5 Reasons to Detox before trying to fall pregnant – Fertility

 

When you find out you have a new baby on the way, it’s natural to start thinking about their new nursery. You want your baby to have her own special space where she can feel safe and comfortable. But truthfully, you are providing a much safer and more comfortable space for your child well before the paint goes on the nursery walls. For the first nine months of development, your child will call your uterus their home.

Here are 5 reasons to detox before that time:

1. Heavy metals can be harmful to you and your unborn child

2012 Research* on the role of the placenta in fetal exposure to heavy metals notes that mercury and lead both pose a health threat to the developing child’s brain. The findings of the study suggest that exposure to lead and cadmium may also have an impact on fetal growth.

2. Chemicals can be found virtually everywhere

The couch you are sitting on right now has probably been treated with flame retardant chemicals. There are toxins in our food, cleaning products and even soaps and shampoos. The air we breathe has been polluted by car exhaust fumes and fumes from industrial waste. You can make an effort to avoid some or all of these, but it would be naïve for any of us to think we are living in a complete toxin-free environment. One of the best way to avoid these chemicals is to reduce the toxins you use in your own home including cleaning products and personal beauty / hygiene products. Read more here about the importance of toxin free beauty.

3. Prepare a safe place for your baby

Our kidneys remove toxins from our blood and pass them on with the urine we excrete. But sometimes, the toxic load is more than our kidneys can handle. When this happens, the toxins remain in our blood and can be passed on to the developing fetus. Start thinking about the food you are eating to reduce this load. Try to choose organic fresh produce where possible and avoid processed / packaged foods that have artificial flavours, preservatives or colourings.

4. Environmental toxins can cause infertility

According to the American Fertility Association, only about 5 percent of the toxins in our environment have been studied. So, we do not actually know how harmful most chemicals may be. We do know, however, that most environmental toxins act as endocrine disruptors in the body, which means that they interfere with the body’s hormonal process – a process that is crucial in becoming and staying pregnant.

5. Learn healthy habits to carry into pregnancy

If you detoxify in a healthy way by adding more organic produce to your diet, drinking more water and using toxin free beauty products, these are habits that you can easily carry throughout your pregnancy. You will be giving your baby the nutrients it needs without having to worry about exposing your child to excess environmental toxins. Understand that it is virtually impossible to remove all toxins from your life, but detoxification methods can make a big difference in your overall toxic load.

Resources:

*Gundacker C1, Hengstschläger M. 2012. Wien Med Wochenschr. ‘The role of the placenta in fetal exposure to heavy metals,’ vol 162, pp 201-206.

Tips from: Dr. Zeenobiyah McGowan is a mother of one and Editor at OvulationCalendar.com, a tool which best predicts your fertile window by using big data and machine learning. Dr. McGowan has also recently become a mother, growing her fertility knowledge first hand.