Meagan McLaren, Naturopathic Doctor

Your body is growing a human and it is strong. 💛

One of the most powerful things you can do during pregnancy is keep moving. The research is clear, regular movement reduces the risk of gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and caesarean section.

Here’s what the evidence supports:

🚶‍♀️ Walking: accessible, effective, and safe right up to delivery
🏊‍♀️ Swimming: gentle on joints, amazing for the third trimester
🏋️‍♀️ Strength training: best for GDM prevention and building resilience for labour
🧘‍♀️ Prenatal yoga; mental health, pain management, and labour prep
💪 Pelvic floor work: every single day, no exceptions

The ideal programme combines all of the above, tailored to your trimester, fitness level, and how you’re feeling day to day.

You were made to move. 💛

⚠️ Always check with your healthcare provider before starting or continuing exercise during pregnancy. Some conditions may require modification or restriction. This content is educational and does not replace individualized medical advice.

Gut health and fertility is becoming a talked-about topics in the wellness space right now, so let’s look at what the research actually supports. 🔬

Women with PCOS consistently show lower gut microbial diversity and higher levels of systemic inflammation, which can disrupt estrogen metabolism and insulin sensitivity … both of which matter for reproductive health.

But here’s the honest part: most of this evidence is associational. We don’t yet have strong clinical trials showing that targeting the gut directly improves fertility outcomes.

What’s likely? A healthy gut reflects a healthy diet and metabolic environment, which we already know supports fertility.

So before investing in expensive probiotic protocols, start with food. Fibre, diversity, whole foods. The basics are still the best evidence we have.

Why strength training is one of the most loving things you can do for your body in your 40s and beyond 💪

For most of your reproductive years, estrogen was quietly doing a lot of the work in the background, supporting muscle repair, protecting bone density, and helping your body recover after exercise. You didn’t have to think about it. It just happened.

Then perimenopause arrives and estrogen starts to fluctuate and decline. That background support begins to fade. And suddenly your muscles need a little more to feel the same response. Recovery takes longer. Bone density needs more attention. And the workouts you loved may just need to evolve with you.

This is not you failing. Your body is changing, and it’s asking for something different now.

Here’s what the research says works 👇
• Heavy load, low rep strength training, around 3 to 6 reps with a genuinely challenging weight, creates the mechanical signal through your nervous system that your muscles and bones are now looking for. Big compound movements like squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts, rows, and overhead press.Two to three sessions per week. Even 20 minutes is enough.

And here’s the part that matters most ⚠️!!!!
You build up to it … slowly and with care. Muscles adapt quickly. Tendons, ligaments, and joints need more time. Starting gradually protects you and sets you up for long-term progress. Bodyweight first, then light load, then heavier over time. This journey typically takes about a year. And it is so worth it.

What about women who are still cycling? 🌸
If you’re still in your reproductive years, estrogen is actively working in your favour, supporting muscle building, recovery, and bone strength. Your body is beautifully set up to respond to strength training right now. Starting now is one of the greatest gifts you can give your future self.

You don’t have to do more. You just get to do the right things. 🏋️‍♀️

Save this. Share it with a woman who needs to hear it.

Did you know women can lose up to 30% of their peak bone mass during menopause? 😳 Here’s what actually helps protect it:

1. Lift heavy 🏋️‍♀️ Low reps, heavy weights. Your bones (and muscles) need that strong signal to stay strong. And yes … it’s harder to build muscle in midlife, so this matters more than ever.

2. Eat your protein 🥩 It’s the building block your body needs to grow and keep muscle. It also helps keep hunger in check. More protein = more protection.

3. Get some impact in 🦘 Jump. Stomp up the stairs. Do something that sends a shock through your bones. That impact is the signal your bone cells need to stay dense.

You don’t need to do everything perfectly but these three things? Small and baby steps :).

No fuel? You can only train at moderate effort. You never hit that threshold. No hormonal payoff. Just sustained stress….

Cortisol is not bad. Your cortisol naturally rises in the morning to wake you up, increase energy, and get your body ready to go.

The problem is waking up, skipping food, and going straight into a hard workout. Your body has to rely more heavily on stress hormones to keep up with the demand.

For women, a small amount of carbs before training can help you train at the intensity needed to get the full benefit of the workout, including better recovery, muscle adaptation, and a healthier hormonal response afterward.

No fuel often means lower training intensity, more stress on the body, and less payoff from the session.

You do not need a big meal. Even something small like a banana or yogurt before training can make a difference.

PCOS → PMOS. The rename is here!!

For decades, millions of people have been told they have “Polycystic O***y Syndrome”, a name that implies the whole condition is about cysts on your ovaries.
But: ( well to start ) they’re not even cysts. They’re arrested follicles.

And for some people with PCOS, polycystic ovaries aren’t even part of the picture at all.

The name kept the focus on the ovaries, when really, this is a metabolic, hormonal, and endocrine conditionaffecting the whole body.

SO ENTER: PMOS, Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome, a name that address the name for how it should be addressed as explained below;

• Polyendocrine → multiple hormones involved (insulin, androgens, LH, cortisol...)
• Metabolic → blood sugar, inflammation, energy regulation
• Ovarian → yes, the ovaries are still involved
• Syndrome → a constellation of symptoms, not one disease

This rename has been 14 years in the making, driven by 56 patient and professional organisations.

It’s a big deal.

To honour it, I made a PMOS-friendly meal, because food is one of the most powerful tools in managing this condition.

Protein ✅
Colourful veg ✅
Complex carbs ✅
Anti-inflammatory goodness ✅

Let’s make sure the conversation finally catches up to the science. 💛

The biggest reason one stops a fertility journey is due to the emotional toll … let that sink in 💛.

If you are going through a fertility journey - it’s already physically demanding, I encourage you to still do the things that make you YOU 💛. Find joy, in what you know brings you joy.

And if you know someone going through it journey - reach out to them, be kind, the journey is a huge silent bucket of grief 💛.