Pregnancy Prep
It truly takes a village! That’s what I’ve learned throughout my fertility and pregnancy journey, so far.
John and I feel so blessed with this gift of a child because we never thought it would be possible — or at least not easy — for us to conceive. We were facing some fertility challenges, along with my age (I’m 36) and PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome).
About 6 months before we got our happy news, I decided to take control of my health in as many ways as possible to best prepare us for pregnancy. Of course, everyone’s fertility journey is so very different, but I feel compelled to share what helped me in hopes that it might also help someone else out there too.
In addition to the support, love, and prayers from our family, I truly believe four key things helped bring our little miracle to us.
4 Key Things I Did To Prepare for Pregnancy:
Acupuncture
After going off of the hormonal IUD, I felt very off (being on it wasn’t great either!). Think bloating, fatigue, migraines, irritability — the works! I decided to get back to acupuncture sessions with Steve Mavros at The Healing Arts Center. Steve is a reproductive health expert, and has helped pioneer the acupuncture for fertility field in Philadelphia. I knew he was the right person for the job!
After about two months of weekly sessions, I started to feel more like myself again and my symptoms lessened. I felt more balanced and ready to start addressing my overall fertility health.
Functional Medicine
Even though I had seen traditional physicians for my reproductive health, fertility, and PCOS, my instinct told me something was missing (or was being missed!). My bloodwork indeed showed some hormonal imbalances that would make it difficult to conceive, but my regular physicians told me the path was to try for six months on our own and then decide what route to pursue from there (IUI, IVF, etc.). While I understood this logic, my intuition told me there was another way. I wanted to figure out the WHY behind my results.
That’s where functional medicine comes in — here, the focus is on identifying the root cause of disease so you get real, lasting results. After a lot of research and consideration, I decided to join The Moday Center, a functional medicine practice in Rittenhouse Square. Dr. Moday and her staff administered several tests beyond the scope of my regular physicians. These tests helped illuminate the root cause of my symptoms and hormonal imbalances — adrenal fatigue.
My adrenal fatigue was not only making me exhausted, but also affecting my hormone levels. For years, I thought I was being my healthiest self by pushing through daily workouts and limiting sugars and carbs, but it ended up being too much for my body to properly function. Dr. Moday’s team helped me implement changes to my routine — taking more rest days, eating more complex carbs and fruits, improving my sleeping environment, switching to cleaner personal and household products, avoiding chemicals and fragrances that taxed my system, and taking a few supplements to boost my body’s natural processes and reduce adrenal stress.
After six months under Dr. Moday’s guidance, I felt more energetic, balanced, and happy. I also gained weight. For transparency, this change had started before I signed on with Dr. Moday, when I decided to stop some migraine and hormonal medications that would no longer be safe if I became pregnant. Also, being 100% real, I struggled A LOT with the thought of gaining weight. Being in sports like gymnastics growing up and continuing in the fitness realm as an adult, I put a lot of pressure on myself to have a certain type of body. With a lot of work, and continued support from my care team, I finally realized that fighting my body’s natural shape for the sake of aesthetics was not worth the hurt it was causing me internally. All my physical efforts were actually making it harder for my body to do its job and keep me healthy — healthy, not simply defined by outward appearances, but truly healthy from the inside out.
Now, I am so grateful for this journey because it helped me understand how important it is to show my body compassion, understanding, and unconditional love. In doing so, I allowed my body to soften and become a mother. As I grow through this pregnancy, I feel so grateful to gain weight, to protect and support my baby, and to love my body in its natural state so my daughter can love hers unconditionally as well.
Prenatal Vitamins
I knew when we started talking about having a family that I would need to decide which prenatal vitamins to take. What I didn’t know was how overwhelming the whole process can be. Thank goodness I discovered BINTO right on time (Tip: it’s recommended to start taking prenatals at least 6 months prior to conception)!
BINTO is a personalized vitamin subscription service founded by Philly’s own Suzie Welsh, a fertility nurse who knows exactly what women need for hormonal and overall health. The BINTO process is simple. Take a short survey about your health and fertility goals, and their team of licensed professionals puts together your own custom supplement plan and delivers them to your door monthly in easy-to-use single packets. Plus, you have access to a BINTO fertility nurse as part of your supplement plan, so no more googling for answers!
With BINTO, I know I am getting the highest quality and most medically sound supplements that are right for my unique body at each different stage of my life.
Get $10 off your own BINTO subscription here!
Natural Cycle Tracking
Since my periods have been irregular most of my life, I have charted my cycle through apps and calendars religiously. This method is great to simply keep track of dates and length of cycles, but it lacks in more detailed and useful information when it comes to family planning.
Before John and I officially started trying, I wanted to get better in tune with my body and understand my cycle more fully. I started wearing the Ava Bracelet every night to track my 5 signals of fertility — skin temperature, resting pulse rate, breathing rate, heart rate variability ratio, and sleep quality.
Fertility tracking methods that rely on only a single parameter, such as the date of your period or your temperature, cannot accurately detect the entire fertile window. By tracking 5 physiological signals of fertility, Ava detects the very first signs that the fertile window is beginning, and confirms when it ends. Basically, it tells you when you have the best chance to conceive.
Having PCOS and hormonal imbalances, I was never really sure before if I had ovulated or not each month. With Ava, I was able to track my data and start to see a pattern confirming that all of my efforts to improve my health were actually working — I was ovulating. After only three months using Ava, we became pregnant!
This is not an ad for Ava, and I don’t have any affiliations with the company, but I do have a coupon code if you feel it would be a good fit for your journey — use this link for $20 off of Ava!
As I said before, everyone’s journey with fertility is completely different, but I truly hope that sharing this information about my own personal path helps light the way for someone else out there who may be struggling with similar things. I’d love to hear from you about your own journey if you feel compelled to share in the comments below.
xo, Melissa
As always, whether pregnant or not, consult your doctor prior to starting any supplements or treatments. By reading this blog, you agree not to use the content as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Please consult your physician before starting any new exercise program or technique, whether pregnant or not. Under no circumstances shall Motion Melissa LLC, any guests or contributors to the blog, or any employees, associates, or affiliates of Motion Melissa LLC be responsible for damages arising from use of this content. Thank you for being here!
