Most people don’t have preconception planning on their radar. A basic understanding of eating a certain way, taking prenatal vitamins, and avoiding some foods is usually where pregnancy planning ends and birthing/nursery preparations begin. In reality, we need to be thinking about the conditions our bodies are in before we get pregnant. The environment you provide for your newest addition to grow and develop matters. A lot. The things you’re exposed to, emotions you’re experiencing, your egg quality, your gut microbiome, etc. can turn genes on or off and/or even shorten life expectancy for your unborn child. If you want to give your baby the best chance at reaching their full potential in life, preconception planning needs to be practiced. I’m going to show you what you need to know before you get pregnant and how to apply it but before I get started let me take a moment to recognize women. As future or current moms, it can feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. It is true that moms have a much more profound impact on their children’s physical and emotional health outcomes. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, feel empowered! You have the ability to create a life that will grow up strong and healthy. That being said, practice forgiveness too. Forgiveness for yourself. There isn’t a single mom out there who does everything exactly right. Even if you do most things right, things may still go wrong. Do your best and solicit help from those around you. The human body has a pretty remarkable ability to heal itself. So, even if you started out doing all the wrong things, it’s never too late to start making healthy changes.

Eggs take about three months to mature. For this reason, practicing preconception planning should be done at least four months in advance. Ideally one year. Here are five things to put into practice before getting pregnant:  

1. Reduce stress. There have been some alarming studies that link maternal stress with shortened telomere length in the fetus.¹ What does this mean? A telomere is a biomarker for longevity. A shortened telomere means a shortened lifespan. Translation: stress during pregnancy can actually shorten the life of your unborn child. Woah! Stress is a necessary evil and can even be beneficial to our bodies in small doses. For example, physical stress from exercise encourages hormesis. Hormesis is a cellular response that builds up your cells tolerance to that stress (i.e., resilience).  I like Ari Whitten’s explanation of hormesis. However, almost everyone is getting too much stress today. There are contributing sources everywhere we turn the guy who cuts you off on the highway, the news on the radio/tv, social media, cultural pressures, relationships, etc. Even if you don’t believe you live a high-stress life, tune into your body and listen for signs of ambient stress or anxiety. You may be surprised. Studies show that stress during pregnancy can negatively impact many different aspects of the healthy development process. How can you deal with this stress? Practicing mindfulness and meditation can be hugely beneficial. Limiting your exposure to the news and social media sites is also a good idea. My last tip is the hardest, cut out toxic relationships where you can. Despite the history, sometimes it’s just time to let go of people who no longer contribute to your life in a positive way. People change. It’s ok to cycle through friends. As with any relationship, it should be more uplifting than stressful. If you can’t cut this particular relationship out (maybe it’s a family member), it’s time to do everything you can to improve the relationship for the sake of your unborn child. Talk it out, set boundaries, or manage expectations.
2. Detox. This is somewhat of a hot topic these days but it’s definitely not just hype. For preconception planning, you should ideally be doing a rigorous detox six months before conception (no closer than four months to conception). This is because during detox toxins are dislodged from your fat cells and can continue to circulate for a series of months in your body. This is also why you don’t want to detox during pregnancy. Keep those toxins parked in the garage where they’re harder to move instead of on a direct route via the fast lane to baby.  Limited studies have been performed on the effects of in-utero exposure to toxins but the ones that have been done paint an alarming picture. A study published in the journal PLOS Computational Biology found that “every 1-percent increase in genital malformations in newborn males within a particular county was associated with a 283 percent increased rate in autism”.² The cause of genital malformations? Environmental toxins. This indirectly linked autism with environmental toxins and directly linked toxin exposure in-utero to genital malformations. In the widely referenced EWG study over 200 chemicals were detected in the cord blood of newborns. Of this number, 180 are known carcinogens, while 217 are linked to brain and nervous system damage. Additionally, animal tests associate 208 of these chemicals with birth defects and abnormal development.
3. Avoid toxins. After going through the effort of removing toxins from your body, you obviously don’t want to keep accumulating them. That would be like pulling the plug in the bathtub while the faucet is still running. In-utero exposure to environmental chemicals has been linked to both childhood and adult diseases, including autism, high blood pressure, ADHD, mental disorders, heart disease, and more. You want to keep your internal environment as pristine as possible. For starters, follow the steps outlined in my post 25 Ways to Minimize Your Daily Toxin Exposure. Outside of that, there are special considerations for preconception and pregnancy toxin exposures. You may even want to get your levels tested during this preconception planning phase. Keep in mind that the below listed toxin is the most widely studied for its effects during pregnancy but that doesn’t mean other toxins shouldn’t be avoided just because they haven’t been as widely studied. Quite the opposite. Chemicals are vastly understudied. Mechanistic evidence and preliminary studies most definitely tell a cautionary story. I think most of us are aware by now what lead, PCBS, pesticides, and other chemicals can do to damage a fetus. However, there is one in particular that is actually dispensed to pregnant women by the medical establishment. I feel this one deserves extra attention.
   • Mercury: Mercury is toxic in any form but the most common mercury we’re exposed to is methylmercury through fish consumption. Mercury is rated for toxicity based on its bioaccumulation ability. Methylmercury is highly bioaccumulatory. The National Academy of Sciences estimates that over 60,000 U.S. children are born each year at risk for learning and other disabilities due to prenatal methylmercury exposure. The EPA currently defines a safe upper limit for dietary mercury exposure at 0.1 μg/kg of body weight per day. Fish are rich in omega-3s which are critical for healthy brain development. You don’t want to avoid fish entirely but you should choose fish lower in mercury or supplement with fish oil that’s been purified. While this was specific to methylmercury, it’s critical that you understand that all forms of mercury are toxic. The multi-dose vial version of the flu shot contains ethylmercury (among many other toxins). Avoid this before and during pregnancy. Vaccines administered during pregnancy are considered off-label uses since they are not approved by the FDA for this purpose. If your OB pushes the flu shot while pregnant, ask to see the studies done proving safety during pregnancy (when the impact on your fetus is at the highest). They won’t come up with anything. In fact, the vaccine inserts themselves state that they’re not tested on pregnant women and should only be given to pregnant women if absolutely necessary. Hint: it’s never absolutely necessary to get shot up with toxins during pregnancy and there are loads of scientific studies indicating toxin exposure early on can be detrimental to your baby. I get it, vaccines have been put on a pedestal that’s hard to reach. We’re told that the flu shot during pregnancy helps prevent complications. Unfortunately, the studies show a mixed bag of results in this regard with independent studies showing the exact opposite. They found that pregnant women who receive the flu shot are more likely to be hospitalized, not less. And women who received two shots during the H1N1 scare, had significantly increased rates of spontaneous abortion. As with all vaccines, explore the evidence and ignore the rhetoric. Your choice should be an informed one where you’ve weighed the risks and benefits. Visit my post Two Abused Vaccination Arguments for more information on vaccines. Another controversial (although less so) source of mercury comes from dental fillings. Amalgam fillings are 50% mercury and these are constantly off-gassing. Consider finding a holistic dentist who practices safe amalgam removal and have them replaced with a safer option before you get pregnant. The keyword here is: safe. You can do more harm than good if you go to a conventional dentist who doesn’t know what they’re doing.
4. Assess and build your gut health. Your baby will inherit your microbiome and science now tells us that our gut microbiome is the key to a healthy, disease-free life. In fact, the microbiome in your vaginal canal will act as the “seed” to populate your child’s gut bacteria. This is why if you decide or are not able to have a vaginal birth, it’s important that the baby is swabbed with residue from the vaginal canal. Otherwise, the bacteria found around the hospital and on your skin (better than nothing) will act as the seed. Read this article to learn about the numerous ways in which gut microbes impact our health, the consequences of gut microbiome disruption, and simple diet and lifestyle changes that optimize the health of your gut microbiome. 60-80% of our immune system resides in our gut. The importance of keeping our bodies defense system intact goes without saying. Additionally, the gut lining is responsible for keeping toxins and macroparticles out of the bloodstream where they can reach and, therefore, damage the brain and other delicate organs. The health and diversity of the microbiome will also determine how well you absorb nutrients from your food among many other important bodily functions.
5. Nourish your body thoroughly. Avoid synthetic prenatal vitamins and opt for whole food derived vitamins. What you eat during pregnancy matters. A LOT. This is not the time to “let yourself go” and indulge because you’re “eating for two”. What you eat before and during your pregnancy will affect the long-term health of your unborn child. I encourage you to read this published paper for more information and study references. Your body will pull massive amounts of minerals and vitamins from you in order to fuel your developing baby. This is why it’s recommended that you start taking prenatal vitamins at least three months before you conceive. Have you heard of tooth decay occurring during pregnancy? This will happen when the body doesn’t have enough calcium readily available. The body will pull the calcium from anywhere it can get it (i.e. your teeth, tissues, and bones). Dr. Jolene Brighten is a naturopathic women’s health doctor and has a great article on finding a good prenatal. In the article, she advises you to stay away from one-a-days because your body can only absorb so much at once. She also advises you to begin taking them 6 months prior to conception. Some additional nutrients to pay special attention to include:
   1. Vitamin E: If you’re having trouble conceiving or carrying a baby to term, focus on Vitamin E from whole food sources such as wheat germ oil. Vitamin E is a fabulous nutrient to prepare your body for pregnancy and to maintain a healthy pregnancy. You should also have your thyroid tested. The thyroid is a common culprit when it comes to fertility issues. 
   2. Omega-3s: In a double-blind, controlled study published in the BMJ, fish oil supplementation during pregnancy was shown to stimulate growth and promote lean muscle mass and bone density in the child by 6 years of age compared to the control group who received olive oil.
   3. Iodine: It’s recommended that pregnant women get 250 mcg of iodine during pregnancy. Iodine deficiency during pregnancy can lead to fetal hypothyroidism and impaired neurological development.³ 

You should continue these healthy practices throughout your pregnancy and during breastfeeding with even more vigilance. Development in the womb is the most critical period of development. It’s the period where the fetus is most susceptible to negative outcomes from exposure to environmental factors.

One of my favorite doctor’s to follow for women’s root cause medicine is Dr. Jolene Brighten. Check her out for more great information on preconception planning and women’s health in general.

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3612534/
2. https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003518
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22742605