Learn your vitamins
Getting to know the most important vitamins and minerals for pregnancy is vital to prevent deficiency and depletion, but also to prevent potential problems in birth and recovery. Vitamin B is a very well known way to stabilise a woman’s hormones and energy during pregnancy, which is known to ease morning sickness for many.
Watching your iron levels and ensuring you get plenty during all stages of pregnancy is also vital for energy levels as is keeping a high protein diet, vital for building the all important muscle tissue for both mum and bub. Understanding the vital role of omega 3 fatty acids and healthy fats in general for brain development in babies and mothers with “baby brain” is another fantastic way to prevent fogginess while promoting a healthy pregnancy and fetal development.
Including plenty of seeds, nuts and other forms of fat in your diet is one of the best ways to prevent deficiency, as well as supplementation with the recommendation of a qualified practitioner.
With everything taken care of during pregnancy, it’s also incredibly important to understand the physiology of birth, when preparing your body for giving your baby the best start to life! Though life merely begins with birth, it certainly has a lasting impact and imprint on not only the mother and child, but the whole family! Here are 3 Tips for a Better Birth to begin…
Birth education
Labour positions have a great deal to do with pain intensity due to the opening of the space within the pelvic bones as well as it’s structure working with gravity. Lying on your back in labour works against gravity, increasing pressure on the sacrum, making birth more difficult. Labour is less stressful when able to move freely in different positions. Find Birth Education workshops in your area, to learn more about how to make birthing easier. Di Diddle’s Birth Education course in Fitzroy offers fantastic insight into how best to navigate natural labour and birth.
Natural pain relief
Pregnancy is the best time to learn about natural pain management to prevent unnecessary struggle during birth. Using hot showers or a bath (deep water immersion) during labour significantly reduces pain intensity. Having support people apply pressure on points in the lower back can help ease pressure during contractions, along with assuming an upright or forward leaning position.
Birth Preparation
Stretching and exercising regularly prepares for the endurance and surrender needed to labour as baby descends during birth. Fitness increases cardiovascular health, to prevent the risk of high blood pressure in labour causing fetal distress.
Keeping motherhood and recovery in mind
It’s not ALL about the baby! A mother’s recovery is vital in order to be able to support a baby in transitioning from womb to world! Remember to look into enlisting all the help you can get, post birth! It’s vital to keep in mind who you want to be around you in the days and weeks after birth! Thinking ahead can save you a lot of stress in playing host and stressing about “being presentable” or having a tidy home for visitors.
Think ahead and be clear if you do not wish for visitors for a certain recovery period, or at least ask that anyone popping in can contribute to some light house duties or shopping, to save you the much needed time for rest in transitioning through new motherhood with little sleep! Two fantastic books we recommend for birth recovery are The Fourth Trimester and The First Fourty Days.
Recommended resources:
Birth with Confidence, Rhea Dempsey
Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth
Gentle Birth Gentle Mothering, Dr Sarah Buckley
A Labour of Love, Gabrielle Targett
Down to Earth Birth, Jenny Blyth
Birth Bliss Guided Relaxation, Anna Urbanski
Undisturbed Birth DVD, Dr Sarah Buckley
I also share my first birth story and birth preparation in the last chapter of our most recent book Moving Beyond Pain available here.