
Creating Your Best Pregnancy for You and Baby
As a mom of two under two, with a third on the way (yes, you heard me correctly…a THIRD on the way), I started developing an obsession with how I could ensure the healthiest life for my babies. I knew that started in the womb, so like most moms I got on the best prenatal vitamins, stopped coffee cold turkey, followed every rule to a T and did my best to limit myself to only 2 nights of Chinese food a week. What never occurred to me was the reality that long before I even became pregnant with my little bundles of joy I had been making choices within my lifestyle that would ultimately affect the well being of my future children. “How?” You may ask.
The simplest way I can explain this, without getting too “sciency” on ya, is like this: “Your body puts biological Post-it notes, called epigenetic tags, on certain genes to determine which genetic recipes get used, but guess what? Actions you take during your pregnancy—through nutrition and other behaviors—can influence these processes and determine where the notes go and which genes will be expressed, ultimately affecting the health of your child.” As stated by Michael Roizen, M.D., and Mehmet Oz, M.D. They go on to explain “The way epigenetics works during pregnancy is that stressors in the mother’s environment cause a change in the gene expression patterns of the fetus. Translation: The chemicals your baby is exposed to in utero via the foods you eat, the paint fumes you may breathe in, and the cigarettes you don’t inhale serve as biological light switches in his development. On, off, on, off—you decide how your child’s genes are expressed, even as early as conception.”
“So how does this start even before conception?” you ask? Through the study of Epigentics we now know that women can alter the expression of genes in their eggs long before fertilization. An example of this is found when a research team at New York’s Mount Sinai hospital led by Rachel Yehuda conducted a study of 32 men and women who had survived the Holocaust. Comparing their DNA data and their children’s with other Jewish descendants who did not experience the Holocaust they found that the DNA in the children of the survivors was altered to express a higher likelihood of stress disorders. They concluded that this could only be from their parent’s exposure to the traumatic events of the Holocaust as have further studies concluded. This is a giant leap forward in our understanding of what makes each person the individual they are and it is inspiring to know that just as we can turn genes ‘on’ we can also turn them ‘off’.
But hey Mom, the ball is not completely in your court. As we all know from high school Biology, it takes two to tango and baby is 50/50 Mom and Dad. It has been discovered that the three months leading up to conception are the most impactful moments in activating the genes coming from Dad’s sperm. This means you are most likely to conceive if Dad has reduced stress to a minimum, started eating well and exercising. Not only will it benefit Dad to take care of himself, it will help activate “good” genes and turn off the “bad” ones in baby too.
Whether you are thinking about expanding your family or you already have a bun in the oven it’s never too early or too late to start caring for your future generations to come. To find out more information on how you can prepare for your best pregnancy make sure you subscribe to our blog and never miss a beat!
Fix Your Brain, Fix Your Gut, Fix Your Health
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About the Author

Dr. Wes Fox
My name is Wes Fox and I want to help you optimize your body’s overall health for peak performance.
Over the past 8 years, I've helped people create a completely customized plan to increase vitality and heal their body from the inside out. So many people come to us merely existing as a shell of their former selves due to pain and symptoms caused by undiagnosed conditions.
After working with us clients not only add years to their lives, but are healthier and in better shape than they have ever been.
The way that we help our clients get these life changing results is by using our unique 5-step cellular and genetic analysis system to optimize your body’s overall health for peak performance on a molecular level.
And I think I can help you too.