Naturopathic Care in Pregnancy
Pregnancy and Newborn Care – Overview:
- Naturopathic doctors can provide both pregnancy care and newborn care to you and your little one!
- Pregnancy care by a naturopathic doctor focuses on using evidence-based research to assist the mom-to-be with the physical and mental demands of pregnancy.
- Newborn care begins in the womb. Through pregnancy care and prenatal support, naturopathic medicine can set up your baby for a healthy lifestyle. After birth, naturopathic doctor can provide your new baby with newborn care to help their developing bodies thrive throughout their growth and address any common newborn diagnosis; such as GERD, eczema, allergies, and more.
Optimizing Prenatal and Postpartum Care:
- Naturopathic doctors can work with women to optimize their pregnancy journey – starting from pre-conception and optimizing prenatal care all the way to postpartum care.
- Prenatal care can begin before conception. Optimizing the hormones and nutritional status as well as addressing any underlying health conditions of a women seeking to become pregnant is often the first step.
- Optimizing prenatal care involves focusing on the health of the mother and her developing baby throughout all three trimesters – supporting moms-to-be through the difficult symptoms of pregnancy such as migraines and nausea, improving outcomes and preventing the risk of gestational diabetes and other pregnancy complications, assisting with labour preparation or c-section support, and preparing the moms body for the physical changes through hormonal support.
- Having a naturopathic doctor support, you and your body through your postpartum care can make the transition to motherhood more enjoyable.
- Postpartum care by a naturopathic doctor focuses on optimizing healing from labour and delivery, addressing hormonal fluctuations, supporting mood and cognitive function, and using natural medicines to promote lactation.
Pregnancy and Newborn Care Plan:
- Your baby’s newborn care plan will be completely unique to them just as your pregnancy care plan will be completely unique to you – customized to the individual needs of every different body.
- After addressing your unique needs, naturopathic doctors focus on putting together an individualized pregnancy care plan for your pregnancy or newborn care plan to enhance the health and development of your new baby.
- Your baby’s newborn care plan can include assisting their bodies to the transition post birth, assisting with nutrition and growth, as well as addressing any common newborn diagnosis; such as GERD, eczema, allergies, and more.
Prenatal Care Check-Ups and Visits:
- Prenatal care by a naturopath will include prenatal checkups tailored to the needs of a pregnant woman.
- Prenatal visits with a naturopathic doctor will take you through every stage of your pregnancy journey. Prenatal visits, not unlike many other naturopathic visits, involve an in-depth consultation and assessment of the body to address any underlying conditions that may affect the quality of your pregnancy. In addition, prenatal visits and prenatal checkups can include comprehensive testing of hormones and any other markers of health through blood work of functional testing to ensure accuracy of care.
