Posted on by paulette_kamenecka

Episode 14 SN: Help! This Pregnancy Has Taken Over my Body: Alasen

Today’s guest stepped into her first pregnancy relatively easily,getting pregnant within a few months of trying…… and that was the last easy thing she experienced.  She describes herself as someone who is “not a pregnancy unicorn”.  She had body image issues while pregnant, felt nauseous, swollen and was generally physically uncomfortable for most of the pregnancy. And then postpartum recovery was even more challenging. A hormonal imbalance caused a too dramatic weight loss, she was visited by postpartum depression and anxiety, and a baby who wasn’t particularly interested in sleeping through the night added to her ‘non-unicorn’ status. In an effort to dig herself out of a hole, she started researching nutrition and found a much better way forward for the second pregnancy, and ultimately for life.  I learned a lot talking to my guest today and hopefully you will too. You can find her at https://thenutritiondoula.com/ and in Instagram @thenutritiondoula

Body dysmorphia

https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/body-image-and-mental-health/pregnancy-and-body-image

What it Feels Like to Have Body Dysmorphia

Adrenaline in labor

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1207/S15327558IJBM0801_04

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S152169342030033X

https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/changing/uncontrollable-shaking-during-labor-and-pregnancy-hormones/

Diet and depression

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/diet-and-depression-2018022213309

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318428#antioxidants

https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article/79/3/247/5843529?login=true

Audio Transcript

Paulette: Hi, welcome to war stories from the womb. I’m your host Paulette kamenecka Today’s guest first steped into pregnancy, relatively easily getting pregnant within a few months of trial. And that was the last easy thing, she experienced. She describes herself as someone who is as I quote, not a pregnancy unicorn. She had body image issues while pregnant, felt nauseous for a large chunk of the pregnancy and physically uncomfortable, then postpartum recovery was even more challenging. In an effort to dig herself out of a hole, she started researching nutrition and found a much better way forward for the second pregnancy, and ultimately for her life. I learned a lot, talking to my guest today and hopefully you will too. I’ve paused our conversation in places to add medical details and to include the insights of a thoughtful OB.

Let’s get to the story.

Paulette: Hi, welcome to war stories from the womb. I’m your host Paulette kamenecka Today’s guest first steped into pregnancy, relatively easily getting pregnant within a few months of trial. And that was the last easy thing, she experienced. She describes herself as someone who is as I quote, not a pregnancy unicorn. She had body image issues while pregnant, felt nauseous for a large chunk of the pregnancy and physically uncomfortable, then postpartum recovery was even more challenging. In an effort to dig herself out of a hole, she started researching nutrition and found a much better way forward for the second pregnancy, and ultimately for her life. I learned a lot, talking to my guest today and hopefully you will too. I’ve paused our conversation in places to add medical details and to include the insights of a thoughtful OB. Let’s get to the story.