At Funky Forest Health & Wellbeing we specialise in assisting pregnant women and their babies to stay healthy, strong and well-nourished throughout their pregnancies.

PRENATAL NUTRITION

Pregnancy Yoga
Good nutrition in pre-conception and pregnancy is critical during the various developmental stages of your baby. The egg, sperm, hormones and uterus need to be healthy to initiate and maintain a pregnancy to full term.

There is a constant requirement for nutrients at each stage of reproduction, and the best source is food, although the right supplementation is sometimes necessary.

Some of the topics you may cover in your prenatal nutrition consultation:​​
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  • The most important things women trying to conceive should pay attention to before becoming pregnant
  • Which blood tests all pregnant women should have to assess for nutritional deficiencies, and how to correct deficiency if you have it
  • Which nutrients are critical, both before and during pregnancy
  • When supplementation might be necessary, and where to find high quality natal supplements
  • Why decreasing inflammation is so important while pregnant (and how to do it)
  • What foods can promote pre-eclampsia, premature delivery and other complications
  • Vegetarian, vegan or other special diets during pregnancy, and how to avoid deficiencies (e.g. DHA omega-3s in pregnant vegan mamas)
  • Which nutrient-rich foods will greatly support your pregnancy
  • How to manage food aversions during pregnancy, and what regular food cravings might mean
  • How what a mum eats during pregnancy can permanently change the health of her baby
  • ​Navigating pregnancy with an eating disorder, weight concern, changing body shape and/or body image issues.​
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Whether you’re pregnant or planning to be pregnant, you can book an appointment with our team dietitian Casey to assess what you are feeding yourself and your unborn child and learn how to optimise nutrition for both you and your baby.

​Casey is an expert in antenatal nutrition, a mother of 2, and is passionate about helping you optimise your and your baby's nutrition and wellbeing at this special time. ​

Already had your baby? Read about our postnatal nutrition services.
Prenatal yoga is an effective and wonderful way to maximise your health and spiritual and emotional wellbeing throughout your pregnancy and beyond. Specialised prenatal yoga can be used to gain a deeper insight into the process of pregnancy.

The benefits of yoga during pregnancy and birth include:

  • Promotes relaxation, stress management, and emotional wellbeing
  • Improves general fitness (stamina) and health for the pregnancy and birth. The nervous, hormonal, and circulatory systems all benefit from a skillfully guided prenatal yoga practice
  • Enhances a woman’s enjoyment of the journey of pregnancy as a special and sacred time and encourages her to honour herself and her baby
  • Yoga increases strength, flexibility and agility. The woman is in the best possible shape for the challenges of labour (particularly for an Active Birth approach) and beyond and her body more able to recover quickly after baby has arrived
  • Deep toning of the birth muscles, which helps birth and in facilitating a speedy postnatal recovery (e.g. reduce or prevent stress incontinence/prolapse)
  • Improves overall circulation and can help with fluid retention (reducing swelling in the ankles/legs)
  • Can reduce or alleviate back problems common in pregnancy (problems caused by the growing weight of the baby and the increase in breast size)
  • Improves posture, balance and coordination
  • Can help ease heartburn, oedema (fluid retention), muscle cramps, and constipation
  • Helps a woman birth consciously and powerfully! Conscious relaxation and yogic breathing help the mother to stay present, relax and revive and refocus her energies during labour.

All of these benefits are shared between the mother and her growing baby, as "what's good for mum is good for bub - and vice versa!"

Yoga is deeply empowering for pregnant women. The yoga practices help her develop the mental and physical strength needed in preparation for the challenges ahead and to face them with courage and equanimity.

Casey is a qualified prenatal and postnatal yoga teacher who can skilfully guide you through pregnancy-appropriate yoga that caters to your needs. Classes offered from mid-2018.