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

Sciatica In Pregnancy: 10 Tips To Feel Better

Post Date: January 25th, 2013

See more articles by Liza Janda

OUCH! You got through the first trimester nausea and you were finally feeling better, but now, oh the pain! That pain comes from the sciatic nerve getting compressed by inflammation in the body, or the weight of the baby in the uterus. Whatever the cause, the result is some pretty severe discomfort for a pregnant mama. 

Here Are 10 Tips To Help You Get More Comfortable in Pregnancy 

1.    Add turmeric to your diet: You can boil it with dairy milk or coconut milk. Get some turmeric root, cut off a half inch piece, and heat it up with about a cup of milk until it turns yellowish. Let it cool a bit before you drink it.  You can sweeten it to taste using some raw honey or good maple syrup.

2.    Ginger is another root that helps reduce inflammation around the sciatic nerve. You can slice off thin pieces from a root and eat it. It can be a bit spicy but very yummy. Or you can get ginger supplements at any health food store. Ginger helps with nausea in pregnancy too.

3.    Adding Omega 3 fatty acids to your diet is important for brain development in your baby, and lowers inflammation in your pregnant body. My favorite is “Carlson’s Lightly Lemon.” No burping up fish taste later!

4.    Try taking baths in Epsom salts. Use about 2-3 LBS. of the Epsom salts. A standard size box from the store is 4LBS. so you need a lot. Make sure you’ve got a nice big glass of cool water close by. And make the tub nice and warm. Be extra careful not to overheat. If your heart rate rises or your skin is very pink, it may be too hot. You just don’t want your core temperature to get too hot without being able to cool yourself.

5.    Alternate the warm water baths with 10 minutes of ice right on the sciatic nerve area.

6.    Drinking water with 2 TBS. of fresh lemon juice can help make your body more alkaline and reduce inflammation in general. It helps flush the kidneys too.

7.    Hypericum is a homeopathic remedy, great for shooting pains, irritation from spinal areas, and injuries to nerves. Take a 30c 2 pellets up to 3 times a day for 3 days when sciatic pain flares. Don’t take it for long periods of time though.

8.    Acupuncture can relieve symptoms and pain of sciatica in pregnancy in most women.

9.     Prenatal yoga practiced regularly can help stall the onset or alleviate the severity of sciatica and low back pain in pregnancy. Online, Yoga Download has some great video classes you can do at home.

10. Drink water with 1-2 TBS of unfiltered apple cider vinegar sweetened with raw honey up to three times a day. Cleanse  your body, reduce inflammation, and improve your immune system.

 

Hang in there pregnant mama! You’ll be feeling better soon and will be able to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy.

For your free “Healthy Birth Booklet-6 Steps to a Safer Birth” filled with six simple steps that support and guide your decisions before and during labor to have a safer and healthier birth—for both you and your baby, visit the link below.

http://www.birthclassathome.com

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader should contact a licensed medical professional regarding their own condition.

Liza Janda, AAHCC, E-RPPYT, E-RYT 200

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Backache in Pregnancy |

8 Essential Exercises to Avoid Backache in Pregnancy

Post Date: May 18th, 2012

Does a backache always have to come with a pregnancy?  Happily, the answer is NO! But you’ll have to do a little bit of work to avoid or alleviate that age-old pregnancy complaint.  Back ache is the most common complaint I hear from my pregnant students. There are some essential exercises that you can do every day that will really make a difference in how you feel.

 The first one is the easiest of all. Whenever you sit-on a chair, in the car, on the couch, sit with your hips elevated higher than your knees. You can do this by rolling up a towel or a blanket and placing it underneath your “sit bones”.  You can replace your desk chair with an exercise ball. These exercise/therapy balls are great for labor and birth. If you don’t have one, get one! Just make sure your knees are lower than your hips. It will be more comfortable to sit up straight, and it will also help your uterus align properly in your pelvis. And most importantly, according to Spinning Babies it will help your baby get into the right position for birth.

The second thing you can do is lots and lots of pelvic rocking. Start on all fours with knees under hips and hands under shoulders. Tilt your tail bone up, then tuck your tail bone under, so the only part of the back  moving is the low back and the pelvis. This is different from cat/cow where the upper back moves. This isolates the lower back and belly. When you get in your third trimester, it feels even better as it takes pressure off the pubis and the pelvic floor and improves circulation.  Doing 100-150 each day is best. Now, I know that sounds like a lot but it will only take a few minutes out of your day. Your back will feel so much better. This exercise stretches and strengthens the belly and the back and has also been touted as helping your baby get into the right position for birth.

 Opposite arm and leg balances are helpful in strengthening the lower back and belly muscles. I have my students do these in every prenatal yoga class. Start on all fours. Make sure your hands are right under your shoulders, and your knees are right under your hips. Inhale as you extend your right leg and your left arm in the opposite direction. Hold for three breaths. Exhale and place your hand and knee back down on the floor and round your back into a cat stretch-tuck your chin and your tail bone toward the floor as you round your back up toward the sky. Repeat on the other side. Do about five on each side daily-or more if it makes you feel better.

Follow these with Cat/Cow poses. Inhale and  arch your back. Exhale and round your back. You can also twist around to look back over your shoulder as many times as it feels good to do it.

 Seated twist. Sit sideways on a chair facing the side of the chair. Take hold of the sides of the back of the chair and inhale, and as you exhale, twist toward the back of the chair.  Do the other side by sitting on the other side of the chair and repeating. 

Wide legged forward folds feel great but if you find it uncomfortable as your belly and baby get larger, then rest your arms on a chair bringing your torso parallel to the floor.Let your belly alternately relax with each inhale and gently contract with each exhale. You can also do a wide legged forward fold with a twist.

If you are comfortable in the full forward fold, then go for it. It feels very relaxing and helps to stretch the back of the body. Just remember to keep a tiny bend in the knees. The more you bend the knees, the more you release the lower back.

 And lastly, do squats every single day. This will help you prepare for labor and birth by making your legs stronger and ready for second stage labor. If you round your back and curl around your baby it can also be a great back stretch while you squat. Instead of bending over to pick something up, squat down to get it. Use your legs. Take your feet wider than your shoulders and hips. Turn your toes out at a 45 degree angle. Bend your knees and place your hands on your knees as you tilt your tail bone up. Then squat down fully. If your heels are off the floor, you can roll up a towel and place it under your heels or you can take your feet a little further apart.                                                                     

Good Luck and Happy Birthing!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Backache in Pregnancy |

How Can Prenatal Yoga Help Me?

Post Date: June 12th, 2008

Practice Prenatal Yoga with Liza at home, in the park, at the beach, alone, or with a friend! Take your MP3 player/ipod and GO!!! www.yogadownload.com

HOW CAN PRENATAL YOGA HELP ME?

·       Relief From Sciatica Pain or Back Pain

·       Aids Digestion

· Increase/Maintain Stamina For Labor                                                                    

·       Breathe to Achieve Deep Relaxation 

·       Reduce Fear of Labor

·       Relieve Stress

·       Increase Trust in the Wisdom of Your Own Body

·       Increase Confidence

·       Have Fun and Relax!

Put time aside for yourself and your baby. These downloadable prenatal yoga classes come with printable pose guides so you will know you are doing each pose correctly. www.yogadownload.com

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Yoga and Pregnancy |