Healthy Pregnancy and Childbirth
Every expectant mother wishes for a stress and illness free pregnancy and hopes for an easy birth – but unfortunately it does not always work out that way. There are ways you can support this special time in your life. I interviewed Jan and in part 1, Jan talked about preparing for conception and shared her insights into helping parents conceive and raise healthy and happy babies. In part 2 she provided ways to decrease toxins and stress supporting the health of parents and babies. In this final part in the series here’s what Jan had to say about health pregnancies and childbirth.
The best way to support a healthy and stress free pregnancy is to start before conception! When it comes to conceiving an inspired and healthy child parents can benefit from a good preconception program, which in turn, helps them to have a healthy, stress-free pregnancy and ultimately improves the chances of having a natural birth without excessive medical intervention. This in turn leads to a great start for both child and Mum.
Childhood trauma and how it affects Pregnancy and Childbirth
Every cell in the human body is programmed to remember past trauma; this is simply Nature's way of helping humans avoid situations that are potentially harmful. If a woman had a difficult birth or pregnancy in the past, then her body will automatically remember the event. Unfortunately, this cell memory can make expectant mothers anxious and fearful about giving birth and, in the eyes of the experts of epigentics, this cell memory can be passed along the family tree, adversely impacting the health of future generations.
Overcoming anxiety starts with acknowledging the source of the trauma and exploring and overcoming the negative emotions that it evokes. Once the problem has been identified, if mums-to-be don’t believe they can resolve the issues on their own, they can seek professional support in order to de-stress and recalibrate their emotions.
Physical activities boost the levels of feel good hormones that help soothe away fear. Most importantly, the mind is more powerful than most people realise, as such, repeating positive affirmations can help mothers mentally reprogram themselves and provide a boost of confidence in their ability to do what is already encoded in their DNA. Future Mums should learn to trust their maternal instincts and believe in themselves.
Postnatal Depression
Postnatal depression is a silent disease that has fast become a global epidemic, affecting 1 in 3 new mothers annually. The illness encompasses a variety of symptoms, from feeling lethargic (known as the Maternity Blues) and decreased sex drive to spells of anxiety, panic, and anger. New parents believe that they are powerless to fight this serious condition, but surprisingly, the onset and the psychological, physical, and emotional damage from Postnatal Depression can be delayed or counteracted by using a combination of nutritional care, mental support, and a well-rounded Preconception Care program.
One way to reduce the chance of Postnatal Depression is to tackle the hormonal imbalances that are often associated with the condition. At least four months before the planned conception timeframe, future Mums should ensure that their hormone levels are stable and normal by visiting their doctors for a thorough physical. Getting the right nutrients, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty and amino acids through a well-balanced diet is a great way to help maintain balanced hormone levels. Staying active and getting lots of exercise complements any balanced nutritional program, since doing so ensures that important nutrients are adequately distributed throughout the body and encourages the release of beneficial neurotransmitters like the hormone Oxytocin, which causes feelings of euphoria and happiness.
Dealing with Misinformation and Confusion
Shortly after giving birth to our son, Cameron, my husband and I realised that we were needed a lot of help when it came to raising a happy, healthy and well-balanced child. Instincts and intuition are very valuable but it’s not enough. Parents natural instincts combined with good information empowers parents to be confident in their decisions. For example research shows that having a baby sleep in the same room as the parents in the early days of life reduces the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome in babies by 30%. Now that is good information to have when deciding where the baby should sleep!
As many couples prepare for the joys of becoming new parents, they realise that they are faced with a plethora of challenges and questions. My book, Inspired Children: How the leading minds of today raised their children provides parents with the latest research from pre-conception to teen years from experts from all over the world. Most importantly it is easy to read and turns the science of Child Development into the art of Parenting.
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