Having a Healthy Pregnancy in a Toxic World

8 things that every expectant mother should avoid

My wife has recently entered her third trimester of pregnancy and it has become clear to us that avoiding the wrong things is even more important than doing the right things to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Even worse, the harmful practices to avoid are some of the very things that mainstream reproductive resources advocate for!

In an attempt to clear up this prenatal confusion, today we will discuss 8 things that every expectant mother should avoid if they want to give the best possible start in life to their newborn citizen of Tan Land.

1. The Usual Food Suspects

In Tan Land we know that you are what you eat, and thus it hardly bears mentioning that eating junk food of all sorts is off limits while pregnant.

However, we also know that there is no such thing as bad food, and therefore any pregnancy craving can be satisfied with something that is real (and tastes even better than the “junk” alternative).

Further, a woman’s senses will become more heightened while pregnant, and her standards will increase. Something of moderate quality which would previously be acceptable is no longer tolerable, and this instinctual response is not to be ignored.

For example, steak makes my wife gag right now, as it does for many pregnant women. Why? Possibly because the lack of menstrual cycles means that iron can excessively accumulate in their tissues.

Even though we know red meat is good, it may not be good in this case. Just listen to your body, don’t eat fake food, and you’ll be alright.

2. Fake Nutrients

Pre-natal vitamins are everywhere. And I have yet to see one that isn’t trash.

The nutrition establishment barely understands how vitamins interact with our bodies under normal hormonal conditions, let alone when pregnant.

And one of the most egregious examples of this is “folic acid”, which every pregnant woman is scared into taking by the relentless medical mob.

“But isn’t it so important for fetal development?”

Not really, because folic acid isn’t a vitamin. It’s not even a natural substance to human biology. Folic acid is a completely synthetic chemical that many people are unable to convert into the actual nutrient, which is called folate, aka vitamin B-9.

You should get this from eating plenty of eggs. But if you must supplement, use methylfolate instead.

Another example is vitamin K, often given to newborns immediately after birth. Not only does it oversimplify our actual needs for vitamin K (K1 or K2? K2 mk-4 or K2 mk-7? These are the burning questions they don’t answer in the delivery room), but the injections are full of heavy metal adjuvants, which aren’t even “necessary” since the shot is not a vaccine.

Conclusion: be very certain that the vitamins you take are in their optimal formats, and only do so when food can’t supply them on its own.

3. Excessive Exercise

Exercise is great, but it can be overdone, and when pregnant your ability to tolerate physical stress is greatly diminished.

This can be hard to accept for some exercise addicts, so I’ll put it very simply. When you exercise, you build new muscle tissue.

Well, when pregnant, you are constantly building new biological tissue of all sorts—a new baby, which is much more complex than muscle.

Therefore, pregnancy is a constant workout. There you have it— you can take it easy because every minute of the day is spent in a constant workout, the likes of which you could never find in a gym.

Instead, gentle physical activity like walking, gardening, swimming (in fresh or saltwater, not chlorinated), and pre-natal yoga are excellent choices for an expectant mother.

getting out in nature is healthier than exercising under blue light in gyms anyway

Also sex. Not only can sex stimulate and simulate labor, since it releases oxytocin which will visibly contract the uterus (practicing for birth anyone?), but it has also been proven to reduce the risk of preeclampsia.

4. Chronic Stress

Historically, pregnancy has been seen as a “delicate condition” that requires special care and unique lifestyle changes. Today, pregnant women are being told they can continue as normal until the final trimester. This is not only unrealistic, but unhealthy.

Pregnancy is already a time of vastly increased hormone production and nutritional demand. Adding mental stress to the body’s physical stress is a recipe for disaster as it can deplete vitamin reserves which can impair the baby’s growth.

So keeping stress levels in check during pregnancy is paramount. Following a nutrient-dense diet, prioritizing rest, and making time for relaxing activities are surefire ways to do this.

Basically, an excessive workload is not ideal. Pregnant women will feel the need to sleep - potentially for hours in the middle of the day - and they should have the ability to do so freely.

5. Environmental Toxins

I have previously spoken about how our bodies are being poisoned by our environment. Your skin absorbs everything that it touches. From chemical dish soap to synthetic clothing, the potential for toxic chemicals to leach into your skin and wreak havoc on your health is higher than ever.

For pregnant women, it is even more important to be vigilant about what you’re putting in, on, or near your body. Recent studies have revealed that microplastics and flame retardants have made their way into human breastmilk and poisonous chemicals are leaching into your skin every time you sweat in spandex.

However, fear not. There are ways to reduce your exposure to these toxins. For instance, wherever possible buy clothing made from natural fibres like cotton, silk, or wool and purchase natural cosmetic products like tallow balm.

6. EMF Radiation

While all objects emit EMF radiation, the radiation from modern technologies is 3000% greater than what is found in the natural world. Given that our brains, hearts, and cells operate electronically, exposure to high levels of EMF radiation can have significant negative effects on our health.

This is especially true for pregnant women. Some studies have shown that there is a link between EMF exposure and birth defects, allergies, and even leukaemia.

Limiting EMF exposure is obviously vital, but how do you go about doing this? Luckily, there are some simple lifestyle changes you can make, like turning off Wifi at night, switching off bluetooth, buying wired headphones, not putting electronic devices too close to your body, or building a log cabin deep in the woods.

If you cannot avoid exposure, then you can at least increase your vitamin A intake as this offers some protection against environmental toxins. It’s also crucial for the baby’s growth and development, so it’s a win-win.

7. Unnecessary Medical Interventions

Modern medicine has created many tests and interventions that are supposed to determine the health of your baby. While this is widely regarded as a great advancement in science, the reality is that the effects of many of these often unnecessary tests on unborn babies are not fully understood, and are pretty damning where they have been researched.

But because you can never find a conclusive answer to whether tests like ultrasounds are good for the baby (my opinion: they aren’t), it’s pointless to debate them here.

However, there is something people do not discuss:

Even if medical interventions and tests do not harm the baby, they can cause medical staff to think there is a problem, and then provide unnecessary treatment that can create panic and actual harm.

Here is an example.

Let’s say you go for your 20 week scan. You’re nervous because it’s your first baby, and you want to make sure your ball of sunshine is healthy and perfect, and therefore the nurse measures high blood pressure. Then everyone panics and freaks out, telling you that there is something wrong with the baby and putting you on some corrective treatment.

You’re now a nervous wreck, since the health of your precious bundle of future joy is in question. You do what the doctors say, but you can’t stop panicking.

Thus you never relax enough for the baby to fully rotate into position prior to birth, and then when the time comes to deliver, the doctors realize it’s a breech birth.

That’s considered dangerous (it’s not) and therefore cause for immediate medical intervention. The c-section is scheduled, the drugs are administered, and your baby is unexpectedly yanked out.

Since c-sections make it very hard for the breast milk to come in, now you have to use some kind of formula. Even if you get goat milk, it’s not the same.

So now you have a formula-fed, c-section birthed baby, with all the deficiencies those things can cause, just because of an unnecessary scan 20 weeks prior, even though your baby could have been perfectly fine!

And this is just one example of an how a medical intervention as simple as a blood pressure test (which itself is safe for everyone) can end in disaster.

What about the tests that aren’t as safe?

Simply put, when it comes to medical interventions, most pregnant women are led to believe they don’t have a choice. And their maternal instincts are used against them by self-righteous doctors and nurses who view the pregnant body as a robot in for maintenance more than a divinely created being ready to bring forth new life.

The truth is though that women do have a choice. And, in the majority of cases, the best decision is just to say no. If your doctor or health care practitioner insists you take a test that you don’t want to, it is absolutely your prerogative to decline.

While a totally natural pregnancy certainly does not work for everyone, it is worth researching what medical interventions are truly necessary. You’ll likely see that the answer is almost none of them.

The same goes for pharmaceutical drugs.

8. Pharmaceuticals

The thalidomide tragedy of the 1950s seems to have faded into the distant past for many doctors and pharmacists. The recommendations and regulations regarding what pharmaceutical drugs are safe for pregnant women seem to have become far more relaxed in the last decade or so.

But don’t be fooled. This is not because scientific research is approving all of these medicines for expectant mothers - many of the effects of over-the-counter medications on unborn babies are unknown.

And, even if the effects are known, Big Pharma doesn’t seem to care. Epidurals contain fentanyl (yes you did read that right), and cholesterol-lowering drugs like statins are still prescribed to women of child-bearing ages despite being a Class X teratogenic and known to cause birth defects.

Antibiotics, too, are still made available to expectant mothers even though they destroy healthy gut flora and can create serious digestive issues that can be passed onto the unborn baby. In fact, a lack of beneficial gut flora due to maternal antibiotic use has been linked to autism in newborns.

Even everyday pharmaceutical products like Tylenol, Advil, and anti-nausea medications should be strictly avoided.

If you’re suffering with morning sickness, instead of reaching for the Gravol, try eating at regular intervals to avoid low blood sugar, drinking raw milk throughout the day, sipping ginger tea, taking digestive bitters, and taking magnesium salt baths.

Or, unfortunately, just sticking it out through a few rounds of early morning vomit. If you can’t handle that, how do you expect to handle 9lbs of crying raw-milk-fed baby coming out your lady parts?

Basically, the best policy here is just to say no to any and all synthetic pharmaceuticals. Even if you can tolerate them, your baby is far more sensitive than you.

Notable Omissions

Briefly, you’ll notice that there are a few things missing from this list.

• Coffee

• Alcohol

• Saunas

These are considered taboos in the US, yet in mild doses, quite common in Europe. Some studies have suggested that moderate amounts of wine consumption create smarter kids too.

If you want your kid to be resilient, it’s important that they are exposed to a variety of natural stimuli, both in the womb and after birth.

Forced fragility is not good for anyone.