When a woman is pregnant she is at the peak of her femininity. What this means to the individual is dependent on how she truly feels about herself as a woman, her behaviours and her core beliefs about the sisterhood.
Our true feminine essence has changed throughout the ages and now the female population is feeling the awakening of the inner goddess once again. We are stepping back into our true feminine power, knowing our own inner truth. Our power is not in controlling, developing, building and dominating, for this is the way of the masculine. Our essence is in collaborating, inspiring, creating and cooperating and the journey of pregnancy is using these powers to collaborate and co-operate with the new life growing inside of you.
What does femininity mean to you? Is it feeling weak, docile, inwards and easily taken advantage of? Is it wearing frilly and lacy clothes and fluttering your eyelashes? Or is it being in the feminine power and strength that is powered by intuition, creativity, nurturing and love?
Regardless of what your beliefs are, a pregnant woman is at the height of her intuition, perceptiveness, and alertness and is in the most nurturing time of her life.
When we commence the ride of pregnancy we are there until the ride finishes. We are not able to get off the ride for a few days until we feel better and then jump back on the ride again to continue the journey. This is a nine month journey that can be experienced in a number of ways and the bottom line is that you create the reality you want to experience. The same applies to the birthing process, so the best advice is to be present on the ride, do not fight the process and make the most of the journey. It’s a bit like life in general.
The more prepared we are for the ride, the easier and more enjoyable it will be.
Hence why detoxifying, cleaning and fuelling the body before with nutrients before queuing up to climb aboard is always recommended.
There is a wide array of pre-conceptual nutritional guidelines that can be followed. Eating plenty mackerel, sardines, yoghurt, legumes, nuts, seeds, berries, spinach, kale, broccoli, molasses, chickpeas, oysters, parsley, asparagus, eggs and flax seed oil for a minimum of three months before conceiving and all during the pregnancy will be of the greatest benefit.
If you are able to consider a liver detox, gall bladder flush, kidney cleanse or even a bowel cleanse at least 6 months before, this will reduce more of the unpleasant symptoms that certain people experience during pregnancy.
Whilst this cleansing is occurring then visualise yourself, your body and your being, cleaning house. It is time to clean out the crooks and the crannies and to make space for the new to come. Being a parent is a one way street and once you are walking down that road there is no turning back. So preparing your body mentally, emotionally, mentals and spiritually is letting the laws of the universe know that you are ready and creating space for the miracle of life that is about to arrive.
Our desire to eat different food changes and we may find ourselves craving the craziest of food combinations. Our desire to eat meat could increase as our body needs the extra protein for the building that is occurring. Our need for other nutrients such as calcium, iron, zinc, folic acid as well as essential fatty acids becomes heightened. This might call for us to crave things like chocolate cake, when in reality we are calling out for magnesium or raw cacao and vegetables.
Speaking from experience, three times round, the best thing for the body is to eat 40% vegetables, preferably organic of course. Aim to leave the vegetables crunchy to ensure they are still packed full of nutrients. Drinking lots of freshly made organic juices of a variety of colours in the first trimester will be richly rewarded.
Be mindful that when we are building and creating new buildings or projects the laying of the foundations is of utmost importance.
Building a skyscraper on rocky foundations will not last long. It will become unstable and could easily fall. In the first trimester is the baby laying down its own foundations to health and wellbeing. Organically made, fresh colourful juices will provide a punch of goodness to help with the formation of the primary foundations of nerve tissue, muscle tissue, protein building and bone growth.
Avocados, molasses and nettle tea in the beginning will fulfil some of the nutritional needs. When you observe that the avocado is similar to the female uterus that contains a giant seed, it all makes perfect sense. As you do not want excessive amounts of sugar in the system, reduce sweet fruits to twice a day and again aiming for the organic options. There is no need for masses of synthetic supplements, as long as you are eating lots of green vegetables, wheatgrass and barley grass as these will provide you with all the omega 3 fatty acids, B9 and magnesium as you need. Remembering to reduce as many stimulants as you can, as well as processed foods and eating whole grains like rye, barley, oats, amaranth, buckwheat and quinoa.
During your pregnancy aim to not become too overworked, over demanded and over scheduled. Honour your creativity, your beauty, your new found spiritual connection and nurturing space.
Learn to put your hand on your body and your baby’s body and listen to what it needs. Your body will never lie, you just have to learn to tune in and listen to what it has to say. If your body is telling you it feels fatigued, then you will need to rest, if you feel flat then you may need to be energised. Connect to your child, sing to him or her, talk to them and start to feel that spiritual and physical connection and most of all love them. Babies flourish with love, as we all do.
Make time for yoga, meditation, pregnancy massage, exercise, visualisations and affirmations, with a good balance between active time and quiet time. It is important that you remain active, an active pregnancy will provide a more active birth. Life rewards action.
As the pregnancy moves on closer to the end of the journey it will be time to strengthen tissues. More calcium building foods such as tahina, anchovies, sardines, almonds, yoghurt, spinach, kale, broccoli and beans are to be eaten at this time. There is no need to lose a tooth for each baby, as the old wives tales tell us. Raspberry leaf tea will also aid this process and will help prepare for the birthing process. Raspberry leaves strengthen tissues and tone the uterus. Tissue salts such as calcium phosphate and calcium fluoride taken at the last trimester will help the elasticity of the tissues and will ease child birth, with the added benefit of helping bones and teeth to develop and allowing tissues to come back to their normal state.
When it comes time to get off the pregnancy ride and board the rollercoaster of birth there are some pointers to help guide you along the way. Know that women all around the world have been doing this for thousands and thousands of years and if you have a spiritual connection, call in the ancestral knowledge and support to guide you through this process.
Let go of the fear and relax into the process that Mother Nature knows best.
Know that your body is releasing the same hormones in your body that you experience during an orgasm. So this is one giant orgasm which is the most beautiful and miraculous experience. Do not fill your head with preconceived bad stories and experiences.
Be present in your body, connect to your baby and work together. Meditate during contractions and know that the female body if the most amazing, adaptable and capable body that walks this planet and breathe, let go and enjoy the ride. It is an experience of great inner trust, so trust your body, your baby and your higher self or god to guide you on the way. You innately know what to do. You have prepared for this and you are ready.
Once you hold your baby in your arms you will know, feel and love the miracle of life.
And once the baby is born … Well another story for another time.
Louise Plant is an Entrepreneur, Holistic Nutritionist, Master Herbalist, Life Transformer, Mover and Shaker. She is a motivated, passionate and illuminated speaker, author, facilitator, teacher and healer.
She has been teaching for over 25 years in all aspects of Herbal Medicine, Holistic Living, Nutrition, Spiritual Growth and Emotional Healing.
Her qualifications include Diplomas in Naturopathy, Remedial Therapies, Animal Homeopathy, Honours Diploma is Herbal Medicine, Certificate in Business Management, Bachelors Degree in Natural Science and a Post Grad in Higher Education.
She loves to see the light being turned on inside people, and seeing them ‘light up’ as they reconnect to their bodies and themselves.
Her latest venture is Vitae Amor Seminars, which is a series of seminars that create a safe and nurturing environment for participants to access and release emotional and mental baggage.
