My Pregnancy Journey and Discovering MTHFR

Kelsey Haddock

25 Sep 2025 • 6 min read

By Molly McNally

[Kelsey's Intro: Molly and I met our Junior year of high school and I'm grateful to say that our friendship has continued all these years later. I knew she had been learning a lot about pregnancy and birth but I know this personal antidote of hers will be most informative and enlightening to you. Enjoy!]

When I became pregnant with my first baby in 2021, I was filled with all the emotions that come with stepping into motherhood for the very first time: excitement, nervousness, and wonder at the little life growing inside me. I was adjusting to the changes in my body, dreaming about meeting my baby, and preparing for a new season of life.

What I did not expect was how much this pregnancy would teach me about my own health. In the middle of all the joy and preparation, my midwife, Susan Lawler, noticed a handful of symptoms that hinted at something deeper. She suggested I might carry the MTHFR gene mutation, and she was right. That discovery became a turning point in my health.

What Is MTHFR?

MTHFR stands for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. It is a gene that affects how the body processes folate, also known as vitamin B9. Folate is essential for many functions, especially during pregnancy when it supports DNA synthesis and the development of a baby’s neural tube.

If you carry an MTHFR variant, your body has a harder time converting folic acid, the synthetic form of folate found in most prenatal vitamins and fortified foods, into its active form called methylfolate. Without enough active folate, the body struggles with a process known as methylation, which is central to:

Building and repairing DNA
Detoxifying hormones and environmental chemicals
Producing neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine
Supporting cardiovascular health

Think of it this way: methylation is like using a key to start your car. If you have the right key, everything works smoothly and the engine starts. But if you have the wrong key, you can sit there turning it in the ignition and nothing happens. For someone with MTHFR, folic acid is the wrong key—it just doesn’t fit. What your body needs instead is methylfolate, the active form, so the “engine” of your cells can run properly.

Common Symptoms and Effects of MTHFR

Because methylation impacts so many systems in the body, MTHFR can show up in a wide range of ways. Some people don’t notice anything until pregnancy, while others experience symptoms long before.

For me, the signs were subtle at first but persistent. I often felt unusually tired, no matter how much I rested. My thinking was foggy, and my mood could swing more than I expected. On top of that, I noticed physical symptoms I could not explain: episodes where my skin would itch for no clear reason, and sudden flushing in my face that left me feeling overheated and uncomfortable. At the time, I brushed these off as random or hormonal, but later I learned they were connected to my body struggling with methylation and histamine balance.

Looking back, those were early hints that my body was not processing nutrients or detoxifying the way it needed to. Once I discovered MTHFR, those puzzle pieces started to fit together.

For many others, MTHFR may present as:

Chronic fatigue or low energy from poor nutrient conversion and sluggish detoxification
Brain fog and difficulty concentrating due to reduced neurotransmitter production
Mood imbalances such as anxiety, depression, or irritability
Headaches or migraines tied to impaired detox pathways
Unexplained skin issues including itching, flushing, or rashes
Hormonal shifts or fertility struggles when methylation is disrupted
Cardiovascular concerns like elevated homocysteine, which can raise clotting and heart disease risk
Digestive issues or food sensitivities from difficulty breaking down certain nutrients
Pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, preeclampsia, or neural tube defects if the mutation is not identified and supported

Not everyone with MTHFR will experience all of these symptoms. Some may only notice a few, and severity depends on which variant is present and how much support the body receives through nutrition and lifestyle.

Why It Matters in Pregnancy

During pregnancy, methylation is especially important because it directly supports your baby’s growth and development. Without the right key—active folate in the form of methylfolate—the body struggles to perform critical functions. This is why an undiagnosed MTHFR mutation can raise the risk of complications such as miscarriage, preeclampsia, or birth defects.

Once my midwife raised the possibility of MTHFR, I began studying resources from Dr. Ben Lynch, who has written extensively on methylation. His book Dirty Genes and online articles gave me the science behind what my midwife was observing in practice.

One of the most eye-opening changes I made was rethinking enriched flour. Nearly all breads, cereals, and packaged foods in grocery stores are made with enriched flour, which contains synthetic folic acid. For someone with MTHFR, eating those foods only compounds the problem, since the body cannot process folic acid effectively. Instead of helping, it can actually block the pathways needed for proper function.

With my midwife's direction and Dr. Lynch’s research, I began avoiding enriched flour and choosing whole, unfortified foods. I also switched to prenatal vitamins that contained methylated folate rather than folic acid.

Around the same time, I discovered Dr. Lily Nichols and her book Real Food for Pregnancy. Her evidence-based approach and nourishing recipes gave me practical ways to feed both myself and my baby without worrying about hidden folic acid.

Not long after making these shifts, I began to notice dramatic changes in how I felt.

How I Felt After Making Changes

The difference was immediate and dramatic. Even during my first trimester, when exhaustion is often at its peak, I began to notice shifts that were hard to ignore. My energy no longer crashed in the middle of the day. The constant fog I had grown used to started to lift, and my mind felt clearer and sharper. The nagging symptoms that once seemed like “just part of pregnancy” eased, leaving me with a stronger sense of balance.

For the first time, I felt like my body was working with me instead of against me. I could get through the day without feeling drained, I could enjoy preparing nourishing meals instead of reaching for packaged convenience foods, and I even found myself looking forward to gentle movement and time outdoors again.

It became obvious that my body had been craving support it simply wasn’t receiving before. By removing things that made my body work harder, focusing on whole foods naturally rich in folate, and using methylated supplements, I finally felt nourished at the deepest level. Instead of just surviving pregnancy, I was able to experience it with a sense of strength and vitality I hadn’t thought was possible.

Beyond Pregnancy: Lasting Life Changes

The changes I made during pregnancy did not end once my son was born.

I realized that supporting methylation and overall health was not only about pregnancy, but about living with MTHFR long term. Continuing to avoid enriched flour, choosing foods in their whole state, and being mindful about supplements became habits I carried into postpartum and motherhood.

I also made it a priority to:

Use methylated vitamins instead of conventional ones
Choose whole, unprocessed foods over fortified or packaged products
Pay attention to how my body responds to food and stress
Limit environmental toxins where I could, knowing detox pathways matter more for me

These shifts have strengthened my energy, mood stability, and recovery. Even now, I notice I feel more resilient when I honor the unique way my body works. Do I miss some of the foods I used to eat? Sometimes. But my body is healthier and happier now, and that is worth it.

Too often, women are told that pregnancy symptoms are simply part of the process. Sometimes they are, but sometimes they are signals pointing to something deeper. For me, those signals led to discovering MTHFR.

I am grateful that my midwife listened, asked questions, and encouraged me to look further. I am also thankful for the work of Dr. Ben Lynch and Dr. Lily Nichols, whose resources gave me the tools to make meaningful changes.

Whether you are pregnant, trying to conceive, or simply navigating everyday health, understanding your genetics and nutritional needs can be incredibly empowering. The right information can change not only your pregnancy but your long-term health as well.

If you have ever wondered if there is more behind your symptoms, or if pregnancy has made you curious about your body in a new way, I encourage you to explore this. Ask questions. Seek practitioners who look at the whole picture. And do not be afraid to make changes that support your unique health.

Because those changes do not only help during pregnancy, they can support you for a lifetime.

Resources

Susan Lawler, Midwife Website: www.susanlawlermidwife.com Practice: All About Birth Midwifery in Tacoma, WA Instagram: @allaboutbirthmidwifery

Dr. Ben Lynch Website: www.drbenlynch.com Educational platform: www.seekinghealth.org Author of Dirty Genes — a book about understanding and working with your genetic variations Instagram: @drbenlynch

Dr. Lily Nichols Website: www.lilynicholsrdn.com Author of Real Food for Pregnancy and Real Food for Gestational Diabetes Instagram: @lilynicholsrdn

*This is not medical advise but for educational purposes only.