Introducing our next Mama Master, Brittany Darling. The next best thing since the miracle of conception itself. Britt brings a wealth of knowledge and tools to empower women to take control of their fertility journey and beyond. Focusing on more than just medical invention but actually deep diving into nutritional, health and lifestyle support.
As co-founder of Day One Fertility, Britt is an Award Winning Clinical Accredited Nutritionist and Western Herbalist with 10+ years experience, and on top of all that is a mum of two.
Brittany has a special interest in the areas of fertility, prenatal and postnatal, and through her holistic approach understands that nutrition and lifestyle choices form the basis of a healthy pregnancy.
Let's see what she had to say.
Q. What are you most passionate about in supporting/helping modern mamas throughout their pregnancy journey?
When I first became pregnant over 10 years ago there wasn't much empowering information around nutrition and pregnancy. What was available was a boring government or state health brochure and website, much of which only told you what not to eat.
I am so passionate about supporting mamas and teaching them that we all have more control than we think, and what you eat matters. What you put on your plate can greatly impact the outcomes of your pregnancy, your experience in pregnancy, the future health of your child and how you experience the postpartum period.
Pregnancy is a time of immense physical and emotional changes. By providing valuable information and resources on nutrition, it can really empower mothers with knowledge and tools to make informed choices for themselves and their babies. I believe that when mothers are equipped with the right information, they can confidently navigate their pregnancy journey and make decisions that positively impact their health and well-being.
Q. What’s an interesting fact about nutrition during pregnancy?
Although the first trimester can leave you feeling fatigued, not quite yourself, completely put off food and awfully nauseous, know that what you are experiencing is completely normal and that nausea is actually a positive sign of a pregnancy progressing well.
There is quite a lot of evidence that ginger and vitamin B6 can help alleviate morning sickness symptoms.
Approximately ½ to 1 ½ teaspoons of grated ginger, can help alleviate morning sickness. Try adding to ice cubes to suck on, adding to homemade gummies made with coconut water or making tea.
B6 and ginger combined specifically for morning sickness can be a sanity saver.
Q. What’s a common misconception about food during pregnancy?
We commonly hear the old adage that you should be ‘eating for two’, as soon as you see the two lines. The truth is, in trimester one, there is no need for any additional calories. In saying that, your body will still demand an increase in the quantity and of course, the quality of your micronutrients and that’s why a strong focus on diet and supplementation (where indicated) is so important.
In women of a healthy weight range, the second trimester caloric intake will need to increase by about 340 calories per day and in the third trimester around 450 calories per day. This is essentially an additional hearty snack or smoothie.
Q. What’s your advice for our community who are often overwhelmed with information on what is safe to eat during pregnancy and what’s not?
When you're pregnant generally there is a list of things you SHOULDN'T be eating. It's a big ole list of don't do this or that, which can leave you feeling pretty overwhelmed.
We like to do a reframe and get you excited about what you CAN eat to not only support a healthy pregnancy, your baby, but also yourself so you have your best experience.
As a general guide, focus on:
Protein: Lean meats, chicken, seafood, dairy products, legumes, nuts, eggs
Folate: Green leafy vegetables, legumes, seeds, chicken, eggs, oranges, fortified bread and breakfast cereal
Calcium: Dairy foods, fortified soy milks, green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, canned fish with bones
Iron: Red meat, fortified cereals, egg yolks, green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts
Zinc: Meat, eggs, seafood, nuts, tofu, miso, legumes, wheat germ, wholegrain foods
Iodine: Canned salmon and tuna, other fish, oysters, bread fortified with iodine
Fibre: Wholemeal and wholegrain breads and high fibre cereals, oats, vegetables and fruit with the skin on.
Q. What are the most important nutrients to consume in pregnancy?
Every woman’s (and person’s) dietary intake, how they absorb nutrients and respond to supplementation is different. Unfortunately we can't just assume because you are taking supplements and have a fairly good diet that you will be nutritionally replete. Clinically, we find many women are entering pregnancy with suboptimal nutritional status. The most common deficiencies we see include iron (with 80% of women entering pregnancy iron deficient), iodine and vitamin D. Only 10% of Australian women of childbearing age meet the pregnancy requirements for omega 3 fatty acids and it is estimated that 80% of women worldwide are deficient in zinc.
Nutritional deficiencies arise from a whole range of nutritional, lifestyle, physiological and pharmaceutical factors including restricted or unbalanced eating, eating highly processed foods, medications like to OCP, blood loss eg. heavy periods and lack of time outdoors, just to name a few.
There are a complex of nutrients that are important in early pregnancy and it’s important to establish your nutrition status in early pregnancy, if you haven’t already in the preconception period. Most important include:
Folate: Folate is recommended to supplement with 400 mcg per day of folic acid (or folate equivalents) for the first 3 months of pregnancy plus an additional 600 mcg coming from folate rich foods like leafy greens, citrus fruits and legumes. Insufficient intake of folate during the preconception period and the first trimester is associated with a higher risk of neural tube defects (NTD).
Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 supports DNA synthesis and methylation. It promotes healthy blood production in the mother and is required for neurological function in both the mother and the infant. Check that your prenatal multi contains vitamin B12 as it’s important to take it alongside folic acid. Plant based mothers should seek extra guidance as B12 is mostly only found in animal foods.
Choline: Choline is a relatively new kid on the block (only discovered in the past 40 years as a nutrient) and only added to a handful of prenatals. It plays a pivotal role in spinal cord formation, placental function, and early brain development. As a methylating nutrient, it is arguably just as important as folic acid. Choline can be synthesised by the body, but likely isn't enough to keep up with the requirements of pregnancy. There is emerging evidence that the current recommendation of 440 mg per day is insufficient and that most pregnant women would benefit from additional choline supplementation.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is an essential fat soluble vitamin with its main role in modulating calcium metabolism. Because calcium demands increase in the third trimester of pregnancy, vitamin D status becomes crucial for both mums health and for foetal skeletal growth, or immune function, gene expression, and hormone secretion too, blood sugar management and prevention of GDM. We get vitamin D primarily from sunlight and there are a few dietary sources including oily fish and dairy products. Unfortunately Vitamin D deficiency is incredibly common in pregnant women and in breastfed infants despite the widespread use of prenatal vitamins, because these are inadequate to maintain normal vitamin D levels.
Iodine: Dietary iodine is required for the synthesis of thyroid hormones that regulate the mother's metabolic rate and promote growth and development throughout the pregnancy. Iodine is especially critical for early foetal brain development in pregnancy, and mild to moderate deficiency may lead to neurological and cognitive impairment of the infant. It is recommended to supplement with 150 mcg daily, usually in a prenatal multi.
Iron: Your body uses iron to make haemoglobin, a substance in red blood cells that moves oxygen throughout the body. During pregnancy, the demand for iron increases greatly to keep up with the increased demand in blood supply. Maternal deficiency is associated with low birth weight, preterm labour, and autism. Blood tests analysis by your GP is important here as not all women will require iron supplementation.
Q. What do you love about PURE MAMA?
We love PURE MAMA here at Day One Fertility. Although we spend a lot of our time educating new and soon to be mama’s on what they should and can eat, we know it is also important to acknowledge that what goes on our skin matters too. We love that the formulations and each ingredient has been extensively researched to determine suitability for use during pregnancy.
See more from Britt and her team over at @dayonefertility or visit their website www.dayonefertility.com
