She has treated Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet and Davina McCall and moves between the NHS and her highly popular Harley St clinic helping women to conceive and have their babies as naturally as possible. babyworld meets midwife, author and natural health practitioner Zita West.
There can’t be many trained midwife/acupuncturists – why this unusual combination, do you have a desire to be different?!
No there are not many trained midwife/acupuncturists but more are training now. My desire to be different came from the fact I had suffered terribly with post natal depression after the birth of my son, and did not find western medicine could alleviate any of my problems.
I was not happy to take anti-depressants but found acupuncture gave me tremendous relief from my symptoms. It inspired me to study the subject and then later on I set up the first NHS Clinic in Warwick.
The combination of western medicine with therapies such as acupuncture are the most effective for treating common ailments in pregnancy which is where my approach to be different came from.
What are the challenges of your job?
One of the main challenges of my job is that I meet so many couples who have been trying to get pregnant who have had contradictory information from a number of different sources.
They have not had access to the help and advice they need and then their relationships begin to suffer. That can be quite challenging because at this stage they really do need a lot of support.
How much time should couples ideally spend preparing for pregnancy? Does this happen in practice and if not why not?
For men, it takes 4 months to prepare healthy sperm for conception. I also like women to go on a detoxification programme which can take some time. I also try to get a client to an ideal weight for conception so the time involved depends on how much weight is an issue for that individual.
With most couples, preparation time does not normally happen in practice. I think many people spend their youth trying not to get pregnant assuming that it will happen automatically later on, and that preparation won’t be necessary. Unfortunately for a growing number of couples, this is not always the case.
Why do so many couples need to help to conceive?
Because I believe many couples are simply leaving it too late, and then stress and panic take over which does not help with conception.
What would you put your success down to?
My success are down to hard work and passion about what I do.
Do you think you can influence the sex of a baby by natural means or is it all old wives’ tales?
You can’t influence the sex of a baby.
We hear that celebs beat a path to your door – which Zita West products do they love most?
I’m afraid I can’t mention all of my famous clients but I do see Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchet, Ulrika Johnson and Davina McCall. They all love my Vital Essence pregnancy nutritional supplements because the vitamins and minerals included adapt for each trimester of pregnancy. My ‘comfort down under’ cream is also very popular!
Can you give babyworld mums-to-be some tips for a happy, healthy pregnancy
- Vital to have support in early stages of pregnancy
- Rest as much as you can
- Don’t try to be super woman
- No alcohol , this is an absolute no no
- Give up work as early as you can (32 or 33 weeks)
- Enjoy those final weeks with your partner as you will not that quality
time just the two of you again!
For futher information on products and treatments please contact The Zita West Clinic on 0207 224 6091
