Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the abundance of resources out there when it comes to pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and parenting? Trust me, you're not alone in this age of information overload. It's really easy to get lost in the sea of options and end up not taking action at all. I'm Natalie, and you're listening to the Resource Doula podcast. Join me on this miniseries designed to help simplify this journey. In each episode, I'll go through my favorite resources for a specific category, making it easier than ever to find the information you need and leave behind what doesn't resonate with you. Our approach here is all about embracing a holistic, natural, and non-toxic lifestyle. Let's get started. Today we're talking about my favorite resources for preconception. Preconception is essentially the time when you're looking toward getting pregnant. And this could be after you already have kids or not. Whole body balancing is really the name of the game here, and I'm not about overburdening you with resources, but really just providing the ones that I truly believe will make a difference in your life. And I also want to provide a space for processing. If you've been going through miscarriage or infertility, or just having difficulty with your body in general, I want you to know that it is okay to stop this podcast and come back to it when you are ready for it. We're gonna start out with some books that I recommend. My first book that I give to pretty much any client or recommend that they read is a Period Repair Manual by Laura Briden. This book was really revolutionary to me, and since reading it for the first time, I have loaned it out. So many times to people. Laura explains things in just a really clear way and gives practical ways to actually talk with your provider and gives you samples of questions you can ask to chat about the things you're noticing about your period symptoms. It's really one of the large players in how I came to the conclusion that I had endometriosis and then. Ended up having surgery about a year and a half ago now. Um, this, this book is really a good one to have around for reference, even after you finish reading it. The next book I recommend is Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Tony Weschler. This book is excellent for understanding the nuances of your menstrual cycle and an introduction to the fertility awareness method. Oftentimes abbreviated. As fam, and it really helps you learn how to precisely track your cycle signs. There were more things in there than I realized, and I will add a little bit of a caveat. Some of the nutrition advice and information on endometriosis in the version I read was a little outdated, but all of that information doesn't affect the tracking and the fam piece. the next book I recommend is Awakening Fertility by Hung U. This is the sister book to the pregnancy book, nine Golden Months and the postpartum book, the first 40 days that you may have heard me talk about before. And it's really just a perfect blend of nutrition information, stress reduction strategies, and Chinese medicine inspiration. So if you've been avoiding pregnancy like the plague for years and years and years, and you wanna start thinking about trying to get pregnant, this book is a really great place to start. The next book I recommend is Your Pelvic Floor by Kim Vopni, and as you probably already know if you've been around for a little bit, Kim is a mentor of mine and an amazing pelvic health advocate. You can find her online at the Vagina Coach, pretty much on every social media outlet. Um, she has years of insight and research and just explains the pelvic floor really well in this book, no matter where you are in your journey. the next book I recommend is Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols. Lily is basically a food genius and she's my number one dietician recommendation for food science and evidence-based information on nutrition, whether you are a consumer or a professional in the field as well. She's really a nerd about the research, which is great, and she provides hundreds and hundreds of studies to back up her information in the book, but it's also really. Easy to understand as well. If you're looking to learn how to nourish yourself well during the transition to motherhood, I would recommend you read it. She has also very delicious and simple recipes in her book, regardless if you're pregnant or not. So the, the sooner you get your nutrition on track, the better. Next, I wanna talk about a few easy swaps that you can make to create a less toxic home and environment for healthier humans and a better place to bring in a new baby. So number one, open your windows for better air quality. Number two, filter your air and your water, your drinking water, especially. Number three, use glass containers or stainless steel to store your food and water and never microwave in plastic or styrofoam containers. Number four, switch to a healthier cleaner, something that's non-toxic. I really like branch basics. I've used it for about three years now and I haven't looked back. You wanna pick something where you won't have to worry if it's around your babies, your pets, and you right? If you're breathing, breathing it in. Um, branch basics, covers laundry, soap, hand soap. All of my cleaning solutions, fruit wash, and. Even body wash with just one concentrate. They also have the oxygen boost, which kind of acts like an oxyclean as well. Um, so think about what you're using in your environment and how you're cleaning your home and what kind of toxins you're allowing in through your products. Number five, think about what you're putting on your skin. So this also kind of goes along with the previous one. You wanna switch to less toxic products? My top favorites are Sola Skincare. I love their deodorant. It's the only natural deodorant I've ever been able to use without getting a rash as my skin is really sensitive. Um, Alaska Tallow Co. I have switched completely over to using Tallow on my face and my body. The Alpenglow is my absolute favorite. You can use the Code TRAINERNATALIE to save you 10% on your order at Alaska Tallow Co. I also like if I'm going to wear makeup, a Raza Beauty. The code, natalie15 also will save you 15%. At Raza, they have great products that actually help to nourish your skin and not damage it further, or you don't have to worry about it being toxic. Um, if you're wearing makeup on a regular basis or even regularly, It's important to put things on our face and on our bodies that we could potentially even eat things that are safe for us. The next thing is switching to wearing more natural fibers rather than polyester to avoid microplastics and just kind of thinking more about what your skin is absorbing, and especially if you are sweating in those clothes. The last one here is throw away any artificial fragrances. So candles. S room sprays those plugin things and also be mindful of excessive essential oil diffusing as well. What we breathe goes into our bodies, and simply by eliminating a lot of the artificial fragrances in our home, we can lower the toxic burden on our bodies as well. There are a lot of accounts and podcasts and things that people will send to you or you'll come across as you're on this preconception journey. I'm going to give you two of my favorite podcasts besides my own that I really encourage people to listen to that are solid with their advice and. Heavy on the information and providing information in a simple and clear way. So the first one is, are you Menstrual with Amanda Montalvo? I love her podcast and I would really encourage you to listen from episode one, um, as the first 10 or so, build on each other, and then you can hop around. They talk about the nutritional side of hormone health a lot and more about minerals than I have ever heard anybody. Else talk about, and in case you missed it, I also interviewed Amanda on the resource doula in episode 27. The next podcast I recommend is at Home with Kelly and Tiffany. This podcast is just full of simplified health information about hormones, non-toxic living, balancing your life, and a lot of information on. Birth as well. Kelly and Tiffany are home birth midwives out of the San Diego area, so I highly recommend it. I also had them on the Resource Doula podcast on episode 25 if you wanna look at that. I hope these tips were helpful and provide a really straightforward starting point for you on your preconception journey. I know that navigating overall health, especially women's health, can be daunting, and my goal is to simplify that just even a little bit. So if you found this podcast helpful, please consider leaving a five star rating and sharing it with a friend. That's it for this episode. All the resources I mentioned and more are part of a bigger list. That's a live document, meaning I update it regularly. You can follow the link in the show notes or just go to resource doula.com/resources. Please remember that these are just suggestions and not medical advice. Thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time.