Gloria Lemays Regimen for a Flu-free Pregnancy
Gloria Lemay?s Regimen for a Flu-free Pregnancy
The publicity for the H1N1 vaccine is pervasive. Pregnant women are being focused on as a group that should be first in line to receive the vaccine. The fact that the vaccine is highly experimental and contains mercury (thimerosol preservative) has not escaped pregnant women and childbirth workers.
When the public is polled about who will take the H1N1 vaccine, almost half the population say they will refuse it. Thanks to the internet and other people-centered media, the experts who disagree with this mass population vaccine program have gotten the message out that the vaccine is far more dangerous than the disease.
What can a pregnant woman do to protect herself from H1N1 if she refuses the vaccine program?
Again, the media suggestions of sneezing into your sleeve and washing your hands with toxic sanitizers don?t get to the heart of the issue. We all need to take charge of having the best immune response possible so these suggestions, although directed at pregnant women in the fall of 2009, are good lifestyle advice for everyone.
1. Go to bed at 10 p.m. or earlier in a very dark room. Healthy sleep is important. Get rid of lighting in the bedroom (nightlights, electronic clocks, etc.)
2. Change your bedding and towels once a week.
3. Eat foods high in Vitamin C. Grapefruit, oranges, kiwi fruit and red peppers. Get used to these fruits as dessert.
4. Eliminate white sugar and flour from your diet.
5. Eliminate caffeine (coffee, tea, colas, chocolate).
6. Buy a wool scarf and mittens and be sure to bundle up warmly when you go out into the cold. Scarves help maintain your body heat and can be unwrapped and stuffed into your pocket when you go into a store or office building to adjust your warmth level.
7. If you feel the first tickle of a cold or sore throat, cancel everything and go straight to bed with hot herbal tea and a bag of grapefruit. Nip it in the bud with rest, Vitamin C and inner warmth.
8. Here?s a link to herbs that are safe in pregnancy. Learn to love your herb teas.
9. Slow down and enjoy your pregnancy. This is a special time in your life. Say ?no? to overbooking yourself and consider quitting work earlier than you planned.
10. Keep your partner healthy, too.
Your baby will thank you for adopting these measures and you?ll have more energy, too. The first 3 days are the hardest and, then, you?ll love this routine. I?m sure the comments will have lots more tips, too, read on.
