Preparing for a family

Now even though I am not planning to have babies any time soon, I am aware that I want my body to be in the best possible position when the time comes…and that takes time.

I have always known that I’ve wanted to have a family, but what I hadn’t known was that so much of how I was living my life was disrupting my hormones, filling my body with toxins and silently affecting my fertility without me even realising.

Sounds dramatic doesn’t it! But like most people I thought I had been doing everything right. I don’t smoke, barely drink and have never taken drugs, so what could I possibly be doing to my body to be causing so much unknown damage.

Turning 30 saw me looking more into my health and wellbeing as well as looking towards the future as well. I was reading more articles than ever and after many discussions, decided to make the plunge and concentrate on my wellbeing and a lower tox lifestyle

So here are a few things that I am doing to prepare my body and mind for when the time comes to expand our family.

1. Changed our cleaning products to more natural alternatives. This was probably the easiest changes but one of the most instantly effective changes I implemented. Our skin is our largest organ and is constantly absorbing what it comes in contact with, whether it be your clothes that have been washed in a fraganced filled laundry detergent. As soon as we changed our laundry liquid I noticed a few things, first being that my arms were no longer breaking out in rashes constantly, and secondly that our clothes/ towels/etc were softer after being washed. I no longer have to worry about our hands absorbing the household clearner whilst cleaning the house. But not only that I never have to worry about inhaling the chemicals in the shower when cleaning it (no more headaches for me!) and no more contact dermatitis from washing the dishes.

2. Hormonal Support. This is something I had never even considered as something I needed, but the more I researched the more I discovered that through my perfume, lotions & beauty products I had been covering my body in endocrine disruptors.

The endocrine system looks after our respiration, metabolism, reproduction, sensory perception, movement, sexual development & growth.

3. Pelvic Floor. I personally have a really weak pelvic floor but have never really done too much about it as it doesn't affect my day to day life. However, whenever you speak to anyone about pregnancy they tell you how important your pelvic floor is. Pelvic floor exercises can be a bit of a funny thing as there is no real way to know if you are doing it correctly at home. There are a number of specialists that you can go see now and most physiotherapists will either have a dedicated person to see about pelvic floor or be able to help create a plan to help you. While this has been abit of a taboo topic to talk about over the years, I feel it is a really important thing to discuss and to learn how to strengthen without feeling self conscious.

4. Being kind to my body. This doesn't sound like an important thing to work on but I disagree. Being kind to my body is more than just accepting it, it is about nourishing my body, my mind and understanding it. While I am working hard to physically get my body prepared it is also important to me to prepare my mind as well. I am naturally a stress head, I over think everything. But stress can have long lasting side affects if not delt with in a timely manner.

Our bodies are not made to stay in a hightened state of stress for prolonged periods of time, it can increase your risk of stroke, hypertension, fertility issues, diabetes & a weakened immune system.

So I am taking the time to learn how to properly relax & meditate, as well as learning how to recognise the early signs of stress and devloping coping mechanisms to put in place to stop it becoming a prolonged issue.

Of course these are all small things and do not by any means guarantee that we will be able to have a family, but it does help get my body & mind as healthy as possible.