The First Days of Life: Your Guide to Holistic Health Trends for Newborns

If you’ve explored alternative medicine during pregnancy, you may wonder what natural options are available for your newborn. After all, homeopathy, supplements, nutrient-dense foods, and reducing environmental toxins made a noticeable difference in your pregnancy health. Welcoming your baby into a drug-free and toxin-free environment is a big win.

At the same time, it feels extra intimidating to try remedies and holistic habits on your baby (especially if you’re a first-time mom). That’s why this guide is designed to help you work through the pros and cons of holistic health habits for your newborn.

6 Holistic Health Trends to Consider for Newborn Care

These holistic health trends are easy to do, safe for your baby, and can reduce your child’s exposure to toxins and drugs in early life. The best thing about alternative medicine is that you get to decide what’s best for yourself and your baby. You can pick and choose which of these habits feel right for your family.

Delay Cord Clamping

Studies show that delayed cord clamping improves iron stores and hemoglobin levels in early life (and it’s super easy to do). Since the umbilical cord is your baby’s lifeline for months inside the womb, this makes sense. You can delay cord clamping for up to five minutes after birth, but even an extra sixty seconds has shown to increase your baby’s blood volume.

• Delayed cord clamping pros: Studies show that even thirty seconds of delayed cord clamping can boost stem cells and blood volume in newborns.

• Delayed cord clamping cons: There are few risks to delayed cord clamping. But if your baby is preterm, high risk, or born by C-section, you may need to further evaluate with your care provider.

Placenta Encapsulation

Placenta encapsulation isn’t something crunchy moms made up. In fact, almost every mammal consumes their placenta after birth, and it’s intentional. The placenta is full of essential nutrients that may curb postpartum exhaustion, prevent depression, and increase milk supply. It’s known to increase iron levels and even reduce postpartum bleeding.

• Placenta encapsulation pros: Quick access to nutrients that reduce postpartum depression, bleeding, and fatigue. You can use it to increase milk supply, too.

• Placenta encapsulation cons: Consuming your placenta may sound gross, and if you can’t wrap your head around it, you don’t have to do it. But encapsulation is a great option because you can send off the placenta and get it back in pill form (without thinking too much about it).

Nutrient-Dense Feeding (Breastfeeding or Goat’s Milk)

The beautiful thing about breastfeeding is that it’s perfectly designed for your baby. Not only is breastmilk deeply nourishing, but it also acts as a temporary immune system for your baby (with built-in antibodies). Breastfeeding lowers your baby’s risk of infection and disease, and it’s easy for your baby to digest.

But breastfeeding isn’t always an option. If your supply is low or breastfeeding is difficult, this doesn’t mean you’ve failed as a mother. There are plenty of ways to supplement your supply and still give your baby the tools for success. The goal here is simply to avoid super processed formulas.

Alternative Milk for Infants

Some of my favorite alternative milks for infants include goat’s milk formulas (naturally A2) and even cow’s milk formulas. You can buy these formulas outright or work with your care provider to mix your own. If your baby is older, you may be able to transition from breastmilk to other nutrient-dense liquids, like bone broth or a homemade raw milk blend. Another great option is donor milk from other moms, if you have a vibrant community surrounding you.

• Nutrient-dense feeding pros: Babies who are fed real and unprocessed food typically have better digestion and can absorb nutrients better. Studies show better intelligence scores, better nervous system development, and fewer infections.

• Nutrient-dense feeding cons: It can be difficult to prioritize breastfeeding in the modern world. And it’s not always glamorous.

Delayed Vaccinations

Vaccinations are a heated topic in both traditional and holistic medicine. And please keep in mind, this is an incredibly personal decision that no one else should make for you.

If you’re hesitant about vaccines or want to do more research, delayed vaccinations offer a happy medium. Since your newborn’s immune system isn’t fully developed, your baby could struggle to fight off vaccine exposure right after birth. It’s perfectly okay to space out your shots to give their immune system space to develop.

• Delayed vaccinations pros: Your child has more time to build their immune system before vaccinations are introduced.

• Delayed vaccinations cons: You’ll want to take extra care with your baby’s daily exposure to illness. This may not be the best option for a child who’s in daycare.

Nontoxic or Cloth Diapering

Forever chemicals, plastics, dyes, and phthalates are all found in disposable diapers. These chemicals can disrupt your baby’s hormones and interfere with their growth and development. Since diapers are worn all day (and changed up to 12 times), choosing a nontoxic diaper is a powerful way to protect your child’s health. We love the brand Coterie, and you can find great cloth diaper options, too.

• Nontoxic diaper pros: You can dramatically decrease your baby’s exposure to environmental toxins simply by diapering intentionally.

• Nontoxic diaper cons: Nontoxic diapers can be more expensive, while cloth diapering feels intimidating to many parents. But once you get the hang of it, the pros outweigh the cons.

Skin-to-Skin Contact

Those sweet newborn cuddles? They’re essential for your baby’s nurturing and development. Studies show that touch is a primary means of early communication and connection between parent and newborn. In Western societies, newborns experience contact with their caregiver about 18% of the time. However, in other cultures, a baby is held or worn nearly 99% of the time. Some ways to increase physical contact include baby wearing, safe co-sleeping, and skin-to-skin contact right after birth.

• Skin-to-skin contact pros: It invites a feeling of safety and communication between you and your newborn.

• Skin-to-skin contact cons: It can be hard to have contact with your baby all the time, especially in Western society. Don’t over-stress yourself, just do the best you can.

The Bottom Line: Most Holistic Trends for Newborns Are Safe and Effective

When you research holistic health recommendations for your newborn, you’ll find a lot of controversies. You may even hear other moms praise habits that sound risky to you (like baby-led weaning or skipping a doctor’s visit).

But holistic living doesn’t have to feel uncomfortable. The goal here is to do what you can and what you feel comfortable with. So take some time to evaluate that for yourself.

Many of the habits listed here are intentionally low risk but come with powerful science-backed benefits. If you’re on the fence about holistic health, it’s completely okay to dip your toes in slowly with skin-to-skin contact and delayed cord clamping. These habits alone can have a significant impact on your baby’s growth and development.