Pregnant or looking to become pregnant? Congratulations!
If you’re looking for a guide on how to follow an animal-based diet while pregnant, I recommend starting with the below post.
Nourished
Heart & Soil Films featured our story in their mini-documentary, Nourished, which spotlights animal-based pregnancies. Click on the below image to watch it on YouTube.
Looking to replace your synthetic prenatal vitamin?
I decided against taking a prenatal vitamin while I was pregnant. Instead, I relied on nutrient-dense food and real food supplements – like beef organs and desiccated oysters – to fuel me and build baby. Below are the products I recommend taking in place of a prenatal alongside a high-calorie nutrient-rich diet.
Note: Do not take this recommendation as absolute. Do your own research and/or work with your provider. These are just suggestions based on my own experience, research, conversations with health experts, and what I took during my own pregnancy in place of a conventional prenatal vitamin.
Update: I am pregnant with baby #2! I took almost all of what is listed below during my second pregnancy, but I’ve also added a few new supplements. If it has a star (*) next to it, I added it in during pregnancy #2.
Beef Organs
Part of Heart & Soil’s prenatal stack. Well-rounded spread of nutrient-dense beef organs: liver, heart, pancreas, spleen, and kidney.
ASH10 for 10% off.
Firestarter
Part of Heart & Soil’s prenatal stack. Healthy fats to nourish you and baby.
ASH10 for 10% off.
Lifeblood
Part of Heart & Soil’s prenatal stack. Beef blood, spleen, and liver. Helps build blood, improve iron stores, and prevent anemia.
ASH10 for 10% off.
Mood, Memory & Brain
Part of Heart & Soil’s prenatal stack. Consists of nutrient-dense liver, nourishing bone marrow, and brain.
ASH10 for 10% off.
Note: If you’re looking for an organ supplement source that is cheaper than Heart & Soil but still high quality, consider Perfect Supplements. They offer a multi-organ blend and a desiccated liver supplement. You won’t get the targeted support that you do with Heart & Soil, but these are great alternatives. Perfect Supplements also offers both products in bulk powders. Use ASHLEYR for 10% off at checkout.
Wild-Caught Fish Eggs
For DHA/EPA to help build baby’s brain. Especially important if you don’t eat much fish.
Cod Liver Oil* + Desiccated Cod Roe*
Cod liver oil: Rich in omega 3’s (DHA/EPA) and vitamin A/D.
Cod roe: Rich in omega 3’s (DHA/EPA) and vitamin B12.
Get 15% off with Paleovalley (cod roe source) if you use the below link.
Pregnancy Homeopathic Cell Salt Protocol*
Really happy I found this during my second pregnancy. I think this protocol was a large contributing factor to the resolve of my vomiting. To learn more, click the button below and scroll to the “Pregnancy homeopathic cell salt protocol” section.
Real Food Vitamin C
Only if not eating plentiful amounts of fruit.
Single-source: Whole food vitamin C supplement sourced from acerola cherries. For those who are looking for a single-source vitamin C supplement. (ASHLEYR for 10% off.)
Multi-fruit: Whole food vitamin C supplement sourced from exotic berries and fruit extracts. For those who don’t mind (or for those who prefer) the fruit variety.
Quinton Minerals*
I am so happy I found this during my second pregnancy! Free of radioactive elements, chemicals, and plastics and nearly identical to our blood plasma and the optimal structure of healthy amniotic fluid, which makes it a great “food” for our cells. I follow a few IGers that swear by Quinton, and some have incredible stories. One, for example, used it during her third pregnancy, labor, and postpartum, and claims she bled significantly less that birth/postpartum. She also shared may stories of women had the same experience. Another woman actually used Quinton right after labor to stop a hemorrhage! I wrote more on my journey with Quinton in this post.
Shilajit*
Harvested at high altitudes from the Altai mountains in Siberia, then measured, compacted, and pressed into small compartments to dry. Free of any binding agents or fillers. Rich in minerals, humic acid, fulvic acid.
Bone Matrix
Only if not eating plentiful amounts of calcium-rich foods like raw dairy and bone broth.
ASH10 for 10% off.
Full-Spectrum Magnesium
To help support the high magnesium requirements during pregnancy and resolve many known pregnancy ailments (related to magnesium deficiency).
ASH10 for 10% off.
Magnesium Malate/Glycinate
To help support the high magnesium requirements during pregnancy along with energy levels and sleep.
Malate is known to be energizing, so consume in the morning for a boost.
Glycinate is known to be relaxing, so consume in the evening (alongside full-spectrum magnesium) to aid in restful sleep.
ASHLEYR for 10% off.
Magnesium Glycinate*
I switched to glycinate only for my second pregnancy. No complaints!
Sea Salt
Salt (a good source of it) is a pregnant woman’s best friend. One of the reasons I think I had such a good pregnancy (and barely any swelling) was my sky-high consumption of salt. Check out this salt-purchasing hack to make your salt-buying game cheap and efficient.
ASHLEYR for 15% off.
D/K2
If you’re not outdoors enough, know that you have low D levels, if pregnant during a dark winter, or if you would like to be on the safe side.
Liquid: offers less precise dosage, but often better absorption.
Encapsulated: precise dosage, but it can be harder to absorb due to going through the digestive tract.
Check out the below posts to learn more about why I took what I took during pregnancy.
2025 update: I’m pregnant with baby #2!
Below are four new blog posts on the journey thus far.
Planning to breastfeed?
If you’re currently nursing or plan to, in the below post, I share what I eat on a typical day (since I get requests for this a lot) and unpack how I analyze my diet, energy, and habits to make sure I’m on track to sustain my milk supply.
Want your cycle back postpartum?
Around 1 year postpartum, I started to become concerned that my cycle hadn’t returned. We weren’t in a rush to conceive again, but I wanted my period back. In this blog post, I go over what I tried in an attempt to bring my cycle back, plus I highlight two things that I think greatly contributed to my cycle’s return. Spoiler alert: I didn’t have to give up nursing!
Starting solids with your babe?
Not into lots of “stuff”?
Me either. I’m a minimalist. When you have a new baby, you can’t get away with buying nothing, but from the get go I decided that I didn’t want to bring a bunch of pointless junk into our house. Instead, I hoped for every item to be functional and serve a purpose. I roughly follow Montessori principles and learn from how our ancestors mothered. If this philosophy sounds aligned with yours, check out the below post for my must-haves during the newborn stage and beyond.
Additional Information
Below are other fertility, pregnancy, and motherhood blog posts that may be of interest to you.
Snack Ideas for Postpartum/Breastfeeding
Below are animal-based recipes for shelf-stable snacks that are easy to grab and/or items you can make large batches of ahead of time.
![Carnivore Sandwich Bread [Beef Version]](http://ash-eats.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/6-6-scaled-430x570.jpg)
