I hear this quite a bit from moms who are pregnant with their second or third child. I hear this from moms who didn’t take a childbirth preparation class. I also hear it from moms who took a childbirth prep class that focused on natural birth only and neglects to cover the reality of hospital birth in […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Part 8 – Tapas
Tapas – (literally – heat) Austerity, Discipline, Dedication to Practice “A better way to understand tapas is to think of it as consistency in striving toward your goals: getting on the yoga mat every day, sitting on the meditation cushion every day—or forgiving your mate or your child for the 10,000th time. If you think […]
Integrating Yoga and Lamaze: How the Ethical Practice of the Yamas and Niyamas Relate to Pregnancy and Childbirth. Part 5 – Aparigraha – Absence of Avarice
Aparigraha – Absence of Avarice: How much stuff do we really need? Another way to describe Aparigraha is non-possessiveness, not being greedy or non-grasping. This is both on the material level and on an emotional level. We’ll talk material first: How many maternity outfits do you need? You’ll wear them from about 15 weeks – […]
Ultrasounds: Safety and Efficacy
A conversation I had last week brought this topic to mind. This was with a non-medical person who works with pregnant women. I found I needed to explain to her what “valid medical reason” meant, with regard to ultrasound during pregnancy. It also brought me to tell her of the risks of ultrasound to the […]
Great Expectations, or what Not to expect from your OB
A question from today’s private session: “But why do they have women on their backs in a hospital, if forward leaning positions are so good?” From a new mom: “I wish they’d have told me to get up and move, wouldn’t that have changed the baby’s position?” I think many of us, go into a […]