Painful delivery =/
As the clock is ticking and its getting closer to your due date I know emotions are flooding in and you might be thinking how you can make your delivery as smooth and calm as possible. Every woman's pregnancy is different. I've had the privilege of talking with many different mothers and they have all given me different advice and stories about their delivery experience. Some say its not bad at all, dont get yourself worked up its actually quite easy and they didnt go through that much pain at all and then you have those who have said it was terrible they were in so much pain, etc. Im not gonna lie, im one of those people who has to be COMPLETELY prepared for whatever it is im about to go through and for giving birth it was pretty much the same. I need it to be systematic, i need to know whats gonna be going on, I need all my materials ready for me and so forth. Call me crazy but everyone has their own way of calming and this is mine. I've done some research and heard some great feedback about things you can do to help make your delivery as painless as possible.
- Yoga- Practicing yoga throughout your pregnancy helps you with your breathing. During delivery its essential to keep your breathing under control and to 'hee hee hee hoo". You'll learn about that in lamaze class. What i love about yoga is the calming effect of deep, focused breathing. It does wonders! Practice yoga, get deep into your breathing and enjoy its relaxation. The light stretching also helps your body relieve aches and pains.
- Walking- Any type of exercise is key to prepping your body for labor. The last thing you need is to be weak, trying to push and you cant even hold your legs up. Walk, walk, walk. Work those legs and stay fit at the same time. Get those lower body muscles prepped for delivery! You'll be amazed at how much easier your birthing experience will be.
- Birthing ball- Rolling your hips on a birthing ball helps you open up in your lower pelvic region. A birthing ball is mostly used DURING labor for that reason but if your experiencing back or pelvic pains during your pregnancy you can use the birthing ball to ease your pains.
- Kegels- Ladies, we all know what kegel exercises are! Remember all your girlfriends raving about how these exercises tighten you up down there for your man ;] giving him a more pleasurable experience?.....hmmmmm....If you dont know what kegel exercises are look them up. They help prep your muscles down there for delivery. Your suppose to do them 3 times a day in sets of 20.
These are the basics. The only thing i can say is to not let yourself get lazy. Im on maternity leave right now and its so easy to get caught up sleeping, laying around and feeling pity on my poor body. Get up, get moving and stay active. Its gonna be hard for those stay at home mom-to-bes but you'll feel and look better. Motivation: Thinking about all that baby weight you want to shed after birth, it will be a lot harder if you let yourself go. Is that motivation enough?
