As humans, we’ve got enormous energy-hungry brains, made up of rare building blocks. How does your pregnant body and the placenta build your baby’s brain from scratch, and what should you eat before, during and after pregnancy to help it be the healthiest? Dr. Theresa Nesbitt has the answers. Check it out.
Listen directly through our website player, or however you usually listen to podcasts.
What we talked about:
- What do your curves have to do with your baby’s brain?
- Building a brain from scratch
- What to eat during pregnancy to give your baby’s brain the best building blocks
- You are not eating for two! Instead, eat well for yourself
- The placenta as your baby’s chef (and you are the pantry!)
- Fats: the good, the bad, and the highly unstable, and which should you have
- Avoiding an inflammatory diet
- PUFAs, Omega-3s and Omega-6s
- What you need to know about DHA, and the foods that have it
- How the placenta and human milk help
- Why human milk is brain-juice
- What you eat will help you avoid a picky eater
- Not just for your baby: improving your fertility
- Bonus: What to do for morning sickness!
Related resources*:
- PUFA: What is it and Why Should it Be Avoided?
- Baby’s Palate And Food Memories Shaped Before Birth, from NPR
- Info on DHA and EPA, from Evolutionary Psychiatry
- Nancy Mohrbacher’s breastfeeding videos
- Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Related Birthful episodes:
- Hormones After Birth, Dr. Jolene Brighten
- Nutrition During Pregnancy, with Amy V. Haas
- Weight Gain & Nutrition, with Genevieve Howland
- Gestational Diabetes, with Lily Nichols
Image courtesy of Theresa Nesbitt
About Dr. Theresa Nesbitt
Dr. Theresa Nesbitt is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist with special training in Maternal Fetal Medicine. Theresa promotes health and wellness for women with a focus on mothers. She has a particular interest in brain growth and development. Dr. Theresa is Director of Family Health Coaching, editor of Babies and Breastfeeding Magazine. She is also co-author (with Nancy Mohrbacher IBCLC, FILCA) of the Natural Breastfeeding Program – The Solution to Successful Start.
Dr. Nesbitt developed an interest in breastfeeding because she observed that although many pregnant women plan to breastfeed, they are not really prepared to do so. Her interest in brain health, nutrition and developmental kinesiology have helped her to look at Breastfeeding and Human milk from a new perspective.
Learn more at her website DrTheresa.com, and at NaturalBreastfeeding.com.
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