Too much stress during pregnancy can leave a lasting legacy on you and your baby

A certain amount of stress on your body is generally considered normal and even important in conditions such as when you are ill, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy. But the stress suffered by today's expectant mothers, many of whom want to carry on their careers, can be extreme.

Everyone has a certain amount of the "stress hormone" cortisol naturally present in the body but levels rise under stress.

Cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands and helps the body in stressful situations by providing a burst of energy needed for 'fight or flight'.

The base level of cortisol fluctuates throughout the day. In the morning it is higher and it reduces by evening.

The average level of cortisol is measured in nanomoles per litre and in a healthy adult would be between 150 and 500nmol/l. But under stress – such as a person on the night before an operation – this level could double to 300 and 1,000nmol/l. Sustained exposure to these levels is likely to cause serious health problems, including high blood pressure.

Usually the placenta stops most of the mother's stress hormones reaching the baby. But it is thought that if there are high levels of the hormones, or if the placenta is not working properly, significant amounts reach the unborn child. One theory is that while the developing baby is exposed to the stress hormone their own developing reproductive organs may also be damaged, which would affect the health of future generations.

Dr Lisa Thorn, a researcher from the Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group at the University of Westminster, London, said: "What goes on in your head does impact your health and it impacts on different people in different ways. To what extent depends on the person, the level of stress and how they appraise something as being stressful or not."

Importantly many first time mums-to-be carry on working until 1-2 weeks before the birth of their baby, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, as they do not realise how exhausted they will feel in the last trimester (especially if you have a difficult commute into work or are expected to work long hours). This impacts on any ‘normal’ stress you experience while pregnant (such as back ache etc) and does not give you time to relax sufficiently before the birth of your baby. While many women need to work up to the birth for financial reasons, where you don’t, think twice about starting maternity leave at such as late stage and taking time out for yourself and your baby. Labour is an extremely exhausting event and so are the sleepless nights that are accompanied for the arrival of your bundle of joy.

Making the correct food choices can also reduce the amount of stress you and your baby will experience says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, as it provides you with the correct nutrients to deal with stress more effectively. For example, many people become more irritable and feel low or depressed as a result of having a blood sugar imbalance. Further, an estimated 1 in 10 mothers experience some form of post-natal depression and how you feel directly impacts on how your baby may feel. This can be helped or possibly avoided by making the best dietary choices for you. This is especially important when you are about to have a baby. I know from experience that sleep deprivation is a huge stressor!

To find out more about Nutritional support during or before your pregnancy, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2. I have also written a free e-book on how you can improve your diet during your pregnancy, which can be obtained by clicking on my link.

Smoking and missing meals during pregnancy triples the risk of childhood obesity

Japanese researchers observed 1000 children born to smoking and non-smoking mothers. The researchers revealed that children born to smoking mothers were nearly 3 times more at a risk of developing obesity later in their lives, possibly as a result of the damaging effects nicotine has to the baby’s brain says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy.

There are many ways nutritional therapy can help support you while giving up smoking, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown. As smoking can upset your blood sugar balance (which can also impact on weight gain), one of the first things I look at, are ways to regulate your blood sugar. Many foods can also upset your blood sugar levels, as well as other stimulants such as coffee, tea, alcohol and chocolate. There are also a number of supplements that may help reduce your craving for nicotine.

An additional result of the study also revealed that mothers who skipped their breakfast during pregnancy made their children nearly 2½ times more vulnerable to developing obesity in their latter stage of life. This may result in babies developing blood sugar imbalances in utero, which affects their ability to regulate insulin which can contribute to weight gain, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown.

Furthermore, depriving yourself of food which in turn deprives the fetus of nutrition is a contributing factor of intrauterine growth retardation. Improper nutrition and food supply to the growing fetus has also been linked with poor nutritional habits in the future which can lead to overweight problems and obesity in children.

To find out more about Nutritional support during or before your pregnancy, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2. I have also written a free e-book on how you can improve your diet during your pregnancy, which can be obtained by clicking on my link.

Supplementing with fish oil during pregnancy could boost attention spans in children, say researchers.

More good news, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy, researchers have established that taking fish oil during pregnancy is both safe and beneficial for a child’s brain development.

Recent research from the University of Western Australia found that supplementation may lead to improved eye and hand coordination in children. The higher eye and hand coordination scores in the supplemented group were positively correlated with increases in omega-3 content in the umbilical cord blood.

Led by Dr Susan Prescott, from the University of Western Australia, the researchers concluded: “Preliminary data indicate that supplementation with a relatively high-dose fish oil during the last 20 weeks of pregnancy is not only safe but also seems to have potential beneficial effects.”

The last three months of pregnancy are thought to be a key time for intake of fish oil because
there is a growth spurt in the human brain during this time, which carries on into the first few months of a baby's life, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown.

Other research suggests cod liver oil taken during pregnancy may increase birthweight and reduce the risk of the baby developing type 1 diabetes.

As well as immediate benefits to the child, studies show fish oils can help mums-to-be in a number of ways, including reducing high blood pressure and easing post-natal depression. As omega-3 oils are also essential for good memory, supplementing with fish oils and eating oily fish on a regular basis may help prevent mumnesia, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown.

To find out more about Nutritional support during or before your pregnancy, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2. I have also written a free e-book on how you can improve your pregnancy diet which can be obtained by clicking on my link.

Think twice about IVF – having twins or multiple births can seriously affect the health of your babies

A quarter of IVF babies are twins or triplets and multiple births are nearly 20 times higher as a result of assisted conception than when it happens spontaneously, say UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy.

However babies who share a womb with siblings (be it twins or triplets) are far more likely to be born prematurely - and this brings with it a series of risks.

Twins are seven times more likely to die in the first few weeks of life than their singleton counterparts, and are six times more likely to develop cerebral palsy.

Care for babies born with disability or who develop them later on can pose a serious financial and emotional strain on parents, not to mention the cost of IVF treatment which can cost between £4,000-£8,000 per cycle.

Improving you nutritional status can help to improve your chances of conception and there is research to prove it, say UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown. Just one example is a study at the University of Surrey consisting of several hundred would-be parents with a history of fertility problems. They were put on tailor-made holistic pre-conceptual care programmes focussing principally on diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation and avoidance of environmental toxins. A stunning 81% of those who took part went on to produce healthy babies. This make the holistic approach 2 ½ times more effective than IVF!

To find out more, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2. I have also written a free e-book on how you can improve your fertility and chances of becoming pregnant naturally, which can be obtained by clicking on my link.

Now I’m pregnant why am I sleeping so badly?

One of the reasons for fatigue and sleep problems during pregnancy are changing hormone levels, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy. For example, rising progesterone levels may partly explain excessive daytime sleepiness, especially in the first trimester.

However, according to the National Sleep Foundation, several sleep disorders can be caused or made worse by pregnancy. In a study of over 600 pregnant women, 26% reported symptoms of restless legs syndrome (RLS), a condition characterized by unpleasant feelings in the legs that worsen at night and that are relieved by movement.

The exact cause of RLS is unknown. However, evidence suggests that it is related to an imbalance of a brain chemical called dopamine. Dopamine is a naturally occurring substance which affects movement. In the evening, dopamine levels fall, and this may explain why the symptoms of RLS are often worse in the evening and at night.

Another cause of RLS is a lack of iron which is essential for the production of dopamine. Other nutrients are also involved in neurotransmitter regulation such as B6, B12 and folic acid.

Pregnant women are also at risk for developing sleep apnea, a disorder in which breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep. This is particularly true of women who are overweight when they become pregnant. Sleep apnea may also be associated with complications during pregnancy such as gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, or low birth weight.

Consequently, it is important to ensure that you are eating well in order to ensure you are consuming enough nutrients to sleep well, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown.

To find out more about Nutritional support during or before your pregnancy, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2. I have also written a free e-book on how you can improve your diet during your pregnancy, which can be obtained by clicking on my link.

Lack of adequate ovulation may be responsible for up to 40% of women with infertility

Ovulation occurs on a regular basis in women that menstruate at intervals between twenty-three and thirty-four days, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, who specialises in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy.

Any menstrual cycle length below or above this range is frequently associated with anovulation (i.e lack of ovulation). There are various conditions that can result in anovulation in women including polycystic ovarian disease (PCOS), advanced reproductive age, hypo or hyperthyroidism, elevated levels of the hormone prolactin production, physical and emotional stress, the use of certain medications, in particular medications associated with an increase in Prolactin production and neurotransmitter alteration.

Altering your diet can help with anovulation in many cases by balancing hormone levels, says UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown, and by reducing internal stressors on the body. For example, stress can contribute to high prolactin levels and certain foods or drinks can increase stress such as caffeinated products – coffee, tea, chocolate – eating unrefined carbohydrates such as white rice and bread and insufficient fruit and vegetables (which is very low according to the Foods Standards agency with the vast majority of us not meeting the basic 5 a day principle).

To find out more, contact UrBod Nutritionist Melody Mackeown Dip.ION (mBANT), specialist in pre-conceptual care, fertility and pregnancy care in the city of London, EC2.