Todays blog is written by YinOva Acupuncturist Margaret Sikowitz.

I’m very excited today. It is my daughter’s 7th birthday so there is an air of festivity abounding AND I just learned that one of our overdue pregnant mothers-to-be just gave birth. However, the patient in question was a bit disappointed. First she missed the cut off set by her hospital’s birthing center by going too far past her due date, then her doctor diagnosed her with low amniotic fluid and she had to be induced. (She responded beautifully to pitocin, labored for a few hours and gave birth to a healthy baby girl!)

I can relate. I am truly blessed with two healthy children. Still, neither wanted to come out and needed a fair bit of coaxing. Here at the YinOva Center we often get asked about our own experience of labor, especially by the soon-to-be moms. I’m happy to volunteer that mine were not easy, and that both needed an epidural and pitocin. While it wasn’t what I wished for or envisioned, it seemed the right move at the time and I definitely got the prizes in the end. I think the acupuncture treatments I had before labor definitely helped and I have no doubt that the ones I managed to squeeze in after aided my recovery (and my post-partum depression, more on that later.)

In Chinese medicine, female life cycles occur every 7 years (it’s 8 years for boys, they’re always a little slower…) So today I celebrate the birth of this new baby, the first cycle of my daughter and more importantly, the unpredictability of life! Toward this end, here’s a gem I often ponder, given to me by one of my first Chinese medicine teachers:

Be flexible like the tree and you can withstand all the changes of the seasons.

In our book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility Dr. David and I discuss the alarming fact that male sperm counts have halved since our grandfather’s generation. My patients are shocked when I tell them this and their next question is usually, “why?”. I always answer that it’s hard to lay the blame on one thing, but that our generation has been exposed to the kind of chemical cocktail that would have been inconceivable in our grandparent’s time.

So it was with some interest that I read a new report, authored by Professor Richard Sharpe, a reproductive biologist of the Medical Research Council in the UK, linking the use of chemicals found in food, cosmetics and cleaning products to an increased risk of birth defects, testicular cancer and infertility among unborn boys. You can read about this report on the BBC website here or download a PDF of the actual report here. Professor Sharpe, a reproductive biologist, discusses the threat to baby boys of chemicals that block the action of the male sex hormone testosterone, or mimic the female sex hormone estrogen, which can “feminize” male infants whilst still in the womb. He points out that chemicals that are harmless on their own may be having a cumulative effect that is more sinister.

There is no doubt that male reproductive health is deteriorating – more male babies are being born with birth defects effecting their penises, testicular cancer is on the rise and sperm counts are dropping. Collectively these symptoms are known as Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome, which is a term used to describe the disruption of testosterone in boys. The report examines animal studies that link testosterone-disrupting chemicals to de-masculinization in wildlife.

So what can we do? It would seem that pregnant women are mostly at risk in weeks 8 – 10 of their pregnancies but it makes sense to avoid environmental toxins throughout pregnancy and if possible in the period before conception. As Dr. Sharpe told the Daily Mail. “You can’t do anything about chemicals in the environment but you can control what you expose a baby to through your lifestyle choices. Because we don’t know the complete list of chemicals that may be hormone disrupters, and we don’t know how they interact, we can’t point a finger at an individual chemical. The message is to avoid them, just as you should avoid alcohol and drugs.”

So at the YinOva Center here is the advice we give out Moms-to-be

• Avoid processed foods where possible. That means limiting foods that have been made in a factory.
• Eat as much organic food as your budget will allow. Patients often tell me that the cost of eating organic is what puts them off and I understand this from my own experience. In this YinOva blog entry from last year, I described how, in my own family, we cut down on food wastage in order to be able to afford to eat better quality food.
• Switch your deodorant to one that is made from natural ingredients. After trying quite a few natural deodorants, with mixed results, we decided we really like this one which you can get on Amazon – Alvera Aloe Based Roll-On Deodorant.
• Use natural soaps and cosmetic products. Tom’s of Maine is a great brand as is Kiss My Face. When I was looking for a good natural toothpaste I tried many brands and settled on the Triple Action Aloe Vera Toothpaste by Kiss My Face for it’s minty taste and clean feel.
• Each American family uses about 40lbs of toxic cleaning products every year. This site has some good advice about making your own non-toxic cleaning kit. In my own house I’ve been impressed with how much cleaning can be accomplished with vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice.
• Don’t panic! I know how overwhelming information like this can be and really all we can do is our best. There is no need to obsessively avoid every chemical out there. Just cut down the chemical load you are exposed to.

Are you sick of your pre-natal vitamins? One of our lovely YinOva “Moms-to-be” emailed me with this great suggestion. She has developed a taste for belly-bars from a company called Nutrabella. These tasty snacks are fortified with all the nutrients women need when they are trying to conceive or pregnant. When I looked at them I was impressed to see that not only do the bars contain all the vitamins and minerals you need but also omega 3 fatty acids which have been shown to be important to your baby’s development.

The bars come in the following flavors

• Baby Needs Chocolate, Chocolate Toffee Crisp
• Mellow Oat, Oat Graham & Yogurt
• Crunchy Nuts & Berries
• Burstin’ Chocolate, Deep Chocolate Orange

Tell me what you think.

One of my patients asked me this question recently after reading my blog entry about whether pregnant women should eat fish. I love fish – low in saturated fats and high in omega 3 fatty acids, it’s a great source of heart-healthy protein. I grew up on the coast and as a child was lucky enough to be able to eat beautiful fresh fish. So no-one is more disappointed than me that so many fish are too contaminated to be safe. However the health benefits outweigh the concerns for me and I do still eat fish. I’m just very careful about the kinds of fish I eat. Recently whilst surfing the net I came across these handy downloadable guides which tell you which fish are safe in your region. What a good idea!

So what is mercury and how does it get into the fish? Mercury is an element that occurs naturally in soil, lakes and oceans. Although some mercury is natural, mercury is also released into the environment from man-made sources. These include power plants that burn coal as well as waste incinerators, paper processing factories, mines and smelting operations. The mercury gets into the air as pollution and then goes into the water when it rains. Surface run off can also dump mercury into our lakes and oceans. Once there it settles at the bottom of the ocean where it is converted into methyl mercury by bacteria. It is this methyl mercury that is more toxic unfortunately. Fish absorb the methyl mercury in two ways, both as food and in the water as it passes through their gills. The mercury then binds to proteins in the muscles of the fish.

All fish contain some mercury and there is no way of cleaning the fish that avoids this. The amount of mercury accumulates as you move up the food chain so the bigger, more predatory fish contain much more. There was a 163% increase in mercury advisories issued by the EPA between 1993 – 2003 so its not hard to see that the amount of mercury in fish is going up.

Taking in too much methyl mercury can cause some serious health problems. When we eat fish it is absorbed through the intestines and spreads throughout our bodies. It enters the brain in the blood stream and can effect the nervous system. It can also cross the placenta to effect an unborn child or be passed through breast milk to an infant. There are still many fish that are safe to eat so download your guides and keep them in your purse to help you make good choices for you and your family.

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© Willem Dijkstra | Dreamstime.com
© Yvonne Bogdanski | Dreamstime.com

Photograph

© Noah Rubinstein

“Everyone keeps telling me what I can’t eat”, moaned a newly pregnant YinOva patient, “but no one is telling me what to eat instead”. So Eileen, this blog’s for you (and for anyone else who wants some help making healthy food choices when pregnant).

Fear not! I know we’ve asked you to limit the coffee and cut the sushi but there are plenty of alternatives that mean you won’t end up feeling too deprived for the next nine months.

We ask our pregnant YinOva Moms not to eat hot dogs, deli meats (such as turkey, ham, salami and bologna), refrigerated patés or meat spreads because of the risk of listeria which can cause miscarriage or premature birth.
So what to eat instead? If you’re really craving a hot dog you could try a nitrate free brand such as
Applegate Farms or a veggie dog. Just make sure you heat them thoroughly. Are you jones’ing for a turkey sandwich with all the fixings? We advise against the kind of deli meats that stand in a cooling cabinet all day, but cooking and slicing a chicken or turkey breast is no problem. For a paté substitute we suggest hummus which is delicious in a whole grain wrap with lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber.

What about coffee? We ask our Mom’s-to-be to either cut out coffee or limit themselves to 1 small cup a day. If you’re having trouble giving up your daily venti frappucino, have a look at this article by YinOva’s Liz Carlson. In it Liz talks about breaking up with your daily cup of Joe and offers suggestions that will help you replace coffee with something healthier.

Pregnant women are told to avoid raw fish, shellfish and smoked fish. Fish is a topic we’ve covered recently on the blog but I know that many of you miss sushi. If you’re eating in a Japanese restaurant you can make a meal of veggie sushi, seaweed salad and edamame. As for smoked fish, the risk is negligible if the fish is cooked, so if you are missing smoked salmon you could try baking it into a quiche or in a creamy pasta sauce.

Because of the risk of listeria you should avoid soft cheeses made with un-pasteurized milk such brie, camembert, feta, roquefort, queso blanco, and queso fresco. However many soft cheeses are pasteurized and therefore safe to eat so check your labels carefully. If you are looking for a soft cheese alternative try making yogurt cheese by draining pasteurized yogurt through cheese cloth. Cottage cheese is also a safe choice and delicious if you dress it up with some chopped fresh herbs.

Alcohol is something that most pregnant women give up completely. Some of you tell me that you have trouble finding a grown up drink for festive occasions. Personally I like to mix a small amount of fruit juice with lots of sparkling water for a alcohol free spritzer.

Here at the YinOva Center we wish you all, including Eileen, a healthy, happy stress-free pregnancy.

Photographs
© Chode | Dreamstime.com
© Eugene Bochkarev | Dreamstime.com
© Anna Dudko | Dreamstime.com
© Ivan Kmit | Dreamstime.com