Monday, February 1, 2016

The Importance of Child Spacing

     You find yourself a boyfriend. You get pretty serious after a year or two of dating. "When are you gonna get married?" family and friends ask. You end up planning the big day and get married. Seems like only seconds after the 'I Dos', you're getting asked, "when are you going to have a baby?" Eventually, when the time is right for you, out pops baby number one. What question do the ever curious deem appropriate for the next part of your life? "When is baby number two going to come? How far apart do you want them to be?"


Child Spacing.
     Most often, conversations about child spacing are more time-based depending on convenience for the parents, or trying to figure out when it will be good to introduce baby #1 to a new sibling. Both are important factors to consider when thinking about trying for your next baby, but there is one factor I consider more important about child spacing: your (as a mother) health and nutrient levels in your body. 
        I was reading my go-to book for all things pregnancy and childcare related, The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care by Sally Fallon Morell and Thomas S. Cowan, and noticed a chapter called “Child Spacing.” I was like, ooh! Wonder if they will tell me interesting, non-hormonal natural birth control methods to complement what I have studied in another favorite book of mine, Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler. Weschler's book does talk a lot about natural methods, but most of the chapter looks at other cultures and their reasoning for having large spacing between children and how they achieve it.
        Most examples were of tribes among the South Seas, Africa, and South America. They've believed in child spacing so much that women had to stay away from the men while nursing (for three to five years) and completely abstain from sexual intercourse to ensure not getting pregnant until the time was right. This practice allowed the mothers adequate time to replenish their nutrition storage which then insured that every child born into their community was robust and healthy! I then scoured the internet on health websites, and they all pointed to the same conclusion: Space out a minimum of two years between trying to get pregnant again. This is extremely beneficial for the mother, the new baby being formed in her body, and her first born.
 I kept being shocked that I had never heard about the huge importance of child spacing before
Your mom bod 
      When you are pregnant, you give all your best nutrients to the developing baby inside you. Luckily with your first, if you have been healthy, you have plenty of stored nutrients to share with your baby and keep enough for your own health. By the end of the ninth month, even after eating a rich, dense diet, you are still going to be depleted in the full amount of vitamins and minerals needed to be at your full potential health.
        Anywhere from 6-18 months after having a baby, there are many potential risks on your body. Vitamin A is extremely important to avoid birth defeats. Nourishing Traditions shows the example of a European study that found one-third of women with short birth intervals had borderline deficiencies in retinol (Vitamin A). There are many statistics that show women who get pregnant right away (after having a child) have a hard time making it to full term, often going into labor before 37 weeks. It also can cause uterine ruptures and third trimester bleeding. With the depletion of vitamins and nutrients, more postpartum depression is more common and increased stress issues. No mother wants all that going on in her own self when she already has a baby to take care of!
The baby inside you   
       It makes sense that if you are going to be having many issues with being low in nutrients, that it will be forwarded to your developing baby in your womb. If there is not a large storage of vitamins and minerals, your baby won't be able to develop to their healthiest and full size. Going into labor prematurely usually means the baby comes out underweight and which can cause them to get sick more frequently then full-term babies. Babies born premature are at a larger risk of having disabilities, developing autism, asthma, and behavior problems as they grow. They also will not receive as fatty and nutritional mother's milk which is needed to build their immune system and set them up for success in the rest of their lives.
Your older child/children 
       Lastly, you must think about the baby you already have. The biggest issue the older sibling(s) have if another comes right after, is the need to stop breastfeeding so that the mother's body can focus what nutrition she DOES have left on the growing baby inside her. But as science has with-out-a-doubt proven, breastfeeding is HUGELY impactful to your baby's health and growth. Dr. Sears has the perfect reasons on why you should at least strive to breastfeed until two years (which is what I plan on accomplishing):

"The brain grows more during the first two years of life than any other time, nearly tripling in size from birth to two years of age. It's clearly a crucial time for brain development, and the intellectual advantage breastfed babies enjoy is attributed to the "smart fats" unique to mom's breast milk (namely, omega-3 fatty acid, also known as DHA). From head to toe, babies who breastfeed for extended periods of time are healthier overall. They tend to have leaner bodies with less risk of obesity. They also have improved vision, since the eye is similar to the brain in regards to nervous tissue. They have better hearing due to a lower incidence of ear infections..."

       And it keeps going on about other benefits. This is not a post about why you should breastfeed, but I think solidifies the essential reason to aim on spacing out your children for the benefit of your first born, and then for each one to come. 

So how do I not get pregnant right after my ovulation cycle starts up again?       
      Many women who've just had a baby go back on the Pill. But here's the problem: Going back on the Pill between pregnancies will deplete you of all the key nutrients for your next healthy pregnancy even more. Some of the most critical nutrients including folic acid, vitamin B, vitamin C, and zinc will be affected by the xenoestrogens (fake estrogen) and other man-made hormones released by the Pill. Besides physical health, these nutrients are key to a baby's intellectual development. Drug companies actually have to include a note saying you should avoid conceiving a baby within 6 months of using the Pill. Another huge problem with taking the Pill is its depletion of gut flora ( healthy bacteria) causing digestive problems for mother and baby. Babies are higher at risk of having bad acid reflux and spitting up. If a woman has been on the Pill, there is hope! Consuming rich foods high in vitamin A and E, vitamin B, essential fatty acids, magnesium and zinc with help get your body back on track. Also lots of probiotic foods such as yogurts, kefir, and sauerkraut will help rebuild your good bacteria and flora. That is one of the reasons I love making my kombucha to keep that good fermented healthy bacteria entering my body and into my baby's growing body. 
       So you're discouraged. You aren't supposed to get pregnant one after the other, but you're not allowed to use the Pill to prevent another pregnancy, let alone any other birth control that uses fake hormones. You aren't in a crazy tribe that makes you abstain and be shunned from your husband (reference to the Nourishing Traditions book) so how do you do it? 
     The chapter ends with saying how in our culture and modern times, no one wants to abstain for years, and I do not think that is healthy is your marriage as a couple, so they recommend Fertility Awareness Method, which I have read in detail how to do it. As I said early, I recommend getting a copy of Taking Charge of Your Fertility. I learned so much about my body and cycle through that book. It made me feel confident and informed about how to take care of my body and watch the different signs of each month's cycle. The method is actually 95% effective even though it always gets flack from people judging its method. I think a lot of people think of it as Family Planning Method, but the Fertility Awareness involves four different chartings/checks you do daily which help you perfect reading and knowing your body's cues when to have sex or when you need to use a barrier for protected intercourse.

*Full Disclosure* I was on this method when I got pregnant five months into my marriage. I do not blame the method at all though. We were still newlyweds, and we knew we were in the "unknown/not safe zone" of my cycle, but did the unwise choice to not use a barrier that time around. If you are going to behave and stick to the charting to a tee, I truly believe you can have success!
   
    Another huge part of succeeding in the Fertility Awareness method is the support and help of your husband. He needs to be on board with supporting you to chart and help reminding you to take your temperature everyday. He also needs to be mindful of when you tell him the days to be aware and not just jump into unprotected love making, but its really only 30% of days in the month, and if you have a kid already, it is not like you have the time nor energy to get it on that often anyways... ;)
    
       On the off chance that I do get pregnant sooner then I'd like, I have been making sure to get lots of healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and oils into my body to replenish all that has been given to Cedric. I also am making sure I do not over do my exercise to the point where I burn all my fat. Yes, I, like so many other women, who look in the mirror and aren't pleased with the 10-20 pounds of extra weight, but I know it is EXTREMELY healthy and beneficial to be around 10 pounds over weight when breastfeeding and prepping for the next baby. If you want your milk to be high in good fats for your baby's weight and brain development, keep up those good fats and oils! I try to consume at least 2-3 tablespoons of coconut oil a day for Cedric and me, along side things like fermented col liver oil and ghee or organic butter.

Have you heard of the nutrient side of child spacing? Have you tried natural methods of birth control? Hope this has encouraged you whether planning your first or 5th child!  

No comments:

Post a Comment