Tea Time with Jo |First Trimester Survival Guide

So it happened, you got a positive test…now what? Before you go down the Google rabbit hole, here are some helpful suggestions of what you can do to optimize your wellness during this time. 

Adjust Your Nutrition

A lot of people are not aware that “morning sickness” (which can really be anytime sickness) doesn’t tend to develop until some time between 6-10 weeks. They also don’t realize that you can prevent the nausea and vomiting, to some extent, by adjusting your nutrition. 

The most important suggestion that I can offer is to start releasing the idea of 3 meals a day and opt for smaller meals or snacks every 2-3 hours. The early stages of pregnancy are an extremely metabolically challenging time. Your body is working hard to build things like baby’s muscles, bones and teeth! As fascinating as that is, it takes a lot to keep your body fueled for this task AND keep up with your daily demands. Rapid crashes in your blood sugar, from going too much time without eating, are largely responsible for the nausea. 

This can be improved upon by eating something nutritious every couple of hours, with emphasis on protein and healthy fats, in order to sustain you. Since you may go for several hours without eating at night, it is often recommended to keep snacks by the bed side so that you may eat something as soon as you wake. Even if you get up to use the bathroom during the night, it is not a bad idea to have a handful of something before going back to bed. 

I should also mention that you may not feel hungry or like your appetite has changed at all; and that is completely normal. We are used to certain cues that tell us when we need to eat but all of that changes with pregnancy. Often times, nausea is the new cue, and by the time that develops, you don’t really feel like eating, and the lack of eating gives you more nausea, and the cycle continues. Thwart the craziness by eating smaller, more frequent meals as soon as you know that you are pregnant. 

Learn to Embrace Rest

The desire to nap may be real! Again, making another human is exhausting work. It is a good idea to start scheduling breaks throughout the day, and even nap times. This means actually taking a lunch break rather than just eating at your desk or working straight through the day. If possible, push back your start time at work so that you can get a bit more rest in the event of a night disturbed by multiple trips to the bathroom or other discomforts. This also applies to adapting your exercise routine. During the first trimester, it is imperative to allow your body to prioritize its resources for the pregnancy rather than recovery from a workout. While some light to moderate exercise may be totally ok for some, others will struggle just to get out of bed. There is often too much societal pressure to maintain a certain exercise routine in order to not “gain too much weight” or “grow a big belly” and these ideas are completely erroneous. How much weight you put on or how big your belly gets is largely tied to genetics. Getting enough rest allows the body to recharge and this can make a tremendous difference in how you feel, not to mention, you can get back to your exercise routine once you enter the second trimester and your energy stabilizes. 

Release Food Guilt

It is common place in my practice to ask patients to reduce or eliminate inflammatory foods in the process of TTC. However, it is possible that you can only stomach eating raw salads, string cheese or bread/crackers (dairy or gluten containing foods) during the first trimester…and that is ok! It is far more important for you to eat than it is to go hungry because the only option you had was something you had considered “off limits” until this point. Go ahead and eat your toast without guilt. It will probably help to settle your stomach and you will feel much better. It is also ok if that only water that you can drink is iced water. Again, it is much more important for you to stay hydrated. 

It is also worth noting that there are so many dietary restrictions placed on pregnant folks in the U.S. that would be considered absolutely ridiculous in other countries. Coastal countries and island nations don’t restrict fish during pregnancy because it might be the most available source of animal protein and fats. While no one wants to be exposed to listeria, salmonella, or other food borne bacteria, things like “eating too many mushrooms” should be taken with a grain of salt. What is “too many” varies from person to person. 

In other cases, someone doesn’t realize that they are pregnant until they are 6-7 weeks in and start to worry that the cocktails they had last weekend, or the extra glass of wine they had with dinner, is going to harm the baby. Take a deep breath! Placenta develops around 8 weeks, until then, the baby is getting it’s nourishment from your uterine lining which does not transfer any significant amount of alcohol. 

Schedule your OB/Midwife Appointments

Once you have a positive at-home test, you can schedule an appointment with your OB or Midwife to begin prenatal care. Most OB’s offices will offer to schedule the first appointment between 8 & 10 weeks. The initial appointment is just a “confirmation” appointment in which they have you do a urine test in the office to confirm pregnancy. The first ultrasounds are usually scheduled after that. There are certainly offices that will do ultrasounds sooner but it is typically best to wait until at least 6 weeks (calculated from your last period). This is the time the heartbeat often develops. Having an ultrasound too soon will require you having to go back to confirm the heartbeat and the wait can be agonizing for some parents. 

If you would like to have some kind of monitoring to see how things are progressing, you can always ask your provider about doing Beta HCG blood work every 48 hours for 3 consecutive tests, in order to see that your HCG (pregnancy hormone) levels are rising appropriately for a healthy pregnancy. 

Schedule Your Acupuncture Treatments

Acupuncture by a qualified practitioner is extremely safe and has tons of benefits. I like to see my patients weekly during the first trimester. This allows us to work on any symptoms that may develop, including nausea and vomiting, fatigue, changes in bowel regularity, insomnia, etc. Treatments can also be done to prevent miscarriage. I know, I know…this is a scandalous thing to say. Most Western medicine practitioners will argue that miscarriages come as a result of chromosomal abnormalities but here’s the thing…embryos do a lot of self repair in-utero. You read that right, embryos are capable of repairing certain chromosomal abnormalities; however, they need the right conditions to do so. Acupuncture can increase the blood flow into the reproductive organs which brings more resources into the uterus for the embryo to thrive. 

Threatened Miscarriage, also known as bleeding prior to 20 weeks for gestation, can also be treated. Acupuncture and Moxa are very often combined to help stop the bleeding and promote more warmth and circulation to support the pregnancy. 

Hire a Doula

So many expecting individuals and couples have lots of questions regarding their pregnancy wellness, the labor/birthing process as well as postpartum. A Doula is trained to offer a great deal of perinatal support and childbirth education. There are so many things that happen during a hospital birth that most people are unaware that they can request (such as delayed cord clamping and cutting) or that they can deny (such as repeated cervical checks). Even if you feel like you don’t need a Doula present for the birth, the amount of education they can provide is priceless and absolutely worth the investment, in my opinion.

Consider Other Holistic Services

There are lots of specialties that can ease the discomforts of pregnancy. Some of my favorites include Prenatal Bodywork and Prenatal Chiropractic care. Your Acupuncturist and/or Doula can be a great source to get referrals to trusted practitioners in your area. 

While these recommendations are just the tip of the iceberg, I hope that they will help you get through the first 12 weeks.