Pregnant and tired?
Growing a tiny human is tough work. Let alone if it is baby number 2 or 3 and as you are chasing other toddlers, plus working and general day to day life. It is quite common in the first trimester to be very tired. Generally this eases, along with morning sickness as you start trimester 2. Around 28 weeks your midwife or obstetrician will order some blood tests to test your ferritin/iron stores, along with other things. This is because at 28 weeks your baby draws the most iron from you, leaving you tired and depleted.
How to avoid being depleted and tired
In order for your baby to grow, they take from your stores of what they need. So to best support your pregnancy, a healthy diet with vegetables, fruit and meat is ideal. If you suffer from morning sickness, it is about survival and eating ‘carbs’ to try combat nausea. Then where you can, adding in healthy meals. Trimester 2 you can start to focus more delicious salads, full of vegetables and trying to eat a rainbow aka a variety of different coloured vegetables.
If you suffer from brain fog, make sure you are eating a good amount of omegas, as they are great for brain function. Fresh fish is a great option for dinner to get some good omega into your diet.
Iron Supplements
Be very careful with iron supplements, especially if you already suffer from constipation. The typical iron supplement your midwife or obstetrician might prescribe often causes constipation and black stools. I work closely with Jessica from Wellness by Jessica, a very knowledgable holistic nutritionist, who recommends Eagle Haemo-Red Plus. These are an iron supplement that does not cause constipation, well tolerated by your bowels and helps to improve your iron levels. These are practitioner only supplements that both Jessica and I stock.
Another Eagle supplement we both swear by, is the Tresos-natal by Eagle. This pregnancy supplement is far better than some of the common pregnancy multivitamins pregnant women take. This is mostly due to the methyl folate in it. Methyl folate is absorbed by everyone, where folic acid is not absorbed by everyone. So you may be taking pregnancy multivitamin but not getting the nutritional benefit.
Always ask your health professional about supplements and what is right for you.
To purchase Tresos Natal by Eagle, send us a message!
Sarah is a pregnancy osteopath, based on the North shore, Auckland. Book online to make an appointment.