Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

What to Look for When Purchasing a Non-Toxic Mattress for your Kids

It’s always bittersweet when it’s time to move your little one from their crib to their toddler bed. Before the arrival of our third baby, we wanted to have our two year old setup in his big boy bed to match his brothers. We have always sourced non-toxic, organic crib mattresses but hadn’t fully explored what was available for our kids twin and full mattress setups.

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

Your Nontoxic Baby Registry Checklist (Health-Focused Items for Mom + Baby)

Preparing for a baby is so exciting. But it can also be overwhelming, especially if you’re a first-time mom. When making your baby registry list, there are tons of products to sift through (from the best cribs to baby monitors) — and this can feel stressful if you don’t know what items are best.

As a holistic nutritionist, I like to take my baby registry planning even further by including nontoxic items for the home. Many common baby items are covered in flame retardants, plastics, and forever chemicals (PFAS) — which can be harmful to your baby.

When we had our little one, Colter, last year, I heavily researched each item on our baby registry checklist. I’m particularly passionate about using nontoxic items here because…

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

How to Write a Birth Plan: Your Complete Guide to Giving Birth Holistically

As a mom and holistic nutritionist, it’s comforting to know that I’ve made the important decisions before I’m in the delivery room.

I’m talking about a birth plan.

A birth plan is your way of ensuring your wishes for pain management, cord clamping, and skin-to-skin contact are honored. It’s the calm before the storm. And it’s a beautiful way to know your baby will be cared for during his or her first moments of life.

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

How to Protect and Analyze Blood Sugar Levels While Pregnant

Gestational diabetes (a temporary form of diabetes) is the most common kind of blood sugar disruption during pregnancy. It’s characterized by high blood sugar levels and your body’s inability to produce enough insulin.


But gestational diabetes isn’t the only way you can experience blood sugar imbalance during pregnancy. Even without a diagnosis, you may notice food cravings, mood swings, and energy lulls — all related to your blood sugar levels. This is common during pregnancy, and as a holistic nutritionist, I have a number of simple tools you can use to prevent it.

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

The Ultimate Guide to First Trimester Pregnancy | From a Holistic Nutrition Perspective

Let me say something a little controversial:

The standard recommendations for first trimester pregnancy nutrition don’t scratch the surface of what women actually need.

A quick Google search will fill you in on your baby’s growth and development — and may suggest a prenatal vitamin. But it won’t tell you that our ancestors spent months and years preparing their bodies for pregnancy. You won’t learn that nutrient-dense foods are more important than calorie counting. And you won’t discover how to harness your intuition for a powerful and life-changing pregnancy experience.

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

What Causes Infertility? How to Balance Your Hormones and Improve Chances of Pregnancy

Infertility isn’t just a diagnosis. It’s an emotional journey that touches almost every aspect of life — from your relationship with your partner to social stigmas and the idea that your body has “failed.” It’s difficult to go about daily life with more questions than answers.

To be diagnosed with infertility, you must be unable to conceive for a year or more. It’s estimated that over ten percent of women struggle with infertility, and those numbers are on the rise.

If infertility is part of your story, you’re familiar with diagnoses like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and diminished ovarian reserve. While helpful, these diagnoses only offer a small window into the full picture of your fertility.

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Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell

The Best Pregnancy Nutrition Calculator + How to Use It

As a pregnancy nutritionist, it’s my job to work with women like you to support a healthy and empowered pregnancy. We’ll use whole foods, lifestyle changes, and hormone-balancing techniques to help you show up as the best version of yourself.

(Yes, even during pregnancy.)

There are many different tools I use to empower women to advocate for themselves and embrace a nutrient-rich pregnancy diet plan. One of my favorites is a pregnancy nutrition calculator.

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

Your Path to Feeling Good This Pregnancy — The Benefits of Working with a Pregnancy Nutritionist

Women’s health is overlooked and understudied — especially when it comes to pregnancy.

Knowing what foods to avoid and which prescription drugs are safe to use is helpful, but it’s only a small part of pregnancy.

If we want to thrive, we need to understand how nutrients impact our bodies, how to optimize energy levels, and how to curb nausea.

This is where pregnancy nutrition comes in.

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Nutrition, Motherhood Katherine Braswell Nutrition, Motherhood Katherine Braswell

The Best Diet for Pregnant Women — From a Pregnancy Nutritionist

The moment you saw your positive pregnancy test, you knew your life would change.

Pregnancy comes with many diet and lifestyle shifts — all intended to protect and support your growing baby.

But when it comes to following a pregnancy diet, the guidelines are limited.

This article contains all the education you wish you had on the pregnancy diet — from the perspective of a pregnancy nutritionist.

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Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell

Vitamin A for Pregnancy and How to Supplement with Cod Liver Oil

When you think about pregnancy health, vitamin A probably isn’t the first nutrient that comes to mind.

This is because severe vitamin A deficiency isn’t common in the Western world. Most of us are getting enough vitamin A for basic organ function and eye health.

But this doesn’t mean we should leave vitamin A out of the pregnancy conversation altogether.

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

How to Use Homeopathy During Every Stage of Pregnancy

Finding the balance between safe and effective remedies during pregnancy can feel like a never-ending battle—one that can directly impact the wellbeing of your growing baby and make you feel out-of-control anxious.

You’ve never cared so much about the food and medicines that go into your body.

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Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell

Understanding the Root Cause of Postpartum Fatigue + How to Address It with Nutrition

I know postpartum fatigue is debilitating and isolating. There are so many changes that come with childbirth—and dealing with apathy, depression, brain fog, and endless dirty dishes on top of it all can feel crushing. There are tangible ways to resolve postpartum fatigue, though. And no, they aren’t the kind that add even more to your to-do list. Here are some tools I use with my nutrition clients to help them regain energy (physically, mentally, and emotionally) and their sense of self:

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Motherhood Katherine Braswell Motherhood Katherine Braswell

Six Postpartum Essentials to Truly Heal

As a holistic nutrition consultant, I’ve worked with several prenatal and postpartum mamas throughout their pregnancy and postpartum journeys. In working with these mamas, I consistently recommend these six postpartum essentials to assist in their journey to true healing!

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Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell Motherhood, Nutrition Katherine Braswell

Postpartum Healing + Postpartum Foods: How to Optimize Your Recovery

Whether you’re seasoned in birth recovery or a first-time mama, postpartum can feel overwhelming. Not only do you have to manage your own fears and needs but you also have to manage everyone else’s, too. As you prepare for a nourishing postpartum, maybe you’re trying to weigh all the mixed messages you’ve heard about postpartum healing. And you’re worried about how the wrong information could impact your baby’s health.

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