TWM, Sept 2024

How your gut health during pregnancy impacts your baby's gut health outside of the womb.

Hey mama friend!

I hope you're having a swell week so far.

Whether you are currently pregnant, looking to be pregnant soon or have a little bub, this is for you!

Do you know that your gut health during pregnancy (and even preconception might I add) impacts your baby's gut health outside of the womb?

Before I get into the research and practicalities of looking after both your and your baby's gut health, let me tell you a story.

Story time...

If you're new around here, you might not know that my eldest two kids suffer from allergies, eczema and asthma. While some of this is hereditary, it's interesting to know that I didn't do much intentional preconception and pregnancy care for either of my girls.

However, by the time my third baby came around, I knew what I had to do to minimise the risk of him developing allergies etc.

And guess what?! My third baby has no known allergies, eczema or asthma to this day!! Coincidence? Could be. But I really think it comes down to how I looked after my gut health during my pregnancy with him compared to the little knowledge about gut health I had with my first two pregnancies.

I often mention this story, because as a mum of two kids with severe allergies, eczema and asthma, it fuels my passion to educate and empower other mamas with real nourishment education for them and their bubbas.

How can you look after your gut during pregnancy?

I believe that gut health should be a priority about a year before you conceive. But, I'll be the first to say, 'planning' for a baby isn't always the way it goes. So, have no fear! Here are some ways you can look after your gut during pregnancy:

Eating probiotic-rich foods: probiotics help to diversify and populate your gut (or microbiome) with good bacteria. Studies have shown that when a pregnant woman consumes fermented food or takes a high quality probiotic supplement on the regular, it supports her baby's gut in the womb and reduces the risk of allergies, eczema, thrush and asthma.

Sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kefir, plain yoghurt, kimchi, traditionally fermented pickles are some great fermented foods to eat.
(Check out my probiotic recommendation for pregnancy/breastfeeding).

2. Eating a range of prebiotics: also known as 'oligosaccharides', act as food that feed the microflora in your gut, improving the balance of bacteria in your gut. Some examples of prebiotic foods are: bananas, greens, onions, garlic and whole grains.

3. Minimising highly processed, sugary foods: these foods like biscuits, chips, lollies, chocolate etc., add to the bad bacteria in your gut, causing an imbalance. If you are eating mostly processed foods, then this can cause great disruption to your digestive system and a negative outcome to your overall health. During pregnancy, you might experience thrush or test positive for GBS, because of the bad bacteria in your gut.

Have no fear! If you are following the first two steps (eating probiotic/prebiotic foods), then that's great. Your next step is now to minimise the food that provides bad bacteria in your gut (note that I said 'minimise', not totally cut out).

How can you look after your baby's gut post birth?

If you have a baby and are thinking, 'oh no, I didn't know any of this during my pregnancy!', then don't fear. You can reverse the effects and start taking care of your baby's gut now!

Here are three things you can implement TODAY:

Breastfeed them! Sounds pretty simple if you're already doing it, but breastmilk already contains prebiotics (200 different types to be exact) and a whole bunch of other important nutrients for their growth and health. If you're not breastfeeding, that's okay. Follow the next step.
Give them an infant-friendly probiotic powder: you can brush it on your nipple for baby to suck on or put a little in their formula. Most formulas don't contain probiotics, so this is a great way to start incorporating them into your baby's diet. (Check out my infant probiotic recommendation here).
Introduce your baby to allergenic foods in their first year of life and follow a specific timeline (you can find my 'Introducing solids to Babies Checklist' below). When you introduce the top 9 allergenic foods to your baby earlier than later, they are much more likely to tolerate said foods.

Starting Solids Checklist.pdf

If you want to know more about how to support your pregnancy, I dive into this, plus birth nourishment in my book Your Holistic Guide to Pregnancy Nutrition.