Anchal was keen to become a mother. Struggling with ulcerative colitis and infertility, she had switched to a natural lifestyle. She conceived within the next few months and continued with the newly found way of natural living. It was told to her that colitis can lead to complications in her pregnancy. But she just chose to follow Natural Laws and sailed smoothly through her pregnancy. Read her heart warming story below.

Anchal Kapur
37 years,Co-founder - Wellcure
Gurgaon

This is in continuation to what I shared in my earlier Journey of conquering Ulcerative Colitis & Infertility naturally. Let me begin here in March of 2015. I had changed my lifestyle to adopt Natural Laws. I was eating natural foods, at the right time, in the right combinations. I was sleeping well; I was physically active. Above all, I was thrilled because I thought that if I did everything right, there is no reason why I would not get pregnant.

I was looking forward to life, looking forward to being a mom. I knew things would not happen overnight. I had to give time to my body to cleanse and regain its balance to grow a new life. I believed in the body's supreme intelligence. There were moments of doubt & disappointment when every passing month I realised I was not pregnant yet, but thankfully such moments were short-lived. I knew I had to trust my body.

The much-awaited news

It was June 2015 & the much-awaited day arrived. I did the pregnancy test at home & it was positive. I immediately shared the news with Sumeet, my husband. Our reaction was a bit unexpected. We should have been very excited that it finally happened, instead we were speechless. We just sat in our room, motionless for a few minutes. Maybe we were just awestruck by the simplicity with which nature operates. Something that was made out to be so challenging to achieve without medicines, IVF, etc. had happened naturally!

The silence broke when Sumeet asked me 'what next'. I said we have to go & meet the gynaecologist soon. I scheduled an appointment.

A supportive doctor is essential

I was very excited to tell the gynaecologist that I conceived naturally. This was the same gynaecologist who had prescribed me medicines for 3 months for hormonal imbalance. She had also given me these 3 months as a deadline to conceive, else rush for IVF. Her reaction to hearing my news was not so positive. She said though you have conceived, if you want to support your pregnancy, you must immediately start the medicines I am prescribing.

I was disappointed to hear that. I thought my body knew it was ready for this; hence, I conceived. So if I continue adhering to nature's design, my body would support the pregnancy by itself. With this belief, I started looking for another gynaecologist who could help me support my body rather than instil unnecessary fear in me. I checked in a few health Whatsapp groups & zeroed in on a new gynaecologist. I met her and explained the entire background of the last one year. I told her that I conceived naturally and I was also not taking the medicines prescribed to support the pregnancy. I was thrilled to hear from her that it's completely fine. She asked me to keep myself healthy, and everything will be great.

Having sorted out the doctor support system, my Journey of the next nine months began. I share below a few things I did to have a healthy pregnancy -

1. Food

My diet primarily comprised of a lot of fruits and vegetables in their raw form with some bits of nuts & seeds, grains, sprouts. I was mostly on a plant-based diet. On most of the days, I would eat only fruits until noon. I was taking veggie juices every noon & evening, 30-45 minutes before my lunch and dinner. Raw veggie salads were a crucial part of my meals.

The whole point was to eat natural foods which the body can easily digest, assimilate the nutrients & eliminate the wastes. This way, the body gets the nutrients it needs for the baby and can conserve energy for its growth & development, instead of wasting energy on digesting un-natural foods.

I was guided on food by The Health Awareness Centre, Mumbai (THAC). Whenever I had any concerns about how I was feeling, they would tell me what to do. I remember in the first trimester; I started having mild nausea. I thought it was part of the process, but I still checked with THAC. They told me to increase my fruits intake & voila, it worked. I never experienced nausea again in my pregnancy.

2. Sleep

I used to sleep a lot, especially in the afternoon for 2-3 hours in the first trimester. I knew that sleep is the time when all the growth, repair, rejuvenation work happens in the body. So whenever I felt sleepy, I thought my body wants to focus on the baby's growth & so I would drop off everything & sleep!

3. Focus on ‘Me’

This was very important. I chose to focus only on myself for the next nine months. It may sound a bit selfish, but I had to do it to keep myself happy. It was a very treasured pregnancy, and I didn't want to take any stress that could impact my health. I picked up things I liked to do. In the winters I spent a lot of time sitting out enjoying the sun. In the monsoons, I stepped out to enjoy drizzles. I used to appreciate the plants, trees and flowers around. I would gaze at the moon & the stars. All this just made me feel at peace.

4. Active Lifestyle

I never made pregnancy an excuse to avoid home chores that I was doing before. I improvised, I took help, but I never shirked work. I used to go for walks regularly, took the stairs to & fro my home on the first floor, attended pre natal yoga classes a few times a week. In the first trimester, I was swimming regularly.

All this was mainly because I wanted to stay active as I had heard; it was important for a healthy pregnancy. I believe these activities utterly helped me throughout the period.

5. Surrender & be calm

I experienced some gastric issues during my pregnancy, mainly in the second trimester. Initially, I got very worked up, trying to find a way out. I was reading about it on the net and learnt that as the baby grows & takes more space in your body, the womb expands & pushes against your stomach. This is the commonly known cause of gastric issues in pregnant women. I had made tweaks in my diet, to the best of my ability. But beyond a point, I just decided to surrender. It made me feel at ease, and I thought that was most important for baby’s development.

Arrival of the most precious moment

My son Samar came on 14th Feb, Valentine's Day, two weeks in advance of the designated due date. After all, it was the body that had to decide when it was right for him to step into this world. I had a normal delivery and my yoga instructor was happy to hear the news, especially because just 24 hours ago I was doing my yoga class with her.

I share my pregnancy journey with you not to tell you what to do if you want a healthy pregnancy. It's more to inspire you that you can take charge of your health & fertility and steer it in the direction you want. Pregnancy and childbirth is a natural phenomenon. It’s best supported by eating natural foods, sleeping well, staying active and positive - nature takes care of the rest. Yes, it needs some will power & commitment, but at the end of it, isn't it worth it?

All the best to all the moms-to-be. Enjoy!

(About Anchal Kapur: Anchal is a post graduate in finance, she enjoys listening to music in her free time. After working with various multinationals such as Dabur, HSBC, KPMG & Airtel for 10 years, she took a break to focus on her health. She is now the co-founder of Wellcure.)

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