1st Time Pregnant - Need Advice

[LorenaAZ]

I just found out on Wednesday (my 25th birthday) that I am pregnant. Completely unexpected and wholeheartedly embraced. The timing is way off, but we'll certainly make it work. I am a full time college student and also work at Northern Arizona University. I was doing field research this spring and summer but will have to stop due to pregnancy (heat and rabies; I was working with bats). As soon as I found out about this amazing birthday present I decided to go back on an organic raw vegan diet. BF is a meat eater, so I had slacked off since we moved in together. Now that I'm pregnant, there will be no meat in the house (we agreed he can have meat outside the house, but the house has become raw vegan). I have my first OB/GYN appointment in a few hours and doubt the Dr. will have much information for a raw vegan pregnancy diet.

Are there any items I should avoid? Any foods that are beneficial for pregnancy? It's my first pregnancy and I'm very anxious about making it healthy and comfy in there for my little sesame seed (that's how big baby is right now).
Any advice and/or encouragement will be greatly valued. :)

[Raene]

I just found out on Wednesday (my 25th birthday) that I am pregnant. Completely unexpected and wholeheartedly embraced. The timing is way off, but we'll certainly make it work. I am a full time college student and also work at Northern Arizona University. I was doing field research this spring and summer but will have to stop due to pregnancy (heat and rabies; I was working with bats). As soon as I found out about this amazing birthday present I decided to go back on an organic raw vegan diet. BF is a meat eater, so I had slacked off since we moved in together. Now that I'm pregnant, there will be no meat in the house (we agreed he can have meat outside the house, but the house has become raw vegan). I have my first OB/GYN appointment in a few hours and doubt the Dr. will have much information for a raw vegan pregnancy diet.

Are there any items I should avoid? Any foods that are beneficial for pregnancy? It's my first pregnancy and I'm very anxious about making it healthy and comfy in there for my little sesame seed (that's how big baby is right now).
Any advice and/or encouragement will be greatly valued. :)

First, congratulations, Lorena! Babies usually do come at times when we least expect them, but speaking from experience, they're wonderful blessings. I'm 24 and have a 4 yr old and completed two years of college and then found that we were pregnant. Quite a shock but it's been great.
Check out the Raw Kids section on this board. It's very helpful. Make sure you're getting enough B vitamins. If you feel like you aren't, rawguru sells a Bvitamin liquid that is supposedly really great. Add fats to foods...hemp seeds are GREAT for your wee one's brain development. 1/4 cup per day + is recommended by some other moms on the board during pregnancy. Flaxseeds are another good option. Add olive oil, hemp oil, and flax oil to your salads too. Green smoothies are probably the best thing you can do for yourself and your growing baby. Greens contain all the protein and calcium you'll need (and folic acid too, I think) so I'd recommend drinking at least 1 quart, preferably 2, per day. Jinjee of www.thegardendiet.com has a great pregnancy e-book on her site... it's $10 and well worth it. I'm hoping to get pregnant this summer so this is the info that's helped me. Hope it's helpful; good luck!!
I am just adding that I personally believe it's best to stay away from caffeine and that includes cacao. It's a stimulant and I don't think it's good for children, even when in the womb. I know it's high in other vitamins, so some may disagree, but I'd just find the vitamins elsewhere. Carob is a good substitute and also is a laxative, which is helpful when pregnant.

[Autumn]

Congrats Lorena! What a wonderful birthday gift! :)

I can't add anything to Raene's list, but I will second her recommendation to read Jinjee's book. I've never had a raw pregnancy, but the book is fabulous. I'm sure quite a few people will pipe up soon with advice and their own experiences with a raw pregnancy.

Best of luck and all good wishes,
Autumn

[fleshmechanic]

Hello and congratulations!
I figured this might be a good time to say hi and I am also unexpectedly pregnant for the first time; although I'm a little farther along than im guessing you are. I think I'll just kick it in here for a bit and steal some of this advice people are giving you, lol.
oh, and I suppose I have one thing to add, and that is: don't beat yourself up if you have a hard time staying 100% raw especially in the first few months. The first trimester was pretty brutal for me and I'm just now getting back to around 80% raw.

[sedonaraw]

Hello Lorena,

I wish I had more time to write right now, but I have 3 little ones needing my attention ;) Just wanted to say a quick hello to you, as we are neighbors! I live in Sedona. Anytime you stop down here, let me know, we can go to the Raw Cafe and talk raw pregnancy and kids. Best of luck to you and your family:)

Tara

[Thick]

Also, consider a midwife. They will probably be much more knowledgable about your diet--and everything else=)

Make sure you get a copy of La Leche Leagues's The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

[Raene]

I have to argue against talking to a midwife about diet. Midwives, like doctors, are trained to think that you need tons of protein, etc. I used to want to be a midwife and learned much about it. Just be careful. Of course there always are exceptions, but don't expect someone to be okay with a raw diet b/c that's very rare to find someone in the medical field (yes, midwives are included) who thinks we're doing great things and can grow healthy babies.
As someone who wanted to be a midwife but then used a midwife and was disappointed at how midwives are so similar to doctors, I feel that Unassisted birthing is best and safest. www.unassistedchildbirth.com. Not that I am suggesting this for you, but it's something great to check out. Laura Shanley has an excellent book about it, and Jinjee talks about it in her e-book, and there are several other books like "The Power of Pleasurable Childbirth" that discuss the safety of family-oriented birth. Good luck and just listen to your body and do what feels right! :)

[coco]

i made sure to take lots of essential fatty acids, the baby's brain is made up of these and they are directly related to mood (post pardum depression, etc). hemp seeds are terrific for that as well as being an easily digested source of protein.

both of my babies were born unassisted, the last one totally on my own (well, my 6 year old woke up for the last hour or so. he totally loved it), no pushing, no pain, no tearing, just perfect births with perfect babies. nice.

[Raw Angel Mom]

Congratulations!

While i was pregnant, i was told not to eat sprout for they can contain a dangerous bacteria for the baby, not to sure what it was.

As being raw vegan, you don't need to worry about sushi, but if you change your mind, don't even eat vegan sushi for your don't know if they used the same knife to cut the fish. These are the only pointers about what to avoid that i know for being vegetarian at the time.

I recommend that you take supplement. I took angstrom size mineral when my iron was a little low, folic acid and prenancy supplement. One real expert with raw prenancy is Jinjee from the garden diet. She had 5 children all vegan, the three last one were raw diet only. I believe she wrote a book.

I love the book Raw babies, this is great but this is more for after birth i believe but i could be good to have.

Again, congratulations. My little girl wasn't plan and i can assure you that she is a real gift and the joy of my life. I didn't think that it could be possible to love more but i guess it is.

Blessings!

[coco]

there were some cases of alfalfa sprouts being contaminated with ecoli a few years ago but as ecoli ONLY comes from feces you are safe to eat sprouts that you make yourself. ecoli can be on anything though if a handler didn't wash hands properly or the produce is contaminated with ecoli laden animal feces. wash produce well, use an iodine solution or a produce wash if you are very concerned about that.

the only other thing i can think of is that many foods naturally contain small amounts of toxin that are totally fine so long as the food groups are not eaten in excess. victoria boutenko recommends rotating foods and eating a wide variety to avoid getting too much of anything and get lots of different types of minerals. aside from that, sprouts are fine.

[LorenaAZ]

7 weeks now and my sesame seed has grown to the size of a blueberry! :)
Thank you so much for all the advice. I'm going to look into the the books that were mentioned.

Coco, how did you manage a painless birth???? Would you please share your experience with me (over private message if you'd like lic5@nau.edu)?

I went to meet with a midwife group today and wasn't as impressed as I had hoped. Very wonderful women, but we just didn't "click". Flagstaff Medical Center offers tailored deliveries (you tell them how & what you want, like keeping the baby in your room at all times, etc.) so it seems that's where we stand this far.

Tara, are you talking about the european raw cafe? I love stopping there when I go to Sedona! :)

Thank you so much for all the advice and kind words ladies. I'm going to write it all down and look into it further! Yay!! :) I'm so excited!

[me06]

Congratulations Lorena! I would also definetley say folic acid is important for you right now. There is a lot of it in asparagus :)

[coco]

i read a lot of wonderful books that opened my mind to the possiblity that being pregnant wasn't the illness that it's treated like by doctors and society at large these days. do visit laura kaplan shanley's unassisted homebirthing site, there are some videos of amazing births there that will blow your mind!
you just gotta have faith that we were designed to give birth perfectly, i have a lot of faith in my perfection as a woman and a mother. not to say that the experience wasn't Large, because it certainly was, just that "pain" is the wrong word for it. it didn't hurt, it felt like... something else... it was amazing.

[Raene]

I agree. Faith is the key. There are wonderful videos on youtube.com if you type in unassisted. Here's a woman who embraces birth and is not frightened/uptight and has a beautiful orgasmic birth-- (caution...it's a birth and is graphic...you may not want to watch at work, lol)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aht0HqI7GSw&feature=related
I think the main point is that if you think that birth is going to be painful it will be and if you think it is a beautiful, natural experience that our bodies were made for you, you can turn that pain into pure bliss.

[LorenaAZ]

wow! I had never imagined labor could be like those videos show! Are there any films I can rent about it? What books would best prepare me for unassisted childbirth?

[Raene]

Books:
Unassisted Childbirth by Laura Shanley
Power of Pleasurable Childbirth by Laurie Morgan
Primal Mothering in a Modern World by Hygeia Halfmoon (she's a raw foodist too)
Unassisted Homebirth: An Act of Love by Lynn Griesemer
Here's a Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unassistedchildbirth/
Childbirth without Fear by Grantly Dick-Read

DVDs:
Psalm & Zoya: Unassisted Birth of Twins

More listed on www.unassistedchilbirth.com. It's really beautiful to watch and makes sense too...for me having others in the room made me shy and uncomfortable and my body closed up. I wish I'd known with my daughter's birth what I know now and I'd have been in the closet by myself (didn't have a partner at the time). Now I can't wait to have another baby. :) Hope this helps and good luck.

[Kindermama]

2 things; BRADLEY method childbirth classes and HYPNOBABIES

My best friend just had a wonderful and painless childbirth- and I got to watch this beautiful being emerge from under the water! She had a home waterbirth and used HYPNOBABIES. I HIGHLY recommend it!! Get the Hypnobabies tapes and listen to them everyday! Birth is all in your head! You have to get your mind out of the way so your body can do the work!

I also had a homebirth and it was an EMPOWERING experience. I went the medical center route for my 1st birth and I was extremely disappointed... I wish I would've known then what I was in for. My 2nd birth was awsome. I know its scary to consider a homebirth for your 1st baby, but do the research and talk to a good hands-off CPM (Certified Professional Midwife)- Stay away from the CNM's!- they are all medically minded!
Studies show that homebirths are safe! http://cfmidwifery.org/resources/item.aspx?id=85

[sbaker]

I tried very hard to do my entire pregnancy raw, but it didn't always work out. Don't beat yourself up if you can't, but surely try! I got very sick, it was a weird heartburn that for some reason was worse with greens and healthy things toward the end. It left me eating lots of rice! i wanted to give birth naturally but ended up with a c-section due to the type of breech i had as well. I do feel that my journey was a super healthy one compared to most, even if it wasnt all raw. All i'm saying is do your best but don't beat yourself up if you slip up...it's a rough ride. Breastfeeding the first few months was even worse! Extreme exhaustion makes it hard not to just want to reach for a candy bar for dinner! Stick in there! I would say to make sure you are getting coconut oil for sure.

[LorenaAZ]

Thank you so much!! I ordered a lot of books on unassisted birth which should arrive in the next upcoming days.

Do any of the books that were suggested have a "supplies list" for a homebirth? I just want to make sure I have everything I may need for the big welcoming event. :)

Also, has anyone tried hypnobabies??? I saw it online and would like to hear some feedback before paying the $140.

[Raene]

I haven't tried Hypnobabies but have heard good things from others.
Do let us know how you like the books you ordered.
If you're able to join the unassisted yahoo group, there are lists in their database of what to have on hand.
By the way, Emergency Childbirth is also a great thing to read. There's a copy of it in the database as well, but you can order it from Amazon too. I think its by Gregory someone...sorry that's not very helpful.

[Tiffany]

Check out Birth As We Know It, a wonderful video featuring midwives and live water births. It was shown at the raw food film festival in LA last year. I watched this video over and over before my birth. I gave a copy to my (awesome, wonderful, caring, would not have wanted to give birth without her) midwife. We took a video of my son's birth and its amazing, my dp says it looked so easy and I look as peaceful and silent as the women in the video. My midwife was respectful of my diet, my birth plan, my desire for complete silence during the birth. I had an amazing experience.

I was considering unassisted. I read Jinjee's ebook, read Hygeia again (not a big fan of hers, but thought I'd re-read as a reminder) and thought "no problem." I told my midwife after I was sooooo glad she was there with me.

The problem with "unassisted" first birth if you are not attended by another who has experience in the birth process, is it is just such an uncontrolled, wild event. The presence of someone who has experience - IF they are able to come in without control and ego - is so beneficial. I was so blessed to have that, and I made a dear friend in the process.

[rawfoodmommy#1]

Congratulations, Lorena. You are making a great choice of staying raw vegan during the pregnancy. Good luck and please, stay raw after you have the baby,too.

[rawfoodmommy#1]

Also, I had my son in the water and it was awesome experience. So calming and relaxing.

[LorenaAZ]

I'm 3 months now and I'm finally starting to feel better. Lemon and lime juice do wonders for nausea!!! I can't get enough of them! And they have lots of vitamin C!

I read Dick-Read's book and was so pleased with it. Also read the emergency manual, nicely descriptive! I started reading a book on diaperless/natural potty training but found it extremely repetitive page after page. I'll give it a try as the concept seems simple enough. Will have lots of laundry to do the first few months. Now I'm looking into birthing pools.

And I got Hypnobabies!! How soooooothing!! I love going to sleep with it! I even had a friend of mine spend the night and she relaxed and fell asleep within 10 minutes! lol

I'm not doing that great w/the raw diet. I was eating crackers and when out to dinner I order cooked stuff :( I need some inspiration! Help please.

[Shoney]

What an awesome birthday present, and what an incredible gift you can give your child by being raw throughout your pregnancy!!

I didn't read every single post in response to your question, so sorry if this is a repeat. My only suggestions would be (1) to be a little careful whom you discuss raw eating with; there's something about our society that wants to see pregnant mamas eat a certain way and (2) trust those cravings!!

Blessings,

Shoney

[JuanaV]

"I got very sick, it was a weird heartburn that for some reason was worse with greens and healthy things toward the end. It left me eating lots of rice! "



Hi ~ I had similar experiences with my earlier pregnancies - lettuce gave me the worst heartburn ever, spicy foods rarely. I found that if I took alfalfa tablets it relieved heartburn caused from plant based foods, I took lecithin if the heartburn was animal related (rich foods) heartburn.