Immune Boosters That Are Safe During Pregnancy

In the midst of cold & flu season, keeping our immune systems strong is at the forefront of all of our minds. But when you’re pregnant, it can be tricky to know what immune boosters are safe to use.

Luckily, there are a few natural immune boosters that are pregnancy-safe. Here are four immune boosters that will help you to strengthen your body’s ability to fight off seasonal sickness:


1. SPEARMINT
It’s safe to use throughout your pregnancy (and with your kids), and makes for a great soothing tea. Our favorite way to get a regular dose of spearmint is by drinking it as a tea. Spearmint teas can be found at your local grocery or drugstore.

2. VITAMIN D3/K2
During the winter months, our bodies normally don’t get enough D3 from sunlight (especially in the midwest). It’s important to make sure that your body is getting at least 6,400 IU of D3 per day. This will help to prevent gestational diabetes, hypertension, colds, and the flu. Breastfeeding moms who take this amount don’t need to give their baby additional vitamin D drops, as the vitamin D will go through the breastmilk.

3. MUSHROOMS
Mushrooms contain strong antioxidants and nutrients that have proven immunological properties. We recommend incorporating reishi, maitake, and shitake mushrooms into your diet. Add them into a stir fry, roast, or saute them and eat them as a side dish.

If mushrooms aren’t your cup of tea, you can take capsules of reishi, maitake, and shitake blends as an alternative.

4. ZINC
This is an essential mineral often found in seafood, pumpkin seeds, and organ meats. We recommend eating seafood or supplementing it with grass-fed beef liver capsules during your pregnancy. 

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For more prenatal and postpartum nutrition tips, connect with us on Instagram at @cincinnati.birth.center. To learn how to prevent high blood pressure during pregnancy, read our recent blog post. 

Post Zombie Apocalypse Pregnancy: Here's What you Need to Know

So you find yourself pregnant in a post-zombie apocalypse world.. What can you do to keep you and your baby healthy?

Having a healthy pregnancy post-zombie apocalypse can be a challenge. We’ve summarized a list of tips from some experts.

1. “Any water is better than no water. Any filter is better than no filter. A filter that takes out heavy metals and bigger toxins is better than one that only takes out heavy metals. A filter that takes out all of that and hormones is better than one that does not.” We recommend the Berkey filter https://www.berkeyfilters.com/ -April Kline, midwife, author of Small Changes, Profound Results

2. “Get yourself in community. Anytime you experience multiple major life events in one year (moving, losing a job, starting a new romance, losing a relative, having a baby), it puts you at greater risk for depression and anxiety. Since everyone has been affected by this, be gentle with yourself and realize you are under a tremendous amount of stress. But if there’s anything good that’s come from this, I can say Americans finally get how important it is to have a tribe and receive support. Before the apocalypse, many Americans really struggled to find the support they needed and I’m thankful to say that’s not the case anymore.” -Meghan Nowland, midwife

3. “Emphasize protein foods, especially fresh fish and wild game. Eat the organs such as heart and liver, these will provide you with essential nutrients, iron and b vitamins, that may be lacking in your diet. Try to avoid a diet based on canned foods.” -Association of Nutrition Experts Post-Apocalypse (ANEPA)

4. “Forage for dark leafy greens. Thankfully, dandelion greens, nettles are plentiful in our post-apocalyptic world, are high in iron, and support your liver. Red raspberry leaves, mint, and strawberry leaves can be harvested and brewed into a nourishing prenatal tea. Oregano and garlic are go-to antiviral, antifungal, antiparasitic herbs.” -Herbalists After Apocalypse Heal (HAAH)

5. “Really listen to your body. Remember, you know what’s best for you and your baby. Having a baby post-apocalypse may not be ideal, but remember, your body was made to do this! People have been having babies outside of the hospital for thousands of years. Harness strength from your ancestors” - A local Priestess and healer

6. “Find time for yourself. You likely spend most of your time doing things to survive, such as hunting, cleaning your gear, and keeping your feet dry. Take a minute or two each day to meditate and ground yourself. Find a tree to hug. Focus on your breathing. Tune into your pregnancy and talk to your baby. This will really help you carry your baby to term” -Guide and former yoga instructor

7. “The baby is born, the placenta is born, the milk comes in, and the sun rises in the east.” -Linda Smith, breastfeeding expert. In other words, you’ve got this!

Younger people imagine what this building would have looked like before. Maybe it was an important area of commerce? Perhaps a marketplace or center of community?

The Only 3 Essential Oils you Need

Lavender, lemon, and frankincense essential oils, the only three essential oils you need.

1. Lemon or other citrus oil (tangerine, bergamot, grapefruit, or sweet orange).

   Citrus oils are safe during pregnancy and for children over 3 months. Citrus oils are uplifting. Lemon is a great choice for nausea, or an afternoon pick-me-up. Lemon essential oil can be used to clean and removes odors. It can be added to oil to polish furniture or mixed with water and sprayed to remove bad odors.

   The main caution with citrus oils is that they are photosensitive, which means if you wear them on your skin, they will increase your chances of becoming sunburned.

2. Lavender for letting go.

   You open up a bottle of lavender, smell it, and go “Ahhhh” It’s perfect to calm anxiety and soothe nerves.

   Lavender was the first essential oil to be studied for it’s medicinal benefits. Lavender promotes relaxation and is wonderful on a cotton ball inside a pillow to aid sleep. Lavender soothes burns. It is safe for children but can cause uterine contractions, so is not to be used during pregnancy until after 37 weeks gestation.

   During labor, lavender promotes a feeling of calm and encourages progress in a gentle way.

3. Frankincense

   Of course frankincense always reminds us of the three wise men in the Christmas story. Frankincense has been used for hundreds of years in Ethiopia. Ethiopians use the frankincense sap to fill their homes with a beautiful smoky aroma during their traditional coffee ritual. They also use the smoke of the sap to flavor their butter.

   Frankincense is very safe for children and during pregnancy. It is anti-aging, promotes skin integrity, and has been shown to shrink multiple types of cancer, including pancreatic, and skin.

   Frankincense can be blended with oils or salves and applied to the skin. I think of it as an oil that creates sacred spaces.

   How do you use essential oils? Do you have two or three go-tos?