Pregnancy is like a marathon more than a sprint. You need to prepare yourself physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually for birth and the next chapter in your life. I wanted to share my 11 tips for a healthy pregnancy that have helped me through the challenges and changes in my body.

1. Give Up Vices

I have always visualized the kind of person I wanted to be and often my vices got in the way. The beautiful part about being pregnant is that you have to let go of a lot of those negative things in your life. Suddenly, it’s not just destroying your own body, now you have to think of the health of your baby. That’s what motivated me to go on an extreme health kick throughout my pregnancy.

Immediately I was forced to give up drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Smoking is something I’ve struggled with and quit on and off–usually going back to it in the summer. I had just started again two months before I found out I was pregnant.

Pregnancy motivates you to be the healthiest you can be. What vice do you need to cut out of your life?

2. Indulge A Little

However–I do allow myself 1-2 small cups of coffee a day. I don’t want to ban everything from my diet–so my coffee in the morning is a real treat. Sometimes I make a day of it and go for a coffee or tea with a girl friend. I cherish my almond milk latte when I can make it out of the house. If I’m over my caffeine limit for the day, I make the switch to tea or hot chocolate which is just as much a treat!

3. Eat Organic

One of my goals, as a vegetarian, was to only eat organic. Now, my diet is about 90 per cent organic. I do most of my shopping at The Big Carrot because they have the best produce. I also shop at Fresh From The Farm, a market offering drug- & hormone-free meats and dairy, eggs, plus produce & pies, from local Amish & Mennonite farms.

So far, my growing baby has only had primarily organic foods and I want to keep it that way. I want to raise my child vegetarian because I believe it is the key to good health.

4. Juice!

I’m a big fan of juicing and have taken it upon myself to make fresh juice daily throughout my pregnancy. Unpasturized juice is one of the items that pregnant women are told to avoid–but I disagree. As long as you are making your own fresh juice and are getting quality produce, your risk of contracting a bacterial infection is minimal. I am now 33 weeks pregnant and still waiting tables, though I’ve noticed a little swelling in my hands and ankles, my feet have not been swollen. I attribute this to fresh cucumber juice and turmeric–both beneficial for sore muscles and inflammation.

For morning sickness I recommend this juice recipe. It really saved me the first few months.

Morning Sickness Juice Recipe

Celery – 2 stalks

Apple – 2 apples

Ginger – small piece of ginger

Lemon – 1/4 – 1/2 lemon depending on how sour you like it

For boosting your iron (an important element to pregnancy, as you’re producing 2x the blood) I recommend a beet juice. For daily, I prefer a green juice with Dandelion, Kale and Parsley (also great for iron and detoxing as well. I add apple, cucumber, celery, lemon, ginger, turmeric and anything else I have on hand. I added kiwi’s the other day, another green superfood, and it tasted fantastic.

5. Prenatal Yoga

Yoga has always been a big part of my life and I’ve continued my yoga practice all the way through my pregnancy. I was going to Moksha Yoga Danforth for their Yin class twice a week up until seven months. The weather started getting bad and my belly was getting big so I’ve continued my practice on my own at home. YouTube is a great free resource for prenatal videos. I’ve also been using the Gaia app. It’s essentially the Netflix of spiritual enlightenment videos and they have a lot of yoga and prenatal yoga as well. Gaia offers a relatively reasonable monthly subscription just like Netflix.

Yoga has helped me maintain mobility in my hips and overall keeping me strong in preparation for birth. I incorporate a lot of meditation as well and connecting to my baby within. I think having that time for stillness–especially during pregnancy–is really important to peace of mind. You can’t go into labor when you’re fearful, so allowing yourself to relax and putting yourself in a positive mind-frame will help in late pregnancy.

6. Naturopathic Medicine

The main thing that has really helped me throughout my pregnancy are my visits to my naturopath. I’ve been going monthly for acupuncture and receiving my injection of B12 vitamins to keep my energy levels high and my stress levels low. I would say my naturopath, more than my midwives, has really been the sole saviour for all my strange pregnancy symptoms. She prescribes homeopathic remedies and vitamins that I find really help. Everyone should see a naturopath, but especially pregnant women.

7. Acupuncture

Acupuncture helps to regulate the organs and this is crucial when it comes time to give birth. My naturopath recommends that I go weekly for the last six weeks before birth to get my body in sync, but generally labor prep with acupuncture begins at 36 weeks. Apparently, it helps with the pain as well. The more in sync your body is, the more balanced your organs will be and can reduce the time you are in labor.

I recently discovered ToCA, Toronto Community Acupuncture and like it sounds, it’s a communal acupuncture studio. You walk into the studio, located at 27 Davies Avenue, and must whisper to avoid disrupting clients already in treatment. It’s donation based, so you can donate $20-$40 per session, the first treatment will run you $30 with a $10 admin fee.

I plop myself in a cozy chair surrounded by vibrant plants and bubbling fountains and wait my turn for the acupuncturist. You whisper to the acupuncturist what ails you–pain and swelling are my main complaints. She puts the needles in your arms, hands, legs and feet–but these acupuncture points can treat back and neck pain, as well as stimulating the cervix or uterus if you go over your due date.

The great part is you can book online after your first session. You are allowed to stay with the needles in as long as you like and leave when you feel ready, (after they take out the needles of course!) I’ve been going to ToCA weekly for my labor prep sessions and it’s comforting that I’m usually not the only pregnant woman in the room.

8. Fermented Foods

Other foods to avoid that I have consumed throughout my pregnancy are kombucha and kefir waters. Fermented foods with probiotics are not recommended for pregnant women, but I think it’s more of a precaution. I would be careful in the first trimester with these, as they contain living bacteria. However; after that, I’ve consumed many–maybe one or two a week–to maintain healthy levels of good gut bacteria. Kimchi and miso are other great sources of probiotics that I would recommend incorporating into meals as well to aid digestion.

9. Limit Sugar But Up The Salt

Now I’m not saying don’t eat desserts during pregnancy, but do eliminate sugar from your diet when you can. I’m a sucker for a good cinnamon bun or doughnut–man I’ve never loved them so much as I do now that I’m pregnant.

You may be craving salt throughout your pregnancy, as it is an essential mineral in your bodily fluids. Now that you’re producing a lot more fluids, make sure you are adding extra salt to your diet. I like having mineral water like San Pellegrino, the salt actually helps your body absorb the hydration better than flat water. You can also just add a pinch of salt to your water as well.

Due my diet, I’ve had no complications during my pregnancy and that has been a real blessing. I’ve managed to work (waiting tables) now up to 8 and a half months and plan on working until a week before my due date.

10. Combat Swelling

Swollen feet and ankles is a common symptom in the last trimester. For me, I’ve experienced swollen hands in my last weeks before the birth. My midwife recommended putting a slice of lemon or cucumber in my water. It has been a real life saver! If I don’t have time to juice, just garnishing my water with lemon or cucumber has really helped with swelling.

11. Stay Positive

Growing a human can be tough physically, but it can also be difficult mentally. Throughout my pregnancy, I’ve struggled the most with my mental health. I was offered free psychiatry from Women’s College Hospital with a referral from my family doctor.

I went to a few sessions to make sure I’m not clinically depressed. Though I knew I wasn’t, it was nice to have someone validate my feelings. Pregnancy and depression is a very serious and often overlooked issue. All the hormonal changes going on in a woman’s body can affect mood. In my situation, the lack of emotional support from a partner has been difficult. I only stopped going because I didn’t want to re-hash the events leading up to my pregnancy over and over. I felt it was time to move on and take on a more positive perspective of my pregnancy. Most pregnant women will have access to free mental health services in Toronto and if you feel you need emotional support, ask your doctor or midwife.