It’s time to shift back to our natural ways and healthiest way of birthing for mom and baby!

Top 10 Pregnancy Procedures to Reject – Consumer Reports.

If you live in the jacksonville area please check out one of her wed. night yoga classes.

You can also read more about her and her home birth on her website!

www.JaxPrenatalYoga.com

Ps. Her classes are super affordable at $10 per class!

Elizabeth Bonet has been teaching prenatal yoga over ten years and now offers training for Prenatal Yoga teachers. Yogafairy™ classes have repeatedly been featured in the Sun Sentinel and the Miami Herald as well as magazines with international distributions.

Live Workshop + Home Study, 20 contact hours

12 hours-Live Workshop

8 hours-Manual & Quizzes (Home Study)

Approved for 1.9 NASM credits and 6 NCSF credits

Participants will leave the course with an in depth understanding of EXERCISE, CORE-BREATHING, and STRESS applicable to Pre & Post Natal Clients.  Major areas of focus include:

• Benefits of exercise during pregnancy that prevent complications and cause stunning health benefits to both mom and baby.
• Detriments of the lack of exercise during pregnancy.
• A comparison of modern childbirth trends and research compared to historical, ancient and natural wisdom.
• Core “Inner Unit” training, particularly understanding the Diaphragm, Transverse Abdominis, and Pelvic Floor muscles.
• Formal Pre/Post Natal Corrective Exercise Assessment, both novice and master approaches in functional training.
• Program Design and Periodization before and after delivery. “Sport (Pregnancy) Specific” Labor Training® and Belly Training®.
• Preventing, correcting, and supporting common pregnancy and postpartum challenges like diastasis recti, symphasis pubis disorder, varicose veins, lying supine, post-partum depression, C-section rehabilitation.
• The role of proper breathing in detoxification, mindfulness, correcting muscle imbalances, and preparing for birth.
• Understanding sympathetic and parasympathetic hormonal pathways and techniques for calming the mind and de-stressing.
• Expected weight gains, losses, and the big picture for returning the new mom to her pre-pregnancy body.
• Connecting and empathizing with the “inconvenience” of being a new mom amidst a modern world increasingly centered around convenience.

Pregnancy Exercise NZ is dedicated to providing expert pre and post pregnancy exercise training and advice. Specific, safe and effective exercise programs are available for everyone to purchase. The programs have taken me many years to develop and are easy to follow. They include strength and flexibilty programs, cardio exercise, video exercise links along with informative articles making sure you know exactly why and what you are doing. Check out the website for more information on pre and post natal exercise
www.pregnancyexercise.com.nz

Live Workshop + Home Study, 20 contact hours

12 hours-Live Workshop

8 hours-Manual & Quizzes (Home Study)

Sign Up Now

$497 Includes Pre & Post Natal

Approved for 1.9 NASM credits and 6 NCSF credits

Participants will leave the course with an in depth understanding of EXERCISE, CORE-BREATHING, and STRESS applicable to Pre & Post Natal Clients.  Major areas of focus include:

• Benefits of exercise during pregnancy that prevent complications and cause stunning health benefits to both mom and baby.
• Detriments of the lack of exercise during pregnancy.
• A comparison of modern childbirth trends and research compared to historical, ancient and natural wisdom.
• Core “Inner Unit” training, particularly understanding the Diaphragm, Transverse Abdominis, and Pelvic Floor muscles.
• Formal Pre/Post Natal Corrective Exercise Assessment, both novice and master approaches in functional training.
• Program Design and Periodization before and after delivery. “Sport (Pregnancy) Specific” Labor Training® and Belly Training®.
• Preventing, correcting, and supporting common pregnancy and postpartum challenges like diastasis recti, symphasis pubis disorder, varicose veins, lying supine, post-partum depression, C-section rehabilitation.
• The role of proper breathing in detoxification, mindfulness, correcting muscle imbalances, and preparing for birth.
• Understanding sympathetic and parasympathetic hormonal pathways and techniques for calming the mind and de-stressing.
• Expected weight gains, losses, and the big picture for returning the new mom to her pre-pregnancy body.
• Connecting and empathizing with the “inconvenience” of being a new mom amidst a modern world increasingly centered around convenience.

www.prenataleducationcenter.com

The Prenatal Education Center opened in February 2009 as a haven for new and expectant parents to attend childbirth, breastfeeding, prenatal yoga, and other specialty birthing classes.  We have been providing education and support to our doula clients and saw a need in our community for more.  We offer Hypnobabies classes, Prepared Childbirth classes, Breastfeeding Classes, Baby Massage, Happiest Baby on the Block, Dancing for Birth, Prenatal Yoga/Fitness, Baby Signs and parenting classes, serving all of Orange and LA Counties. We are conveniently located in Los Alamitos, very close to Long Beach. Our goal is to provide a haven of education and support for new families so that they can fulfill their educational needs, while feeling empowered and confident.  We also offer birthing and breastfeeding products in our Prenatal Boutique.

Pre & Post Natal Exercise Specialist Correspondence Course

Course Description

Home Study + Mini Internship, 20 contact hours

8 hours-Manual & Quizzes

3 hours-Exercise Video Library Review

9 hours-Video Assessments & Programs + Personal Coaching Review with Fit For Birth

This is a one time offer valid until MAY 1 2012.  We are offering our correspondence course for this price this one time only as our live workshop in May will also be this price!  Take advantage of this offer right NOW!

Sign Up Right now for $497 $297 a $200 savings.

Approved for 1.9 NASM credits and 6 NCSF credits

You will gain an in depth understanding of EXERCISE, CORE-BREATHING, and STRESS applicable to Pre & Post Natal Clients.  Major areas of focus include:

• Benefits of exercise during pregnancy that prevent complications and cause stunning health benefits to both mom and baby.
• Detriments of the lack of exercise during pregnancy.
• A comparison of modern childbirth trends and research compared to historical, ancient and natural wisdom.
• Core “Inner Unit” training, particularly understanding the Diaphragm, Transverse Abdominis, and Pelvic Floor muscles.
• Formal Pre/Post Natal Corrective Exercise Assessment, both novice and master approaches in functional training.
• Program Design and Periodization before and after delivery. “Sport (Pregnancy) Specific” Labor Training® and Belly Training®.
• Preventing, correcting, and supporting common pregnancy and postpartum challenges like diastasis recti, symphasis pubis disorder, varicose veins, lying supine, post-partum depression, C-section rehabilitation.
• The role of proper breathing in detoxification, mindfulness, correcting muscle imbalances, and preparing for birth.
• Understanding sympathetic and parasympathetic hormonal pathways and techniques for calming the mind and de-stressing.
• Expected weight gains, losses, and the big picture for returning the new mom to her pre-pregnancy body.
• Connecting and empathizing with the “inconvenience” of being a new mom amidst a modern world increasingly centered around convenience.

Water may be the most underutilized nutrient during pregnancy.  The moment conception occurs, water demands increase dramatically as the infant’s cells divide and mom’s blood flow must be augmented.  With thirst an unreliable indicator, symptoms of dehydration so vague, and drinks that expend more water than they provide, every pregnant woman stands to alter her fluid intake.  It may be the factor that is most urgent for baby’s growth.

Kristen Montgomery, PhD, RN, writes in the Journal of Perinatal Education, “Pregnant and breastfeeding women should be encouraged to increase their intake of water and other fluids to meet their bodies’ needs…in order to support fetal circulation, amniotic fluid, and higher blood volume.”

Dehydration is a signal that water is unavailable for other body processes.  According to AmericanPregnancy.org, for example, “maternal dehydration” is a cause of low amniotic fluid.  The site says risks of having low amniotic fluid include “Compression of fetal organs resulting in birth defects, increased chance of miscarriage or stillbirth, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), preterm birth, and labor complications such as cord compression, meconium stained fluid, and cesarean delivery.”

In Raising Baby Green, Alan Greene, MD, asks pregnant women to remember that their placenta is “providing approximately one cup of water each hour” just to replenish amniotic fluid in the womb.  This water will not magically appear for the unborn baby.

The developing fetus places enormous demands for water onto the newly pregnant mom.  F. Batmanghelidj, MD, (“Dr. B”), is an internationally renowned researcher, author and advocate of the natural healing power of water.  Portions of his books, Your Body’s Many Cries for Water and Water for Health, for Healing, for Life, discuss pregnancy: “By the time it grows to be a full term baby, about a trillion cell divisions will have taken place.” “Every time a cell gives rise to a daughter cell, 75 percent or more of its volume has to be filled with water.  In short, growth depends on the availability of water.”

Dr. B explains that “Water drives all chemical reactions that create life.”  Specifically, Montgomery says, “[Water] provides shape and structure to cells; regulates body temperature; aids digestion and the absorption of nutrients; transports nutrients and oxygen to cells; acts as a solvent for vitamins, minerals, glucose, and amino acids; provides a foundation for chemical reactions; eliminates wastes; and is a major component of mucus and other lubricating fluids.”

Babies in the womb must receive more than enough water.  Without water, nutrient absorption is suboptimal.  Without water, toxin removal is hindered. The body consists of up to 80% water.  All body systems rely on water for optimal function, including growth of the developing infant.

Chances are You are Dehydrated Now

Pregnant moms should be vigilant to increase their intake of water when conceiving, if not sooner.  Dr. B explains, “During the intrauterine stage of cell expansion, water for cell growth of the child has to be provided by the mother.”  He says most women don’t adjust their water intake until the third month of pregnancy, well after dehydration has set in.

Worse, most women begin pregnancy already short on water.   It is generally regarded that 75% of the population is suffering from chronic dehydration.  Virtually all are completely unaware of their water deficiency. Symptoms of dehydration, says the Mayo Clinic (reflecting “the expertise of Mayo’s 3,400 physicians and scientists”) include tiredness, irritability, and headaches.  Most pregnant moms simply do not think of drinking water under these conditions.

On top of that, experts say thirst is not a reliable indicator.  By the time one feels thirsty, some system of the body has already been denied water.  Dr. B calls it a chronic form of “drought management.”  “Further confusion lies in the idea that when we’re thirsty, we can substitute tea, coffee, or alcohol-containing beverages. This is a common error,” he says.

Paul Chek, HHP, who has worked with professional athletes around the world, says “processed fruit juices are definitely no substitute for water.”  Pasteurization, loss of nutrients, and cheap synthetic “fortified” nutrients render juices more toxic than nutritious, he says in the audio program, You Are What You Eat.

Chek tells listeners that drinking juice actually requires a person to drink addition water in order to digest the juice, “So when you drink a glass of juice thinking that you’re hydrating yourself, you’re really creating a period of dehydration where the body has to pull water from the working tissues.” Only freshly juiced vegetables and fruits contain enough nutrition to warrant the loss of water.  It’s best to drink within one minute of juicing, before much of that nutrition is lost.

Drinking pure filtered or glass-bottled artesian well water is the ongoing solution.

Pregnancy-Specific Symptoms of Dehydration

Perhaps worse than the tiredness, irritability, and headaches listed above, pregnant women can now add morning sickness to the list of dehydration symptoms.  Dr. B writes, “Morning sickness is a thirst signal of both the fetus and the mother,” adding “It is the very first sign of dehydration of the mother and fetus together.”

Puffy eyes, swollen ankles, and other abnormal accumulations of fluid (edema) is another sign of dehydration during pregnancy.  Dr. B explains that there is water stored inside and outside of our cells.  When a person is dehydrated, the body operates in an emergency state of fluid regulation.  Dr. B writes that the “water outside the cells is expanded to have extra water available for filtration and emergency injection into vital cells,” causing edema.

Dr, B adds that the edema can then cause other problems: “The significant rise in pressure needed to inject water into the cells becomes measurable and is labeled ‘hypertension.’”  Hypertension is reported to complicate between 6-10% of all pregnancies.  Dr. B says to rid edema fluid by drinking water, saying “Water is the best natural diuretic that exists.” He recommends passing “clear urine.”

A look at some of the most common pregnancy discomforts reveals that water may play a role in all:

• Fatigue—(water’s hydrolytic action)
• Hormone Regulation & Headaches—(water’s role in chemical reactions, delivery and transport)
• Upset Stomach, Heartburn, Ulcers & Constipation—(water’s role in digestion)
• Leg Cramps, Swelling, Dizziness, & Hypertension-Preeclampsia—(water’s role in fluid regulation and retention)
• Joint Pain—(water’s role in joint lubrication)

Most consider these symptoms part of normal pregnancy.  As Dr. B recommends, the best medication is often water.

Pre & Post Natal Exercise Specialist Correspondence Course

Course Description

Home Study + Mini Internship, 20 contact hours

8 hours-Manual & Quizzes

3 hours-Exercise Video Library Review

9 hours-Video Assessments & Programs + Personal Coaching Review with Fit For Birth

This is a one time offer valid until MAY 1 2012.  We are offering our correspondence course for this price this one time only as our live workshop in May will also be this price!  Take advantage of this offer right NOW!

Sign Up Right now for $497 $297 a $200 savings.

Approved for 1.9 NASM credits and 6 NCSF credits

You will gain an in depth understanding of EXERCISE, CORE-BREATHING, and STRESS applicable to Pre & Post Natal Clients.  Major areas of focus include:

• Benefits of exercise during pregnancy that prevent complications and cause stunning health benefits to both mom and baby.
• Detriments of the lack of exercise during pregnancy.
• A comparison of modern childbirth trends and research compared to historical, ancient and natural wisdom.
• Core “Inner Unit” training, particularly understanding the Diaphragm, Transverse Abdominis, and Pelvic Floor muscles.
• Formal Pre/Post Natal Corrective Exercise Assessment, both novice and master approaches in functional training.
• Program Design and Periodization before and after delivery. “Sport (Pregnancy) Specific” Labor Training® and Belly Training®.
• Preventing, correcting, and supporting common pregnancy and postpartum challenges like diastasis recti, symphasis pubis disorder, varicose veins, lying supine, post-partum depression, C-section rehabilitation.
• The role of proper breathing in detoxification, mindfulness, correcting muscle imbalances, and preparing for birth.
• Understanding sympathetic and parasympathetic hormonal pathways and techniques for calming the mind and de-stressing.
• Expected weight gains, losses, and the big picture for returning the new mom to her pre-pregnancy body.
• Connecting and empathizing with the “inconvenience” of being a new mom amidst a modern world increasingly centered around convenience.

Figure 4: The Core can be thought of as a box whose top is the diaphragm, bottom is the pelvic floor, with TVA wrapping all sides, along with the deep multifidus in the back. (Primal Pictures) (http://www.highperformancegolf.com.au/the_core.html)

The core is considered to be the center for all movement in the body and primary stabilizer.  Just before you reach out to pick up the groceries, the core should engage in anticipation.  With every step, walk or run, the core should engage to absorb shock.  As the major shock absorber, it cushions the knees and low back from absorbing the blows.  Proper function of the core equates to less joint pain, improved balance, less chance of injury, and much greater overall strength.  When the core engages as it is supposed to, it pulls the torso inward, protecting the spine and substantially increasing the amount of weight one can lift. All muscles in the core should contract and stretch in harmony as activities are performed. The core connects the upper, middle, and lower body, allowing the three parts to work together in proper function.

The problem today is that the core doesn’t properly engage in many people, a problem made worse in pregnancy.  In many cases, instead of creating a natural corset, the core either doesn’t engage in time or engages incorrectly.  This places extraordinary loads into other joints and muscles throughout the body, who try desperately to manage forces they were not designed to handle.  Belly Training® prevents faulty core mechanics and re-establishes proper patterns.

Belly Training® consists of five exercises.  The first two exercises teach you to master your TVA.  Bringing awareness and strength to the TVA muscle can make the pushing stage of labor easier and shorter.  This muscle creates intra-abdominal pressures which may aide in moving baby through the birth canal.  These muscles also are directly responsible for preventing discomfort caused by an extended belly.  Women who have a conditioned TVA find that their bellies at nine months are smaller than their previous pregnancy’s at 6 months (Figure 5).

Figure 5: The photo on the left shows Gabriela’s second pregnancy at 6 months…a large tummy.  The photo on the right shows Gabriela’s third pregnancy at 7 months…her Belly Training® program kept her tummy naturally much smaller and more comfortable.

Extended Exhales

If you think of your breath as having four parts (inhale, pause, exhale, pause), now you will practice increasing the time it takes to exhale.  Your slow exhale can count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on, up to 10 or more if possible, never really holding the breath.  While your exhale occurs, you are to “draw in” your belly button and sides of your belly, making your waist as small as possible.  Specifically focus on “drawing in” the area below your belly button.  You’ll know you’re really mastering the exercise if you start to feel a deep abdominal “burn” or fatigue while exhaling.  Try to create a deep core fatigue.  Practice 5-10 times each day. (Figure 6)

Figure 6:  Extended Exhales.  Remember to slowly and calmly “draw in” from below your belly button.

At first, breathing in and out through the nose, rather than the mouth, encourages core musculature to activate more effectively.  Later, learning to exhale with mouth wide open helps prevent tearing.  This is likely due to a neural connection between different circular muscles in the body.

Piston Breathing

Imagine that you take your nice, slow 10 second exhale, but perform it in three quick bursts.  That’s called a Triple Piston.  Never inhaling between pistons, your objective is to rapidly exhale using your tummy.  However, don’t think of this so much as breathing exercise; try to force air out using the muscles of your tummy, specifically below your belly button.

First, start with a Single Piston: Take a nice deep inhale, and then make one exhale burst, performed faster than a usual exhale.  Think of using the muscles below the bellow button to contract.  Then inhale slowly.  Continue for 10 repetitions.

Once you master this, you may move to a Double Piston: Take a nice deep inhale, and then make one exhale burst that takes the first half your breath and then a second exhale burst that takes the second half of your breath.  Once mastered, you may move to the Triple Piston: three rapid exhale bursts followed by a slow inhale.  Yogi Masters are able to take their piston breathing into the hundreds, but a good number to aim for in one repetition is 5-10, and aim for 5-20 repetitions.

The next three exercises in Belly Training® teach mom to master her pelvic floor musculature so that she can reduce incontinence and prevent tearing.  Pelvic floor musculature refers to a series of muscles that make up the urinary and anal sphincters (Figure 7).  Strong muscles are needed to prevent urine from leaking out of your bladder, especially as baby puts pressure in this area.  Ability to relax and open these muscles can give you the control necessary to prevent tearing in this region during childbirth.  Ability to perform a pelvic floor contraction was dubbed a “Kegal Exercise” after gynecologist Doctor Arnold Kegal who concentrated on non-surgical approaches to gynecologic problems.

Figure 7: Strong awareness of the Pelvic Floor Muscles is needed for preventing pregnancy incontinence and tearing during childbirth. (http://www.allina.com/ac/pregcc.nsf/page/KegalExercise)

Three Kinds of Kegals

Performing a pelvic floor “Kegal” contraction should feel like when you are in mid-urination and then suddenly stop.  For a stronger contraction, think about pulling your uterus far up inside you or clenching an object inside your vagina.  Practice with partner is an ideal method to obtain feedback as you get stronger.  Practice one of the following Kegals each day.

Kegals Quick—1:1

Contract your pelvic floor for 1 second and then actively relax (open) your pelvic floor for 1 second. Continue for 10-50 kegals.

Kegals Extended—Hold 20:10

Contract your pelvic floor for 20 seconds and then actively relax (open) your pelvic floor for 10 seconds.  Attempt to increase the intensity as the contraction goes on, and especially toward the final few seconds.  Perform 2-3 kegals.

Kegal Elevators—Level 1, 2, 3

In this most advanced pelvic floor exercise, elevators will teach you how to contract and relax your pelvic floor in stages.  Imagine the hardest you can possibly contract your pelvic floor is “level 3.”  You will contract just to level one for a second or two, then contract to level 2 and hold for another few seconds, then contract fully to level 3 and hold.  Then, you will return to level 2 for a moment, then level 1, then completely relaxed and open.  This entire cycle of “drawing your uterus” up and down is one elevator.  You may repeat 2-3 times.