We are often asked if Probiotics Foods are safe to consume for during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The answer is a resounding yes, in fact, there is no better time than during motherhood to ensure your gut has a healthy complement of active, viable bacteria.
The basis of all life is bacteria. Nothing lives without it and nothing will survive if it doesn’t have a full complement of essential bacteria. So during pregnancy, it’s essential for the expecting mother to have a good immune system with a full complement of bacteria (probiotics).
In the womb, the baby’s gut has no bacteria and no immune system, it relies totally on the mother’s good bacteria. The newborn baby is introduced to its own bacteria in the birth canal and the quality of the bacteria it receives can only be as good as what is in the mother’s gut. This includes the immune system, of which 80% is in the gut.
Therefore, if the mother has compromised probiotics, then so too will the baby. One can then ask the question:
Could the rise in children’s disease and illness be associated with compromised bacteria?
We know that antibiotics kill good bacteria and we know that after a course of antibiotics there is a far higher risk of becoming ill, and there are many other examples, so it stands to reason that compromised probiotics is a leading cause of illness.
It is also important to realise that if a newborn baby gets its life support and immune system from the birth canal and it is then enhanced by breast milk, a caesarean birth bypasses the birth canal. So in these cases, it is extremely important for the mother to have lots of good probiotics in her breast milk.
We believe healthy pregnant mothers have healthy babies.
Fertility Health Starts in the Gut
The subject of fertility is on the rise. The official birth rate in Australia has fallen to the lowest level in ten years to 1.77 children per woman.
Couples are struggling with fertility, with an alarming 1 in 6 couples unable to have a child, even after a year of trying. As the Gut Man, Don Chisholm, international keynote speaker and best-selling author says, the signs are clear.
Healthy gut bacteria is the first line of defence and the starting point to heal the gut. We cannot even begin to heal fertility issues if there is a lack of healthy gut flora.
Healthy bacteria is the basis of healthy fertility. Beneficial bacteria in the gut helps to digest and utilise nutrients from food, helping to heal and seal the gut, also creating B group vitamins—all critical for optimal fertility. The good bacteria will help prevent infection and train the immune system to combat bad bacteria.
For many women, their microbes are missing in action, compromising fertility and below are some of the main reasons why.
High stress
Stress creates inflammation both at the gut and systemic level. High levels of cortisol can wipe out good bacteria and has a profound impact on all hormones especially progesterone essential for fertilisation, implantation, and the continuation of pregnancy. You may even have met women who have struggled to get pregnant, but when they step out of a highly stressful job, conception can happen naturally. Or when a woman who is desperate to have a child gives up trying and is surprised when she becomes pregnant.
Inflammatory related fertility issues
Intestinal inflammation from a diet high in sugars, processed carbs and damaged fats alters the balance of good and bad bacteria. This is not only implicated in ‘diabesity‘ and heart disease but also PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), endometriosis and fibroids. Many women have been told by their doctors they would never be able to conceive because of these inflammatory conditions. But once they start a program of organic whole foods, plus fermented foods with anti inflammatory nutrients and other lifestyle changes, many have found their conditions reversed and conception was possible.
Infections
Good bacteria act as a physical barrier to shield the gut wall from pathogens, literally ‘taking up all the space’ so that bad bacteria can’t colonise and cause infections. Compromised gut bacteria, on the other hand, can lead to chronic yeast infections/candida, bacterial vaginosis, chlamydia and other sexually transmitted diseases that can affect fertility and pregnancy outcomes.
Nutritional deficiencies and digestive issues
Healthy eggs and sperm need good quality raw materials from your diet. If your diet is not optimal, or you have any food sensitivities, IBS, or other digestive issues you are not getting enough raw materials to make healthy eggs.
Eat fermented foods daily
Probiotic Foods are nutrient rich certified organic whole foods, predigested to allow the body to access the vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Containing fermented spirulina and a variety of other fermented greens, and vegetables, it is a source of whole food B vitamins and other nutrients recommended for optimal pregnancy. Essential for both parents. Taking Probiotic Foods on a daily basis supports healthy bacterial growth in the gut, as well as the vagina. A good vaginal pH encourages optimal cervical mucus for conception.