Comments on: Pursuing a Natural Pregnancy – Protein

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:53:25 +0000

I know I’m 3 years late reading and commenting this article, but in case anyone else would like my two cents, I wanted to add my input. I am at the start of my second trimester and while my nausea is decreasing significantly, I have found that switching back to pasteurized, homogenized, certified organic milk is NOT cutting it for me. I am having stomach issues and I *know* that I’m not getting the nutrition that I need from it. How do I know? It just doesn’t feel right – and I didn’t quite understand that until I was drinking raw milk (before I got pregnant). In other words, before I got pregnant, it was “low risk” enough for me to drink raw milk, and I did, and goodness gracious it was what my body wanted! Since becoming pregnant, I have been told by everyone that it’s too “high risk” to drink raw milk now, but after 3 months, all I can say is that, with a trustworthy source, I’ve gotta have the raw milk. I would be better off drinking no milk at all than homogenized store milk, if I had the will power. Fortunately I just moved to PA where it is legal and relatively easy to procure safe and healthy raw milk!

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:30:45 +0000

I have used a homebirth midwife for all three of my pregnancies and she definitely believes in as little intervention as possible. She doesn’t even encourage an ultrasound, feeling that we don’t really know the implications of it as it has not undergone enough testing. Homebirthing is a wonderful option, but if you are not comfortable with it, the best alternative for is a natural birthing center. Here you will get the best treatment and as little intervention as possible. If you would like to discuss this further, feel free to email me. I’d love to help you out!

By: jkf

jkf — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 20:47:32 +0000

Thank you so much for responding so quickly! i’m very touched and grateful. i have another question but i have no one else to ask, but you…

i saw somewhere on your site (can’t remember where now) that you said you only had 2 bloodtests during your whole pregnancy (??). My husband and i want as little medical intervention as possible and i’m wondering if you could elaborate on what prenatal care you find safe/necessary and which ones you don’t. For starters, did you go to a obgyn or did you just see your midwife? i just looked up all the tests/ pelvic exams ect. that are already expected for the first doctor’s visit and am skeptical if i want to make the appointment. what would you advise?

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:46:07 +0000

I think it is perfectly safe to drink some caffeine. I know many a mother who drinks moderate quantities throughout pregnancy. That is the key in my opinion … moderation!

By: jkf

jkf — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:34:48 +0000

hi lindsay! i just found out that i’m pregnant with our first (!!!) and i’m trying to find out if i need to stop drinking one cup of coffee a day. There are contradicting results out there and i’d love to know your opinion!

THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS!

By: kristenreyher

kristenreyher — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:41:00 +0000

Hi Lindsay. I was referred to your site by some friends and have found lots of helpful information here. However, I have to completely disagree with your suggestions to consume raw milk and raw eggs during pregnancy. I am a livestock veterinarian and have worked on dairies and poultry farms in the US, Canada and the UK, so I know a bit about this topic and do my best to offer advice on the subject.
Because of how milk is produced - still by cows that live in environments that are, even amongst the cleanest, much dirtier than what we are mostly surrounded by in our daily lives. They sleep and stand in stalls filled with straw or sawdust, or outside in grass and dirt, they poo and pee and then lay down in it, getting their udders (where the milk comes from!) dirty - they are just generally not clean. Because of this natural tendency, and because the way we raise cows today, in all operations, is much more intensive than in the past, and there is a higher concentration of bacteria - and dangerous bacteria - in their environments. This often gets into milk, and can grow as that milk is transported, bottled/packaged and even as it sits in your refrigerator. The process of pasteurization may change the quality of the milk (although I think minimally), but it mostly serves to kill these bacteria and prevent disease.
A simpler way to think about it, I guess, may be like this - if your child her pacifier outside in the grass, where a dog might have messed, where there is dirt and other organic material all around, would you wash it off or just put it back in her mouth? This is not to say that children should never put anything in their mouths (I know they do!), but just if you KNOW it's been dropped in a dirty place where there is a high likelihood of bacteria that could be harmful to her health getting on it, would you try to clean it off or just not bother?
Although you quote some websites that support eating raw milk and eggs (eggs come from chickens that likewise live in dirty environments and have a very high risk of containing Salmonella bacteria), I would encourage you to consult the scientific literature. There are a number of websites that emphasize the dangers of raw milk: there is a good overview of its dangers and suggestions here on the National Mastitis Council's website: http://nmconline.org/docs/rawmilkposition.htm and a review of the literature that you can find at http://www.marlerblog.com/2008/06/articles/lawy...). It's unclear if raw milk can be helpful, but that it can be very dangerous is evident. I am often offered raw milk when on farms where I'm very familiar with their operation, their disease status, and all that, but usually in coffee and tea that are boiling when it goes in. As a healthy person I drink it, but I wouldn't risk it if I were pregnant and I wouldn't give it to my family, even if the farmer was my best friend. It just isn't worth the risk to me. It only takes a little bit of Listeria bacteria to cause brain damage, enterotoxigenic E. coli to put you in the hospital with severe diarrhea or MRSA to leave you very sick and with no available treatment. Pasteurization kills all these things (which are in the environment and therefore can get into milk) and more - it's too risky not to do it.
Just my two cents, and I would be happy to reply with more information to anyone who would like it.

By: Thea

Thea — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:49:27 +0000

Valerie,

That is so good to hear, as my daughter was born via emergency c-section when I had hoped for a natural birth. I’m now expecting another child and praying/planning for a VBAC, but I know that God has done some incredible things in my heart through my birth experience, and so I know he will be faithful through this one, even if it doesn’t look at all the way I hope it will.

And Cyndy, I can completely relate with the sadness and sense of inadequacy that can follow a c-section. I don’t think people always appreciate that there is a sort of grief that comes with a cesarean – I remember several people gently chastising me for my sorrow, because, after all, I had a healthy baby, right? And while I am incredibly grateful for my healthy daughter (it could have easily gone very, very differently), it is important to deal honestly with the Lord about our sorrows, because he loves us and he knows our hearts completely.

By: Anna Stradford

Anna Stradford — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:01:58 +0000

. . .with so much varying , it’s great nice to see someone with knowledge about healthy pregnancies post good useful information.

Keep up the good work!

toodles

By: Tami

Tami — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:16:01 +0000

I know you asked this question earlier this year, but thought I would site Dr. Mercola’s update on eating raw eggs whole:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2005/02/09/raw-eggs.aspx

In the eggnog recipe, though, I personally stick with the egg yoke only, because it simply tastes better texture wise.

By: Joy

Joy — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:25:21 +0000

There are some suggestions for morning sickness on this web page…

http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id101.html

And I think that this food chart that the Brewers published in a couple of their books can be easier for some people to use than the Bradley pink sheets…

http://www.drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/id89.html

Best wishes,
Joy