Benefits of Yoga
During Pregnancy:
Yoga's benefits help everyone, but here are a few which are particularly beneficial to pregnant women:
- Improves the body's circulation which is really helps as circulation problems arise in pregnancy. Issues with water retention, edema, plague many pregnant women in the last trimester of pregnancy. Yoga minimizes this.
- Uses breathing exercises to calm the body and the mind. Regulating the breath helps to calm the mind and bring a greater sense of balance and peace. Controlled breathing helps as the baby grows and begins to take up more space. Read more...
Benefits of Massage
Prenatal:
- Creates feeling of greater vitality and positive outlook
- As the fetus grows, mom’s heart must work harder to pump more blood to the uterus. Her uterus is receiving one fifth of her blood supply by the end of her pregnancy.
- Massage provides emotional support and a nurturing touch
- The amount of blood being pumped by her heart increases 30-50%. Now mom’s heart rate is closer to 80 or 90 beats per minute compared to a rate of closer to 70 beats per minute before pregnancy.
- With the increasing blood flow, Mom’s kidneys are working harder to filter the waste. Read more...
Facts about Reiki
Prenatal:
- Creates feeling of greater vitality and positive outlook
- As the fetus grows, mom’s heart must work harder to pump more blood to the uterus. Her uterus is receiving one fifth of her blood supply by the end of her pregnancy.
- Massage provides emotional support and a nurturing touch
- The amount of blood being pumped by her heart increases 30-50%. Now mom’s heart rate is closer to 80 or 90 beats per minute compared to a rate of closer to 70 beats per minute before pregnancy.
- With the increasing blood flow, Mom’s kidneys are working harder to filter the waste.
- Assists in maintaining proper posture
- Swelling in the legs and feet can occur as the uterus enlarges and slows the return of blood from the lower extremities and pelvic area to the heart. Read more...
Benefits of Infant Massage
For baby:
- Develops their first language, which is mainly touch
- Enhances their feeling of being loved, respected and secure
- Helps to strengthen and regulate their digestive, respiratory and circulatory systems
- Relieves symptoms of colic, gas, constipation and helps digestion
- Calmed nervous system leads to more restful sleep
- Teaches babies how to be aware of their body's tension and how to release it, an invaluable gift as they grow into adulthood. Read more...
The word, "Doula," (pronounced doo-lah) comes from the Greek word for the most important female servant in an ancient Greek household, the woman who probably helped the lady of the house through her childbearing. The word has come to refer to "a woman experienced in childbirth who provides continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother before, during and just after childbirth." Read more...
Breastfeeding
Do you offer free breastfeeding help like La Leche League?
I am open to free breastfeeding meetings where mothers share experiences and help one another, and I can be present to moderate and facilitate. If a mother calls me or emails me I will listen to a summary of the problems and if it an easy solution then I am also able to help without charge. Read more...
Statistics on Interventions During Childbirth
In the United States:
- 29.7% of women have cesareans
- 44% of mothers are induced
- 63% of mothers have epidurals
- 93% of mothers have electronic fetal heart monitoring
- 85% of mothers are connected to an IV line during labor
- 58% of mothers have a gloved hand inserted into their uterus after birth
- 35% of mothers have an episiotomy
- 74% of mothers who give birth vaginally are on their backs
- 58% of mothers with a previous cesarean were denied a VBAC
Read more...
