Starting a Family? Here’s What You Need to Know

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, or so the saying goes. But what does prevention really mean? And how early should it start when starting a family?

Family genes

Dr. Palevsky belongs to a group of pediatricians who believe that our health is influenced by the lifestyle choices of our parents and grandparents.

Refer to our article on Transgenerational Epigenetics for a more comprehensive overview.

But when we accumulate generations-worth of toxins, we burden our children and grandchildren with a constitution unable to handle the pollutants of modern life.

What Chinese Medicine calls “prenatal jing,” is the life essence that provides us with resilience and vitality. Yet, many things in our environment, including the use of IVF and IUIs as well as C-sections diminish this jing or “oomph.”

“There are some in the field of Chinese Medicine who say you can attempt to address prenatal jing. But once you’re born, it’s set in.”

– Dr. Palevsky

Although we can partially restore this lack of resilience, this oomph, with homeopathy, energy medicine, nutraceuticals, and Chinese Medicine, these modalities only go so far.

Family planning

In essence, nearly everything we do biologically and energetically is passed down to our children. Although we can attempt to restore a child’s jing, it is generally set from conception to birth. So what should we be doing now to ensure the health of ourselves and our families? We can start by coaching parents-to-be on all the ways of health promotion and toxin elimination. Here is Dr. Palevsky’s approach.

Prevention planning

According to Dr. Larry Palevsky, there are five main ways in which information enters the body. This includes everything from diet and breathing to sunlight, touch, as well as what we watch and listen to. Fortunately, there are even more ways in which we remove wastes and toxins from the body. See Is Your Chronic Illness An Inability to Remove Waste? for the full breakdown.

But beyond the basics, parents-to-be must consider everything from getting enough fresh air and quality sleep to their smoking status, exercise, any toxins or mold in their environment, as well as their own ability to detoxify.

This approach to starting a family hinges on prevention and involves some very basic but essential lifestyle decisions.

About Dr. Palevsky

Dr. Lawrence Palevsky is an NYS licensed pediatrician who utilizes a holistic approach to children’s wellness and illness. He received his medical degree from the NYU School of Medicine in 1987, and received his pediatric board certification in 1990, and passed his pediatric board recertification exams in 1997, 2004, and 2011.

In his current pediatric practice, Dr. Palevsky offers well-child examinations, consultations, and educational programs to families and practitioners in the areas of preventive and holistic health, childhood development, lifestyle changes and safe and alternative treatments for difficult-to-treat conditions.

Additionally, Dr. Palevsky teaches holistic integrative pediatric & adolescent medicine to parents and medical and allied health professionals both nationally and internationally.