Had someone told me a few years ago that I would be traveling to South America a couple times a year to train yoga teachers to work with pregnant women and teach doula trainings, I would have thought they were crazy.

In middle school, high school and college I studied French, certain I would someday spend a year or two eating croissants and chocolate while walking the streets of Paris. These were my thoughts as I stepped off of the plane in Bogotá, Colombia.

I had been to Peru to train yoga teachers earlier in the year, so I wasn’t scared to be there, just perplexed at the idea that I WAS there. I had ended up loving the people I met in Peru, and kept in touch with them; however, this training was different. I would be working with a translator as most of the students spoke only Spanish.

Again my thoughts returned to the many years studying French instead of Spanish, even though I lived in California where speaking Spanish could be very helpful. I had worked with a translator before in China, and the experience had been amazing. At least I could focus on that. But this was Bogotá, and women from all over South America had come to take my training.

We (my soon to be husband and partner/manager Jake and I) got off of the plane, went through customs, and met one of the owners of the yoga studio, Ana, as we walked out of the airport. Her smile as our gazes met was warm and comforting, and I felt instantly at ease. We had dinner that evening with Ana and one of her partners, Juliana, as well as their husbands, and our translator, Lisa, who owned another yoga studio in Bogotá. We were also joined by an amazing man named Mauricio Espinoza.

Before I go to any new place to teach, I like to do research about birth in that area. I found out very little about Bogotá and childbirth in my research; however, I did find one name that came up a number of times, that of Mauricio. I had contacted Ana while still in the U.S and asked her to put me in touch with him. She had emailed me back the next day and said not only had she contacted him, but he really wanted to meet me and would be joining us for dinner on the night of our arrival.

Our meal was amazing, our translator, Lisa, was wonderful. Ana, Juliana and their husbands were so warm and welcoming, and Mauricio and I spent the evening talking about birth in Colombia.

I could see the fatigue and sadness in his eyes as he told me of the up to 80% cesarean rate at some of the clinics in Bogotá; the way, in the worst places, women were put into a room with many other women and no partner allowed, put into bed with an IV and discouraged from getting out of bed. Ultimately, many ended up with cesareans. He was the only one he knew of who provided an alternative to the clinics: homebirth.

This option to him was better than the clinics, but still not ideal. He relayed a story of a birth a few days before where the woman almost didn’t make it because they couldn’t get her bleeding under control. She had to be transferred to the hospital. These cases were rare, he told me, yet very worrisome as traffic in Bogotá could be so bad that it could take long periods of time to drive short distances. This put the women and babies more at risk. He said that he has to hire an ambulance for each birth to be waiting outside “just in case”. His wish was that there was an environment inside the hospitals where women could have a home-like birth, where they would be able to tell the doctors what they needed ie: to walk around, get into water, connect to their bodies and babies, uninterrupted except for the occasional check of the baby. He wanted women to be able to experience the empowerment of childbirth, where they are in charge, as they would be in their own home, unless interventions were necessary. He wanted women to have doulas and birth to happen on the baby’s and woman schedule, not the doctor’s (I later learned that many OB’s in Bogotá will induce labor at 38 weeks regularly and only allow the woman 30 minutes to 1 hour of pushing before doing a cesarean.) We talked for a while, sharing stories of the way birth is done in each of our countries. He agreed to come and talk to my students, and we went back to our hotel room. I had been in Bogotá only a few hours and not yet met the students I was going to start teaching the next morning, and I knew this training was going to be important.

The next morning the training began. The 24 women introduced themselves one by one, each had her own story and her own reason for attending the class. The class was packed full, each day we would talk about pregnancy, yoga and childbirth. I had the women put on the pregnancy belly and experience the yoga poses as a pregnant woman would. Those who had had babies would share their experiences, those who hadn’t would ask questions and share thoughts. I got to know them in spite of the language barrier and we laughed and we cried and we learned from each other. One woman was a doula and able to talk a lot about birth in Colombia. The second day Mauricio came to speak to the group. He brought a slide show and captivated us all as told of his experiences both as an OB in the clinics and then as a “midwife” delivering babies in women’s homes. Most of all he talked about women and partners being empowered by birth, and he talked about love and a woman’s ability to connect to her baby and her body to bring new life into the world. Most of the women in the room had never seen images like the ones he showed, women giving birth in water, at home, their faces showing strength, commitment, and love, and the immeasurable joy of the first moments of birth with mom and baby together as families were born.

At the end of the training I said this to the class: “I know you feel discouraged with the way that childbirth happens in Colombia. I know there is a huge gap between the way birth is done at the hospitals and the way it is done at home. It may seem like there is nothing you can do to help. However, we as yoga teachers can help, we can help women to strengthen their bodies and keep them flexible, to connect their bodies to their breath, to observe sensations in their bodies and, allow them instead of fighting against them, to use their bodies and positions to help babies attain optimal positioning. If each one of you help just one woman to feel more empowered by being strong, connected to her body and show her how powerful she is, you will be helping her redefine herself, helping her baby come into the world in a more gentle way. You will also be helping her partner to have a positive experience that will impact the way he thinks about his baby and the mother of his baby forever. If you each do that for just one woman and her family, we as a group, would be impacting almost a hundred lives for the better.”

I talked about the importance of putting down our fists and our inclination to spend our energy fighting the system and being confrontational. Instead, slowly, using baby steps, to integrate into the system and make changes using love instead of hate.

OB’s like all other people, want to be respected and appreciated for the job they do, not told that everything they do is wrong and that they are harming the very women they feel like they are helping.

I believe we can open up conversations with respect and it will take some time, but when we earn the respect back, that’s when we will see change. I have seen this happen in the hundreds of births I’ve attended, there are OB’s I’ve met that it took me years to gain the respect of and now I have it and the women get the births they want. Until then, women can empower themselves with knowledge and have open and informed conversations with their doctors. They will be sure of themselves instead of confrontational.

I refuse to believe that the OBs who deliver babies for a living want women to have terrible birth experiences; I believe the gap between homebirth and hospital births can be bridged; and I believe that sharing knowledge and ideas is the only way to achieve this and the more we fight, accuse, and point fingers, the deeper the gap becomes.

At the end of the class I looked into the tear filled eyes of the students as they thanked me for coming to their country, and I knew I’d be back. Sure enough, it looks like I’ll be going again in February for another Prenatal Yoga training AND a doula training and I have begun to open conversations with OB’s there as well. It turns out there are some out there who want to see change and working together with them, as well as providing my trainings, I hope to help make a difference for women giving birth in Colombia.

Please tell us about Lullabelly…

I was a practicing licensed massage therapist, and a majority of my practice focused on prenatal massage. Of course, music is a very important part of massage therapy as it’s used to help people relax during their massage.  As fate had it, a few of my friends were pregnant at the same time, so naturally I went shopping for the perfect baby shower gifts. I wanted to get them something unique that incorporated my love of massage and music. An image popped into my head with a pregnant woman holding headphones on her belly. I started looking for a baby shower gift that an expectant mother could wear to play music to her baby in the womb, and listen along to the same music.  Unable to find this “unique and different” type of baby shower gift, I realized I had an idea.

What did you do before Lullabelly was created?

I have been a licensed massage therapist for over ten years.

What have been some of your greatest successes? Greatest challenges?

Our greatest challenge was learning everything step-by-step without the knowledge of how to manufacture a product. Trial and error was our motto. However, with that motto, we had many successes. Whether it was through cold calling on stores, small advertising campaigns or attending multiple trade shows, we have been able to introduce Lullabelly to the world. We are now carried in over 125+ retail locations that include major retailers, maternity/baby boutiques, ultrasound studios, online stores like Amazon.com and eBay and just recently at Baby Depot at Burlington Coat Factory.

What would you say are the top benefits to prenatal music stimulation?

Of the many benefits to prenatal music stimulation, I’d say the bonding experience between mother and baby ranks as number one, followed by reduced stress levels for mom-to-be, which in turn reduces the baby’s stress level. Additionally, prenatal music stimulation also enhances the stimulation of your unborn baby’s growing brain, encouraging early brain development.

What are your top three tips for living pregnant and stress-free?

• Get Educated: The more you know about what to expect with your changing body or how your baby develops in the womb, the more relaxed and confident you’ll be throughout your pregnancy.
• Have a Plan: Having a baby is not only stressful, but requires a lot of planning. Choosing a good healthcare provider, deciding where to give birth, shopping for maternity and baby gear, decorating the nursery, determining how to organize your life after the baby arrives, etc. can all be very stressful situations. By planning ahead and starting the decision-making process early on in your pregnancy, you can sit back and actually enjoy your pregnancy.
• Take Care of Yourself: Proper nutrition, lots of rest, regular exercise, mediation and prenatal yoga are all ways to maintain a healthy and happy pregnancy.

What’s next for Lullabelly?

We are so excited about Lullabelly’s rave reviews and success. As for what’s next, we’ll continue to expand our U.S. footprint and then branch out into international markets.

For more information on Adrianne Godart or Lullabelly, please visit www.Lullabelly.com

She knows the time is nearing, she can sense that these twinges of pain are different from the ones she has experienced over the last few months. With every sensation she tenses and concentrates, waiting for the moment she will begin to experience “it”. She knows “it’s” coming, she’s heard all about “it” from her friends and family and she knows she can’t stop “it”. She returns to thoughts of what comes after, momentarily comforted by these thoughts until another twinge, this one doubles her over for a moment, pain stretching like fingers from her lower abdomen down into her thighs. She braces herself for more, she has heard so much about “it”, she’s terrified of “it” and wants to avoid ‘It” at all costs…”it”…this unknown predator that is stalking her, the one she knows she cannot outrun, she knows she cannot elude. She can fight it, yes, but the futility of that makes fighting a fleeting thought. No, she needs to find a way to bear “it”, to get through “it”, to make it to the other side where she can hold the baby that is the end result.

Sadly, this is how many women experience childbirth. They feel like victims to this event that must happen to them in order for them to have a baby. This feeling makes labor into an outside force that a woman has no power over, that she is at the mercy of, she begs “it” to stop, for someone to free her from “it”. Her logical mind knows that labor is a natural process, the culmination of months of growing her beautiful child inside of her, but fear is a strong motivator and irrational processor and has the ability to turn what could be a magical, beautiful experience into a nightmarish event.

Labor is not some”thing” that happens TO you

So what makes the difference? How can some people have the experience described above while others experience bliss and joy from the same event?

It is important to know that labor is not some”thing” that happens TO you. If you are in this mind set you are a victim to every sensation happening in your body. Many women get caught in this mentality before and during childbirth and then throw themselves into the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle. The woman starts to feel a sensation in her body, she tenses up and that sensation is automatically felt as pain so she becomes more afraid, her body tenses up more, the pain increases and she gets MORE afraid, followed by MORE tension and this is why women scream in labor. So fear is absolutely one of the reasons that women experience childbirth as a trauma or negative experience, but fear is only the result of a conditioned way of thinking that is the real culprit. Women are taught by our society to be afraid of childbirth that it is the most painful thing that ever happens to you. This is reinforced by the media AND many in the medical community.

Hi body, it’s nice to meet you

When women learn to connect to their own bodies and the processes in their bodies as well as connecting to the baby inside of them they are able to redefine the sensations they are feeling and completely change their experience. A woman who is connected to her body understands the energy she is feeling during childbirth is a powerful and dynamic force that she is creating from deep within herself so that she can birth her baby. There is no outside force exerting pain upon her, even when labor is augmented it is her own body, her own self creating an incredible amount of energy to give birth, to assist her baby into the world. Women have the ability to tap into this force and work with it instead of fighting against it. Redefining sensations is only the beginning; women must learn to communicate with their bodies in a different way. They must first LISTEN to their bodies and learn how to follow and interpret the signals they receive. Being aware of this need for connection is not enough, however, to make it happen.

Comment allez-vous?

It takes practice. It is like learning another language, one you are vaguely familiar with, and you can pick out only a few words at first but the more you immerse yourself in the language the more fluent you become. Practicing this can take different forms for different people. Yoga is a fantastic way to learn to communicate with your body on a deeper level, connecting your breath to your movements and observing the way your body responds to different poses or positions can be invaluable. Making these practices part of your everyday life and bringing awareness into every sensation in your body is very helpful. We tend to only focus on the sensations we feel that we don’t like or are uncomfortable for us, to get us back to a state of “normal”. We don’t walk around thinking about how comfortable our neck feels but when it hurts it absolutely gets our attention.

So what can the beginning of childbirth feel like to someone who is connected to their body and not caught in the fear-tension-pain cycle?

She feels a twinge and takes a deep breath, as she exhales she feels her body begin to rock back and forth, slowly as though she were under water being guided by the currant of the ocean. She knows she is instigating this movement but it feels so natural that she can’t imagine not moving. She knows this is her body getting ready to birth her baby she closes her eyes and brings her attention inward. As she feels another wave beginning to build she instinctively begins to move again, allowing the force of the wave to build and breathing with it to assist it in it’s work. As the wave starts to release she experiences an expanding relief and rush of what can only be described as bliss. She rides this blissful wave into a deep state of relaxation. As the waves get stronger she stays present in the moment, she breathes in strength and breathes out tension, she imagines she can see her baby moving down and her body opening up.

Here are some things you can do to increase your connection with your body and help you become fluent in it’s language:

1. Observe yourself for one minute while eating a meal. Notice how the flavors in your mouth mix together and how your body responds to different flavors and textures.
2. Take a walk and starting at your feet notice the sensations of your feet touching the ground, the rhythm of your steps, the feeling of the air on your skin and in your hair, focus on your breath and how it propels you forward. Exhale and feel your body relax. Notice how it feels after a block or two to have the muscles in your legs working, it can feel so good to use your muscles. After a few blocks stop and lean against a tree or just stand or sit still and close your eyes, connect with your heart pumping blood to every part of your body. Connect to your breath moving oxygen, feeding your body. Take a sip of water and enjoy the thirst being quenched.
3. Take a piece of ice and hold it in your hand. Without using the word “pain” analyze the sensations you are experiencing, notice them as if they were new and interesting, resist the temptation to put the ice down and instead take a few deep breaths and see how relaxing as you exhale changes the sensations you are feeling.
4. Lean against the wall with your feet 2 feet away from the wall. Bring your arms up so they are parallel to the ground. Relax the shoulders and slide your back down the wall until your thighs are parallel to the ground and hold this position for three breaths. Each breath emphasize the exhale by relaxing another part of your body that does not need to be tense. Now take 3 more breaths before coming out of the pose.

Practicing these things once or twice is a good start but anything that you actually make part of your life on a permanent basis takes practice (think about riding a bike) so you must first make these practices part of your life before they will help in childbirth.

Click here for a free “Sensation Control” download and get started on the road to mindfulness.

It was one of those crazy twists of fate

that Julie (not her real name) called me at 38 weeks pregnant and hired me to be her doula. She had attended one of my Meet the Doula Nights, she said, a few months ago and had been putting off hiring a doula because she wasn’t sure she needed one. As the due date approached, however, she began to feel like she wanted someone there, if not for her, to calm her husband and take some of the pressure off of him.

I greeted her husband with a warm “don’t worry, this is perfectly normal” smile

Two days after she hired me at 5am the phone rang, she was in labor. Having only met her briefly at a crowded Meet the Doula night months before, I had only a vague recollection of what she looked like. I listened to her describing her labor, contractions were 4 minutes apart and after some questioning I realized that her water had probably broken. I advised her to call her doctor and ended up meeting her at the hospital’s Labor & Delivery. I arrived only a few minutes after she did and found her in the hall doubled over. The doubt that I had that I wouldn’t recognize my client vanished as I greeted her husband with a warm “don’t worry, this is perfectly normal” smile and started talking her through her contractions. After the first one she looked up at me and said, “I am so glad we hired you!”A busy day in labor & delivery!

It turned out that this particular day was a popular one for birthing and all of the rooms were full. We ended up laboring on a gurney behind a curtain in the hall for two hours until a room could be found. By then contractions were coming fast and hard and she was dealing with them beautifully. Soon it was time to push and after pushing for about an hour we all started to notice that her perineum was beginning to swell. An exam by the doctor reveled that the baby was likely in a very low LOT (left occipital transverse position). Typically babies rotate out of this position into an OA (occipital anterior) position before birth however this baby was not budging.

OB was convinced she needed a Cesarean

I listened in on the conversation between the nurse and OB and gathered that they were planning on doing a cesarean. They came back to the client and prepared her for this seeming inevitability. The OB then recommended that Julie get an epidural to stop her pushing sensations and allow her perineum to stop swelling.

I pleasantly asked the OB if while we waited for the anesthesiologist, I could try some positioning with Julie to see if we could get the baby to turn. Her answer was short, “You have 45 minutes, then she’s getting the epidural” and she left the room. The nurse said, “Ok, what do you want to do?” I answered, “First, I wanna get this baby out of it’s lodged position in the pelvis, then get the baby to rotate.” “ok, just make sure the baby stays on the monitors as much as possible.” she said and left the room to go check on her other patients.

Just 45 minutes, please!!!

The next 45 minutes were spent first with semi inversions to get baby to move up, then pelvic tilts to get baby to rotate then for good measure, I pulled out Penny Simkin’s Labor Progress Handbook (which, by the way, I still use even after over 400 births and make it a mandatory part of all of my doula students birth bags…thank you Penny ) and put her in several other positions recommended for her baby’s presentation.

It’s a miracle???

After 45 minutes (on the dot) the OB and anesthesiologist walked in. In the hall I heard them asking about the status of the operating room. The OB introduced the anesthesiologist who started setting up for the epidural as the OB said, “I guess I’ll check you to make sure there isn’t a change.” The second her exam began her eyes widened, she looked at the nurse and said, “The baby’s right here!” Julie pushed 3 or 4 times and the baby was born. The anesthesiologist was still in the room packing up as first the cries of the baby were heard.

Conclusion

The circumstances surrounding Julie’s birth are fairly common, as doulas, and midwives, we know that position changes can AND DO absolutely help women avoid cesareans every day. What struck me as interesting was that no one, not the OB or the nurse, asked me what position changes or techniques were used to allow the baby to move into a favorable position for birth. I wondered if Julie and her husband knew how close they came to having a cesarean. I later received conformation that they did. Looking back on this birth, a couple of things became very clear to me.

First, when a surge of births happen at once at a hospital, nurses and OB’s have an amazing amount of pressure on them to get babies born and their first impulses can often be to follow the path that they see as inevitable.

Second, in these cases having a doula is much more than a luxury, and more than emotional support for the partner, they serve as a stabilizing force, 100% focused on the birthing woman, the calm in the storm of the chaos of a busy hospital.

Third, had I not remained pleasant and unobtrusive with the hospital staff I would not have been given the time I needed to help Julie turn her baby.

For more information about doulas, visit Dolphin Doula www.dolphindoula.com

For more information about baby positions, check out Spinning Babies www.spinningbabies.com

For a link to Penny Simkin’s book, visit The Labor Progress Handbook: Early Interventions to Prevent and Treat Dystocia [affiliate]

Choose to make healthy choices for you and your baby by including Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga into your New Years Resolution!

Now that the gift giving and parties of 2010 are coming to a close, your attention can turn from the needs and desires of your family and friends, back to your own health and happiness as well as the needs of your body and your baby….

Enter Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga …

This New Years is special because you or some one you love is pregnant and what they do over the next several months can have a huge impact on their lives and health during this precious time and for years to come.

Here’s why adding prenatal yoga to your new years resolution is a must:

Doing prenatal yoga can help prepare your body for giving birth!

Childbirth is one of the most physically demanding activities a woman will ever go through. Even if you are not planning natural childbirth, it has been my observation that women who are strong and flexible have the mental and physical abilities to handle the challenges of birth are more likely to need less pain medication and therefore fewer interventions in childbirth.

Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga can increase your energy levels and release endorphins or “feel good hormones”!

Many women I have worked with have less fatigue by doing as little as 15-30 minutes of prenatal yoga 3-4 times a week. The endorphins released by doing prenatal yoga are great stress relievers as well as energy boosters! Yoga is different from many other forms of exercise in that you learn how to relax your body and mind while using your muscles and moving through poses. This makes Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga the perfect way to prepare mentally and physically for childbirth and motherhood!

Alleviate aches and pains!

I am continually getting messages from women who use Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga telling me that they no longer suffer from the aches and pains they were experiencing in their pregnant bodies before they started yoga and that they feel great on the days they practice. Many women who work at desks all day feel relief from sciatica and upper and lower back pain when they add prenatal yoga to their day.

RECOVERY FROM PREGNANCY & CHILDBIRTH!

I cannot stress this one enough (as evidenced by the bold, all caps title:))! We spend so much time while pregnant focusing on preparing for the day (or days) of birthing the baby and not much time thinking about what happens after.

Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga can help you recover faster by keeping you strong and flexible during pregnancy, so that after your baby is born, you have the centeredness and stamina to deal with sleepless nights and crying babies. Doing Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga while pregnant helps to provide you with a tool and motivation to resume your fitness practice postpartum. Integrating yoga into your life can help you learn to stay present in your body, encouraging patience and relaxation which helps your baby have a peaceful transition into his/her new world. Taking care of your mind and body after giving birth is one of the keys to enjoying this precious newborn stage of life.

OK…this sounds great right? But HOW do you make Prenatal Yoga part of your busy life and how do you stay with it?

The answer is to set realistic short term goals. For just ONE week do 15 -30 minutes of yoga 3 times. For example you might pick 9am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or maybe noon time Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday…whatever works for you.  Make it the same time each day and commit to it for just one week. Once you do it a few times you’ll realize how easy it is to fit into your day AND more importantly, how great it makes you feel the rest of your day and your week.

Wanna give it a try? Let me know how YOU are going to fit in Prenatal Yoga to your life, then, let me know how it makes you feel.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Namaste, Jennifer

3 Easy Steps to Enjoying Your Hospital Birth!

If there were one thing I would tell all women who are delivering their babies at a hospital it would be that knowing how to communicate with the staff will have the biggest impact on the satisfaction of your birth experience.

Many women spend a large part of their pregnancies figuring out what they want and don’t want their hospital birth experience to be like. They are continually bombarded with stories from their peers depicting the horrors of childbirth and of hospitals. These stories create anxiety and expectations that don’t need to exist.

In most cases if women walk into the hospital on the defensive and with a 10 page list of all of the things they don’t want to experience while laboring and delivering their baby they are going to be creating the very tension and experiences they are trying to avoid. Why? Because the hospital staff want to be respected for the thousands of hours they’ve spent helping women deliver babies. Hospital staff who feel respected are much more likely to allow you to have exactly the birth you want.

So the question now becomes, how do you show respect to the hospital staff without giving up the vision you have of the way you want your birth to be? Here are three steps you can take to accomplish this:

STEP 1: Show up with an attitude of appreciation.

Don’t underestimate first impressions, nurses work with thousands of women and often make judgements about what kind of person they are dealing with in the first interaction. If they think you are going to be confrontational you are far less likely to get what you want. This goes for your partner as well as you. Be polite and respectful, just as you’d want to be treated if someone walked into your office or workplace.

STEP 2: Know the right questions to ask your OB or Midwife BEFORE you show up to the hospital and get the permission you need to do the things you want to do.

Don’t wait until you get to the hospital and hand your birth plan to the nurse to go over your desires with your health care provider. For example: Although this is changing, it is still common for women to get put into bed as soon as they arrive at the hospital to be monitored for about 20 minutes (or longer if there is a need) and then left in bed to labor with the monitors in place. Although it is easier for the nurses to keep an eye on babies this way, it can be much more uncomfortable for a laboring woman to be in bed than upright standing or sitting on a ball or rocking chair. It is also typically less advantageous for the progression of labor. If a woman tells her doctor ahead of time that she would like to be mobile and labor out of bed after the initial monitoring, the woman can write in her (short 1 page) birth plan that she has gotten permission from her doctor to labor out of bed and all confrontation is avoided.

The same is true for many other circumstances such as IV’s. If a woman doesn’t want an IV unless absolutely necessary and has this conversation with her health care provider ahead of time, getting their consent, she can write in her birth plan “My doctor and I have discussed that I don’t need an IV unless absolutely necessary.” This eliminates a need for a discussion about it that can end up feeling adversarial.

The other benefit of discussing these things with your health care provider ahead of time is that you will quickly find out if their beliefs and views about your choices match up. If they are unwilling to entertain your ideas you might want to consider finding someone you philosophically connect with more. Take a childbirth class so you can know what questions to ask!

STEP 3. When writing your birth plan , keep it simple and to the point and try not to go over one page.

Again the first thing a nurse will have to assess your personality is what is written in your birth plan, and more importantly HOW it is written. Show respect from the beginning by starting out your birth plan with a statement thanking them in advance for the support they are going to provide you. The birth plan should be full of please and thank you’s and short!

Click here for a “Sample Birth Plan”.

Having a positive birth experience at a hospital can absolutely be done! Take these steps to increase your chances and enjoy your birth.

Namaste,

Jennifer Wolfe

Yoga is a great way to help your body and mind heal from the physical and mental stresses of childbirth. Just as every woman has different needs while pregnant and uses different prenatal yoga modifications based on her own body’s needs, recovery from childbirth is a very individual thing as well. Women recover from childbirth at different rates depending on their labor experience, length of pushing, trauma to the perineum, physical condition before childbirth and type of birth (vaginal or cesarean).

Diastasis Recti/Abdominal Separation

Diastasis Recti is the separation of the Rectus Abdominis muscles (also known as the 6 pack muscles). This separation does not occur in every pregnant woman but it is not uncommon to see it postpartum. The hormone Relaxin that is responsible for lubricating and loosening the connective tissue of the pelvis and allowing it to open up for the baby to pass though, also loosens and lubricates the connective tissue of the Rectus Abdominis muscles allowing them to stretch more and potentially leading to their separation.

It is very important that a postpartum woman not do any abdominal exercises until she has checked her rectus abdominis muscles for diastasis!
If she strengthens the muscles too much while they are separated they may not come back together effectively.

Here is how to test for abdominal separation (diastasis recti):

1. Have her lie on her back with her feet on the ground and knees up.
2. One hand should be behind the head to support the neck
3. With the other hand place two fingers on the Linea Alba (the midline connective tissue that links to the Rectus Abdominis muscles) at the waistline, three fingertips above the navel
4. Gently lift just the head until you feel the abdominal muscles engage and notice how much space is between the muscles
5. Repeat this with the fingers one to two inches below the navel as well
6. The gap your fingers are in should be no more than 2 fingertips wide otherwise she probably has diastasis recti.
7. If you suspect she has diastasis recti have her check with her health care provider before doing ANY abdominal exercises.

If diastasis recti has been diagnosed her are a few guidelines to follow:

1. DO NOT do crunches or any other aggressive abdominal strengthening exercises until abdominals come back together to two fingertips apart or less.
2. Stay away from backbends including wheel, supported wheel with a ball, full cobra, upward dog, or any other poses that drastically stretch the abdominals
3. Twisting while engaging abdominal muscles
4. Lifting anything heavy

Returning to Yoga

Here are some guidelines for practicing yoga after giving birth.

• Only gentle stretching should be done until there is a substantial decrease in bleeding. (Usually about 2 to 4 weeks postpartum after a vaginal delivery)
• If bleeding increases with activity, the woman should decrease intensity
• If a woman has diastasis recti, she should consult a health care provider and avoid poses that will make it worse
• She should start off doing five to fifteen minutes a day and gradually build up her practice
• If a woman has had a cesarean birth additional consideration should be taken. Here are some guidelines for yoga after a cesarean birth:
  • It is best to abstain from all but gentle stretching until 6 to 8 weeks after cesarean.
  • Poses that stretch the area of the incision should be avoided until incision is healed. (i.e., backbends)
  • As with all prenatal and postnatal yoga if a pose doesn’t feel good, it should be avoided.
  • The woman should remember that although cesareans are a type of birthing, they are still major abdominal surgery and the body’s healing process should be observed and respected.

Linking Movement and Breath

Vinyasa yoga is the linking of body movement and breath, and more than that, it is the continuous movement of energy through the body. The movement of the body and the breath are one, connected, continuously flowing and synchronized. When a practitioner learns to link their breath and movement they create an energy which powerfully connects them to their own being. Bringing this experience of connectedness to pregnant women in a physical, tangible way is the intention of Prenatal Vinyasa Yoga.

We tend to hold our breath when we experience pain or fear

This breath and movement connection becomes pivotal in childbirth where the tendency in intense fear is to freeze, hold the breath, tense up all of the muscles, even those that aren’t working, and stop any forward movement. Vinyasa yoga teaches that even when muscles are challenged, there can be movement and breath, and when a woman can connect her breath and body in labor it is an empowering and beautiful thing. Women can release fear and pain with this movement and breath connection. They can help their bodies and babies move forward toward birth by allowing and encouraging that connection of movement and breath. Learning vinyasa yoga in pregnancy can give women the ability to feel the continuous energy movement in labor and embrace that movement, linking it to her breath and allowing it to grow. The impact of this connection can create ecstatic and empowering birth experiences.

Breath = Life

During pregnancy women experience dramatic physical, emotional, and mental transformations in which they have an amazing opportunity to, for a short time, connect with another human being in an incredibly intimate way. This life inside them is continually growing and changing. The movement of the woman’s breath is enabling, encouraging and creating that growth, feeding the life inside her. The breath is the most important aspect in the creation of another human being.

Move the energy throughout your body

Vinyasa yoga teaches women to allow the breath to be the motivation in their movement…. to synchronize their movements and their breath and in doing so allow this life giving energy to move throughout their bodies and through their baby. The movement is continuous, reminding her that even as her muscles are being challenged, she can feel her own strength growing and she can keep her breath and energy moving through her body, releasing the parts of her body that are not working and allowing them to relax.

When practicing this style of yoga we are reminded that even when there is stillness in the body there is also movement, this movement connects our bodies and our spirits and our minds.

Some of you only know me as a Prenatal Yoga instructor but I am also a birth doula and have been to over 400 births!

I know how important it is to feel comfortable with your doula and knowing the right questions to ask when interviewing your prospective doula is the key to finding a great match! Here are some basic questions any doula you interview should be able to answer easily, feel free to add your own questions pertaining to your particular situation as well. Congratulations on your pregnancy and have a great birth experience!

The following questions will help you decide if a particular doula is right for you

For any doula

• What training have you had?
• Do you have one or more backup doulas for times when you are not available? May we meet her/them?
• What is your fee, what does it include and what are your refund policies?

When interviewing a birth doula

• Tell me about your experience as a birth doula.
• What is your philosophy about birth and supporting women and their partners through labor?
• May we meet to discuss our birth plans and the role you will play in supporting me through birth?
• May we call you with questions or concerns before and after the birth?
• When do you try to join women in labor? Do you come to our home or meet us at the place of birth?
• Do you meet with us after the birth to review the labor and answer questions?
• How do you get along with the hospital staff and how important is it for you to have a good relationship with them?
• Do you have a list of references we may call?
• Do you have strong opinions about pain medication? Do you support women who want epidurals (even if you don’t want one, it’s good to ask)?
• Describe how you work with the partner or husband.

When interviewing a postpartum doula

• Tell me about your experience as a postpartum doula.
• What is your philosophy about parenting and supporting women and their families during postpartum?
• May we meet to discuss our postpartum needs and the role you will play in supporting us in the postpartum period?
• May we call you with postpartum questions or concerns before the birth?
• When do your services begin after birth?
• What is your experience in breastfeeding support?
• Have you had a criminal background check, a recent TB test and current CPR certification?

Did we miss anything? Add your own great questions in our comments section below.

Benefits of the Cat Pose & Cat Cow

• One of the best poses for moving baby into a favorable position for birth or keeping baby in a favorable position
• Releases back tension
• Increases spine flexibility and strength
• One of the best poses to do daily!

How to do the Cat Pose & Cat Cow

1. Start on your hands and knees making sure your hands are directly under your shoulders and your knees are directly under your hips.
2. As you inhale look up between your eyebrows raising your head gently.
3. As you exhale round your back bringing the chin towards your chest.
4. Press your hands into the floor and push the center of your back up to the ceiling exaggerating the roundness of your back.

This post is part of a series of posts outlining the benefits, and instructions for Prenatal Yoga Poses. To see the entire series, click the following link: Prenatal Yoga Poses

The most important thing about any prenatal exercise is that you listen to your body and only do the poses that feel good! You should never have any pain or discomfort while doing any of the following poses so move into them slowly and pay attention to how they feel, if they don’t feel good, don’t do them.