Congratulations Your Pregnant! Now what? 3 Little plum's Guide to a Non-Toxic and Healthy Pregnancy.
Congratulations You’re Pregnant! Now what?
I think most mothers, if not all, understand that pregnancy is a time to be healthy. Many of us become preoccupied with researching all things organic in what can seem like a sometimes overwhelming push to become healthier as moms to -ultimately- offer a healthier beginning for our babies.
It is indisputable that there are links between exposure to certain common chemicals during pregnancy to everything from preterm births, ADHD, obesity, higher cancer risk later in life, birth defects and childhood behavioral problems. In fact, pregnancy/ fetal development is one of 4 'windows of susceptibility' - the most vulnerable of the 4. These are periods in our lives when we are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of chemicals (the 4 periods are fetal development, early childhood, adolescence and pregnancy)
Why pregnancy is important
Think about it: in 9 months a baby goes from one fertilized cell at conception to 37 trillion; a full fledged baby!
During the first trimester, our babies undergo the most rapid development.
As What to Expect, explains, in the first trimester " Organs take shape, and baby starts to move. Here are a few of the big highlights happening in this exciting time:
Baby’s bones: By about week 6, baby starts to sprout arms, legs, hands and feet — and fingers and toes around week 10.
Hair and nails: Skin begins forming between weeks 5 and 8, with hair follicles and nail beds forming around week 8.
Digestive system: By about week 8, baby’s intestines will begin forming, and your baby will have already gone through two sets of kidneys (with the third and final set on its way!).
Sense of touch: Your baby will have touch receptors on his face (mostly lips and nose) around week 8. By week 12, he’ll have receptors on his genitals, palms and the soles of his feet.
Eyesight: Optic nerves (which pass info from the eyes to the brain and back) and lenses begin to form by week 4, with the retina beginning to form around week 8.
Heart: By week 5, the tube that will become your baby’s heart begins to beat spontaneously. It will become stronger and more regular — and you’ll be able to hear it! — around week 9 or 10 (though sometimes later, depending on your baby’s position in your uterus).
Brain: By about week 8 of pregnancy, your baby’s brain will be wiggling his developing limbs.
Sense of taste: Your baby will have developed taste buds that connect to his brain by about week 8 — but he’ll need taste pores before he can taste the surrounding amniotic fluid (which, by the way, tastes like your most recent meal).
Other major first-trimester milestones include the formation of muscles, the production of white blood cells to fight off germs and the development of vocal cords."
It is a lot going on, and during all this rapid development, because our babies are so tiny, they are also especially vulnerable to potential toxins. They have no detox system in place, like you and I do, to help eliminate toxins. Where some exposures in adults can clear in hours, these will linger in the fetus far longer at effectively higher doses during this critical moments of development.
It is such a big problem that over 287 industrial chemicals have been found in the umbilical chord blood of newborn babies.
Everything we mothers eat, smell and breathes reaches our developing babies, and the ramifications can be serious.
However well intentioned you might be, sometimes those first few weeks of pregnancy are some of the hardest, longest and most miserable days of your life. Everything from nausea to morning sickness to extreme exhaustion can jeopardize even the most dedicated green moms intentions. Sometimes you have to resort to pre-made meals or just bread and crackers because you feel so crappy that cooking is. Not. An. Option.
So what is a pregnant mom to do?
The key is to keep it simple but be prepared
Start early: If you know you want to become pregnant both mom and dad should start paying attention to their exposure to environmental chemicals months before conception; at least 3-6 months before.
Here is a guide on how to do this
CLEAN EATING
If you only do one thing (but please don’t stop at one!) it should be to get a high quality water filter. Based on the prevalent contamination of drinking water in the US I would recommend reverse osmosis (available countertop or under sink) or multi staged water filters. If funds are even more limited, then this is the only water pitcher filter I would recommend
Now is the time to choose organic fruits and veggies as well as dairy products and meat/poultry.
Avoid canned food/drinks: Sometimes you can only hold down light quick meals like soup. Canned soup (and all canned food) will spike your BPA levels and BPA has been proven to be quite the harmful chemical for babies (read more about how harmful BPA is for munchkins) so, if you are not eating home cooked soup, do not resort to buying canned soup (or canned anything). Beer and canned drinks are also lined ) Choose soups, meals and drinks that come in glass
Even I , who HATE using the microwave, used it to reheat food on days I was just too tired to make dinner. If your microwave becomes your sous chef of sorts, just make sure you don’t reheat your food in plastic containers than will leach nasty chemicals into your food. Instead choose glass… always store food in glass not plastic.
Limit processed foods. Processed foods are our main source of phthalate exposure, one of the best studied endocrine disrupting chemicals. By eating more at home and using fresh foods (ie nothing that has been altered from its orginal state even if its organic) you can greatly decrease your exposure to these chemicals. Meal planning and even cooking and freezing healthy meals for when you don’t feel great during pregnancy is a great help!
CLEAN HOME
We are mainly exposed to chemicals that are hard to avoid from construction materials and decor (this includes phthalates, flame retardants, pFAS, microplastics and more) via dust (these chemicals migrates to dust ) or air.
Focus on dust: keep dust low. The best way to do this is:
HEPA filter vacuum (we ave this one. It is an investment but will be so important for lowering toxins at home, esp when baby arrives, and will last decades)
Clean surface dust with a Damp cloth
Air filter (after years - 17!- researching and using air fitlers, I now mainly recommend Austin Air. As an authorized dealer I can offer a 15% discount. Email for details: 3littleplums@gmail.com)
2. Cleaning products: Regardless of who is doing the cleaning, now is the time to throw out your toxic mainstream “pine or lemon fresh” house cleaners. The air inside of our homes is usually much more contaminated than the air outside because of the cleaners that we use. Usually I recommend finishing up what you have at home and then switching to less toxic cleaners but if you are pregnant, the fumes from those mainstream cleaners could potentially be so harmful for your developing baby, that its best to throw them out and start buying the purest cleansers you can find. I have some of my favorites listed here as well as on my Amazon shop If budget is tight you can make your own cleaners. I swear, it is much easier than going to the store and picking out a non-toxic one!
Here are some super simple and effective recipes:
All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
Take a spray bottle and fill it with:
50% distilled white vinegar
50% water.
If the smell of vinegar bothers you, you can add 5- 10 drops of the pure organic essential oil of your choice.
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant and can be used to clean almost all surfaces around the house.
This is what I have been using for years.
Non-Toxic Soft Scrub
2 cups baking soda
½ cup to 2/3 cup liquid castile soap (we like Dr. Bronner's - if you are going to add essential oils buy fragrance free castile soap)
4 teaspoons vegetable glycerin ( will preserve it and help it last longer)
5 drops essential oil with antibacterial properties such as lavender, tea tree, rosemary (optional- if your castile soap already smells you should not add more fragrance!)
Mix together and store in a sealed glass jar; the mixture can last up to a year. Dry soft scrubs can be made with baking soda or salt (or combination of both) and are great for cleaning bathroom sinks, stoves and kitchen counters.
If cleaning a very tough stained surface you might want to spray pure white vinegar first, allow it to sit a couple of minutes then follow with scrub.
Non-Toxic Toilet Cleaner
Pour 1-2 cups of organic apple cider vinegar in toilet
Leave in for 30-60 minutes
Then scrub a bit and flush. If you are dealing with some tough stains you might want to add a bit of baking soda as a scrub at this point or use our soft scrub recipe!
For those who prefer pre-made non-toxic cleaners I have my personal favorites on my Amazon Shop
CLEAN BODY
Think of it this way: anything you slather on your body gets absorbed by your skin and will eventually make its way to your developing baby..... do you really want to expose him or her to a super long list of hard to pronounce mystery ingredients that have never been tested on humans for toxicity and that are commonly found in the products that make up our daily beauty routine? Do we want our babies to be a laboratory test for these ingredients? Probably not... which is why now is the time to keep it simple in the bathroom.
Less is more. I would never tell a pregnant woman to give up her makeup. I mean, sure some pregnant women have that natural glow but I certainly did NOT and I definitely needed my makeup! But, the key is to use as little products as you can. Use only what you need. Same for your hair care routine.... do you really have to shampoo, condition, deep condition, use styling cream, frizz control AND hair spray? Less is more; do it for your baby. Also consider trying some non-toxic cosmetic lines that have launched in the last few years; there are so many! (also on my Amazon Shop! and website with discounts)
Belly Cream/Stretch marks: There are tons of, sometimes pricey, products that promise to keep a pregnant woman’s skin soft and stretch mark free. But why slather on all these ingredients that have never been tested (and others that have been and are proven endocrine disruptors)? One of the easiest and most efficient solutions that I swear by is using pure almond oil (my fav), Vitamin E oil or coconut oil all over you body after you shower. Shea butter, cocoa butter also work well
DRY CLEAN: Open some closets and you will find tons of dry cleaned clothes- sometimes still hanging in the plastic wrap. If this sounds familiar, it is important to know that PERC - a common chemical used in dry cleaning, was recently listed as a top chemical linked to breast cancer. What to do? Look for an organic dry cleaner and make sure they do not use PERC (since some cleaners claim to be organic and still use the chemical). When this is not an option reduce your dry cleaning and make sure you air out the clothes you bring home before putting it in your closet or on your body.
3 Little plums approved products
My approved store bought items for everything from personal care, to cleaning, to clothing to furniture and beyond can be found on my website (many with discounts) and Amazon Shop
