Pregnant and in desperate need of advice

[catan]

I am familiar with Ina May Gaskin. I guess my fears with labor have most to do with I can’t get through most days without breaking down and crying, sometimes frantically walking from room to room while having the intense fear of impending doom while crying, feeling like I can’t breath. Needing to sit down after I walk from one room to the other, tiring during folding laundry, etc. I know labor is more intense than any regular day to day things, even good labors I’ve had have required mental fortitude and stamina that I don’t feel like I possess a bit of currently. Most of my births have been short and relatively easy compared to what many women experience. But my last one was difficult and I was exhausted and so worn down by it. I was at my heaviest weight at the time, but weigh about twenty pounds more now and I know another issue is connecting being overweight with hard births in my mind since that’s what happened to me last time.

I haven’t fully decided to get a medicated birth and my midwives are encouraging me that I can get through birth. I feel like if I could just be a little bit better, especially mentally, things would be a lot different.

The broths are a good idea. I hadn’t thought of that.

I can relate to the intense anxiety before labor and birth. It was worse for me with each subsequent birth. I think it was because fear of the unknown, how is birth going to go, all the things that might happen during birth that can go wrong, how things will change after, how hard postpartum is, and in my case I had nobody to talk to about it. My spouse certainly didn’t understand and didn’t have much to say except you can do it. I never had appetite in my last couple months in all my pregnancies, even had nausea, everything was so uncomfortable, lots of pain even in turning in bed, going upstairs, I had trouble drinking water too it didn’t taste good, etc, and still a household to run....

I don’t have advice except take it moment by moment...lots of deep breathing...visualization how you’d like birth to go... mentally emotionally spiritually letting go and surrendering....

 

[GreekDemiGod]

Definitely stop taking the Iron, that’s slow suicide.

 

[StephanF]

Or maybe they have a smart meter mounted outside near the bedroom?

This may also be of concern or WiFi from their own house or the neighborhood. I wonder about that myself. I just bought a new router from Costco it had $70 off, since the old one won’t do 256 bit encryption for remote access of my computers at home. The new one has four antennas! Maybe I’ll disconnect three of them and even lower the RF output power. Also, one can log into the router and program it to turn off during the night. But then there are still the routers from the neighborhood. Also cell towers are of concern but not in my neighborhood.

 

[Vileplume]

Hey @mrsdee. You mention a high heart rate, but do you happen to have high blood pressure and any swelling?

Peat likes to refer to Dr. Tom Brewer, who worked with a lot of pregnant women in the 50s and 60s and found diet principles that reliably help pregnant women avoid preeclampsia. Not sure if you have preeclampsia (swelling and hypertension), but if you do, and even if you don’t, the diet could help. It’s basically Peaty, although Brewer himself is more liberal in recommending whole grain than Dr. Peat.

Eating plenty of food, getting plenty of rest, lots of calcium (milk and dairy), unlimited salt, plenty of protein (eggs and dairy, some meat too), liver once a week, and a backdrop of well-tolerated glucose sources (fruit, juice, rice, potatoes, bread if you tolerate it well, even sugar.)

I think it’s important to eat more calories than you currently are, to help stimulate thyroid function and metabolic rate.

 

[mrsdee]

Hey @mrsdee. You mention a high heart rate, but do you happen to have high blood pressure and any swelling?

Peat likes to refer to Dr. Tom Brewer, who worked with a lot of pregnant women in the 50s and 60s and found diet principles that reliably help pregnant women avoid preeclampsia. Not sure if you have preeclampsia (swelling and hypertension), but if you do, and even if you don’t, the diet could help. It’s basically Peaty, although Brewer himself is more liberal in recommending whole grain than Dr. Peat.

Eating plenty of food, getting plenty of rest, lots of calcium (milk and dairy), unlimited salt, plenty of protein (eggs and dairy, some meat too), liver once a week, and a backdrop of well-tolerated glucose sources (fruit, juice, rice, potatoes, bread if you tolerate it well, even sugar.)

I think it’s important to eat more calories than you currently are, to help stimulate thyroid function and metabolic rate.

My heart rate currently is only high during my anxiety attacks, the rest of the time it stays around mid 60s to high 70s. My BP stays around 99/70

I am going to try and do my best with getting more calories in. Yesterday I did better by drinking a quart of milk. Thank you for the other suggestions.

 

[mrsdee]

Hey @mrsdee. You mention a high heart rate, but do you happen to have high blood pressure and any swelling?

Peat likes to refer to Dr. Tom Brewer, who worked with a lot of pregnant women in the 50s and 60s and found diet principles that reliably help pregnant women avoid preeclampsia. Not sure if you have preeclampsia (swelling and hypertension), but if you do, and even if you don’t, the diet could help. It’s basically Peaty, although Brewer himself is more liberal in recommending whole grain than Dr. Peat.

Eating plenty of food, getting plenty of rest, lots of calcium (milk and dairy), unlimited salt, plenty of protein (eggs and dairy, some meat too), liver once a week, and a backdrop of well-tolerated glucose sources (fruit, juice, rice, potatoes, bread if you tolerate it well, even sugar.)

I think it’s important to eat more calories than you currently are, to help stimulate thyroid function and metabolic rate.

I also forgot to answer, but no I don’t have any swelling. No signs of pre-eclampsia. I’ve heard of the Brewer Diet and probably should review it.

 

[mrsdee]

This may also be of concern or WiFi from their own house or the neighborhood. I wonder about that myself. I just bought a new router from Costco it had $70 off, since the old one won’t do 256 bit encryption for remote access of my computers at home. The new one has four antennas! Maybe I’ll disconnect three of them and even lower the RF output power. Also, one can log into the router and program it to turn off during the night. But then there are still the routers from the neighborhood. Also cell towers are of concern but not in my neighborhood.

I will check on the Smart Meter. There’s no internet service available in our area. We use a hot spot through Verizon currently and our cell phones. We always turn our hotspot off when we aren’t using it. Try to do the same with our cellphones but sometimes forget to turn them off. I know wired connections are better, but I have not figured out how to hardwire the hotspot this far.

 

[mrsdee]

Definitely stop taking the Iron, that’s slow suicide.

I was really hesitant to start the iron because I’ve read some about iron-overload and how no one is truly anemic. But my ferritin being at 10 and then at 5 in such a short period of time really scared me. These are my iron related lab results if you can offer any insight? My copper levels on my hair tissue mineral analysis were normal if that is important.

Hemoglobin: 11.7 (same at both)
Hematocrit: 35 (oct) 36 (nov)
Platelets: 181 (Oct) 202 (nov)
RBC: 4.08 (oct) 4.25 (nov)
Iron Bind Cap (TIBC): 398 (oct result)
Transferrin: 359 (Nov. result not sure if it’s the same test as above)
UIBC: 357
Iron 41 (Iron L: 60 in Nov. not sure if same test?)
Iron Saturation: 10% (oct)
Ferritin 10 (oct) 5 (nov)
Transferrin Saturation: 12% (nov)
MPV: 12.4

I think that’s all the ones that may be relevant. I appreciate any insight you have. Thank you.

 

[Tansia]

There is lot's of good advice here and I second @Mauritio advice. It sounds like high estrogen and low thyroid issues. I would try progesterone - of course on the top of good nutrition.

 

[mrsdee]

I think a high salt intake would calm your body and the stress . I mean several tablespoons per day. Although I would ask peat what he thinks about it simply because of the pregnancy .

If you want to go the hormonal route progesterone might help. Because everything you said screams high estrogen.
I remember peat saying in an interview that babies had an average IQ of 120 when the mother took progesterone during the pregnancy.

I really struggle to get extra salt in. I’ve been putting a teaspoon in a little bowl each day to use on food and drinks to see if I can get through it all and I never can. Any ideas on how to increase it? I thought I used a good bit of salt but apparently not.

 

[mamakitty]

And yes to this too, I think the natural birth movement has put a lot of pressure on women. I was a labor and delivery nurse and I’ve been in c sections where I teared up when the baby was born because of how connected and beautiful the energy in the room was. I went into the field being super pro natural birth without realizing that each mother and baby and family have their own spiritual contract and dynamic and part of my role was simply to be there in the way that they needed me, even if that meant them not needing anything from me at all

+1
This made me weep a little. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[LauriePartridge]

+1
This made me weep a little. Thank you for sharing your experience.

The Birth Book by Dr. Sears and his wife is really helpful. They've had 8 births I believe and discuss all the options for pain management and medical and non medical interventions. It really addresses fear well and pain. I applied their strategies a long with some of Aviva Romm's (I think she writes the forward) with great success. One scary, painful birth can set you up for a lot of fear with the next but it's really possible to have a comfortable, positive and happy experience. Their techniques work.

 

[LauriePartridge]

Also blackstrap molasses helped me get my iron levels normal during pregnancy.

 

[mrsdee]

There is no shame in needing to be at the hospital. Don't feel pressured to do things 'naturally', if you need the rest that an epidural could give you then ask for it! Do not be ashamed! And this is coming from someone who had two births outside of the hospital. I was very against medicalized birth, but I've come to understand that every women has different needs and if they choose to use the epidural that is their choice and they can be happy and free with that choice. The only thing to be aware of is a birth that stalls and then pitocin is given and that can increase chances of baby not getting enough oxygen during the contractions and an emergency c section being needed. But even if that needs to happen, that is okay. And they may even give a blood transfusion for those situations as your hemoglobin is so low and that can really give you a better start to caring for a newborn than when you try to do things naturally and feel like death. My hemoglobin was fairly low after my first birth because of blood loss and being a bit low thyroid, though I have no idea since I didn't get any tests for thyroid at that time. But I know for a fact I didn't eat enough. And I was exhausted. I slept as much as the baby! We just laid around all day everyday. But with other responsibilities I'm sure you are going to need all the energy you can get. So absolutely try to eat lots of food particularly red meat. Try out idealabs energin, it has a balanced b vitamin content he is a forum member here who has been in business a long time. I took 5 drops yesterday and I was so starving I gobbled up my dinner!

I will check out that supplement. Thank you for the encouraging and kind words about birth (and @catan and @LUH 3417 thank you as well) I have had my first three in a hospital, then two homebirths with a midwife, then one unassisted homebirth, back to homebirth with a midwife, and now back to a hospital with midwives. I have so many anxieties and fears I feel like a first time mom again. It’s so strange to feel that way and I don’t understand why I do or why it’s happening. If I dwell on it too much I feel a little shame going back to the hospital, but I think birthing where you are most comfortable is important and I am afraid being at home with all the anxieties I have will be hard. I’d rather be in a hospital planning a natural birth with options if I need them. I really appreciate all that each of you said regarding birth, emotions, etc. Sometimes a good cry really does help and I don’t discount that at all (and I’ve done it a lot lately).

 

[Michael Mohn]

Getting up calories is important but difficult when there's no appetite. I find ice cream always goes down well. I heard of women eating mostly ice cream during pregnancy. Juices and most liquid foods go down easier than solids. Small snacks add up to higher caloric intake over the day than only big meals. Meat seems like a better iron sources than supplements. A lot of good testimonies about progesterone helping with pregnancy. High adrenaline is often involved in anxiety. I don't want to recommend medication in pregnancy but a low dose (20-40mg) of propranolol can do magic on anxiety. Good sugar and salt intake are the first line against adrenaline. A heating / halogen lamp can help or a red light device. Becoming a mother is a feat, becoming 8 times a mother is a very big feat. You can be proud. Everything will be fine.

 

[Mauritio]

I really struggle to get extra salt in. I’ve been putting a teaspoon in a little bowl each day to use on food and drinks to see if I can get through it all and I never can. Any ideas on how to increase it? I thought I used a good bit of salt but apparently not.

I always put half a teaspoon in my mouth and swish it around with some sparkling water and just swallow it.

 

[Ben.]

Or maybe they have a smart meter mounted outside near the bedroom?

I've been wondering why my health has gotten worse the past 1-2 weeks ... They have installed smartmeters in the building.

Might be just correlation but i was wondering why everything went worse for no reason ... especially since everything seemed to improve before that happened.
Hans recommended Magnesium for the clalcium channel issue from EMF. Wonder if anyone had success with it. But how does one even measure that unless being severly hypersensitive to EMF?

Sorry, didn't mean to distract from the thread/OP.

 

[LucyL]

Salt and sugar. Milk with sugar in it several times during the day. Progesterone (Dr. Peat's Progest E Oil Complex, 34 ml)
IdeaLabs is probably the quickest way to start thyroid supplementation, (IdeaLabs Online Store - Lab / R&D Chemicals) Tyroene and TyroMix. Also Vitamin D.

 

[mamakitty]

I've been wondering why my health has gotten worse the past 1-2 weeks ... They have installed smartmeters in the building.

Might be just correlation but i was wondering why everything went worse for no reason ... especially since everything seemed to improve before that happened.
Hans recommended Magnesium for the clalcium channel issue from EMF. Wonder if anyone had success with it. But how does one even measure that unless being severly hypersensitive to EMF?

Sorry, didn't mean to distract from the thread/OP.

What’s a smart meter?

 

[Ben.]

What’s a smart meter?

One more EMF source basically. It says it contains no health risks but who trusts official claims nowadays anyway?
Its used to make data acuisition wireless and is part of building smart homes in the future (devices doors etc. all linked trough a network together automatising alot of stuff in your home (think of rich peoples high tech houses).

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Smart meters​

Smart meters are wireless devices that transmit information using radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) signals to let utility companies know how much water, gas or electricity a household or business is using.


The radiofrequency EMF given off by smart meters is a type of non-ionizing radiation. The level of radiofrequency EMF that a smart meter device can emit must comply with the standards established for radiocommunication devices.

There are no health risks from exposure to radiofrequency EMF from smart meters. These devices must meet standards to ensure they do not exceed radiofrequency EMF exposure limits.​

As with any device that emits radiofrequency EMF, you will absorb some of the energy emitted by smart meters if you are nearby. The amount of energy you absorb depends largely on how close your body is to a smart meter.
Your exposure to radiofrequency EMF from smart meters is very low. This is because:

• smart meters emit relatively low power signals
• there is distance between your body and smart meters
• smart meters transmit data in short bursts, not continuously
• when smart meters are not transmitting a signal, they do not emit radiofrequency EMF

Survey measurements of the radiofrequency EMF levels from smart meters during transmission bursts were found to be far below the human exposure limits in Safety Code 6. This was for both indoor and outdoor measurements.