How I Helped a Postpartum Mom Ditch Her Eczema and Fatigue and Gain Clear Skin & Stable, Vibrant Energy
When this client first came to me, she was newly postpartum with her first baby, who was exclusively breastfeeding and waking a lot throughout the night.
She was understandably exhausted, but had also felt it went beyond sleep-deprivation- plus she was experiencing some new and more intense symptoms since birth including:
Flares of eczema around her mouth (that she wasn’t getting helpful answers to elsewhere like dermatologists, or able to pinpoint any triggers on her own)
Intense fatigue
Bloat after eating and increased constipation
She realized it was time to tackle them so she could feel better and fully show up for her son.
After a few months of working with me and implementing targeted support, her skin completely cleared (and she’s had no flares since) plus…
Her energy has increased and is more stable throughout the day despite not sleeping enough
As a result, she feels she can be more fully present as a mom, continue building strength in the gym, and have the brain power she needs to handle everything on her plate.
And her digestion has improved a ton- she’s less bloated after eating and having more regular bowel movements.
(Please note that this article is just sharing one client’s experience working with me and is not personal medical advice.)
Here’s what we did to help her reach her goals and feel better:
We started with mineral testing to get right down to the root causes of her symptoms:
This is so important to highlight about this unique season of life: Especially because this client was a new mom with a lot already on her plate and limited capacity, we wanted to keep things as simple as possible.
We wasted no time, diving right into testing with Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA( because I knew it would best assess how her body was creating and using energy and handling the stress of new motherhood (which trickle down to affect everything else).
(She agreed, saying it was “literally the perfect type of test to do postpartum when your brain is barely functioning.”)
And as anticipated, her test results painted a very clear and helpful picture.
Something that stood out immediately was that most of her mineral levels were below optimal range- including specific ones needed for digestive function and gut health. Overall, this showed that important resources her body needed to make energy were lacking.
There were also multiple signs that her body was under active stress- and was struggling to cope well.
For example, her high calcium to phosphorus ratio showed her nervous system was in a parasympathetic-dominant state, a sign her body was slowing down to conserve precious energy.
Her low sodium to magnesium ratio showed that her adrenal glands were under-functioning while the elevated calcium to magnesium ratio showed her blood sugar was dysregulated.
Her body was struggling to create, use, and manage energy.
Having this specific data from functional lab testing helped us avoid guessing and keep things simple for her because we knew just where to focus her attention.
The goal wasn’t to give her a complicated plan to follow! I didn’t expect (or need) her to overhaul everything in this already stressful season.
Her protocol mainly prioritized eating the calories required to support breastfeeding and her training, along with specific foods she could eat to get more of the key minerals her body needed, especially to make energy and keep her digestion running smoothly.
We also added a few supplements including herbs to aid her adrenal glands and functional digestive support so she could not poop more regularly but also better break down and absorb nutrients from food. We also swapped the electrolyte mix she was using for one that better met her mineral needs.
If this client’s story has inspired you to pursue a functional approach to wellness in motherhood and get an expert’s support on your healing journey, apply to work with me below!
As a functional nutritionist specializing in women’s health through motherhood, I have a variety of highly customized services to help you find and finally address the root causes of your symptoms so you can stop just surviving and start thriving.