Becoming an Inglewood Mom

By: Sonia Taylor Crichton

Thank you to all that shared a common interest in the article I wrote in July. It is an interesting journey being a mom and it is one that is made even more engaging by getting to write about it. As a result of your interest, I have been asked to contribute a few more articles. My last article was about how ideal it is to be an Inglewood mom, this article will be about what it took to get me to this point (don't worry - I'll keep it suitable for readers of all ages!).

One of the many reasons Inglewood is a great place to raise children, is the growing number of health and wellness professionals & businesses to be found in the neighborhood. This has been extremely beneficial to me. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with hypertension; aka - dangerously high blood pressure. Our doctor took some routine tests, and seemed a bit mystified as to what the cause might be, but the treatment prescribed was a standard drug used to treat the condition - regardless of the cause. The "traditional" medication that was prescribed to me would not allow me to conceive, or at best made pregnancy extremely risky with high fatality effects on embryos. I suffered for almost three years with hypertension, and it was becoming clear that the medication I was on, was not working towards a cure - just a treatment that was reducing my risk of having a stroke or heart-attack. It might have been keeping me functional, but I felt terrible all the time. Our doctor didn't provide an overly rosy prognosis either. "You'll pretty much need to take this medication as long as you want to keep your blood pressure in check" was pretty much what we were presented with.

Feeling frustrated with our doctor, my husband suggested that I see a naturopath. I was cynical because it seemed too "holistic" for me. However, I thought it couldn't hurt so let's try. Luckily we didn't have to look further than our local family health centre to see a doctor of naturopathy. I was already receiving chiropractic care since I had (perhaps foolishly!) ran a marathon the previous year, and that treatment had helped me recover. The results of chiropractic treatment were amazing so it seemed possible that their naturopath doctor would be as well.

I was prescribed a program of vitamins and a naturopathic regimen that had me off of my horrible medicine within a month of beginning treatment. My blood pressure dropped quickly to normal, and remained consistent for 6 months. We were then given the green light to try to conceive by my general practitioner. We were blessed with a pregnancy almost immediately, and I was classified as low-risk the entire time. With a close eye on my blood pressure, a continued naturopathic approach kept my blood pressure at a completely normal level. The amazing thing about this story is that I was on the traditional medication for almost 3 years with the side effects being nausea, dizziness, insomnia etc. so I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to feel really good. My husband and I had nearly accepted that we might never have children because of the condition - and it was really a vicious downward cycle of nearly the worst kind. With the naturopathic program I felt better than I ever had and I firmly believe that my pregnancy was healthy and easy because of it. Our local health professionals right here in Inglewood opened my eyes to a new way of caring for myself, if he hadn't, I don't believe I would have become an Inglewood Mom.

If anyone reading this is interested in learning more, contact me and I will refer you to the wonderful folks who played a significant role in my becoming a mom! Sonia@taylorcrichton.com