Pure Nurture: A Holistic Guide to a Healthy Baby was very much a labor of love. It’s a gift, with many blessings, to pregnant women everywhere and to all mothers. And it is brimming with simple, actionable tips and strategies that any mother or mother-to-be can use to nurture both herself and her baby.
Self-care is incredibly important for all of us, but it far too often is the very last thing that we prioritize amid hectic schedules and busy lives—parents especially, which is so backwards: parents need to practice self-care more than anyone, because our children depend on us, on our physical and mental wellbeing, to thrive. And at no time during motherhood is the direct relationship between a mother’s wellbeing and her child’s health quite so evident as during pregnancy. As such, the first, and perhaps greatest, act of love a mother can show toward her growing baby is to nurture herself.
Sometimes people, women especially, feel guilty about putting time and other resources toward self-care. They might feel it is selfish. But I’m here to change that narrative. My journey, and my motivation to study at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and become a Holistic Health Coach, has its roots in my disordered relationship with food as a young woman. Without embracing the need for self-care, without slowly letting go of the guilt and learning to be kinder to myself, I would not have been able to rise above those self-limiting tendencies, and I would not be where I am today.
When I became a mother myself, I was inspired to dedicate my work to supporting women who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, as well as mothers of newborns. I was diagnosed with postpartum depression after my first pregnancy. I didn’t realize that is something that could happen any time in the first year after birth. I was diagnosed when my daughter was ten months old. That was also the time I began to breastfeed less and possibly a contributing factor. For these reasons and many others, I feel a calling to support women during this unique and special time. Not only to feel their best, but also to potentially prevent postpartum depression and/or postpartum anxiety.
In my career (I am also a certified yoga instructor), I see the practice of self-care positively impacting women every day, sometimes in amazing and transformative ways. This book is the culmination of my experiences in this field. It is a gentle, non-judgmental guide to help you find and implement the self-care practices that will work for you and your unique needs during pregnancy (and beyond!), and to inspire you to treat yourself with the care and respect you deserve.
Pure Nurture: A Holistic Guide to a Healthy Baby is available for purchase in paperback or e-book on Amazon.com.
