• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Pregnancy Logo 2018

Pregnancy Magazine

Pregnancy and infancy news, tips, and reviews

“Great
  • Pregnancy
  • Labor & Delivery
  • Baby
  • Breastfeeding
  • Buyer’s Guide
  • mom

Common misconceptions of natural pregnancy

by Caylie See Leave a Comment

There’s a common misconception that a pregnancy is either “natural” or “not natural.” But the state of being pregnant—no matter what your route of conception or your choices during pregnancy—is inherently natural. As for what you include, exclude, or experiment with along the way, you can certainly choose a more natural-leaning pregnancy. The important thing to know is that there’s a spectrum. Having a reasonable set of choices around nutrition and lifestyle fortifies both you and baby. And just because you may choose to use complementary approaches, such as Chinese medicine, you don’t necessarily have to abandon more traditional Western support.

Natural means “from nature,” right? Well, that definition includes your nature—what’s right for you during your unique pregnancy. Just because something is “natural” doesn’t mean it’s the best choice, or the best choice for you. For instance, just as you might seek local, organic food choices, you should also be cognizant of not taking Chinese herbs that have been grown with pesticides. Even traditional remedies need to adapt to our modern age.

Less is always more

In the context of pregnancy, natural includes minimizing exposure to substances that are known to harm babies (including foods that breed Listeria like deli meats and unpasteurized dairy, or fish high in mercury) and substituting a mocktail for a margarita. Babies are unreliably sensitive to certain exposures, so in pregnancy, less is always more.

Overall, I advocate being informed about the hierarchy of choices available to approach your symptoms and choose your routes from there. Morning sickness (a misnomer for a common affliction that can strike at any time) is a good working example of this approach. You can often manage a mild to medium case of nausea and vomiting by preemptively eating protein and staying hydrated. You might also choose to involve other classic remedies such as acupuncture and ginger tea. These approaches will help 90 percent of women get through morning sickness. But if you’re in the other category of intense nausea and vomiting that persists past the first trimester, you may need more— advanced interventions like intravenous fluid for electrolyte replacement, vitamin B1 supplementation, conventional anti-nausea medication, and even psychological support to develop strategies for dealing with the discomfort (Let’s face it, an inability to comfortably function in your daily life is bound to make any woman feel unstable.)

Pregnancy is not a disease, and you are typically seeking options to optimize your otherwise healthy baby, not necessarily treat them. Babies are resilient, and the decisions you muddle through now will surely just be practice for all of the many decisions and indecisions to come as a parent. So, approach them with gusto knowing that instinct, combined with a moderate amount of knowledge, is a reliable recipe for guiding your pregnancy choices.

It’s never about being perfect. It’s about being well-versed and making assessments from that place. You’re not cultivating a baby that will be isolated in utero forever. There will eventually be unavoidable pollutants—take air for example. So, it would be an exercise in futility to try to procure a purely “natural” pregnancy, but you can introduce choices in pregnancy that prepare your baby to thrive in his or her actual life.

Filed Under: Pregnancy

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Peaceful Discipline by Sarah Moore

More to See

parent coaching

Parent Coaching: 3 Ways to Create a More Joyful Home

By Sarah Moore

The perfect workout for pregnant women (sponsored)

By Isa Herrera, MSPT CSCS

how to be a good mother

How to Be a Good Mother: 5 Ways To Raise Children with Love & Respect

By Sarah Moore

Aligned Parents webinar

By Paul Banas

Footer

Copyright 2023 Pregnancy Magazine Group

Emails powered by Wishpond: PregnancyWishpond

Dedicated WordPress hosting: PregnancyFlywheel

WordPress Theme: PregnancyTheme

This website provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for an examination by your healthcare provider. If you have any concerns about your own health or the health of your child, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Please review the Terms of Use before using this site. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use.

 

Recent

  • A Beginner’s Guide to Gentle Parenting: 5 Ways to Lead with Love
  • How to Be a Good Mother: 5 Ways To Raise Children with Love & Respect
  • Best Parenting Books: 28 Books That Will Change Your Life for the Better
  • Aligned Parents webinar
  • How to make sure your home is ready for the new addition to your family

Search

© Copyright 2023 Pregnancy Magazine Group · All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT