By Sally Wallace Lynch, MS, CD-N

For women who have long dreamt of having a baby, the uncomfortable realities of pregnancy—morning sickness, hemorrhoids, fatigue—can sometimes overshadow the joyful news. But pregnancy is filled with intimations of the sublime. It has the power to engage the mind and open the heart as your body welcomes a new life into form. Use our practical guide to learn how to embrace the whole experience—one trimester at a time.

The week I learned I was pregnant, I could barely contain my excitement; the next week I could barely retain my breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. Overcome with extreme nausea, I lost 12 pounds in four weeks. When I finally landed in the hospital, lying under the crisp, white linens with 5 percent dextrose solution dripping into my forearm, I lamented that my situation little resembled the romantic notion I’d had of pregnancy.

It wasn’t until a few months later, while writing to my soon-to-be-born daughter, that I gleaned the wisdom of that time. Feeling like a truck had run me over brought life as I knew it to a screeching halt, allowing me to pause long enough to marvel at this miracle taking place within me. Harried days of tight schedules shifted to quieter moments of exploring this new life with my baby—getting to know my daughter through lyrical dreams; interpreting her kicks as messages from her watery world; playing my favorite music for her; and understanding that my universe was hers.

In the letter, I thanked her for helping me see pregnancy not only as a time of amazing physical change, but also one of profound spiritual opportunity—the beginning of my life as a nurturer.

Like it does for many women, pregnancy made me reevaluate how I lived my life. I began to question what I ate, how I breathed, what I used to clean my house, and even how I reacted to stress. My body, now the home of two physiologies, exemplified a symbiotic relationship. My baby’s world—cocooned within my own—depended on me.

Gathering reliable information on enjoying a healthy pregnancy proved as tedious as patching a quilt together, each unique square representing a different bit of advice from seasoned moms; best-selling authors; and, of course, my obstetrician. I had to sift through a lot of confusing and often conflicting information. Was coffee OK to drink? Could I use conventional cosmetics? Should I only eat organic food? Looking back, I wish I had a Pregnancy Action Plan, like the one we’ve created here, as my practical how-to guide to a healthy pregnancy.

Eating for two
The first step in purifying your baby’s intrauterine home is to eat healthfully yourself. Choose naturally colorful, unprocessed, organically grown foods, free of pesticides and hormones. And remember: Your sugar high is her sugar high. “Use common sense about what to eat,” advises Joel Evans, MD, author of The Whole Pregnancy Handbook (Gotham, 2005). “Build a daily balanced diet around the five big nutrients of pregnancy: calcium, complex carbohydrates, good fats, iron, and protein.”

Although taking supplements won’t replace eating a nutritionally potent array of foods, it will ensure that you get the right balance of nutrients. So begin taking a prenatal vitamin right away. In fact, even if you are only thinking about getting pregnant, start those vitamins now so that you