2nd trimester and beyond

3rd trimester and beyond

At the end of your pregnancy journey, to naturally induce labor (please consult with your provider before taking/ using these items)

Pregnancy & Labor Guide

Here is the complete minimalist guide for your pregnancy and labor (just the essentials!)

1st Trimester and Beyond

you just found out that you are expecting, congratulations! What now?

morning sickness: we know it's not just the mornings, for some women it's all day everyday whenever they're stomach is empty. Instead of feeling hungry, we feel nausea. To relief you from nausea, get yourself a bag of ginger candy with vitamin B6 and put some on your bed side table, in your work bag, and the kitchen island/counter for easy grabs. **To lessen your morning sickness, you can also take 1/2 a tablet of unisom before bed at night (consult with your provider before taking). 

staying healthy: from the beginning of your pregnancy, you want to make sure that your baby is getting all the nutrients that he/she needs. I hear you. That is why prenatal multivitamins is a must! Many prenatal vitamins come in giant capsules that make them so hard to swallow. I chose FullWell prenatal vitamin capsules as it offers comprehensive vitamins and minerals in their most bioavailable forms and at the right doses. I also love the gummy version from SmartyPants because they taste great, tolerable if you're battling nausea, and I can take up to 4 gummies a day! It's like having sweet treats every day. All that being said, prenatal vitamins are only supplements, which means you should not rely on them as your main nutrient source. Make sure you are consuming a variety of healthy whole foods for your main source of nutrients.

staying hydrated: during your pregnancy, you need to up your water intake to 8-12 cups a day (64-96 ounces) (ACOG). If you have trouble drinking a lot of water, like me, adding delicious electrolyte powder like Drink LMNT can motivate you to drink more! I personally add 1/2 pack of LMNT to 32 oz of water (higher dilution than product's suggestion), otherwise the water would be too salty for me. This is great for me because I can stretch the use of the product and get more bang for my buck. 

staying active: you don't have to wait until the 3rd trimester to get a pregnancy ball. Start moving your hips, stretching your pelvic muscle, and practicing labor positions. This will help your pelvic to stay flexible and ligament relaxed, which can help ease pregnancy soreness and aches.

2nd Trimester and Beyond

you are hitting your stride. I hope your morning sickness is getting lessen or even better, GONE by now!

combating muscle aches: as your baby is growing, you can feel your belly getting heavier and you probably start to experience some muscle aches and cramps, especially on your lower back and calves. Taking magnesium glycinate (200-400mg/day) before bed can help regulate your body better, including helping your muscles to relax and help you get better night sleep. You can also get magnesium through your skin by having warm bath with Epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) or Magnesium flakes (magnesium chloride) - I prefer magnesium chloride as it is more readily absorbed by the skin.

stay supported: if you are active or your job requires you to move around, lift objects, and frequently squat down like mine did, you might feel the need to have some back and belly support to prevent back pain. The belly band support is very handy at times like this. It just gives you a big supportive hug around your hip area and takes away some of the belly weight. 

3rd Trimester and Beyond

You are getting closer to welcoming your baby into your arms!

nourish your body: now is the time to start prepping your body with the right snacks. You might start craving coconut water and pineapple, like I did, which is great as coconut water is a great electrolyte and pineapple enzymes (bromelain) theoretically helps soften your cervix - listen to your body. I love vitacoco coconut water since it's delicious and original with just a bit of added sugar for an extra boost of energy. 

prepping your uterus: you can tone your uterus muscle naturally by drinking NORA tea (Netlle, Oat straw, Red raspberry leaf, and Alfalfa) up to 3 cups a day OR consuming the Gentle Birth Tincture that contains the same herbs as the tea but at higher concentration. Please consult with your provider beforehand.

goodbye GBS: closer to the end of your pregnancy, you will likely take a GBS (group B-strep) test. This test is done to identify whether you have group B-strep (learn more here). Routinely taking prenatal probiotics with at least 10 billion CFU (along with fermented foods) from the 3rd trimester can help maintain a healthy microbiome in your digestive system and reduce the chances of testing positive for GBS. Make sure to choose one that contains Lactobacillus reuteri (RC-14) and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1. Scientific sources: Menichini et al., 2022, Hansen et al., 2022

39 weeks and beyond

Almost there! any time now. If you are planning to naturally induce yourself, please consult with your provider first before hand.

natural induction: most likely, natural induction methods will only work if your body and your baby are actually ready. Why naturally induce? You might find yourself wanting to naturally induce labor because (A) you are a first time mom (first time moms usually go beyond 40 weeks), you are getting closer to your 40-week guess date, and you don't want to get medically induce OR (B) you are a second/ third time mom and you have a history of getting beyond 40 weeks, so you want to increase your chance of laboring around 40 weeks this time around.

the first thing you can do is to use clary sage essential oil in your diffuser as it is known to promote uterus contraction in some women. You can also insert one primrose oil capsule into your vaginal canal, at or close to the opening of your cervix, before you go to bed at night to potentially promote the softening of the cervix. Primrose oil contains prostaglandin, a compound also found in semen, that helps softens the cervix and triggers the start of labor.

Long story short, my labor started the night I inserted primrose oil capsule. I was a first time mom at 39 weeks and 3 days. My cervix was already soft that night as well, which meant that my body was so close of being ready for labor.

Hopefully this guide helps you in some ways. Email me with any questions (brigittaolson@gmail.com), I got you mama!

God bless,

Brigitta Olson