Positive Birth Stories

Women can overcome the fear surrounding labor and birth by hearing or reading Positive Birth Stories. I have asked a number of my Bradley Method® and Prenatal Yoga students to write their experiences down to share with other couples. Most of these stories on my blog http://prenatalyoga.wordpress.com are stories of natural birth. A couple of them are not, but these mothers were able to turn their baby's birth into an empowering experience and bring their babies into the world in the best, safest, and gentlest way possible.

"Women need to hear positive birth stories. Sadly, women who have positive, transformative, challenging but amazing births usually don't tell their stories. They may think it's not normal, or may not want to make other women feel inferior. Women need to share their birth stories, both positive and difficult, and when they're difficult, we should examine why and what could have changed. These stories have the power to transform how society looks at birth, to dispel the myths and relieve the fear." Debra Pascali-Bonaro

Prenatal Yoga for a Healthier, More Comfortable Pregnancy, Labor, and Birth

Post Date: July 21st, 2012

"Each class was for me a time to become more intimately acquainted with my son. It forced me to slow down for that hour and really think about my relationship with him. I visualized giving birth,holding him and spending the rest of my life with him. It made me feel better about myself as a mother-to-be."Maria T, Carlsbad, CA

Pregnant women are trying yoga for the first time, and experienced yoginis are adapting their practices in prenatal yoga classes. Doctors and midwives are recommending prenatal yoga to their patients, while hospitals are providing access to prenatal yoga as part of a healthy route to a more comfortable pregnancy, a healthier birthing process, and a healthy baby. You can become relaxed and energized, reduce anxiety, improve your health, and increase strength and flexibility.

Research has shown that practicing prenatal yoga 3 times a week can shorten labor, and lessen labor pain. How? Synchronization of breath awareness and muscle relaxation help to decrease tension. This also reduces the laboring mother’s perception of pain. According to the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth, “practicing yoga postures over time alters pain pathways through the parasympathetic nervous system, decreasing one’s need to actively respond to unpleasant physical sensations.”

One study proved that practicing yoga can help expectant mothers’ experience a healthier pregnancy: “Occurrence of complications of pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension, intrauterine growth retardation, pre-term delivery) shows lower trends in yoga group.”1

Why suffer through back pain during pregnancy, when yoga can relieve that back pain? Some women may feel like resting is the only option, when, in fact, stretching and strengthening back and belly will improve the ability of the abdominal muscles to better support the low back and all that extra weight growing in the front. “I really had no pregnancy discomfort this time and I KNOW it was due to prenatal yoga."  Vicky W., Oceanside, CA.

The joy and excitement of a new family member on the way can sometimes be overwhelmed by the stresses of a constantly changing body, morning sickness, edema (swelling), and worries about the challenges facing new parents. Yoga is the oldest form of stress relief dating back 5000 years. Yoga techniques reduce stress through controlled breathing, meditation, physical movement, and stretching. Yoga is defined as “Union”. By bringing together mind, body, and spirit, improvement of one’s health and well-being are the biggest payoffs.

Why suffer, when you can actually enjoy your pregnancy? Nancy B. from Poway, CA says, “I have loved your class and look forward to it every week. You have been such a joy for me and have really helped me enjoy…no love, this pregnancy.THANK YOU!"  Erin N. from Escondido said, “Prenatal yoga made me feel physically and emotionally strong. I felt such a strong bond with my baby during and after every class."

Looking for Prenatal Yoga classes in Carlsbad, Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos,or Poway? Prenatal Yoga with Yoga Janda can be found at Babies In Bloom at 1988 Hacienda Drive Vista, CA 92081. There are classes two days a week in Vista and one class a week at Pomerado Hospital’s Outpatient Pavilion 15611 POMERADO RD. POWAY, CA 92064.

Check the Prenatal Yoga Schedule at www.yogajanda.com

Or on the Calendar at www.babies-in-bloom.com

Or on the Classes and Events Page at www.pph.org

Or Practice at Home

1.Research on Benefits of Yoga in Pregnancy

Pregnant? Looking for a Lamaze class?

Post Date: May 30th, 2012

What exactly is a Lamaze class? When Fernand Lamaze created his method of childbirth, the focus was on natural, normal labor and birth without medication and interventions. The idea was to use controlled breathing and breathing patterns to distract the laboring mother from the contractions, and to use breathing methods as a way to lessen pain. Today when someone talks about Lamaze, they are often referring to the class I the hospital they think everyone takes.

What most people call “Lamaze” classes these days do not necessarily match the original intent. Depending on whom you take the class from, or where you take it, you may find, in some hospitals, that you learn more about how to be a good patient. Some instructors may be limited by what their hospital allows them to teach. And you will spend more time learning about the interventions and medications, than you will about the normal natural processes of labor and birth. Though you can find a good class anywhere if you follow some simple guidelines when looking for the right class for you and your birth partner(s).

The best childbirth classes will:

· Consist of a minimum of 5 classes

· Each class will be at least 2 hours long

· Have between 3-10 couples enrolled

You should learn about:

· Nutrition

· Emotional and physiological stages of labor

· Non-medicated pain coping techniques/comfort measures

· Risks and benefits of all of the medications & interventions

· How to be your own advocate

· Informed consent

· Breastfeeding beginning at birth

· Post-partum care

· Birth plans

· Unexpected situations

· Cesarean surgery

Even if you want an epidural, you need a childbirth class and so does your partner. If you are planning a home birth, you still need a childbirth class to prepare you for normal labor and the unexpected events that sometimes come with it. If you’ve had a baby before and things didn’t go as you had planned, a new class can help you avoid those obstacles you faced before. If you had an unplanned cesarean and want to try a VBAC, you need education, and information and support to work through the fears and trauma associated with the previous birth.

_{“Many people}spend more time researching the stroller than they do trying to understand the physicality and the emotional-loadedness of getting a baby out of their bodies.” A good childbirth class might actually change your mind about some of the things you didn’t consider.” Erica Lyon birth educator…

There are many types of classes out there that can help prepare you for this amazing birth experience. If you get educated, you can increase your chances of having a healthier labor and birth with less complications for both mother and baby. If you take an active role in the decisions and know what questions to ask, then you will have less, or no regrets later. Above all, you will be ensuring that your baby comes into the world in the safest, healthiest way possible.

So what choices do you have?

The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth, www.bradleybirth.com :

Your currently affiliated Bradley® instructor wants you and your baby to have the best, safest, and most rewarding birth experience possible. For that reason, we endorse and teach the following:
·      Natural childbirth
·      Active participation by the coach
·      Excellent nutrition
·      Avoidance of drugs
·      Early training
·     Natural breathing combined with relaxation techniques
·      Tuning into and working with your body
·      Immediate and continuous contact with your new baby
·      Breastfeeding beginning at birth
·      Positive communications
·      Informed parents sharing in the making of responsible decisions
·      Parents prepared for unexpected situations (such as emergency childbirth or       cesarean section)

Lamaze, www.lamaze.org :

Lamaze: Helping You Decide What’s Best for Both

• Lamaze supports evidence-based pregnancy and birth practices that are supported by research and experienced childbirth educators.

• Lamaze guides you as you navigate all of your options, and their benefits and drawbacks.

• Lamaze seeks to empower you as you explore how your body was designed for birth, and encourages you to work with your body’s natural abilities.

• Lamaze provides strategies for natural pain management during labor, reducing unnecessary medical interventions. – Lamaze ensures that you feel continuously supported during labor and birth.

• Lamaze stresses the importance of natural pain management strategies through labor and birth, helping you choose methods that are safe and healthy.

• Lamaze encourages bonding between you and your baby, with the importance of skin-to-skin contact and time to get to know your new baby after birth.

Birthing From Within, www.birthingfromwithin.com :

In your Birthing From Within classes, you will learn how to:

• Experience birth as a rite of passage

• Eat a sound diet (pregnancy and breastfeeding)

• Open your body-mind before and during labor with self-hypnosis and visualizations

• Build confidence in yourself and your partner

• Ask questions and make decisions in labor

• Protect your birth space

• Tame your "Birth Tigers"^TM

• Push your baby out

• Welcome your baby

• Recover and plan postpartum

• Care for and feed your newborn

• Give birth from within during a Cesarean, while using pain medication, or with medical support.

Hypnobirthing, www.hypnobirthing.com :

“Through a very simple program of self-hypnosis and education, healthy, low-risk women, as well as women who need medical assistance because of special circumstances, learn to dismiss fear-based stories, misinformation, and birthing myths; and they are helped to see birth as normal. They learn to trust that their bodies know how to bring their babies into the world in the calm and gentle way that Nature intended.”

Hypnobabies, www.hypnobabies.com :

“In Hypnobabies, our objectives are to help our pregnant couples bond with their baby in utero, teach you how to stay healthy  and low-risk and be an excellent consumer, trust in your body, mind and baby, as well as become self-reliant and confident  about birthing your own way; unmedicated, safely and in comfort. We overcome negative belief systems and programming,  get you in touch with your own beautiful pregnant body, support you through your own excellent birth experience and give you  skills that you will use for the rest of your life. Birth Partners are brought into the preparation process and have their own  hypnotic relaxation cues, as well as a special role to play as they await the birth of the precious newborn with our Hypno-mom.  Since we use real medical hypnosis techniques, addressing the mind, body, and spirit of both Mother and Baby, our success and satisfaction rates are wonderful and very gratifying!”

Take the time to learn about this amazing process and bring your baby into the world in the gentlest, safest, healthiest way possible. Check out your options. If you don’t ask what your options are, you don’t have any!

Liza Janda AAHCC, E-RYT, RPYT

Certified Bradley Instructor, Experienced-Registered Yoga Teacher, Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher Yoga Alliance

www.yogajanda.com

Tags: baby, birth classes, brithing, Cesarean, Cesarean section, childbirth classes, Hypnobabies, Hypnobirthing, labor, labor partner, lamaze, medication in labor, natural
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