Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Pregnancy

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Having a Baby Today, Issue 2, Summer 2001.
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In this millennium we are developing a world community devoted to higher awareness and optimal health. We are questioning the wisdom of high-tech genetically engineered foods. We are returning to good, old-fashioned, whole foods.

A healthy mother equals a healthy baby. An investment made in healthy living during pregnancy creates benefits that the baby will reap for his or her entire life.

I urge mothers in this country to take advantage of the availability of organic grains and produce. It’s a shame these wholesome foods are more costly. However consider it an investment in your family’s health. What does poor health really cost? Clearly, a bundle.

  • Drink plenty of pure water.
  • Eat organic foods, especially leafy greens to build an iron-rich blood supply.
  • Eat an organic source of protein morning and evening. Vegetarians can do this.
  • Pay attention to getting enough vitamins and minerals. Growing a baby is a full-time job; love your body and she’ll do that job well.
  • For your growing baby’s optimum brain development, be sure to eat foods rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 oils. Sardines are an inexpensive food, gathered in the deep waters of the ocean and therefore less polluted, as well as rich in Omega 6. Flax oil is a good vegetarian source of Omega 3. If you don’t eat fish, generously splash flax oil on your food daily.
  • Get plenty of rest.
  • Balance rest with activity. A nice walk in the woods hand-in-hand with your baby’s father is a powerful medicine.
  • Seek fantastic, regular prenatal care from a health provider who is keen on nutrition and respects your values.
  • Avoid pollutants and any negative influence.
  • Meditate, pray, love, dance, and sing.

About Author: Robin Lim

Ibu Robin Lim, CPM, had been a midwife for over 20 years when she studied with Debra Pascali-Bonaro to become a DONA Doula. Ibu Robin is the mother of eight and the grandmother of Zhouie, Bodhi, Tashi, Rimba, and Bear. Ibu Robin splits her time between Bumi Sehat Community Health and Birth Center in Bali; the Philippines, where the Bahai Arugaan ni Maria Birth Center Palawan will open in 2019; and Lombok, Indonesia, where Bumi Sehat is operating a disaster relief clinic in tents since the north half of the island was destroyed by earthquakes. “Birth in the Era of Climate Change,” a MEAC-accredited course, is offered by Ibu Robin and Jacquelyn Aurora upon request. Along with The Farm midwife Deborah Flowers, Ibu has developed a website for families called Awakening Birth (awakeningbirth.org). Also, visit bumisehat.org.

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