Zero Waste Pregnancy
The post you’ve been waiting for is finally here! I’ve had lots of messages about zero waste and pregnancy over the last few months. I really wanted to wait until baby Vasco’s arrival to write down my thoughts on the subject and then of course, babies take ALL attention and time. However, I decided to steal some time away this afternoon to quickly work on this post before baby boy wakes up from his nap!
I’ll be honest; the post title is a little misleading. My pregnancy was not exactly zero waste. But growing a tiny human is hard work and sometimes reducing waste was just not on my radar. However, I do want to share with you guys my experience and thoughts. I’d also love any feedback and would love to hear how other moms have reduced waste during their own pregnancy.
Zero Waste Pregnancy Test
It seemed like I was set up for zero waste sabotage from the very beginning, because how did I learn I was pregnant but with a *gasp* plastic at-home pregnancy test. Of course, I took several tests to be absolutely positive of the results. I was sad about the waste, just thinking of how many pregnancy tests are used by women around the world daily, but mostly excited about the results and didn’t worry too much about the waste. Exciting news though guys! I learned several months into my pregnancy that there’s a flushable, biodegradable pregnancy test that will be available online soon. It’s a company called Lia; be sure to check out their website. It’s such a wonderful concept; I’m so glad someone thought of this!!
Low Waste Prenatal Vitamins
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Luckily, I was able to find a prenatal multivitamin that I liked that came in a glass bottle. This is the one that I used throughout my pregnancy:
Early on, I learned that I had low iron which I expected due to my diet. I was happy to also find an iron supplement that comes in a glass bottle. It tastes horrible but works great. I recommend drinking it in a small glass of orange juice to help mask the taste. Here’s the iron supplement I used:
Sustainable Maternity Clothes
Being pregnant is so exciting and you want to share the news with everyone, but it’s also frustrating in those first few months when you aren’t showing yet. It’s like holding a big secret inside (and I’m the worst at keeping secrets…). I didn’t really start showing until more than half way through my pregnancy which meant that I could continue wearing my regular clothes and didn’t need to consider maternity clothes until I was already a few months along. I hated the idea of buying a bunch of brand new maternity clothes that I would only wear for a few short weeks. In an effort to save myself some money and continue along in my zero waste efforts, I chose to buy a few non maternity outfits in a size larger than my regular size. In this way, I would be able to wear these clothes in pregnancy and also continue to wear them after. Luckily, loose-fitting tops and dresses with leggings is in style these days!
An even better zero waste option for maternity clothes would be to borrow some secondhand from a friend or family member. I hunted on Facebook Marketplace for secondhand maternity clothes in my town but couldn’t really find any in my size. I would’ve loved to just borrow some that I could then share with another pregnant momma.
Doctor Visits
There are definitely ways you can reduce waste when visiting the ob/gyn or midwife during pregnancy. Most importantly though, do what is best for your own health and baby’s health. Reducing waste should never come above your health. How can you help Mama Earth if you haven’t helped yourself, right?! I tried my best to have as little medical intervention as possible during my pregnancy. We had two ultrasounds over the ten months.
Staying Healthy
Probably the best thing you can do for your baby during pregnancy is to stay healthy which is absolutely zero waste! Rest, rest, rest. Listen to your body and know when you are pushing yourself too hard. Try to a follow a healthy diet as much as possible, and don’t forget to take your prenatal vitamins. Get a prenatal massage and visit your chiropractor regularly. Take walks daily and spend time outside. All of these healthy pregnant lady habits easily align with the zero waste lifestyle, yay!!
Sign up & Save
Get 10% off your first zero waste order and all the latest Tiny Yellow Bungalow news!Biggest Zero Waste Pregnancy Struggle
Ok, confession time! My biggest zero waste pregnancy struggle was definitely food waste. I know you guys are thinking how is that possible when zero waste food shopping is something I was already working on pre-pregnancy. Let me just tell you though, during pregnancy I was so so lazy about cooking and food shopping. I had no energy or appetite to prepare delicious zero waste plant based meals. We ate a lot of packaged and processed foods mostly because I didn’t feel like cooking.
I also had big plans to make freezer meals before Vasco’s arrival that I could easily warm up during those first few weeks postpartum but again, no energy for freezer meal prep. So even after pregnancy, I’ve continued to slack on my zero waste food routine. Luckily, my sweet sister has visited several times and prepared us some home cooked meals that have lasted us for daysI Where would I be without my awesome little sister?! (Probably eating granola bars for breakfast, lunch, and dinner 😉
I really hope to get back into zero wasting soon!
I’d love to hear your own zero waste pregnancy tips, experiences, advice, and questions. Let me know!!
You might also enjoy these blog posts from Tiny Yellow Bungalow!
beginner’s guide to zero waste
i’m so there too. We really don’t produce a lot of trash as is, but theres so much stuff we can’t give to the dogs and currently are out of commission for composting (we’ll start again soon:) I eat everything right now and we eat out more often than we ever have in our entire lives combined because I’m so unmotivated! Your blog has been so helpful though between zero waste/minimalism, and such an inspiration! <3