Lucila Gamburd: Supporting Women Through Every Stage of Motherhood

I initially studied psychology, drawn to human behavior and mental well-being. But navigating my own health and nutrition challenges helped me see how closely our physical, mental, and emotional health are connected. I wanted to explore those connections—and help others do the same.

Through The Health Coach Training Program^™, I deepened my understanding of nutrition and bio-individuality and gained the confidence to pursue a career in coaching. My experience with hormonal acne later led me to the Hormone Health Course, where I explored the relationships between gut health, stress, nutrition, and hormonal well-being. Today, as a board-certified health coach, I help clients build a healthier relationship with food and feel more in tune with their bodies.

Q&A: Discovering Health Coaching

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO FOCUS YOUR WORK ON FERTILITY, PREGNANCY, AND POSTPARTUM HEALTH, AND WAS THERE A PERSONAL OR DEFINING MOMENT THAT SHAPED THIS PATH?

A: It came from going through it myself. Trying to conceive, pregnancy, postpartum—I lived all three phases and realized in real time how crucial the right nutrients and proper nourishment were at every stage.

What struck me most was how little real support women are given through it. You’re handed a prenatal vitamin and sent on your way, as if that one bottle is meant to carry you through conception, nine months of pregnancy, and everything your body goes through to recover afterward. It just isn’t enough. That gap is what pulled me into this work, and it’s what makes me so passionate about it today.

FOR SOMEONE NEW TO HEALTH COACHING, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE ITS ROLE IN SUPPORTING WOMEN THROUGH DIFFERENT STAGES OF MOTHERHOOD?

A: I love this question because health coaching fills such a sweet, necessary role. Doctors provide such important medical care, but their appointments are often short and focused on the clinical piece. A health coach gets to be the person with more time—someone who can explore the questions that didn’t get covered and help a woman understand what’s really happening in her body. Through preconception, pregnancy, and postpartum, having that steady, caring presence alongside her medical care makes such a difference.

WHY IS A HOLISTIC, CLIENT-CENTERED APPROACH SO IMPORTANT DURING PRECONCEPTION, PREGNANCY, AND POSTPARTUM?

A: Because every woman’s journey looks different. Her hormones, her history, her culture, the support she has at home—all of it shapes what she actually needs. A holistic approach means looking at the whole picture—nutrition, labs, sleep, stress, relationships—instead of handing her a generic meal plan and calling it a day.

And client-centered means she’s the one in the driver’s seat. My role is to bring the clinical knowledge and structure and gently build it around her real life.

Q&A: Supporting Mothers at Every Stage

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON CHALLENGES YOU SEE WOMEN FACE WHEN PREPARING FOR OR NAVIGATING MOTHERHOOD?

A: Conflicting information is a big one. So many women come to me overwhelmed by everything they’ve read, unsure who or what to trust. I also see a lot of women who don’t fully understand their own labs or cycle, which makes it so hard to advocate for themselves at the doctor’s office. And postpartum brings its own challenge: trying to nourish a brand-new baby while feeling completely depleted yourself.

HOW DO YOU HELP WOMEN FEEL MORE SUPPORTED, CONFIDENT, AND NOURISHED DURING THESE TRANSITIONS?

A: I try to be a translator. Lab values, cycle timing, nutrition science—I break it all down so it actually makes sense, rather than just sounding official. Confidence grows when a woman truly understands what’s going on in her body, not when she’s just told what to do. I also make sure every plan fits into her real life, because a plan she can’t realistically follow doesn’t help anyone.

HOW DOES NUTRITION IMPACT FERTILITY, PREGNANCY OUTCOMES, AND POSTPARTUM RECOVERY?

A: Nutrition really is foundational through every one of these stages. Going into conception, what your body is nourished with affects hormone production and egg quality. During pregnancy, needs for protein and key micronutrients shift week to week, and they genuinely affect outcomes for both mom and baby.

Postpartum, your body is working so hard to recover, often while breastfeeding, and the stores that were used up during pregnancy don’t just refill on their own. That’s why I build protocols around cycle timing and trimester-specific needs instead of giving generic advice. The needs really do change at each stage.

Q&A: Reflections & Insights

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR HEALTH COACHES WHO WANT TO SUPPORT MOTHERS OR MOTHERS-TO-BE?

A: Get educated about a woman’s cycle. Learn how each hormone plays a role and works together with the others, and what kinds of foods support mothers and mothers-to-be through the different stages. That knowledge shapes the quality of guidance and conversation you can offer her.

Also, remember your role is to walk alongside her, not to hand her a one-size-fits-all answer. The best support meets her specific history, cycle, and life, rather than copying what worked for your last client.

HOW CAN COACHES BETTER SUPPORT CLIENTS WHO FEEL OVERWHELMED OR DEPLETED DURING THIS LIFE STAGE?

A: Meet her exactly where she is. A depleted new mom doesn’t need a twelve-step plan; she needs two or three things she can realistically do this week. Simplify before you optimize. Overwhelm usually comes from too much information, not too little effort, so part of our job is helping filter the noise down to what actually matters right now.

HOW DO YOU INTEGRATE FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION WITH A COACHING APPROACH IN YOUR WORK?

A: I use functional nutrition to understand what’s really going on in her body—hormonal patterns, lab markers, cycle-specific needs—and I use coaching to help her actually live out the plan. The clinical side tells us what the body needs. The coaching side is what helps her stick with it long enough to feel the difference.

WHAT LESSONS FROM WORKING IN CLINICAL AND PRIVATE PRACTICE SETTINGS CAN ASPIRING HEALTH COACHES APPLY TO THEIR OWN WORK WITH CLIENTS?

A: Focus on the foundations first. In both clinical and private practice, I’ve seen that most people don’t actually have the basics covered—nutrition, hydration, sleep, stress, movement. It’s tempting to jump straight to the advanced or trendy stuff, but real change happens when those foundations are solid. I’d tell aspiring health coaches to slow down and start there with every client, because that’s where the biggest shifts actually come from.

Q&A: The IIN Experience

WHAT LED YOU TO PURSUE YOUR TRAINING THROUGH THE INSTITUTE FOR INTEGRATIVE NUTRITION?

A: I completed The Health Coach Training Program in 2015 and later came back for the Hormone Health Course. What drew me to IIN was the approach. IIN doesn’t just teach you to hand someone facts; it teaches you how to gently guide a person through real change and how to be a constant, caring support while they get there. That’s the part that has stayed with me and still shapes how I show up for my clients today.

HOW HAS YOUR IIN EDUCATION SHAPED THE WAY YOU SUPPORT YOUR CLIENTS TODAY?

A: IIN taught me how to guide a client through change, ask the right questions, and be her steady support system along the way. That’s really the core of how I practice today: leading with genuine support rather than just information.

Q&A: Perspective & Purpose

WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST MEANINGFUL OR REWARDING PART OF YOUR WORK SO FAR?

A: Watching clients reach their goals at their own pace and watching their relationship with food and with themselves transform along the way. So many women come to me exhausted, having tried everything and feeling worn down by all the conflicting information out there.

Instead of adding to that noise, I meet them exactly where they are and gently guide them toward what they truly want. Watching their confidence grow—not just in their results but in their own choices—means everything to me.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO WOMEN WHO WANT TO PRIORITIZE THEIR HEALTH WHILE CARING FOR OTHERS?

A: Your own nourishment should be just as much a priority; it’s what makes everything else possible. You truly can’t pour from an empty cup.

Start small if you need to: one nourishing meal, one lab panel you’ve been putting off, one quality nap while someone else takes care of your baby, if possible, or one good workout to get those feel-good endorphins flowing. Just start somewhere. You deserve that care, too.

HOW DO YOU PERSONALLY STAY NOURISHED AND BALANCED IN YOUR OWN LIFE?

A: I apply the same philosophy I learned at IIN, focusing on what I can add in rather than what I should take out. Restriction tends to lead to obsession, so instead I ask what my body actually needs to thrive, whether that’s more energy, better tissue repair, deeper recovery, or nourishment on a cellular level. It’s a shift from subtraction to addition, and it’s changed my relationship with food for the better.

WHAT DOES “WELLNESS” LOOK LIKE FOR YOU IN THIS SEASON?

A: Right now, wellness looks like the simple things done well: eating nourishing, balanced meals, staying hydrated, getting good-quality sleep, and reducing stress where I can. It also looks like soaking up time with my baby and my husband and practicing gratitude every day. Nothing complicated, just consistent and heartfelt.

Q&A: Fun Favorites

WHAT’S THE BEST DECISION YOU EVER MADE FOR YOUR HEALTH OR CAREER?

A: Getting my master’s in human nutrition to become a Certified Nutrition Specialist and practice medical nutrition therapy. It was a big commitment, but it truly laid the foundation for everything I want to do in this field.

WHAT BOOK OR PODCAST WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY FOR MOMS OR MOMS-TO-BE?

A: For a podcast, I love The Mel Robbins Podcast. For a book, hands down, Real Food for Pregnancy by Lily Nichols. I recommend it to almost every pregnant client. It’s thorough, evidence-based, and genuinely useful in a way a lot of pregnancy nutrition content just isn’t.

IF YOU COULD BE ANY FRUIT OR VEGGIE, WHICH WOULD YOU BE, AND WHY?

A: An avocado, easily. I have one almost every day. It’s so versatile—breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, sweet or savory—and it’s full of fiber and healthy fats that support hormone health. Practical and nourishing all at once, which is pretty much my whole philosophy wrapped up in one food.

WHAT SONG OR ARTIST DO YOU FIND YOURSELF PLAYING MOST OFTEN THESE DAYS?

A: Honestly, whatever my daughter is listening to, which mostly means Disney songs on repeat. I happen to genuinely love them, too, so it works out perfectly.