A follow up post to Natural Childbirth Advocate *or* Realistic Childbirth Advocate Lactivist = Lactation Activist On one hand, being a supporter and a promoter of breastfeeding as normal and natural is a good thing. On the other hand, berating women because they can’t breastfeed, need to supplement or simply choose to use formula is […]
Lamaze Conference Redux
Hey Y’all, I’m back from Fort Worth, TX where I attended the annual Lamaze conference. I had some reservations about going to the conference. Some of which revolved around the potentiality of Elaine weaning. (After me being gone for 4 days, she was clawing at my shirt to get to the boob… she’ll nurse longer […]
Perfection vs. Purpose OR the Birth Experience vs. Giving Birth
To interrupt the series on “Integrating Yoga and Lamaze” for a moment… I’ve had something nagging at me for a while… I keep hearing the same theme from mothers who didn’t have the natural birth they wanted; the birth they were told they were *supposed* to have. They feel like failures because their “birth experience” […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Part 4 – Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya – Restraint or Self Control: Traditionally Brahmacharya is defined as chastity or sexual restraint. Although that may be applicable during certain aspects of pregnancy, such as the first six weeks postpartum, it is not practical, realistic or helpful to your relationship to take Brahmacharya to its strict definition. So, for our purposes, we’ll use […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Part 3 – Asteya
Asteya – Non-stealing: When we think of stealing, we think of pickpockets, breaking and entering or eating someone else’s lunch out of the office fridge. Although Asteya refers to stealing of that nature, it also refers to not coveting, nor hoarding, as well as not obstructing other people’s desires in life (emotional stealing). Again, we’ll […]