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If you are considering having a baby, it is beneficial to prepare for pregnancy by changing your eating and drinking patterns, ideally for up to 4 months before conception.  Men can also benefit from improvements in their diet and lifestyle to enable them to produce adequate numbers of good quality sperm.  If a couple are having difficulties conceiving, then it is equally important to consider the overall health profile, diet and lifestyles of both partners.

If you are already pregnant, however, then you are probably conscious of wanting eat well for yourself and your baby.  A mother’s diet can have a profound effect on the developing baby’s health in the womb, as well as her own health.

Foods to eat during pregnancy

Aim to eat a healthy and varied diet which includes fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, pulses, eggs (but not raw) and fish. Keeping well hydrated by drinking plenty of water every day can also be beneficial to help avoid constipation and to help flush away unnecessary toxins from the body.

A nutritional therapist can give you more detailed recommendations and  advice based on your specific individual needs.  Everyone is different with different health concerns, nutrient deficiencies and needs.  However, the guidelines below are a good starting point for anyone who is pregnant or trying to become pregnant:

1. Get your fruit and vegetable intake up to at least five portions, if not more, per day.  Eat them as snacks, add them to cereal, put them in soups, drink fresh diluted fruit juice, try veggie sticks and humus, as well as increasing the number of vegetables that you eat with your evening meal.

1. Eat complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholemeal bread and oats.  Most of us eat far too many refined “white” foods which are lacking in essential nutrients and often full of saturated fat and sugar (white rice, white bread, biscuits and pastries).  Any move towards some of the “brown” foods will increase your intake of important nutrients such as the energy-boosting B vitamins.

1. Eat oily foods including oily fish such as sardines, salmon and fresh tuna, seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, linseeds and sesame seeds) and their oils.  The essential fatty acids are crucial for the development of the brain, eyes and nervous system, and are especially more important in the last 3 months of pregnancy when intellectual development is at its critical stage.  They can also help to prevent low birth-weight and decrease the risk of a premature birth.  Taking a linseed oil supplement can be a good way of supplementing your diet in essential fatty acids.

1. Try including beans, lentils and chickpeas on a regular basis.  These are a great source of lean protein (needed for growth) and can be used in soups and casseroles straight from a can, if you haven’t got the time to cook them from scratch.  These foods also provide a good source of fibre to help with constipation which can often be a problem during pregnancy.

1. During the last trimester of pregnancy, demands for iron are greatly increased as your baby gets bigger, so focus on foods that will provide a good source of iron.  Whilst animal sources such as red meat are very well absorbed sources of iron, they are also sources of saturated fat.  Consider plant sources of iron as well and make sure that you get enough vitamin C in your diet as this helps with the absorption of iron.  A good example is a boiled egg with a glass of orange juice.  Other sources of iron include kidney beans, lentils, spinach, watercress, dried prunes and raisins

1. Eat organic where possible to reduce your exposure to unnecessary chemicals and pesticides, which may have a detrimental effect on your baby.

1. Drink 1-1.5 litres of water or herbal teas per day.  Keep caffeine containing drinks to 2-3 cups per day (even exclude if possible) to help avoid blood sugar highs and lows which will affect your energy levels.

Foods to avoid

Any foods that are low in nutrients, such as refined, sugary foods are best kept out the diet as much as possible.  Keep foods such as cakes, biscuits and pastries to a minimum.  Not only do they contribute very little in the way of nutrition, but they also contribute to unnecessary weight gain which can be difficult to shift after the baby is born.

Other specific foods to avoid are:

1. Liver and cod liver oil, as this can provide too much vitamin A in the form of retinol
2. Meat pate’s; raw meat, fish or eggs; unpasteurised soft or blue cheeses and ready-to-eat salads in bags, because of the risk of food-borne illnesses such as listeria and salmonella.
3. Peanuts (in excess these can cause allergies in your baby)

Lifestyle changes

1. If you smoke, stop!  Nicotine can cause an increase in foetal heart rate, decrease the blood flow to the placenta and affect the way in which nutrients are taken up by the placenta to feed the baby, thus increasing the risk of foetal growth problems in the womb.

1. Ideally avoid drinking alcohol during the whole of your pregnancy.  This is particularly important in the first 3 months but even after that it can affect brain function and the nervous system of the developing baby, so is best avoided.

Supplements

Taking an essential fatty acid supplement and a general multi vitamin and mineral specifically designed for pregnancy can be important to make sure that any shortfalls in your diet are covered.  A nutritional therapist would be able to assess your nutritional status and give specific individual advice.

When they first teach you this stuff, you’re sitting in school taking notes on how not to get pregnant. But now you want the reverse lesson – where are those sex education teachers when you need them?

We all know what a vagina and penis are, so we’re not going to get that basic with our crash course. But when you’re dealing with conception strategies, you may need a quick refresher on other body parts, so let’s look at how these contribute to your fertility. Your cervix is located in the lower part of your uterus and acts like a muscle to keep the baby from delivering before it’s time. It also creates a barrier between your body and nasty infections that could harm your baby in utero. If your doctor diagnoses any cervix problems, it may be remedied simply by having the doctor suture the cervix with a cerclage. The uterus is your womb. It’s an organ that holds your baby until it’s time for delivery. It’s lined with a thick endometrium, the blood lining which results in your period each month if conception doesn’t occur. Your ovaries come in pairs – each woman usually has two of them. They’re the containers your eggs come in! When you’re born, your ovaries have about 1 million eggs in them. By the time you hit puberty, you have only 300,000 to 400,000 eggs left. At age 50, you only have about 1,000 eggs remaining. Some of these are abnormal eggs. “Normal” eggs contain 23 chromosomes, which are the genes that will make your baby who he or she is. Near your ovaries are two fallopian tubes. This is where your egg comes in contact with a man’s sperm and hopefully, makes a baby! Your fallopian tubes are lined with fimbriae, which are hair-like “fingers” that move the egg along.

His primary parts consist of testicles and sperm. The testicles are to his body what your ovaries are to your eggs – they create and hold his sperm. Sperm are produced every day, but they mature after 70 days. What this means is that if there is any damage to the sperm, from elements such as heat (to be discussed later), it takes more than two months for new sperm to mature and be ready to fertilize an egg. This is very important to keep in mind, as that can seriously delay your chances of conception.

How a Baby Is Conceived

Conception has to be timed just right. Your menstrual cycle plays an important role. In a perfect 28 day cycle (which not every woman has), during the first 1-5 days, an egg comes into maturity in an ovary. Between the 6th and 13th day, the lining in your uterus thickens in preparation for the egg. Around the 14th day, you ovulate. Some women feel this sensation, and it’s discussed in detail in the next chapter. Basically, the follicle bursts open and the egg gets released into the fallopian tubes. From then on, if sperm has fertilized the egg, it will hopefully plant itself inside the uterus and begin to grow and be nourished. If you’re not pregnant, the egg will be flushed out with your menstrual cycle and the cycle repeats itself. When a man ejaculates inside a woman, he emits about 100 million sperm. Only approximately 200 of them survive to make it to the fallopian tubes and encounter the egg. Sperm can live for up to 6 days in a woman’s body if the conditions are right. The egg is viable for 12-24 hours, however many experts believe it is probably closer to 12 hours. Given this time element, it is extremely important to get the timing of intercourse right. In fact, incorrect timing of intercourse is considered the #1 mistake couples make when trying to conceive. If you don’t know when you’re most fertile, you may miss the window of opportunity that could allow you and your partner to have a baby. When you and your partner have sex right before you’ve ovulated, the sperm will enter through the cervix and swim up to the fallopian tubes. Half will pick door #1 while the others will choose door #2. The half that picked the correct fallopian tube will have a chance at penetrating the egg. Within the next 24 hours, the sperm find your egg and surround it, each one trying to enter the protective layering. When one penetrates it, the others are locked out. The embryo then enters the uterus and implants itself in the wall. You miss your period – and a baby is on the way!

Timing and Positioning Your Sex Just Right

First of all, it’s important not to make sex a chore when you’re trying to conceive. Of course it’s important to time it right – and sometimes that means someone isn’t in the mood. But it’s also important to maintain the love between the two of you to lighten an already stressful time. When timing intercourse, you must make sure you’re near ovulation. Some women know this time just by tracking their own body functions and watching for signs (to be explained later). Others need a store-bought ovulation predictor test kit. Chapter 3 will go into much more detail on ovulation because it’s a vital part in your journey to pregnancy and I wanted to make sure I devoted a lot of insight into this topic. It is important not to abstain from sex all month long in an attempt to “save up the sperm” for your fertile time.

Try to have sex at least every five days during the time you are not trying to conceive in an effort to flush out the sperm. This will ensure that you have healthy sperm at the time when you really need them! Approximately 5 days before you will ovulate, it is recommended that you have sex either every day or every other day up until and including the day of ovulation. Some say to also have intercourse the day after ovulation just to be safe. It doesn’t make very much difference which option you choose, unless you know that your partner has a low sperm count. If that is the case, the every other day approach is advised. If there are no sperm issues, do what works best for you—if you’re up for every day-great! If not, every other day works great too. To better your odds at conception, it’s important to know which positions give you an increased chance at having a baby.

Sexual positions and after-intercourse routines can be personal, but as with everything when you’re trying to get pregnant, you might pick up a few tips you haven’t yet tried to use! You’d think it wouldn’t really matter which position you had sex in to conceive a baby. But when you’re trying for a baby, you want to do everything in your power to make thing happen faster. And gravity definitely plays a role. What you want is for your position during sex to offer the best way for the deepest penetration and contact with the cervix, while minimizing the chance of leakage. Rear entry is known among your veteran fertility warriors as being the best position for conception. Alternatively, the missionary (man on top) position and side by side are considered to be optimal positions as well. Regarding leakage, here is a tip. Instead of your partner withdrawing after intercourse, have your partner keep his penis inside for as long as possible after his orgasm. This makes a good barrier and keeps the semen concentrated as close to the cervix as it can get.

Another important tip has to do with your orgasm. Research has shown that if a female has an orgasm after her partner, the sperm get sort of “sucked up” into the cervix which helps to bring them faster to where they need to be going. It’s sort of a little booster to get them going on their way. And always remember, after sex elevate your hips for about 20- 30 minutes, as this will help gravity get the sperm going in the right direction as well. Do not get up before that to go to the bathroom and especially do not douche.

Now, what about lubrication, you may ask. Many lubricants can damage sperm so do not use anything store-bought unless it specifically states it will not harm sperm. That means no KY Jelly or Vaseline, and especially do not use saliva as it can be very damaging to sperm. And speaking of saliva, do not engage in oral sex beforehand, because the saliva can ruin the sperm’s chances of survival. There’s only one product recommended for helping lubrication along – and it’s called Pre-Seed. It’s “sperm-friendly,” so you don’t have to worry about creating a hazardous environment for the little swimmers. You may have been doing all of the above things all along. Or, maybe you learned a couple of new techniques to put into practice. Soon, you’ll learn some other effective traditional and alternative methods couples are using all over the world to increase the odds of having a baby. Let’s start with how to determine when you’re ovulating…

Are You Ovulating? Predicting Your Chances for Pregnancy While Minimizing Irregularities

Ovulation is the time at which one or more eggs are released from the ovaries. It’s the most fertile time of a woman’s cycle and it creates the space in which the process of pregnancy can begin. In short, it’s the point of conception if a healthy sperm is available to fertilize this released egg(s). During the course of each month, eggs within the ovaries will mature and grow. Depending on the overall growth of the egg, each month the ovary will choose to release the most ready egg for fertilization into the fallopian tubes. The choice of which fallopian tube the egg will be released into varies from month to month as does the ovary that releases that egg. If for some reason a woman only has one fallopian tube (perhaps due to an ectopic pregnancy), she still has a good chance of getting pregnant with the remaining tube.

How Can I Get Pregnant?

The best time for a woman to have intercourse in the hope that you’ll become pregnant is during the five days before you ovulate and up through the day ovulation has occurred. This is because sperm can live in the fallopian tubes for up to six days, but the egg will only remain viable for about twelve to twenty-four hours. Women who don’t have problems with their fertility have a twenty-five percent chance of becoming pregnant each month that they attempt it. If you want to become pregnant, there are plenty of ways that you can tell when you are ovulating – rather than just guessing.

Why Planning for Conception Is Best

The reason why it’s important that you know about ovulation is because having intercourse more frequently throughout the month in hopes of catching the right time doesn’t necessarily increase your chances of becoming pregnant. In fact, it’s possible it can have the reverse effect. Here’s why. When a man ejaculates frequently, the concentration of sperm can be lower which can lead to problems with conception. But when you try to make an effort to have sex during the most fertile times of your cycle, you’ll allow the sperm to build up in higher numbers, allowing for an increased  chance of conception. But as stated previously, never abstain for weeks at a time in hopes of “saving up” the sperm for when you are ovulating. It’s best to make sure the male ejaculates around every five days when it’s not your fertile time, to flush out the sperm and keep them “fresh.” Then, during the 5 days before you will be ovulating, you can time intercourse every day or every other day as stated earlier.

Ways to Tell If You’re Ovulating

If you want to get pregnant and are ready to start figuring out when the best times to have intercourse are, here are some basic things to look at that will indicate when you are ovulating.

The countdown:

The most scientific way to determine when you are ovulating works best for women whose menstrual cycles are regular. That means that your cycle length is approximately the same every month. What you do is count back about twelve to sixteen days – that is your fertile time. For example, if your cycle length is usually 30 days, you would probably ovulate somewhere between days 14 and 18. The twelve to sixteen days refers to what’s known as the luteal phase.  Let me explain a little further how this works. Every cycle is made up of two parts, the ovulatory phase and the luteal phase. The ovulatory phase starts on the first day of your period and ends on the day that you ovulate. The length of this phase can vary from month to month so that you can not always accurately predict the day you will ovulate. One of the things that can cause a delay in ovulation is stress. So if you normally ovulate on day 14 for example, and you find yourself in a stressful situation early in the month, your ovulation can be delayed by a few days. Other things that can affect ovulation are travel and illness. The second half of the cycle is called the luteal phase. Once you ovulate, the number of days until your period comes will be fixed each month and will not be delayed by any outside conditions such as stress. It varies from woman to woman, but once you know the length of your luteal phase, it will stay consistent from month to month. It is important that your luteal phase not be too short, as this would be a sign that there is a deficiency of progesterone, which can cause problems in achieving a pregnancy. Typically, the luteal phase can last from12to 16 days, with the optimum being around 14 days. Some doctors say anything less than 12 days could be a problem, while others think 10 days or less is worrisome. The only way to determine the length of your luteal phase is to keep track of the day you ovulate (will discuss some methods shortly), and then count the number of days until your period arrives.

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Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Charting:

The best way to evaluate your cycle and especially to determine if you may have a luteal phase defect, is by temperature charting, also known as BBT charting. The first step is to purchase an inexpensive basal digital thermometer. With this, you can document your body temperature each morning before you get out of bed on a special chart and start to look for any times when it increases (aside from when you’re ill). Generally speaking your temperatures will have very minor fluctuations on a daily basis of about a tenth of a degree. This can best be seen on a special basal body thermometer, not on a typical thermometer you would use to check for fever. Once you see the temperature go up a few tenths of a degree higher than it had been for several days previously, this tells you that you have just ovulated. The reason being, right after you ovulate, the left over egg (which becomes a “corpus luteum”) releases progesterone in an effort to prepare your lining for the implantation of a fertilized egg. The release of progesterone causes the increase in temperature. Unfortunately, BBT charting will only tell you that you already have ovulated—it can not predict ovulation. By monitoring your temperature over the course of a few months, you’ll begin to see a pattern emerge that can be helpful in several ways. For one thing, by charting you will be able to establish if you are in fact ovulating, which some women just don’t know. Secondly, you can count the number of days in your luteal phase in order to determine if you have a luteal phase defect which requires progesterone supplementation in order to conceive. Also, even though you can’t use the charts to predict specifically what day you will ovulate, you will get a good feel for approximately what day each month you ovulate and can time intercourse better to coincide with your fertile window. Another benefit of charting is you can probably determine if you are in fact pregnant without even taking a pregnancy test! If your temperature stays elevated for 18 days following ovulation, then you are very likely to be pregnant! Once your temperature drops a few tenths, it means you are likely to get your period that day or the next day at the latest. This information can be helpful as well –not in your quest to get pregnant—but it’s nice to have a warning that your period is due to arrive as sometimes it comes as a complete surprise when we are not exactly prepared!!

Cervical mucus:

Another very good indication of approaching ovulation concerns cervical mucus. Throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle, the texture and the consistency of the cervical mucus will change. This is something you may not have ever paid attention to, but it is very important to be aware of when trying to get pregnant. As you get closer to ovulation, you will notice that your cervical mucus (vaginal discharge) changes from somewhat creamy to the consistency of an egg white—clear, very stretchy and wet. This happens because the levels of oestrogen are rising as the body prepares to release an egg. As a rule, if you aren’t sure when you will be ovulating exactly, you should start having sex as soon as you see the cervical mucus becomes similar to an egg white. You should continue having sex as long as you have this type of cervical mucus. Usually on the day of ovulation, the cervical mucus is the most abundant and stretchy. And you will know when you have already ovulated, as the cervical mucus immediately changes—it gets cloudy and kind of dries up—right after you’ve ovulated.

Possible pain in the abdomen:

Some women will also feel a twinge of pain when their ovary releases an egg.

This is called mittelschmerz (which is German for ‘middle pain’) and this is felt by up to twenty percent of all women. The pain or the ache can last anywhere from minutes to hours, depending on the woman and her sensitivity to the pain. You might also feel back pain that accompanies the lower abdominal pain. The problem for using this pain as an indicator of when to time intercourse, is that doctors aren’t sure if the pain is occurring right before, during or after ovulation. Obviously, if it’s occurring right after, it would not be a reliable method to time intercourse. Also, since the sperm live for several days, you would lose the opportunity for having intercourse a few times before ovulation, and therefore having much more sperm ready and waiting!

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Just call us on 01925 730123 to book your treatment.

Lipomassage for the body

Endermologie is a patented technique by LPG Systems. Their machines perform mechanotransduction – the mechanical stimulation of adipose tissue and fat cells.

What does this mean for you?

Despite ideal personal health practices and regular physical activity, the process of storing fat tends to increase over time. This results in the appearance of excess fat and cellulite. Endermologie targets specific problem areas to re-sculpt your body into a slimmer, toned shape.

What can you expect?

Your treatments will be relaxing and enjoyable. After the first session, you will feel rejuvenated. After the recommended number of sessions, you will see the difference. And because, at Cheshire Natural Health we have the very latest machine (the Cellu M6 Integral), you can be sure of a totally pain-free experience.

Does Endermologie® really work?

Yes it does! Endermologie is the first FDA approved treatment for reducing the appearance of cellulite. It fights exercise and diet resistant fats and has 85 scientific studies to prove it.

Lipomassage is endorsed by Gunnar Peterson – Personal Trainer to many A-list celebrities – and reportedly used by celebrities and supermodels such as Elle Macpherson, Claudia Schiffer, Caprice and Colleen Rooney.

If you’d like to know more, please don’t hesitate to call. This could be the first step to your new, improved body.

Endermolift for the face

Endermolift by Endermologie® is a mechanical work out for the skin. It delivers micro-beats to stimulate your cells’ natural production of collagen and elastin. This anti-ageing technique redensifies the skin deep down and erases signs of ageing without the use of electrical currents, injections or chemicals.

What can you expect?

You will see immediate results; a healthy glowing complexion and a natural lifting effect. With each session, more improvements will be noticeable including wrinkles filled in and contours re-defined.

The LPG technique is the subject of 85 scientific studies to prove it’s effectiveness.

Endermolift by Endermologie® is a revolutionary connective tissue treatment – you can expect long lasting results after your recommended number of sessions.

For further information, ask to speak to our senior therapist, Julie Smith, who will be happy to answer any questions.

Special offer £39 per session

Call reception on 01925 730123 to book