Earlier this year, as part of our Nourishment Beyond Nutrition Series, we hosted a talk led by Dr. Elana Roumell and Dr. Leah Gordon on the topic of Hormone Balance Prior to Pregnancy.
Our ongoing series Nourishment Beyond Nutrition brings together expert-led education with womens’ circle-like sharing, on a range of topics related to supporting mamas and mamas-to-be. The conversations often expand beyond nutrition, as nutrition alone is not enough for full nourishment. In response to the global COVID19 pandemic, and the added stress this is placing on expecting and new mothers and their partners, we have shifted our event series to daily sessions on our Instagram and other platforms. We are excited to share these powerful conversations with our broader Needed community.
Below is a recap of the event and a link to the event replay.
Hormone Balance Prior to Pregnancy
January 30, 2020 at Trilogy Sanctuary in La Jolla, San Diego
Panel of Experts
Dr. Leah Gordon, Naturopathic and Functional Medicine Doctor and Founder of Tribe Medicine
Dr. Elana Roumell, Naturopathic Doctor, Cohost of Whole Mamas Podcast, Founder of Med School For Moms
Why this Topic?
A woman's health prior to getting pregnant can impact her health and that of her baby, both during the pregnancy and for many years thereafter. We therefore like to stress the importance of the preconception period, a time to prepare one’s body for an optimal prenatal experience.
The event focused on hormone balance as that is often what is top of mind for most mamas-to-be, from breaking up with birth control, to tracking fertile days. And, because proper hormone balance is the result of having a healthy gut, optimal nutrient levels, a healthy relationship with food, managed stress, and supportive relationships, the event touched on many facets of optimal prenatal wellbeing. Drs. Leah and Elana’s talk focused on how to holistically prepare for pregnancy.
Why you should watch the recording?
At Needed we are focused on empowering optimal nourishment for mamas and mamas-to-be. Optimal prenatal nourishment starts before pregnancy, in the preconception phase. In the best case, preconception can broken down into two phases 1) a detox phase ideally lasting 3 months, followed by 2) a period of actively trying to conceive. Detoxing removes accumulated toxins from your system that can affect hormone balance, nutrient levels, and more. It is not safe to detox while you are pregnant or breastfeeding, so it’s helpful to start and finish a detox before you start trying, so your body is optimally functioning prior to conceiving. Drs. Leah and Elana offered valuable information and their best tips and tricks for safe detoxification and optimal hormone balancing for the best chances of conceiving. Topics included:
Detoxing
- Breaking up with hormonal birth control
- The key nutrients to incorporate more of to support natural detoxification
- Supporting your liver, one of the primary detoxification organs
- Optimizing gut health
- Cleaning-up beauty and household products to remove unwanted toxins
- Supporting detox with sweating
Hormone Balancing
- Balancing blood sugar
- Optimizing sleep and wake routines
- Reducing stress
- Building positive relationships
- Tracking your cycle
Correcting Specific Imbalances
- When and how to incorporate lab work
- Optimizing nutrition overall
In addition, Dr. Leah and Dr. Elana share their personal experiences around male infertility and miscarriage, respectively, and what you can learn from it.
Additional Resources
Head over to our IGTV @nourishmentisneeded for a four part series with Dr. Leah Gordon breaking down her recommended pre-pregnancy detox.
Follow Dr. Leah and Dr. Elana on their Instagram pages.
