After a long day at work or chasing around big kids- pregnant women are TIRED. Emotionally you can feel spent and your body may gave aches and pain. Listed below are a few things that you can do to help your body and min relax.
1- Prenatal Yoga– Prenatal Yoga works for those at all levels, from gentle pre-natal yoga to post-talk and stretch, to building from six weeks post-natal onward. Prenatal yoga is an approach to exercise that encourages stretching, mental centering and controlled breathing. Epic Yoga in Maple Ridge is highly recommended.
2- Progressive Muscle Relaxation– This technique involves learning to focus on tensing each specific area of your body by deliberately generating tension in each area. This tension is then released, and you notice the contrast between tension and relaxation.
3- Chiropractic– it’s ideal that your chiropractor that has a custom chiropractic table equipped with an abdominal break-away piece and pregnancy pillows that accommodate a pregnant belly, allowing mom to lay comfortably on her stomach, and one who is specialized in the Websters technique. In Maple Ridge we have Maple Ridge Wellness Center with Dr. Zehra Gajic who is highly recommended. You do not have to live in pain during pregnancy. You have the choice to reduce and prevent pregnancy-related pain and difficult prolonged labour.
4- Have your partner rub your back– Right! Walking and standing all day with addition weight hanging off the front of your body can cause sore muscles and pain. The bonus of your partner rubbng your back is the boost of the feel good hormone oxytocin.
5- Relax in an Epsom Salt bath– Stress drains the body of magnesium and increases levels of adrenaline. When dissolved in warm water, Epsom salt is absorbed through the skin and replenishes the level of magnesium in the body. The magnesium helps to produce serotonin, a mood-elevating chemical within the brain that creates a feeling of calm and relaxation.
6- Guided Meditation– meditation can give you break from stress and can shift you to view life in a more positive way. Check out our youtube channel for scripts read to you.
And of course hiring a doula can also decrease your stress. Feeling comforted, secure and listened too helps women feel supported in their pregnancy. Doulas also provide education so you feel like you are making choices on your pregnancy and about your birth. For more information on a doula please email us at [email protected]
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About the Author
Nicole Chambers has over 15 years experience working with children from age 6 weeks+. She is also a trained birth & postpartum Doula, Childbirth Educator and Placenta Encapsulation Specialist and Early Childhood Educator. When she is not working as a Doula she is a Counsellor and Parenting Group Facilitator. She’s trained in Nobody’s Perfect parenting, Hand in Hand Parenting, Expressive Play Therapy and continues to take courses on child development, trauma, birth and adolescence.