There is a certain way women need to eat if they want to avoid preeclampsia. Eating well is just one of their many "jobs" while pregnant. Most women are eating the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) every day and are ending up with problems at the latter end of their pregnancies that could have been avoided by good nutrition. In my career as a birth doula, the issue mothers most frequently come up against without fantastic nutrition in their pregnancy is an induction because of preeclampsia. This, then, becomes the introduction to a cascade of interventions and parents feeling out of control with their situation. Unfortunately it seems our care providers don’t always give us the information and support we need to make good eating/baby making decisions. I feel blessed to have had amazing support and guidance that have given me the tools to further my own education to benefit others.

 Consume up to 100 grams of protein (boiled eggs, nut butters, nitrite free deli meat, and liver are a few examples)

 Consume 3 servings of healthy fats (along with an Omega 3 fish oil supplement) such as: ¼ avocado, 1T nut butter, or 1T real butter (NOT margarine!)

 Consume unlimited amounts of salt such as soy sauce, celtic sea salt and kelp powder ( easy to add to smoothies, pasta, etc)

 Consume 2 servings of dark, leafy vegetables

Because I have given birth twice, I can attest to eating well not just during pregnancy, but during child bearing years, period. I attribute my eight and nine pound babies (and my healthy forty pound weight gain on my 5’3" frame) not to luck but to what I ate and the kind of self-care I took while pregnant. This diet is also extremely important postpartum as you need the same support while breastfeeding your baby. Breastfeeding is not the time to skimp out on calories even though we need to realize that we’re losing 300-500 calories per day from the task of breastfeeding, we still need to support our nutrition as if we are still pregnant. I can attest to the importance of good nutrition and high fats as in my ninth postpartum month with my second, the baby began waking at night and staying up all night. I’m not a good napper, so I didn’t catch up on sleep in the afternoon. This went on for four months and I always thought the next day would be the day she’d sleep, right? No. Four months later I really felt like something was awry, and as it turned out, I had lost fourteen pounds of muscle weight. I was shocked to say the least, and it was a great lesson in practicing what I preach and not letting my own fatigue in my own situation get the best of me.