March is National Nutrition Month - Carolyn Gundell, MS, from RMACT

Honoring Carolyn Gundell's Fertility Nutrition Program During National Nutrition Month

I know I've been bragging about Carolyn a lot this month. But it's the month to do it! March is National Nutrition Month and the changes that Carolyn has made for our patients has been nothing less than extraordinary. Here's the complete information on Carolyn. 

 

Ask any PCOS patient that she sees and you will hear rave reviews. Hmmm... Maybe that's what I'll print next week. Meanwhile, enjoy getting to know Carolyn from afar. ~ Lisa

 

Carolyn Gundell, M.S., leads RMACT’s Fertility Nutrition Program, a service available to all patients.  Carolyn has a great passion for nutrition and its link to fertility, which she shares with her patients to empower them with food and lifestyle behaviors that optimize their health for conception, successful fertility treatment, and healthy pregnancy.

 

Carolyn Works Alongside the Fertility Specialists to Customize Nutrition Plans

After a nutrition assessment, patients benefit from individualized meal plans, advice on how to develop positive relationships with food, and on going motivational counseling sessions with Carolyn.  She works closely with her patients and their team of fertility specialists to personalize their nutrition plans to reflect each patient’s own food preferences, concerns, and experiences – all influenced by their culture, religion, values, health, and emotions.

 

 

In addition, Carolyn encourages her patients to embrace comprehensive wellness through acupuncture and relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, and tai chi to reduce stress. The goal is to support their fertility treatment while improving blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and insulin control, and weight management.

 

 

Carolyn Also Runs a Unique Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome Clinic for Patients

 

Under Carolyn’s direction, RMACT has implemented a Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome clinic, one of the few of its kind in Connecticut.  With Carolyn’s help, patients address this frustrating metabolic condition that causes hormonal imbalances, preventing women from ovulating and leading to infertility.  It is a common condition, affecting 5 – 10% of women of reproductive age, and is best managed through lifestyle changes such as healthy eating habits, exercise and weight management.

 

 

Beyond patient care, Carolyn co-conducts health and nutrition seminars with Monica Moore, Nurse Manager, as part of an RMACT patient’s standard of care. Topics include Pre-conception Considerations, Nutrition Tools for Fertility Success, Heart Disease Risk Factors, Diabetes Risk Factors, Health and Nutrition for Pregnancy, Exercise, Fitness & Fertility and more.

 

 

With over 20 years of nutrition experience, Carolyn has a special interest in helping women with conditions that affect fertility, including insulin resistance, diabetes Type1/Type 2, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), lipid disorders, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, underweight and overweight concerns. Carolyn earned her M.S. in Nutrition from Columbia University and completed her undergraduate studies in Biology/Nutrition at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.  She is trained as a Research Associate in Clinical Skills Training, and is certified in HIPAA, CPR, First Aid and Food Safety & Sanitation. Previously, Carolyn worked at Pediatric Endocrine & Diabetes Specialists, The Center for Advanced Pediatrics, both in Norwalk and at Yale University Medical Center’s Obesity, Diabetes, PCOS Clinic and The Yale Fertility Center.

 

 

 

 

 

March is National Nutrition Month - Here's My Fertility Hero - Carolyn Gundell

In Honor of National Nutrition Month, My Fertility Hero is...

Every once in a while, when I am so inspired, I write to you about a fertility hero. There are people that just do that. Inspire. It could be Lindsay Nohr Beck, cancer surviver and founder of Fertile Hope, an organization devoted to fertility preservation. It could be a man or woman who goes above and beyond in their quest to create their family and keeps their sense of humor. And cheers up other people. And spends time with their nieces and nephews. It could be my fearless partner in leading Ladies Night In, Carrie Van Steen, who gives her whole heart to her patients.   

 

 

Lately, I've had one on my mind. And, as it happens, it is March 1, the first day of National Nutrition month. The timing seems fortutitous. Meet Carolyn Gundell, RMACT nutritionist. Where do I start? From the beginning. 

 

Carolyn Gundell and Nutrition

• She has helped patients make substantial changes in their lives since she has joined the practice

• Her nutrition expertise when it comes to weight loss, food plans and understanding the challenging endocrine disorders of insulin resistance, pre-diabetes and PCOS is unsurpassed

• Carolyn has five board certified reproductive endocrinologists that she consults closely with to create plans for patients trying to conceive

• Her passion has led her to create seminars, such as pre-conception health and how to be healthy once you become pregnant

• She has led the charge to educate and support young women, NOT trying to become pregnant, who have PCOS and want to live their lives in as healthy a way as possible

• Carolyn has established on-going PCOS seminars and support groups to support and educate women trying to manage PCOS and trying to conceive

• She is an integral part of our new program for teenagers struggling with the effects of PCOS 

Those are the formal things to know about Carolyn. I'm lucky enough to have an insider view. Here are some less formal things that inspire me about Carolyn.
 

• Those beautiful boards that tell you about pre-natal vitamins, PCOS and food? She makes them herself

• When she broke her foot, she continued to see patients, lug around empty boxes to review ingredients with patients and never lost a step (pardon the pun)

• She always has time to stop in at Ladies Night In, to chat or educate - at 8 pm, after a full day

• She will often walk someone over personally, for Fertile Yoga

• Carolyn will speak with any RMACT team member about food, diet, exercise. She gives of her time very freely

• When there is no appointment and a patient needs one, she will always find time

• She has more ideas on how to improve patient experiences at RMACT in 10 minutes than most of the rest of us do in weeks

 

 

Here a few comments from some of her RMACT colleagues:

 

Do You Need More Calcium and Vitamin D? | Healthy Pregnancy Diet Tips

Balancing the Vegetarian Way for a Healthy Pregnancy: PART 2

Written by RMACT Nutritionist Carolyn Gundell, MS, for National Nutrition Month 
         

This week’s nutrition blog is Part 2 for vegetarian meal planning prior to and during pregnancy.  To recap from last week's fertility nutrition post: Cooking healthy vegetarian choices requires planning meals with a variety of foods.  The more restrictive you choose to be, such as adopting a vegan lifestyle, the more effort is needed for adequate intake of calcium, iodine, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, protein, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and zinc. 

 

     Please refer to last week’s Vegetatian Way and Healthy Pregnancy - Part 1 blog for a discussion on protein, Vitamin B12, and iron.  Today’s blog addresses the importance of calcium and Vitamin D prior to and during pregnancy.  

Meet Nutritional Needs first for Mother before Baby . . .

Calcium and Pregnancy

 

CALCIUM - The recommendation for calcium for women age 19 and older is 1000 mg/day.  If 1000mg /day of calcium is consumed prior to pregnancy, then once pregnant an increase is not greatly necessary.  Unfortunately, vegetarian or not, many women are deficient in dietary calcium.  Calcium is necessary to build strong teeth and bones, to assist in muscle, heart and nerve function, blood pressure regulation, and for boosting immune response. 

     Several factors influence intestinal calcium absorption, including vitamin D level; the amount of calcium rich foods consumed; the activity of calcium regulatory hormones; and the chemical composition of foods we eat.  If excessive levels of dietary protein, caffeine, sodium or foods high in oxalates are consumed, then calcium is lost through urinary excretion.  Oxalates,  substances found in many plants (spinach, tea, rhubarb, beets, peanuts, chocolate), phytates  (found in legumes and whole grains), and dietary fiber can bond with calcium and decrease its absorption.  If recommended amounts of calcium intake is consumed and the meals and snacks are balanced with a variety of food choices, calcium absorption is not a huge factor.

     Any vegetarian women who do not consume 3-4 servings of milk, yogurt, and cheese should add calcium rich foods (dairy and/or nondairy) at meals and snacks and consider discussing the need for a prenatal calcium supplement with her physician.  Note: Calcium supplements can inhibit iron absorption and interfere with thyroid medicine so should not be taken at the same time of these medications.  (More on calcium supplements in a future blog.)

     Calcium is needed in pregnancy for synthesis of fetal bones and teeth.  Increasing dietary calcium is vital to protect a mother’s own bone density.  Adequate calcium intake can lower the risk for high blood pressure (preeclampsia) in pregnancy.  If calcium intake is low in pregnancy, the baby will take needed calcium from maternal stores and thus put the mother at great risk for osteoporosis later in life.   

     To find cow’s milk/yogurt, soymilk/yogurt that are fertility diet friendly, look for those without growth hormones, pesticides, or herbicides, and not produced with chemical fertilizers.  

Calcium Rich Food Sources:  Good sources include cow milk and yogurt, fortified soy milk, calcium-set tofu, soy yogurt, soybeans/nuts, cheese, salmon with bones, sardines, collard greens, turnip greens, rhubarb, spinach.  Moderate-Low sources include kale, bok choy, broccoli, sesame seeds, almonds, figs, cottage cheese, almonds.

 

Vitamin D and Pregnancy

VITAMIN D - Vitamin D is a vitamin and a hormone.  Vitamin D plays a critical role in calcium absorption, immune function, cellular repair and, in addition, our team of integrated infertility specialists at RMA of CT are observing the important role that vitamin D plays with pregnancy and increasing fertility.  Vitamin D assists reproductive hormones and in healthy (oocyte) egg formation and insulin sensitivity—which is helpful in ovulatory regulation.¹

 

     Who is at risk for vitamin D deficiency?  Many women and men are low in Vitamin D or vitamin D deficient.  Our skin makes vitamin D with the help of sunshine.  If we are inside most days, live in northern climates, wear sunscreen and cover ups, and do not consume fish and milk, then we are at risk for deficiency.  Ethnicity also plays a role in deficiency risk.  Darker skinned men and women have more melanin in their skin, which acts as a natural sunscreen and inhibits sun/skin production of vitamin D.  In addition, women with PCOS, gastric by-pass, ovulatory dysfunction, and/or who are overweight are all at increased risk for vitamin D deficiency.

     All women at RMA of CT get their vitamin D levels tested.  If deficient, a supplement is recommended and sold in RMA of CT offices.  Vegan formulation vitamin D supplements are available in area drug stores.  Vitamin D supplements should never be self-prescribed and  dosages should be supervised when trying to become pregnant and during pregnancy.  Supplement absorption is greater when consumed at a meal with a fatty food, such as lunch and/or dinner.

     Maternal vitamin D deficiency exists in many women and, if pregnant, is associated with several disorders of calcium in both the mother and infant, infant rickets, and increased rates of preeclampsia, premature births, low birth weights, and autoimmune risk later in life.  Consumption of adequate levels of vitamin D is challenging since very few foods are rich in this nutrient.  If your vitamin D serum levels are optimal (40-60ng/dl), then at least 600 iu of vitamin D3 per day  is recommended.  No more than 2,000 iu vitamin D3 daily should be used to increase vitamin D levels.   

Vitamin D Food Sources: Fortified milk-cow, soy, almond, rice milk and orange juice have only 100 iu per 8 oz serving.  Fatty fish, egg yolks, butter and fortified fat spread provide 40 iu or less per serving.  Cod liver oil is NOT recommended for vitamin D because of it toxic levels of vitamin A.

 

Source:          

 

1. Ogle, Amy and Lisa Mazzullo. Before Your Pregnancy-A 90 Day Guide for Couples on How to Prepare for a Healthy Conception. New York: Random House, 2011.

How to Balance a Vegetarian Pregnancy | Healthy Pregnancy Diet Tips

Balancing the Vegetarian Way and

Optimizing a Healthy Pregnancy: PART 1

From RMACT Nutritionist Carolyn Gundell, MS for National Nutrition Month

 

I counsel many vegetarians in our office in our focus on healthy pregnancy.  Some are vegetarian for religious or cultural reasons and others are by personal or ethical choice.  Vegetarian meal plans that are balanced with a variety of food choices can meet all nutrient needs for increasing fertility, optimizing health prior to and during pregnancy, and for breastfeeding. 

 

Since the nutritional status of all women, vegetarian or not, directly affects pregnancy outcomes and the quality of breast milk, it is very important to be aware of nutrient needs unique to vegan/vegetarian meal plans.  

 

Vegetarian meal plans are comprised of foods from plant sources with varying compositions: 

• Vegans – omit all animal food products and other animal products such as leather, wool, and silk.

• Lacto – include dairy products.

• Lacto-ovo – include both eggs and dairy products.

• Pesco – include fish.

• Pollo – eat poultry, such as chicken, turkey, and duck.

Vegetarian Pregnancy 

All vegetarian women looking to become pregnant should be taking a prenatal vitamin with 800 to 1000 mcg of folic acid months before conception.  Folic acid alone is not enough.  RMA of CT does sell vegan prenatal vitamins at each office. Contact RMACT for more information.  In addition, extra supplements are often necessary for vegetarians and it is important to consult with your physician and/or nutritionist to determine supplement and dosage.  Extra supplementation should never be self-prescribed. Vegetarian meal plans may be low in vitamin B12, Vitamin D, calcium, iron, protein, essential fatty acids and iodine.         

Optimal Pregnancy Diet for All

One optimal pregnancy diet does fit all: Once pregnant, caloric and weight gain requirements are the same for vegetarians as for non-vegetarian women.  Make sure to include the following:

 

PROTEIN - Protein builds new tissue and repairs cells. 

 

Vegetarian meal plans are rich in protein when meals and snacks consist of a balanced combination of grains, beans, nuts & nut butters, lentils, seeds, and vegetables.  A good variety of food sources planned daily and weekly will meet basic non pregnant and pregnant protein needs.  Protein is needed in pregnancy to support growth of maternal tissue and the rapid growth of the fetus and placenta. 

  

Protein Food Sources: Dried beans, lentils, nuts & nut butters, seeds, whole grains, soymilk, eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt products, vegetables.

 

IRON - Iron promotes tissue growth and increases blood supply.

 

Many vegetarian food sources are rich in iron, but this plant form of iron is not well absorbed.  Iron absorption can be increased when a vitamin C rich food is consumed with an iron rich food.  Calcium and dairy food can interfere with iron absorption so it is often best to take calcium (citrate) supplements in between meals.  When tea or coffee is consumed at meals iron absorption can also be inhibited.  Prenatal vitamins can be taken at bedtime to get the best absorption.

 

Iron needs are high in pregnancy because blood volume doubles.  Iron deficiency anemia is not uncommon in pregnancy, so vegetarians should choose iron rich foods at all meals and snacks prior to pregnancy to increase their iron storage.  Iron supplements may be necessary     

 

Iron Food Sources: Iron fortified cereals and breads, whole grains, beans/legumes, dried fruit, prunes, tofu, dark leafy vegetables.

 

VITAMIN B12 - Vit B12 helps to form & maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells; makes cellular DNA. 

 

Vegans should be especially careful to get adequate daily amounts of vitamin B12, even though it may take years to develop a B12 deficiency.  Low maternal B12 in the first trimester is an independent risk factor for neural tube defects.  Adult vitamin B12 deficiency results in pernicious anemia, cognitive impairment, numbness, weakness, nervous system damage, fatigue, and psychiatric disorders.  A woman with a gastric bypass, taking metformin for insulin resistance, or on acid reflux medication is at greater risk for vitamin B12 deficiency.   Infant B12 deficiency can cause developmental delays, anemia, lethargy, and failure to thrive.  The addition of a vitamin B12 supplement for a lacto-ovo vegetarian and vegan should be discussed with the woman’s physician.      

 

Vitamin B12 Food Sources: Milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese, B12 fortified cereals, B12 fortified soymilk, B12 fortified nutritional yeast.  The following are unreliable/poor sources of Vitamin B12: tempeh, miso, fermented soy products, spirulina, seaweed, bewers yeast, leafy vegetables.  

 

Fertility Nutrition Resources

For further fertility nutrition tips and to discuss your own optimal nutrition for fertility--before, during, and after pregnancy--come speak with me!  The Fertility Nutrition Program at RMACT offers both individual consultations and seminars.  Also, the following books and websites may be helpful:

• Vegetarian Resource Group - www.vrg.org

• Vegan Health - www.veganhealth.org

• Your Vegetarian Pregnancy:A Month-by Month Guide to Health and Nutrition by Holly Roberts, D.O., FACOG, 2003.

• The Everything Vegan Pregnancy Book: All you need to know for a healthy pregnancy that fits your lifestyle by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, FADA, 2011.

More to come next week when our fertility nutrition tips for National Nutrition Month continue.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reshape Your Fertility Plate with Protein | Protein and Pregnancy

Protein and Pregnancy

Many think of the importance of protein when it comes to muscle building, but rarely do women and men ask me about protein and pregnancy and how protein can help support their fertility nutrition.  Proteins play a role in almost every biological process in the body by providing cellular structure and function, including 1) growth, repair, and maintenance of muscles, connective tissue, organs, hemoglobin/healthy blood; 2) acting as enzymes and hormones; 3) maintaining fluid & electrolyte balance; 4) making antibodies to strengthen our immune system; and 5) providing energy when carbohydrate and fat intake are inadequate.

Protein and Health: Find the Right Source

Since this blog article is about “Reshaping your Fertility Plate,” I think it is important to chat in more detail about protein and health and how using protein as an energy source can be a health disadvantage.  Ideally, our body’s primary sources of energy are carbohydrate and fat.  Carbohydrates are stored as glycogen in the liver and fat as triglycerides in fat tissue.  Adequate intake of carbohydrates and fat spares protein, but if protein needs to be used as energy it actually means that the diet does not have enough carbohydrate and fat for energy use.  Instead, protein stores are used for the energy source and they are then taken from the blood and body tissues such as liver and skeletal muscle.  In well-nourished individuals, proteins contribute very little to energy needs.  High protein diets can contribute to bone loss, osteoporosis, kidney disease and high cholesterol.  Combine low-fat proteins with other food groups to help balance caloric and nutrient intake.  

 

Where is protein found?  Protein is found in meats, fish, milk, cheese, yogurt, egg whites, soy products, tofu, tempeh, whole grains, vegetables, and nuts.  Beans/legumes are excellent sources of protein, in addition to sources of calcium, fiber, iron, and many B vitamins (not B12).  Eating legumes/beans regularly-- kidney beans, pinto, black beans, garbanzo, lentils, black-eyes peas, lima beans-- provides a great source of folic acid and helps to lower diabetes and heart disease risk as well.  (I will discuss vegetarian options in next week’s blog.)  Dairy is a terrific source of protein, calcium and other vital nutrients and is often not consumed enough.  Grains and vegetables are low protein sources, but rich in fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients.

Why Boost Protein for Fertility?

Pregnancy is a time for growth, development and repair--creating a greater demand for 71 grams of daily protein intake, which means boosting protein for fertility becomes a priority.   At conception proteins build fetal cells, uterus, placenta, blood, and other pregnancy related tissue.   Antibodies, also comprised of protein, are passed to the fetus and help to strengthen the fetal immune systems.

 

Most hormones are made up of protein.  Hormones help to regulate overall body functions, some of which do play a role on optimizing health prior to and in pregnancy, such as insulin and glucagon for blood glucose regulation and thyroid for controlling our resting metabolic rate.  "Fertility Diet" recommendations choosing proteins low in saturated fats.  A diet high in saturated fats, such as red meats, butter, palm oils, reduces fertility and also increases risk for diabetes in pregnancy.

 

In summary, small servings of protein over the course of your day can help maintain muscle and energy, provide essential nutrients for preconception and pregnancy, reduce morning sickness in pregnancy and provide optimal intake for your developing child.  Balanced meal planning is the ultimate goal.  Contact the team RMACT for more information through our Fertility Nutrition Counseling and Wellness Programs.

Fertility Nutrition Specialist in CT Explains the Mystery of Quinoa

Here at Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut, we are so lucky to have Carolyn Gundell, MS, a nutritionist with over a decade of experience working with fertility and PCOS patients in particular. Here, she shares some wisdom about an important grain that can lead to better health and fertility.

Fertile Secrets of Whole Grains–A Quinoa Primer

Are you bored with your selection of whole grains?

 

Are you eating the same whole wheat toast, whole wheat pasta and brown rice day after day?

 

Have you tried quinoa, or other whole grains such as bulgur, buckwheat, millet, farro, barley, or steel cut oats?

 

Have you purchased quinoa and now you are staring at it in your cabinet with no idea how to cook it?

 

Maybe learning how to pronounce quinoa is more intimidating than the how to cook stage or if you are like me and had a not so successful first time experience cooking quinoa, it may be hard to go back and try again.

 

Yes, even a Nutritionist can be a bit stymied with the “how to cook” stage.

 

So I thought I would share a few tips with you.

 

Step 1

 

If we are going to purchase and cook quinoa first learn how to pronounce this powerhouse of a whole grain. Quinoa is a two syllable word and is pronounced “Keen-wah”. If you want to hear an audio version, then google the Merriam Webster dictionary audio link, “How to pronounce quinoa.” You will surely impress everyone with your verbal skills.

 

Step 2

 

Learn a little trivia about “Keen-wah” to add to your dinner conversation

 

While relatively new to the United States, quinoa has been a staple food in Peru, Chile and Bolivia for over 5,000 years. The Inca Indians consider it a sacred food, refer to it as the "mother seed" or “mother of all grains” and believe that quinoa nutrients improve the quality of breast milk. Quinoa is a nutritional powerhouse. It is a complete protein and high in magnesium, folate (folic acid), Vitamin E (antioxidant), iron and phosphorous. Quinoa is gluten free. This whole grain fits nicely into the fertility meal plan because it digests slowly with a low-glycemic index. This means that it does not spike blood sugar levels, satisfies hunger longer, and great for PCOS, insulin resistance, diabetes, and fertility.

 

Step 3

 

Tips for Selecting/Preparing Quinoa

 

The “If you can read, you can cook” stage. Quinoa is generally available in prepackaged containers as well as bulk bins. If purchasing from a bulk section, make sure that the bins containing the quinoa are covered and that the store has a good product turnover to ensure its freshness. Store quinoa in an airtight container and will keep three to six months, if stored in the refrigerator. While the processing methods much of the soapy saponins that coats quinoa seeds, it is still a good idea to thoroughly wash the seeds to remove any remaining saponin residue. Run cold water over the quinoa that has been placed in a fine-meshed strainer, gently rubbing the seeds together with your hands. If the seeds still have a bitter taste, continue the rinsing process.

 

Step 4

 

How to Cook and Prepare Tips

 

To prepare just add one part quinoa to two parts water and stir for about 12-15 minutes. Substitute rice and pasta with quinoa or even use it as hot breakfast cereal with milk, bananas, walnuts and dried cranberries.

 

Many recipes suggest mixing quinoa with corn or brown/wild rice, low fat cheese, Italian spices, marinara sauce, or vegetables. How about adding ground turkey and stuffing it into baked green peppers? Try combining cooked chilled quinoa with pinto beans, pumpkin seeds, scallions and coriander. To add excitement to your favorite pasta recipe, use noodles made from quinoa. Sprouted quinoa can be used in salads and sandwiches just like alfalfa sprouts. Add quinoa to your favorite vegetable soups. Ground quinoa flour can be added to cookie or muffin recipes. Quinoa is also great to use in tabouli, as a (and wheat-free) substitute for the bulgar wheat with which this Middle Eastern dish is usually made. Quinoa freezes well too. Many recipes can be found on the internet and in cookbooks. A u-tube cooking video and narrative can also be found at www.healthcastle.com.

 

I welcome your quinoa experience comments.

 

Bon Appetit!

From RMACT- Pre-Conception Wellness Tools- Nutrition and More

More at RMACT. How lucky we are to have these wonderful, compassionate professionals offering these programs, free of charge, open to the public. Please, if you are in Connecticut, come and take advantage of these highly educational, interactive seminars.

Nutrition & Pre-Conception Wellness Tools for Fertility Success

Come to Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut for an interactive wellness seminar on genetics, nutrition, The Fertility Diet™ and fertility secrets for preconception, meal planning & shopping.

Healthy lifestyle behaviors will also be addressed.  This seminar will give each couple a nutritional edge before you conceive and health tips to support fertility treatment.

Seminars led by Carolyn Gundell, MS & Monica Moore, MSN, RN

 

Locations: Norwalk Office- 10 Glover Avenue, Norwalk CT, Danbury Office- 67 Sandpit Road, Danbury CT- All seminars are free

Sat Sept 10    8:15  AM     Improving Preconception Health, PCOS with the Fertility Diet / Raffle Gifts        Free   Norwalk

 

Tues Sept 20th  7:00  PM     The Fertility Diet & PCOS / Raffle Gifts Free   Danbury

                                         

Sat Oct 8th     8:15  AM       Nutrition & Preconception Wellness   
                    Tools for Fertility Success    Free Norwalk       

Tues Nov 8th   7:00  PM          The Fertility Diet & Lifestyle for                                 Fertility Success    Free Stamford             

Sat Nov 12th   8:15  AM       Nutrition & Preconception Wellness        
                    Tools for Fertility Success    Free Norwalk       

 

                       
Sat Dec 10th   8:15  AM       Nutrition & Preconception Wellness      
                    Tools for Fertility Success  Free  Norwalk             

RSVP required.  Please call Melissa/Justine to reserve a seat at 203-750-7484.

Please visit our website or call to confirm date, time and/or location as they are subject to change.

Fertile Yoga has changed days and times!

 

No longer on Saturday. Starting September 1, Thursday night in Norwalk at 5:45. Danbury/Brookfield, Friday night at 6:00, starting August 26.

 

 And of course, Ladies Night In, Thursday night, August 25, Danbury, with Carrie Van Steen and Lisa Rosenthal

Infertility- Balancing Food and Exercise. How?

There is an assumption that exercise is always good, including when you are experiencing infertility; in fact, we are seeing evidence that too much is too much. That, just as an example, too little body fat can cause all sorts of problems, including disruption of your menstrual cycle.

On my infertility journey, I felt so out of control when I was in treatment that eventually I decided that food and exercise were two of the things that I could control. And so I did. I altered my diet to vegetarian, with very little cheese or other dairy products. I added beans and nuts and seeds to make sure that I had what I felt were enough protein. I started yoga more seriously and as something fun, I added racquetball. It’s hard to imagine anyone worse at racquetball than I was. I am not being modest. Ask my husband.

When you think of it though, how brilliant? I had my yoga, bringing me into the present, vigorous and calming. Challenging and soothing. Ah, but the racquetball. What did I care about what the score was? I got to take a racquet and hit a ball. As hard as I wanted. And I really wanted to hit it hard. I visualized people that I was angry at when I hit the ball. I released in a physical, directed way, my disappointment, frustration and rage about my infertility. It’s safe to say that my inadequacy in playing racquetball was not in the power of my swing. (It had more to do with my aim, due to the wind up of my swing.) I took the intensity of my rage out on that little white ball and didn’t have to apologize to anyone for losing my temper or breaking down.

I lost weight, felt fit, more in control. My doctors did not approve. They wanted me to modify what I was doing. So I did. I found a balance that fit my fertility treatment and my temperament. I collaborated with my doctors and compromised to make sure that everyone was happy with my exercise and nutritional plan. I was eating well, exercising safely but happily, and found a place in treatment where I actually felt ok. Even more than ok, I felt sane. That was a first, after 5 plus years trying to conceive, I felt sane. I was not pregnant, but I felt sane. Less angry. More present to the moments in each day. That was an unexpected gift.

I felt sane.

I was not thrilled that I was still not pregnant, but I felt whole.

Complete and whole, just as I was.

This coming Saturday, we are pleased to offer a new seminar. Dr. Mark Leondires, (Medical Director of Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut) and Carolyn Gundell, MS (Nutritionist) will be discussing how the interaction of nutrition, exercise need to be balanced so that you can achieve your goal of a successful pregnancy. Finding the right amount of exercise and a way of eating that feels comfortable can make it so that you are fully engaged in your fertility treatment.

Exercise, Nutrition and Fertility – The Balancing Act  

Is it actually possible to be too physically fit to conceive? Medical education and nutrition tools to support exercise, balance body composition, and optimize health for conception will be shared. Led by Carolyn Gundell, MS and Mark Leondires, MD.

This seminar will take place at:

10 Glover Avenue, Norwalk, CT

Saturday October 2nd 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Seminars are $10 per person or $15 per couple

Please visit our website or call to confirm date, time and/or location as they are subject to change

RSVP to Cori at 203-750-7492

Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut

 

 

Infertility Practice in CT Offers More in Nursing, Nutrition and Yoga

What’s going on at Reproductive Medicine Associates of Connecticut these days? Exciting goings on, so I figured I would do a little update for you.

 

 

We are so pleased to announce FertilityAuthority.com, a trusted source for fertility information, awarded "Nurse of the Month" to our nurse practitioner Monica Moore.

 

 

As a nurse practitioner (NP), Ms. Moore received advanced nursing education in addition to being a registered nurse. She is fully licensed and is a registered nurse n the state of Connecticut and by the national certification board of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.  Ms. Moore's nursing work experience spans nearly two decades in the field of fertility treatment.  Prior to joining RMACT, Monica was the donor nurse coordinator at the Atlanta Center for Reproductive Medicine. Monica's first job in reproductive endocrinology was at Cornell Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility over 10 years ago. 

 

 

“Taking care of the whole patient is where my passion lies,” says Monica Moore, M.S.N, R.N.C., a nurse practitioner and a nurse manager at RMA of Connecticut. During our conversation, Moore talks about the importance of integrating comprehensive care – including yoga, acupuncture, massage therapy and nutrition care – with fertility treatment. “It’s a natural extension,” she says. Body mass index (BMI), the mind-body connection and stress release are important parts of the fertility equation. As is nutrition.

 

 

Monica's research interests include: improving the efficiency of donor oocyte programs, advancing education for nurse managers, and developing patient teaching techniques. Monica enjoys any opportunity for teaching nurses or other staff members. Monica has published abstracts, online articles and a book chapter. She chaired the ASRM Nursing course in 2007 and was a recipient of the IVP Care's Professional Patient Education Grant in 2004. She is one of the founding members of the Advanced Nursing Network, a committee of the nursing practice group (NPG), whose purpose is to establish a national network of nurses in managerial or midlevel positions.

 

Monica received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing honor society.

 

Fertility Authority is a web portal dedicated to providing the best information available  to assist those who need to make informed decisions about their fertility.

 

Our Danbury office is missing the presence of two of our favorite nurses these days. We are fortunate enough to have wonderful, professional and experienced coverage from our other RMACT nurses (Christina, Jocelyn, and Brigette), so there will be not be any changes in the way that you, our patients, are being treated and no change in how quickly your questions are answered. For those of you used to working with Kathleen and Anne, we miss them too, and will be welcoming them back sometime in the fall.  You can request speaking with or working with one particular nurse if that feels more consistent and comfortable for you. Please let us know if you have any questions, we’re always happy to answer them.

 

 

Fertile Yoga this weekend in both Norwalk and Brookfield. As always, free of charge. A wonderful way to enhance treatment and the possibility of conceiving. On Saturdays, class meets from 9:30 until 11:00 in Norwalk, (20 Glover Avenue, Norwalk, CT); 4:15 until 5:30 in Brookfield (777 Federal Road, Brookfield, CT.)

 

The classes are very gentle, in the style of restorative yoga. There is absolutely no creating pretzel like poses, or balancing on one hand while the other three limbs are up in the air. One of my students describes the class as a mini-vacation that she treats herself to each week; a way to take a formal break from the rest of her routine. Classes focus on very gentle movement (often not getting off the mat at all), guided meditation, focused breath and relaxation.

 

My intention is to teach different mechanisms of releasing stress that we learn in class to take and use out of class. Each class is different, with a focus on new tools.

 

 

 

Preconception Considerations:
Getting Ready for Pregnancy

Health and lifestyle changes made prior to pregnancy help to reduce complications in pregnancy and delivery, in addition to helping improve the health of the baby.  Prenatal nutrition, environmental concerns and the health of both partners will be discussed.  This seminar will be led by Carolyn Gundell, MS and Diana D’Amelio, RPA-C.

Wed |  July 21 in our Norwalk location          

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

 

 

Please note, you do NOT have to be a patient of RMACT to attend any of these seminars, nor will you be given any kind of push to switch to our practice. RMACT brought Carolyn on so that our practice would be better able to offer patients the nutrition help that they need. The seminar series was added so that the reach would be broader and more help could be offered outside of our smaller community. The same is true of Fertile Yoga. All are welcome, RMACT saw that there was a need in the larger community and is trying to help fill it.