I recently had a patient come in who had six children, and several more pregnancies on top of that.  She’d nursed each child for many months. No surprise, perhaps, that she was seeing me for fatigue. Of course, lack of sleep and multiple demands on time and energy can contribute; but it cannot be overstated what a nutritional burden it is to be pregnant or nursing. For those nine months of pregnancy and however many months of nursing, a woman’s body is concentrating all nutrients into the placenta and, later, the breast milk. And it doesn’t have to take six pregnancies to cause nutrient depletion.

 Herbal supplements are an integral part of my practice, and are certainly relevant treatment here; but determining safe doses is critical for any woman potentially carrying and nursing a child. I treat women at all stages: they’re planning on conceiving someday, actively trying to conceive, pregnant, nursing a baby. For women hoping to get pregnant but not yet trying, I recommend increasing vitamin and mineral intake so that they are getting at least 100 mg of the B vitamins and maximum doses of vitamin D, magnesium, and other minerals. Those trying to get pregnant obviously need to avoid abnormally high doses of nutrients to protect the fetus; sometimes I will have a patient keep on the higher doses only when she is bleeding, under the assumption she hasn’t conceived. I’ll also have patients come in for IV vitamin infusions during such times.

Supplementing during pregnancy and even nursing months needs professional vigilance. I generally use a good-quality prenatal vitamin; some essential fatty acids; extra vitamin D, magnesium, and calcium; as well as some herbs known to help during pregnancy. Once a patient has stopped nursing, I usually do some nutritional testing to see what is out of balance, and try to correct that as soon as possible. I know from watching my patients (and my wife, years ago!) how important every bit of energy is when raising young children.