Preparing your Body for Pregnancy with Kate Eskuri

KATE ESKURI 


Quick note, this podcast is for educational purposes only and does not replace your medical advice. Check out our full disclaimer at the bottom of 


kate: the show notes. 


And I'm so excited. We're gonna go ahead and just. Dive in. Welcome, Kate. Can you tell everyone just a little bit about 


kate: yourself? Oh my gosh, of course. I'm so excited to be here. My name is Kate Esk. I am a registered nurse and then I have my doctorate. So my D M P specialized in integrative health. 


And so I really am in a unique niche within the healthcare industry where. I understand and respect modern medicine, but I just prefer to start with like lifestyle changes and natural remedies and living more holistically. And that's what I've built my whole business around. 


I've worked in outpatient setting. I directed wellness at a college. So my nursing career has taken many pivots, but now it's landed me as a business owner. And I'm just very passionate about like simplifying wellness cuz I think a lot of wellness influencers make it seem like so exotic and complicated and times consuming. 


And I just really like to kinda. Cut the crap and make it straightforward. Yeah. So that's a little bit about me. I love 


trish: it. We're like so perfectly fit because I'm the same thing in the maternal area. I am like a little bit of an enigma because I definitely appreciate the medical side of labor and delivery. 


And so I, I love that cuz it's just a bigger picture of what I say in labor and delivery. Yes, if you need resuscitation or you need a nurse or you need me. Yep. But otherwise, hands off, let's let the natural process go. So this is exciting. I'm so excited. I love, I was, I had a guest yesterday we were talking and my husband is like polar opposite of me. 


kate: your baby? 


He just turned seven months, like a few days ago, so Yeah. Oh. Just pasted the half year mark, which is crazy. But it's been such a wild ride in the best way. So tell us 


trish: about your birth experience. 


kate: Oh my gosh. My birth was like I'm very grateful to say this, but it was like the most empowering, transformative day. 


Similar to what we were just saying. I was like head nodding with everything you're saying because I know there is a reason that medical interventions are needed in a birth at times. But I also really wanted to try to do things, as I'm medicated and naturally is possible and just really trust my body. 


And so for me, That looked like a hospital birth, but with a midwife team. And I wanted to labor a home as long as possible. I really wanted my body to go into labor naturally on its own. And I am from a family where pretty much everyone goes past their due date. And, my mom did with all three kids, my sister did with all of her kids. 


trish: Like home. Oh, I know where this is going. Oh yeah. Literally 


kate: we were like moving furniture. I was painting, we were setting up the nursery. 


Our house was in absolute chaos and we were getting a bathroom rental done that they, promised would be done before the baby came. And our house is just ripped apart. Like we literally had. A spare toilet and sinks sitting in our nursery cuz it was like the dumping ground for the bathroom. 


Rhinos. So safe to say life was crazy. I had two weeks left at work. And I had been having prodromal labor for four weeks. And so for those of you that don't know, prodromal labor is when your body is having real contractions, but they don't like amount to anything. They they are different from Braxton Hicks and I had been having those. 


trish: And then, and so you had come to a point of ignoring them. Oh, 


kate: totally. Like I was numb to them. I, yeah. It just was like, okay, this is the normal. 


And I, yeah. 


trish: I wanna interject really quick for those of you guys listening, cuz I love your description of prodromal labor. I always jokingly say it's like back in the day when you would try to turn the key and your car would sputter, but it didn't quite turn on, but it was trying to turn on, it's like a sputtering key in ignition. 


Yeah. Yeah. And 


kate: it's such a beast. It is because it's exhausting it, it feel, I mean it's, they're contractions and granted they're not intense contractions, but it felt like having period cramps for weeks on end. But I was just used to it normal. They'd be about like every 10 to 15 minutes and I was like, this is just my story. 


Exhausted. I feel like third trimester exhaustion in general is there, but we had worked so hard. I'm talking, painting, assembling the crib, like all these things, and I like, I am going to sleep like a rock tonight. Whoa. Okay. So I was sitting on the couch, I went to stand up and I felt this kind of like gush of fluid, but it, I, it was thicker than what I pictured my water breaking to be. 


More watery than I expected discharge to be. But I think in reality it was just maybe part of my mucus plug. And I was like, okay, that it just felt like different. Like I couldn't put my finger on it, but it just was like, okay, something about this feels different than just the prodromal contractions I've been having. 


And my husband is actually a nurse as well. And so we had gone through the Bradley class together cuz we really wanted and a medicated birth and him to feel an empowered part of the birthing team. And so he was the first to identify that I was in labor. I kept saying, This is just for Dral labor. 


It's gonna stop when I go to bed. Trust me. And meanwhile I'm like moaning through contractions. Like it was like I hadn't accepted that I was in labor. Yeah. Cause I'm like, our house is torn apart, our bathroom is torn apart. I have two weeks left at work, like this cannot be happening and I'm exhausted. 


And so basically, long story short, he gave me the best pep talk. He was like, Kate. It doesn't matter that our house isn't done. It doesn't matter that you have two weeks left at work. What matters is this is happening and let's do this thing. And honestly, the moment I like accepted my body was in labor. 


It was like full speed ahead. So we started, 


kate: labor, right In the moment. I surrendered, that wasn't my ideal timing. Was it what I expected? No and no, but it was happening in the moment. I allowed my body to do what it wanted to do. It was just like boom. 


So right away my contractions were already up every three minutes apart. I was moaning through them. It was. Wild and I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. So we did that. We ended up going in around, I'm trying to think like 3:00 AM so it was like five hours of laboring at home. Got to the hospital. 


Like I don't think I've ever said hell yeah in my life, but I would just like, I honestly had that alter Kate came out. Yeah. It was like Larry, the cable guy. Like I was literally like, hell yeah. I'm like, what? That's one of the only things I said. Did your 


trish: husband look over at you like. 


Totally. 


kate: Oh my God. And six was like the number that I had. I know you can't plan a birth, but in my head I'm like, if I'm at six when I get to the hospital, I know I can do this. And so just hearing that was really affirming. And so then I got That's 


trish: so important, what we tell ourselves. Yes. I love that. 


Yeah. So for the, those of you guys listening, tell yourself, I've got this. Tell yourself I'm doing good. And even if you're not six when you get to the hospital, but hopefully if you stay at home till your contractions are less than four minutes apart, lasting for a minute, for two hours, you should be. 


But that's exactly, I love that, that you had set like milestones for yourself to give yourself this okay, encourage, keep going. 


I firmly believe you can't like step by step plan a birth, but I do think I. As women, you are allowed to hold a vision of what you hope for your birth and trust yourself to be able to adapt if things go differently, like I had, hopes, I wouldn't say I had a birth plan, but I had birth hopes and like when those little things would happen, it was just like building momentum and so encouraging. 


trish: Yeah, that's why I call it a birth map. Yes. I don't call it a birth plan because it's just like we're planning a trip to Italy right now, and I have these thoughts of what I wanna do. But I wanna make room for spontaneity. And for changes. And let's say we get there and we've got this tour planned. 


kate: Exactly. Exactly. And that's such a beautiful way of looking at it. 


And so when I got to the hospital like I said, I was at six, had the urge to push in the bath. And then they checked me again and I was still at six, but my waters were like bulging. And this is one thing I really recommend is like knowing which interventions you are okay with before birth because I knew I was super open to having my waters popped. 


I felt totally fine with that. And I felt so much pressure and I'd stalled at six. And so I was like, can you please pop my waters? And there was another delivery like right next door for the midwife. And she's honestly, I'm afraid once I pop, like I'll have two active deliveries going. 


And so that was honestly the hardest part of my, I 


trish: would've been like, listen, I'm about to pop it myself, girl, get down there and do it. I. I 


And so I, I 


trish: love that so much, Kate, because I tell my girls like, I teach them the normal, right? Yep. But I teach them the most important thing you can learn in your birth journey and into your mothering journey is to learn to listen to yourself and to your body. And so one of the things I teach the girls, Is not to let them break your water until you're at least six centimeters or in active labor. 


And typically that's six centimeters. But that being said, if you know your body and you trust your providers, and which you were six centimeters, so labor nurse, mama endorses, but if you're not and you're not in active labor and they break your water too soon, it starts a clock and it starts a mental Thing that happens inside of us when our water breaks and we think we should have the baby. 


kate: time. Yeah. Like I was already at this stage, like in the animalistic part of birth, like I was, it was game on. 


And a resident came on, and mind you, this was the first day, first shift. This was 7:00 AM on a Monday for residents. So this 


trish: was like, so he needed the practice or she needed the practice. And 


kate: I'm like, please pop my waters. So pop my waters. Instantly. I am not kidding. Pop my waters. They checked me again. 


But what I really wanted was just that Out of body, animalistic, like so primal. That's an so vivid experience. That was the motivator for me. And I can truthfully say I have never felt more alive, like I remember every moment of my birth. But yeah, I was, my body was just moving for me. I really tried to be mindful of my pelvic position, so having my knees in and feet out, open the birth canal. 


Yeah. And I ended up It felt longer to me, trust me, but I pushed him out in 14 minutes, so from the moment my waters popped. It was like 20 minutes later, he was like six centimeters to delivery within 20 minutes. It was a wild ride. And in Kate, luck is what my family calls it. Weird things just happened to me. 


Which I didn't care at that point. You just wanted, I did not care. You're done. This is time. Yeah, exactly. And so that I could, of course everyone could go into so much more detail with their birth story, but I just wanted to keep it pretty brief. But yes, I ended up having a beautiful unmedicated birth, and it was the hardest but most wonderful. 


Empowering thing I've ever done. 


trish: I love that so much. And for those of you guys listening, this is a really important point that, so part of my birth classes if they are in the birth class and also a member in the membership, they basically get doula slash labor nurse doula support. And we meet with them every week in a hangout. 


But I think it's really important to say that if you're empowered, if you're educated, if you know what you want and you're. Not only, no, not only have knowledge cuz it does you no good if you can't use it. So if you're too scared to speak up or advocate for yourself, then really it does you no good. But I love it so much that really ultimately it was you and baby I. 


That was doing it. And so the person who was there just had the privilege of being there for your birth, and I think that's good for those of you guys listening, if that's one of your concerns. Like some of these mamas, they have 20 doctors in their practice and they're like, I can't get to know anyone and the only one I like might not be there. 


kate: Oh, thank you. That's so sweet. Yeah, I think just like going in. Or I guess I should say my general attitude with health in general is I just like to be proactive. And again, going back to the birth plan, the birth map, the birth hopes, like you cannot plan your health, but you can do the things within your power. 


It takes three months for the egg to Receive the healthy changes you're making, an egg develops over three months, sperm develops over two months. And so we both just wanted to dive into not being perfectionistic or oh my God, I cannot have a glass of wine, or I can't eat fast food or anything, but just like doing the small things for a few months before we tried. So things that I had done. I wasn't on birth control, hormonal birth control for years before. I know that's not realistic for everyone. At least six months out I would stop birth control. And start. Learning your cycle, tracking your cycle. That's something I had been doing for years at this point, but I know, a lot of people are on it right. 


And just tried to avoid, refined carbs, added sugar. Gluten or dairy if you're sensitive. Alcohol. And that was just how I ate in general, but I was even more mindful of okay, these are the nutrients my egg is getting, like I just was eating with that purpose in mind. 


Yeah. I also recommend having like proactive conversations with your providers. So for me, like I said, I'm like, Kind of crunchy, but I appreciate science. So I was having proactive conversations with my classic OB and then also my naturopath and just like, how can I prime my body? How can I get ready for this? 


Few weeks where you might not even know you're pregnant. So having that prenatal on board and just getting like extra trace vitamins and minerals IDing, zinc, selenium, choline, like those things are important early on. So I just wanted to be taking the prenatal. 


trish: So tell us what you took what, because I'm assuming you did a lot of research on which prenatal you wanted to take. 


I 


kate: did. So what I was looking for is a methylated folate because methylated folates are much more bioavailable for a lot of us. A lot of us have like the M T H F, 


trish: I call it the 


kate: MFer. I know, me too. That's what I always wanna say. That's why I have to spell it out. You too. I just 


trish: call it the MFer because I ha I have it. 


Yes. So I can't I'm not one of those that can take vitamin B shots or any of that. I have to get it in the methyl form. 


And it's like a little packet that arrives and it, they have them for different stages. So they have a preconception pack that like includes a prenatal, I think it's coq 10. I can't remember off the top of my head, but it's different things optimized for that. Stage. Okay. And then there's a first trimester pack and then a second trimester pack. 


And like in first trimester it has extra folate cuz you need more at that time. And then it just gives you targeted for each stage, like third trimester and postpartum. This is not sponsored at all. I do have an affiliate coupon if you're If your followers want, it's Kate S three 20, but like I, this is not sponsored, they're just who I chose, and then I reached out to them once I had such a good experience. 


But basically it's designed by OB GYNs to be the exact nutrients you need at each stage, and then it just comes in a little packet. So that's what I 


But I'm interested in that. I'll have to do some 


kate: research. Yeah, and they actually have, like I was gonna talk more in this podcast about like preparing sperm health because I. Sperm health is half of the equation, and I'm thankful that my husband does take good care of his health. 


But they also have a male conception packet of That's 


So if doing all these things that you're saying is working even on the outside, imagine what it's doing to prepare for this pregnancy. 


kate: Exactly. That's such a beautiful way of looking at it because I know like for me, when I'm really consistent with my collagen, it's oh my gosh, my nails and hair is great. 


And it's what is this doing for my gut health and my connective tissue? What we see on the outside can just kinda be the surface of all the good things that are happening. But to really break it down, like in case, I just went on a rant about parallel. That's just personally what I took. 


But in general, I would just take a prenatal. Coq 10 vitamin D fish oil with d h a and vitamin C. And obviously I'm sure you do this disclaimer too, that's not medical advice, but that's just a good kind of roundup. And then let me try to think what else I did. I'm really cautious about like the. 


trish: gonna, I think hydration is so important. 


kate: It's so important. I'm like, if you fall on I script, you know that I am constantly talking about hydration. 


I think it is one of the most overlooked ways. I know. Look at my big water right here too. Yeah. Yeah. Mine too. It's one of the most overlooked ways to enhance your energy, your skin, your digestion, like your mood. I think I saw a study that said even a 5% reduction in hydration, like decreased concentration, significantly. It's if you want to show up for your work and your tasks and show up with focus and energy, hydration is such a great bang for your buck. And 


trish: Same during pregnancy. Hydration is so important in pregnancy. I can't tell you how many times I've, I have triaged someone who is having preterm labor or having something. 


And we bolus her with fluids and she's good to go. 


This one meditation changed everything. And it's like the quick fixes aren't gonna work if you're not eating well, sleeping well and hydrating well, and If you are wanting to prime your body for a pregnancy release, the need to do it perfectly. And instead just focus on the basics with intention and show up in those areas and that will take care of so much. 


trish: I love that so much. Just keep it simple. Because the more complicated you make anything, the less likely you are to stick to it. That's then a hundred percent. Then you feel like giving up and then you do nothing. 


Like I said, I wanted to optimize his like sperm health as well. And I'll just say a resource for your listeners is it starts With The Egg by Rebecca Fe is a book. And it, okay. I'll link it in the show notes. Yeah. Super helpful. And it breaks down like how to eat, what supplements to take. 


But with sperm health, again, we did similar supplements with Adam. Like coq 10 is huge for sperm health. Vitamin C and fish oil are also shown to promote healthy sperm. And so he was taking those again. Good. Good quality nourishment, good sleep. The basics. One thing that is interesting, I'm intrigued it, it's not like I think this is the quick fix that will solve everything, but some studies show, and even one that was by Harvard found a correlation that men who wear like tighter underwear. 


We're 


trish: all, we're so screwed in the future. Like our children are gonna have very low sperm health. I know. 


kate: And it's I feel like this alarm is sometime, and again, I'm not trying to say be terrified of your phone or Never wear briefs again. But in those like two months leading up to it, Adam only wore boxers and then he kept his phone in his back pocket. 


Just to reduce how you can, and again, maybe in 20 years we'll find out these things do have a tangible impact. Right now it's just early data, but I was just like, Hey, it's not a big change. 


I don't know. Yeah, 


kate: everyone put your pager away. And That's the same with toxic products like Phalates, parabins, they're like these buzzwords we hear, but high phthalate levels are linked with lower levels of tox, testosterone, and higher oxidative stress. So it's I just think I. 


Again, not trying to be perfect, but just being intentional. Maybe, switching to some cleaner products for your husband. I think so often as women, we think of our own products and upgrading them, but my husband used clean skin care, clean body wash that sort of thing. I think a lot of 


trish: my listeners are like, damn, your husband uses skincare. 


Like, how do I get my husband to use skincare at all? Oh my god, 


kate: The most basic, it literally is like this all in one face wash thing in the shower. Yeah. And then there's like this turmeric oil that he loves the smell of. So I think that is the motivator, but, 


It's too much. Now mind you, he uses like that. What's the man shampoo all in one That's like against head 


kate: and shoulders. 


trish: No, not that, but like the, like with the perfume cologne smell I forget the name of it. It's like a sport one, A sweaty wash, something like that, but not xx. Yeah, but similar. 


Yeah. And I'm like, okay, let's old switch. Old Spice. Old Spice, yes. Old Spice. Something like that. So I'm like, how can you like, seriously? So I've been trying, but it's not going anywhere yet. So we'll see. 


kate: No, totally. And I think we don't want a baby. So with all things health, like people ask me like, oh my gosh, my husband's not on board, or My mom's not on board, or blah, blah, blah. 


And then the other day he had a headache and he was grabbing it and he is this is amazing. So it's like you don't have to force people. Into doing things, but the more and more you gradually upgrade your lifestyle, like people come along for it. So just, release the need to. Have your partner do things perfectly and just encourage him in the big things like reduce, if he smokes, reducing smoking, if he's drinking a lot, reducing drinking, eating a bit healthier. 


You don't have to get into the lights and parabins and all that if you don't want, but just encourage the good habits you're seeing. And then little by little momentum builds both for you and the other person. 


Like you can force your children to do certain things and you can say, this is how you do it, but the best thing you can do is set an example and live your life by the qualities that you want to see in your children. Yeah. So let's let's think once you're pregnant. So now you're pregnant, what are some tips that you recommend health-wise during pregnancy? 


kate: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Every pregnancy looks so different and for me, I had a really rocky first trimester I was, I. So nauseous, like throw, I was losing so much weight and that was my stressor. And I'm like, I felt like I was forcing myself to eat. And for me, food has been a place of like joy and nourishment and I literally wanted, I. 


Nothing except popsicles, crackers, and plain rice. 


You just have to get whatever you can keep down, down. And I remember my midwife saying to, because, I worked with her and I was so upset because I just could not keep anything healthy. I didn't want anything healthy. Let's just get real. I only wanted like non-healthy stuff and it was all I could keep down. 


And she was like, at this point your baby's gonna get everything your baby needs. Survive and then focus on your health more intensely. 


kate: Exactly. And I think, like one thing I try to remind myself of is like our nutrient stores build up over time. So I like trusted and relied on how I nourished my body before pregnancy and knew my baby was still benefiting from the buildup of my nutrient stores, if that makes sense. 


I just tried to if I wanted crackers, I tried to buy clean ingredient crackers and just make. Whatever I was having the best it could be, but giving myself total freedom and trust in my body that like, even though it was miserable, this was apparently what my body needed at that stage. And did 


trish: you take. 


Oh, go ahead. Oh, sorry. I was just gonna ask if you took, cuz I have a, one of my very best friends is a naturopathic doctor and we've been working on like a morning sickness, pregnancy sickness kind of guide. So I'm just wondering, did your naturopathic doctor recommend anything unusual or what you would call unusual? 


Cuz I have some thoughts on that as well. 


Another thing is like the acupressure bands, like the nausea bands that press on acupressure point P six. I wore those all the time. Let's see. And there are 


trish: some cute ones. You guys, there are cute ones. Yes. You don't have to have the Terry cloth stretchy ones that you see on cruises. 


kate: Exactly. 


And then I would like, use essential oils as an anti-emetics, like sniff peppermint oil just to reset before. Vomiting. I'm trying to think of other, did you 


trish: try magnesium? 


kate: I did. And it didn't work for you? I was, if I ingested it orally, I would throw up, but I did use make the spray magnesium oil. 


Yep. Spray on my feet. Okay. Yeah. And I didn't notice like a huge difference with that. I'm trying to think of 


Yeah, 


kate: I remember I tried it, but I just felt like I, honestly, it was a good lesson for me where. With my health, I'm always like, oh, I can solve this, I can optimize this, I can do this one thing. And ultimately, I remember it was around week eight and I just broke down crying cuz I felt so sick. 


And I was just like, it was just a surrender of okay, body, I trust you. I've been trying so hard to control this. And like maybe tomorrow I'll feel better, maybe tomorrow I'll be able to keep food down. Maybe tomorrow I won't throw up. And it's like this constant urge to make things better. Was making me more miserable in around like week eight. 


Fix it. Fix it. Yeah. I think that helped, honestly. 


trish: Hey, I'm gonna pause for a second. Is your screen frozen or is it because your picture is like frozen and I don't know if it's just my side of it. 


kate: You are not frozen for me. No. Are 


trish: you frozen? No. How interesting. I can hear you and the sound is fine, but you're frozen, like mid-sentence on here. 


I have no idea how to fix that. Can you turn your camera on and off again? Sure. See if that works. Okay. Nope. Is that better? Nope, it's staying right there. But that's okay cuz the sound is fine Elijah, just cut all that out. I was just gonna ask you something else and I forgot we 


kate: were talking about, oh, go ahead. 


kate: Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you brought this up, because I feel like, especially as first time moms, you think how am I gonna decorate the nursery? 


What onesie am I gonna take their photos in? What outfits am I gonna get? And I encourage you, yes, those things are fun and beautiful, and you should delight in the child you're bringing into the world. But I encourage you to take. One third of that energy in place it towards planning your postpartum, like having freezer meals made making like some egg cups that you can, like heat up in the moment. 


Maybe having a meal train set up by friends getting nourishment in. Is so difficult in those first days where even like walking to the kitchen feels hard. Cause you, you feel so weak and sore. So having things pre-made was like a godsend. 


So I love that. Have something ready to go, grab it out and 


kate: go. And I think one thing that I personally had to work on is when people say, do you need anything? Or How can I help? They want to help. And normally I'm someone that's oh, I'm fine. I can handle it, whatever. But with people that were like closer to me, like my mom, I, like that kind of stuff when she's what do you need? 


I'm like, honestly, if you could batch, make five freezer meals for me, that is what I want. Yeah. More than like a gift or a cute onesie or anything like, That to me will be so much more helpful. And it's been on those kind of like long days where it's oh my gosh, we have to make dinner. 


And I think giving them a specific thing that would help you is a beautiful thing. 


trish: I love that we inside of call Mama Society, my pregnancy and postpartum support slash everything community. We do weekly expert workshops and it's, me teaching Birth Taylor teaching Comfort and Coping. She's a doula. 


And then we have other experts come in. Tuesday night, we had this incredible workshop. Exactly that topic, learning how to really ask for the help you need, because I think a lot of times we just give these rote answers. And when you have a new baby, and if you are not comfortable doing this, pick a person to be your coordinator. 


Yeah. And then the people who are like, how are you? And they really wanna know cuz they wanna dive deep. So I think having someone designated to. Ask for help is such an important thing because let's say it's your best friend, she's not gonna be guilty. She won't feel guilty or emotional by asking someone to come and do laundry. 


Where you might be like, Hey, is that awkward? I really just need laundry. But I think that's really important to say. And then I also wanted to say about freezer meals, cuz I don't know if you know that I have seven kids. Oh my gosh. First baby shower. First baby shower. You do the big, normal, traditional baby shower. 


And there's and for those of you guys listening, When you do something like that, or you have a meal plan, be specific. So like in Kate's, she wants clean whole foods, like you don't want if you don't eat meat, then high proteins that are, not meat source. So just be specific. 


It's okay. To do that, to be detailed. Thank you so much for coming today, Kate. This was really awesome. We've been trying to do this and I think you didn't have childcare once and then I had to do something, so I'm really happy that we finally got it. Oh my gosh. 


kate: It was such a blast, Trish. And I just I love your mission and message and it just felt so aligned. 


trish: I love that too. Can you tell everyone again really quick where they can find you? 


kate: Oh my gosh, yes. So if you want like science back tips on holistic living, the foundation blog is my main platform. 


I'm also very active on [email protected]. And then I have my eight week health coaching program, and I'm also on, which is new. So if you search for the reset on subs you can get like guided meditations, nourishing recipes q and As. That is where I hang. I 


trish: am super excited about that cuz I had never heard of CK until today. 


So thank you so much, Kate. Have a great day. 


kate: You too, Trish. Thank you. 


Bye for now.