Focus areas
Hormone Health
Ah, hormones. When they are feel-flowing, responsive and well balanced we can feel pretty amazing! We ebb and flow through life. We have energy, drive, focus, and a sense of humour! We feel good in our skin and our body. We tend to eat better, move more, sleep well and make great company!
Yet when our hormones are not optimised, then we can feel all over the shop! As mothers, the journey - and impact - of our hormonal relationships throughout the seasons of life can be complex and challenging. The good news is help is available.
Be it our female hormones, thyroid, stress hormones and/or our insulin and blood sugar control. They are all part of an orchestra that sometimes goes out of tune! Let’s get it sorted.
Pregnancy Care & Birth Prep
Creating and growing a mini human is one of life’s most nutritionally expensive endeavours. It’s also the ‘ultimate stress test’ for a woman’s overall metabolic health - especially her thyroid.
Trimester-specific, customised support is available for symptoms such as nausea, fatigue, leg cramps, heartburn, constipation, haemorrhoids, fluid retention and stretch marks. It may also reduce the risk of complications such as iron deficiency anaemia, gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, preterm labour, preeclampsia, a ‘small-for-dates’ baby and postpartum thyroiditis.
Birth preparation involves both nutritional and herbal medicines to help support a normal, physiological birth or in preparation for a planned caesarean birth. Individualised care also helps support an optimal recovery after pregnancy and birth.
Postpartum Care
Unfortunately, standard medical care for new mums fails to address their full array of needs at this time. Many mothers have ongoing health issues that can be traced back to the lack of deep rest, adequate healing time, and full body repletion that was required during the critical time of the 4th trimester.
Support at this time can help a mama’s hormones, nervous system and immune system recalibrate optimally. This can have an immense impact on the mother’s body and brain. Depleted nutrient stores can be identified and corrected to meet the demands of breastfeeding and the mother’s overall health.
Common areas for support include postpartum mood issues, iron deficiency, digestive issues, postpartum thyroid issues, micronutrient depletions, immunity, breastfeeding (including nutritional support), sleep deprivation, birth recovery, and hormonal health if your menstrual cycle has returned.
Postpartum Depletion
This term describes a collection of symptoms that affects nearly all spheres of a mother’s life (even up to 10 years) after giving birth. It’s been estimated that around 50% of mothers will experience some degree of postpartum depletion!
The symptoms vary and often involve many systems of the body. Women can experience ongoing symptoms such as exhaustion, overwhelm, low mood, brain fog, anxiety, hormonal imbalances, issues with weight, sleep, nutrition, libido, and even a loss of sense of self.
Although the term itself is not a diagnosis as such, it represents the common burnt-out, depleted, and imbalanced state many mothers find themselves in, often years after having a child/children.
Support helps to identify and address nutrient deficiencies, and the hormonal, immune, neurotransmitter, and nervous system imbalances that are often behind the collection of symptoms, months or even years later.
Perimenopause ~ Menopause
All women who reach their 40s will begin to experience the transitional years of perimenopause.
It’s a time likened to a second puberty. This is because the transitional years of perimenopause are marked by a sequence of hormonal events and changes to a woman’s body and brain.
The ebb and flow of regular menstrual cycles begin to shift and often around this time (particularly later in this season) underlying health issues may also be revealed and/or amplified. This is why perimenopause is considered a ‘barometer of health’.
For many women, this can be a health wake-up call. How we once lived through our 20s and 30s becomes unfeasible in the new landscape of the 40s and beyond. But it’s also an opportunity to really take stock of your health, particularly as this is often a very busy, ‘full plate’ time of life!
The ‘graduation’ to menopause occurs when you’ve not had a period for 12 consecutive months. This is another new landscape to navigate and understand.
