthwash was associated with a 74% reduction in the risk of a preterm birth. 74%!! What a simple intervention to have a massive impact. On the reverse side of prevention, it should make us all reconsider what poor lifestyle habits that contribute to inflammation will do to the trajectory of an otherwise healthy pregnancy.

11 THINGS TO LOWER THE RISK OF BIRTH DEFECTS

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We live in a society that is bombarded with toxins and bad dietary decisions. The choices we make have an impact not just on our health, but even the health of our yet-unborn children. There are clearly ways to lower the risk of birth defects, have a healthy pregnancy and start your child out as healthy as possible.

There are basically three avenues to approach a healthy pregnancy. First is the environmental / toxic side. Environmental Working Group (ewg.org) conducted the 10 Americans study and found that the average developing baby was exposed to at least 200+ chemicals in the womb. And this was from checking only a mere percentage of the chemicals the EPA allows; checking more likely would’ve resulted in finding higher numbers of chemical exposures.

This means that, even before getting pregnant, a couple needs to be very aware of the chemicals they are exposed to and do their best to eliminate or reduce exposure. Every OB warns the pregnant woman to avoid cleaning the litter box, but how many mention to avoid hair dyes, pest sprayings, plastic water bottles, anything with the “new shower curtain smell,” old cushions, etc…?

The second approach is to increase the quality of the diet. That means no foods that have ingredients a biochemist can’t pronounce. Even better–eat foods that don’t have labels. It means more fruits and veggies. It means NO refined carbs. It means an increased intake of omega 3 fatty acids along with a decrease of omega-6 fatty acids.  It means keeping your caloric intake reasonable and not use the “eating for two” excuse.

Third, a good quality mutlivitamin is essential. I have yet to see a prescription prenatal vitamin that isn’t anything short of horrendous. Then, if you throw in the fact that many cost $30-40 / month, you should begin to get a little nauseous. A good quality prenatal will contain more than just folic acid (1 mg of folic acid makes it a prescription…999 mcg would not be–go figure), but should read more like a multivitamin along with biotin, magnesium, calcium and iron. NO artificial colors, flavors or titanium dioxide.

So, in summary, follow these recommendations to lower the risk of birth defects:

Finally, in this particular study, researchers found that a dietary pattern that resembles the Mediterranean diet will lower the risk of the birth defects of cleft palates and neural tube defects. So, overall, it is very clear that lifestyle choices can lower the risk of birth defects and greatly contribute to a healthy pregnancy.