Last October, my partner and I got really serious about having a baby. We began to explore what those timelines would look like for us and what steps we could take to ensure healthy ovum and sperm! Having this conversation sent me on a high that I have been riding since!
There are a few major factors when preparing for preconception (aka the 6 months - 3 years prior to conceiving a child) that need to be looked at. Proper nourishment, reducing toxins in your environment, intimately knowing your menstrual/ovulation cycle, and reducing stressors. I will cover these more in a future blog post!
The books below have to do with nourishment on all levels, especially this first book.
You may know this author from The First 40 Days, The Essential Art of Nourishing the New Mother that came out a few years ago. This book did not disappoint!
Heng Ou shares from a Traditional Chinese Medicine approach of viewing fertility which I loved dearly. One piece that really stuck with me was that women in eastern cultures are honoring their fertility and essentially preparing for pregnancy from the moment of their first menses. This includes the foods they eat and how to tend for their menstrual cycles.
What we see so often in the west is women who are on hormonal contraceptives for many years and then assume they can come off these synthetic hormones and get pregnant whenever they would like. What we need to do is prepare for pregnancy, nourish our bodies and menstrual/ovulation cycles, and know that we need to have time now boost any depleted vitamins and minerals from said hormonal contraceptions.
The idea here is that there is a conscious awareness that takes place in order to support your overall fertility and Awakening Fertility shows us the steps on how to get there, including fertility supporting recipes!
If you've been with me a while you know that a lot of my focus around food has to do with ancestral nourishment and this book shares how and why, with some pretty interesting studies accompanied by it throughout the chapters.
The first few chapters outline the important foods to be incorporating into your diet and also mentions Cod Liver Oil as a very important was of getting naturally occurring retinol (absorbable Vitamin A) and Vitamin D into the body.
I appreciate the approach Sally Fallon Morell uses to teach the reader about animal based foods to support a mother before conception, during pregnancy and the rest of the book is how to support baby and child!
If you have never read any of the Nourishing Traditions books I highly recommend adding to your reading list for overall holistic, ancestral health and well-being!
Book 3) Real Food for Pregnancy, The Science and Wisdom of Optimal Prenatal Nutrition by Lily Nichols
Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist who delivers evidence based prenatal nutrition. She offers both the science and common explanations of why eating real foods such as meats, animal fats, dairy and more are highly beneficial in preconception and throughout pregnancy and covers some information on postpartum as well. Don't wait until you're pregnant to read this book as you'll want to know why these foods support you all along the way beforehand!
I loved learning how these real foods support our baby's crucial growth timelines in the womb.
She also shares recipes and meal plans with different dietary options given. She touches base on supplements and what to look for when searching for those which I thought was very helpful as there are a lot of "filler" prenatal supplements out there.
The last piece I enjoyed was the chapter on toxins that can be found in the home to eliminate and what to use instead.
I hope you find these three must read books as helpful as I have along my preconception journey.
If you're desiring more tools, interviews from experts, nutritionists, menstrual cycle educators, postpartum doulas, and more pertaining to the birthing continuum I invite you to the Ways of the Wise Woman, part of the 3rd annual Conscious Up-level Summit. Use code - moonriseritual - to receive $44 off the entire summit.
The Ways of the Wise Woman summit includes 23 speaker interviews with lifetime access to the videos and an additional 30+ freebies and downloadable content that our speakers shared as bonus material for your education!
With lots of love to you along your journey,
XO, Brēta
*This blog may include affiliate links. If you purchase these books through the links provided I may be compensated for your purchase. Thank you for your support!