Are you eating enough calcium? You'd be surprised at just how many women don't. It's become something I'm quite passionate about educating all my clients on, because you're actually super vulnerable to bone breakages during your pregnancy and postpartum journeys. You might remember listening to the lovely Alyce's birth story a while back, and she was generous to come back on to share the story of how things went with the birth of her second child, as well as how she's going now that she's in that postpartum period. It's such a heartwarming chat, I absolutely loved and I hope you do too. But back to where I was going with the calcium and vulnerable bones thing… We don't focus on this in the episode, but Alyce comes to mind when I talk about why calcium is so so so so important, because she actually broke her hand recently. Like … can you even imagine? Having both a toddler and a newborn, and one of your hands is out of action. Chaos. Now, I'm not saying diet or anything within Alyce's control caused this (there are heaps of factors that could play a role so who knows really), but it's perhaps an example of how we can use nutrition to our advantage and do what is within our control to give ourselves the best chance of avoiding these things. Diet will never solve everything and totally eliminate your risk, but still, you NEED to get enough calcium as it's heavily involved in protecting your bones. Your requirements don't actually increase while pregnant (1000mg per day), but if not getting enough through diet your body will pull stores from your bones to build bub's skeleton. And bear in mind, you also need calcium for your body's basic needs, like heart function. The best sources are things like milk, yoghurt, cheese, fortified dairy alternatives (e.g. some soy and almond milks), tofu, fish with bones, and smaller amounts in leafy greens, nuts and seeds. Make sure you're getting plenty of these foods! *And note, you can't really check for calcium adequacy in a blood test, so you really have to gauge by what you're eating. ANYWAY, I'll stop this tangent now and let Alyce take it away on the pod - enjoy!

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Disclaimer:

The information in this podcast is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and is not a substitute for individualised medical and nutrition advice. Please speak to your healthcare team before making any changes to your diet and lifestyle. Helena (and any guests) do not accept liability for any harm or damages that occur from following suggestions in these podcast episodes.