From Having an IUD to Vegan Pregnancy During a Pandemic
22 weeks pregnant
my vegan pregnancy journey
THE EARLY YEARS
Let’s go back to the beginning, all those years ago! When I was 16 years old I had some MILD acne, you know, the kind every teenager gets. I guess I was self conscious about it because the next thing you know I’m at the dermatologist being prescribed the birth control pill for my skin. If only I knew then what I know now, sigh. I took Dianne 35 for years and when I begin University I thought it would be a great idea to take accutane. My friend took it and she turned out ok. You can’t get pregnant when on this harsh drug so I stayed on the BCP.
I was young and didn’t understand the severity of prescription medications, clearly. Everyone has a choice to make, but it needs to be informed and mine wasn’t. I studied criminology and psychology at SFU and didn’t move into the world of health and wellness until my thirties.
Well, I stayed on that pill until about 24 when I switched to the Mirena IUD. I loved not getting period, no cramps, great for vacations and never a mess. Again, I knew nothing at this age because they don’t teach us anything in high school. I bet if a man had a similar decision to make they’d present all options, side effects and it would be mandatory teaching, but I digress. I didn’t have any major mood side effects that I’m aware of, but to this day, have very dry lips. If I don’t have my lip balm, I literally have a minor freak out - the world stops. If you have any history of mood disorders, I urge you to try to get the root cause versus taking a bandaid approach like I did.
Fast forward to nutrition school, now just over 30 and still sporting my IUD. I learned a little bit about this topic in school, enough to know I no longer wanted it in my body. The majority of my education came from reading books and blogs by experts. I read a little research, but to me this was more of an intuitive logical decision. I knew it was abnormal to not bleed monthly, I wasn’t in touch with my feminine side and I now knew I wasn’t even ovulating. That’s almost two decades of not ovulating and not having a true bleed, whoa.
“The most common adverse effect of combined oral contraceptive pills is break through bleeding. Women will also complain of nausea, headaches, abdominal cramping, breast tenderness, and an increase in vaginal discharge or decreased libido. Nausea can be avoided by taking the medication at night before sleep”
I love how there is a huge long list of side effects, but why doesn’t society try to get to the root cause? Does she have PCOS? PMDD? Estrogen dominance? Low progesterone? High testosterone or DHEAS? A microbiome that needs some love? Liver congestion? It is all connected my friends and we shouldn’t be so fast to take a bandaid approach. If you go on the pill with PMS, you will come off the pill with PMS and likely more imbalances as we know your gut health will be negatively impacted. I’m not saying all birth control methods are ‘bad,’ sometimes they are needed, I just wish women were more educated by doctors about the side effects. Heck, my friend is a GP and said it’s totally fine to be on it for that long - she isn’t wrong - it’s just a very different viewpoint than me. I was done with taking fake hormones (progestin) to control my cycle and have a pretend bleed without ovulation.
“First and foremost, we conclude that there is a strong demand for additional studies on how hormonal contraceptives affect the brain from the molecular to the behavioural level. Thus, future studies aiming to investigate “normal” brain functioning, should control for the use of hormonal contraceptives among their participants. At both the structural as well as behavioural level, feminizing and masculinizing effects of hormonal contraceptives have been observed simultaneously. However, these changes may show differential manifestation at the behavioural level in different subpopulations of women. As the number of women using oral contraceptives constantly increases, while the age of first contraceptive use constantly decreases down to sensitive neuroplastic periods during puberty, the associated changes in personality and social behaviour imply significant consequences for society.”
This study really shows we don’t know much, I find this is common with women’s health. There is a potential for personality and behavioural shifts from being on hormonal contraceptives. That is insane! The pill impacts your sex drive and who you fall in love with too. Dr Sarah Hill revealed that it affects "sex, attraction, stress, hunger, eating patterns, emotion regulation, friendships, aggression, mood, learning, and so many other things".
THE MORE INFORMED YEARS
After nerding out and learning so much about our menstrual cycle, the desire to connect to my feminine energy and my knowledge of imbalanced hormones, congested liver and gut health from becoming a registered holistic nutritionist… I KNEW I need to make a change. I called two women’s clinics in Vancouver and left messages. The recordings asked you not to call back so I listened, for a while. After 3 weeks, no one called me back from either clinic. I know we are more fortunate than so many others with respect to healthcare, but I wanted my IUD out! I left more messages and to this day, they have still not called back (over a year now).
I got a GP thanks to a friend (she has since quit and no longer practices so I’m without a GP again) and I booked an appointment to have it removed in October of 2019. I was asked to cough while she removed it and it hurt for a second, that’s it. I was fortunate to not have any complications. My nutritionist friend also removed hers, but had to be sent for scans because the IUD had moved, eek!
Some of you may know I’ve been eating plant-based for a decade (99% plant-based for 8 years). I truly believe my diet rich in vitamins, variety in produce (happy gut) and my supplement knowledge with a healthy-ish lifestyle helped me come off contraceptive methods with NO side effects. This is not the norm and I have lots of clients who come to me with PMS, acne or amenorrhea post pill/IUD because they didn’t set themselves up before going off of it. I love the liver too and that’s definitely going to play a big role with respect to acne, hormonal health and energy.
It’s pretty cool that I now run group hormone courses and do 1:1 work teaching womxn how to balance their hormones. I love that I offer the DUTCH test (click to learn more) with wellness plans so we know your hormone levels, it’ s so important versus just guessing. Several symptoms are similar and you can do more damage by assuming. All client’s will receive a discounted rate on DUTCH at home hormone tests (shipped anywhere in North America). My client’s results have been mind blowing and Nicole said “this was even more informative than I imagined.”
We have an impact on our fertility and how we live our daily lives for years leading up to the moment you want to conceive will play a role. So if you have any imbalance, please know you are worth investing in. If you ignore those nagging symptoms, they will get worse. I actually got an email from an attendee of a lunch and learn I hosted last year saying she had mild gut health concerns and wished she booked back then. Now, she is off on leave because she got into a car accident (a trauma) and her GI issues are very severe. Your body is talking to you and after a long road, I now know the importance of listening, she is so wise.
I’m Pregnant!
After going off birth control methods in the Fall of 2019, preparing my body for the shift and taking a quality prenatal (see my instagram reel all about this!) we decided to not use condoms. This is my 5th year with my guy (a 6 month break in there) and being 36 years old, we were decided we should try for kids now. We both thought it would take at least a year for my body to learn to ovulate again. I’m very into health, but it’s not an interest of my partner’s so I didn’t know what to expect.
Within 6 months, I was pregnant. That happened a lot faster than we imagined! I tracked my cycle and ovulation days with the Flo app so we were intentionally having sex on days I could get pregnant. I know, I’m extremely fortunate up to this point. So many of my friends and clients tried for years or got IVF. I’m trying to stay as positive as possible as I know what we think impacts our health.
How did I find out I was pregnant? I actually dreamt it and I rarely ever dream. The power of intuition is amazing, we really just need to listen to your bodies more, to tap in. Two weeks later, I was really craving a glass of red and I hadn’t gotten my menstrual cycle yet. I took the test and it said pregnant, all the emotions were flooding through me. My partner was away for work, so the next day I went to the store and bought another test, it also said pregnant, obviously. I told him that night while we were up in Pemberton and he was in shock! Major shock, even though we were tracking it and everything, he just didn’t think it would happen this fast.
MY EARLY PREGNANCY SYMPTOMS
Well, I wish my friends told me this so I could mentally prepare so here is my personal list starting with the first symptoms I experienced. It’s so different for everyone though.
bloating
gas
vision changes, lasted a few days
constipation, oh my I miss my perfect bowel movements!
so many dreams
nausea .. I was very nauseous until about 18 weeks… full on vomiting bile repeatedly. I was ill while driving 100 on the highway and got sick in my smoothie container, in the park with the dog, kitchen sink, workplace bathroom. Nothing helped me.. well I never went on meds bc the GP never got back to me and it’s just not my style
lots of bread cravings because when you’re nauseous, a salad isn’t your go to
fatigue, oh the fatigue.. it’s very challenging getting up by 730 am
no desire to workout, I just walk and hike
sugar cravings, but no other food cravings such as pickles
a few days where I was hungrier than normal, but nothing major yet
I go pee every 30 minutes. How will I go for neighbourhood walks when I’m further along?
If you like these updates, I’ll do another post from this point until delivery. I have a midwife and I think I want a doula. The midwifery clinic is a lot more western than I had imagined. Plus, doulas provide support and since it’s my first child, I want all the support in the world. I’ve heard from several people you can only have 1 support person in the room, a doula or your partner. It’s crazy to me they are making people choose versus just asking them to suit up. Bryce already missed hearing the heart beat at the midwife appointment because you can’t bring anyone along. Luckily, he was able to attend both ultrasounds.
My plant-based DIET DURING PREGNANCY
No changes to report, I never questioned not being 99% plant-based during my pregnancy. No cravings for meat, dairy or eggs. I’m actually repulsed by the thought of it, oh and the smell of fish. I’ve been using vegan and 99% plant-based interchangeably and out of respect, I choose to say plant-based in this blog. I still have a few old leather goods and last month I was served a cacao elixir at a friend’s that had honey in it. I don’t consume it at home and prefer sticking to maple syrup, but I know the impacts stressing can have on the body so I roll with it. We don’t need everyone to be vegan, we just need a lot of people eating more plants!
“Vegetarian and vegan diets are healthful, may prevent and treat chronic diseases, and are better for the environment, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world’s largest organization of nutrition professionals. Researchers updated the 2009 position paper on vegetarian diets and concluded that not only are vegetarian and vegan diets appropriate for all stages of the life cycle (pregnancy, infancy, childhood, etc.), but they also help reduce the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, obesity, and some types of cancer. The updated position paper presents a section on environmental issues which concludes plant-based diets are more sustainable and less damaging to the environment.” - PCRM
I also plan to raise our child 99% plant-based until they choose otherwise. It’s funny to me that some are surprised by this and say your choosing how your kid eats and that’s not fair - but so are omnivores. They often don’t educate their kid and offer them the opportunity to exclude animal products from their diet. They impose their diet on their children the same way I would. Kids are smart and if we explain to them that the pig they pet at The Happy Herd or that their favourite stuff animal cow was on their plate for dinner, they would likely be sad and not want to eat it. As we get older, we forget about those connections and we become desensitized. That’s why the majority of people I know that opt to eat meat can’t kill it themselves, let alone watch documentaries about concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Food for thought… to each their own.
So much love, Jordan
Your plant-based nutritionist.
PS booking is open for 12 week clients from now until November 1st. In person or Zoom appointments are available from the comfort of your own home. We work together 1:1 for 3 months, check out my services for this amazing offering. We really get to the root cause and I provide education, support and accountability. After November 1st, I will see clients in the smaller package option with a la carte follow-ups until February.
DUCTH hormone testing: click here
I’d love to hear your comments on your MUST HAVE items for myself and baby. So far I’ve been told Vista Cruz stroller and I need tips on everything else. I also bought a gorgeous bassinet for the early months.
Testimonial from a 12 week program client:
Jordan is absolutely amazing. I was diagnosed with pituitary tumour in 2015 and ever since I have been struggling with weight and energy levels. From our first conversation Jordan was so informative asking questions that not even my doctors were asking. She made me feel super comfortable like I have known her all my life. As soon as she made my custom plan I started cooking. Her meal plan is super simple and super satisfying. Almost instantly I noticed energy levels went up and cravings went down!
How HTMA testing will change your life