What's important for you and your baby?

Pregnancy Tips & Exercise:

To help insure a healthy pregnancy, exercise can be started at any time and continue throughout one's life as it helps optimal function of the body. The safest and best pregnancy exercises for most women consist of walking, swimming, pregnancy yoga, and Tai Chi designed for pregnancy. If you want to add something different once you are pregnant it is recommended that you clear it with your healthcare provider. ACOG recommends that the pulse remain below 140 beats per minute and that you should take fluids before, during and after exercising.

Safe ways to move your body while pregnant:

• Walking and adjusting your posture by wearing supportive comfortable flat shoes that do not change the shape of your feet
• Sitting standing and walking with shoulders back and head held high
• Use good body mechanics when lifting by bending from your knees and not your back
• Address leg cramps by stretching your calves by pointing your toes towards your nose instead of pointing the toes down.

Relaxation and Breathing:

There are many excellent techniques for breathing and relaxation that can be used before, during, and after labor. The methods shown on my Acupressure and Breathing for Childbirth DVD combine Organized Breathing with easy to employ acupressure points to reduce the painful sensation of contractions. In addition these tools will help to move labor forward. The use of organized breathing during labor helps to ensure that adequate oxygen is delivered to both the mother and the baby. This is a key element in a healthy labor and delivery.

Why a healthy pregnancy?

Simply put, a healthy pregnancy helps to create a healthy baby. Many necessary changes occur in a pregnant woman's body in order for a developing baby to grow and thrive. It is important to maintain good nutrition by eating fresh, whole organic foods from pre-conception through pregnancy, and onward past labor and delivery. A balanced diet may relieve some of the discomforts of pregnancy such as poor digestion, lightheadedness and leg cramps. Several small and frequent meals throughout the day rather than three large meals are better metabolized during pregnancy and as a general lifestyle recommendation. The average weight gain during a normal pregnancy is 25 to 30 pounds. Dieting via caloric restriction is not recommended in pregnancy as it can be harmful to both mother and baby.

Acupressure for Breathing and Childbirth DVD:

For several decades of the preparation for birth has been an essential part of the process for those wanting to fully participate in the arrival of their children. As the body undergoes the changes of pregnancy in the time before and after birth there are simple effective exercises and techniques that can be used to address those physical and emotional changes that occur.

This DVD provides information that is essential to those who are preparing to enter the labor room. Points included are:

• Acupressure points for the relief of back pain common in pregnant and laboring women
• Acupressure points to relieve nausea and discomfort during pregnancy and labor
• Techniques and strategies to help calm the woman during stressful times of pregnancy and labor