Planning for Pregnancy and the First Trimester With an Autoimmune Disease
It took 2 full years to feel “ready” to be pregnant again. I am so happy I put my health and my body first.
Before I was diagnosed with UC (ulcerative colitis) my husband and I thought we wanted to try for another around the fall of 2019. This would mean Ryder would be around 2 when I got pregnant. Everyone we talked to about having a second agreed having one sooner than later is the best. Thankfully, I stopped listening to the noise and did what felt right in my gut 😉
At this point it had been nearly a year since my first flare. The summer came and went, I still wasn’t feeling “back to normal.” The anxiety set in about getting pregnant again. I didn’t want to go against our original plan… would my husband be upset? Then I thought, to heck with what he thinks. This is my body.
I had an honest converastion with my husband and told him I simply wasn’t ready yet. He agreed and was happy to wait, too! Woo!
From then, I vowed to go to great lengths to get my health back to what I remembered to feel was normal. So what did I do?
Continued conversations with my GI and had my first colonoscopy post flare to see my baseline,
Made sure to remain symptom free,
Met with a Crohns and colitis MFM specialist to talk about pregnancy (confirmed all meds I was on are pregnancy and breastfeeding safe)
Started acupuncture,
Met with a functional medicine doctor (took blood tests upon blood tests),
Continued seeing a maternal mental health professional,
Worked on my diet (whole foods, introduced meat, no refined sugar/gluten/dairy),
Exercised,
Slept,
Traveled!! Enjoyed family and friends
And slowly but surely, I was feeling like I was claiming my life back one day at a time.
Truthfully, the difference was the functional medicine doctor*. She tested my hormone levels, micronutrients on a molecular level, and I did the oh-so-familiar poop test to see what gut bacteria I had going on. We found I was lacking in basic nutrients the body needs (exhausted adrenals, omegas, COQ10, a diverse pre/probiotic, and a few others I’m sure I’m forgetting). Unfortunately these basic blood tests are not routine and were overlooked with my other doctors. After a month or so, I noticed my energy coming back, my brain fog dissipating, patience increased, gained a few pounds and I felt good!
*Note: this functional medicine doctor is a trained traditional gyn MD. I wanted to be seen by someone who was data driven, cared about numbers, modern research, and asked questions. I did not want a “woo-woo” functional med
By the time I was ready to be pregnant, there were still a few tests an detoxes I would have loved to do but didn’t get to. That’s ok, next time 😉
Sure enough, by the spring I was feeling better than I could remember.
Before I even believed it, I was pregnant. So blessed, so grateful, and so nervous. I know of the journey of so many other women with autoimmune and not, and how long awaited this day is. I say this because whatever your journey, you are in my heart.
I am pregnant, now what?
Well, let the fun begin, duh! The planning, the baby clothes, clean products, belly butter. All of it.
I continued my meds. In fact, I used a suppository nightly in addition to my meds to ensure I did not go in a flare. It’s been working so far, fingers crossed.
Met with my GI. Confirmed I was not a high risk patient (thank God). She encouraged me about the what if’s of going into a flare while pregnant and assured me of pregnancy safe options.
Chose my prenatal care providers (midwifery care)
After talking to the midwives and my GI, I decided not to go with my high risk MFM. Because of my case of UC and existing state of the disease, I do not feel it was necessary for me. However, I did reach out to the practice to let them know I was pregnant. I did this in the case I flared and wanted to switch my care, so it was already established.
Spoke with my functional medicine doctor to make sure the supplements I was taking were pregnancy safe.
Read Real Food For Pregnancy by Lily Nichols and tried my best to stay in line with diet … BUT! There were some things my body was cravingggg. Granola, SCD yogurt, sharp cheddar cheese … foods I wasn’t eating much of in the months leading up to getting pregnant. I listened to my body and made (for the most part and definitely with exceptions) the best choices I had available to me.
I was nauseous (still am) so I really rested and slept a lot, a lot. Luckily my husband was not traveling so he totally took the reigns of parenting during this time. Am I the only person happy about this pandemic?
And surprisingly, I looked forward to exercising. It was really the only thing during the pandemic we had to do, and I would feel so much better afterward.
With my son, I loved being pregnant. My hope was that this pregnancy would be as enjoyable as his. I understand this time around is different because I do have an autoimmune disorder. My body is completely different, and damn, I’ve birthed a baby once before! I am hyper aware of my body and every ache and pain. It’s hard not to overthink and get ahead of myself worrying about my health. Which is why taking care of your mental health is so important (whatever that looks like for you), especially for those of us who are autoimmune. We tend to overthink as it is.
For now, all is well and I will continue to do what it takes to keep it that way.
Lovingly,
TLBS
