Daniela Knaan
UX/UI Designer at - AdobeWhen I was pregnant for the First time
Seven years ago I was pregnant with my first child. I used to work and had a horse and the house to take care of, so time was a little tight and with all the other preparations I did not really give a thought about visiting a birth preparation class..
As I came close to my third trimester though, I started thinking about how labor was going to be and how I was going to cope with it…
SI started to search the internet… As I looked for articles and tips for a natural birth, breath practicing, and exercises you can do before and while being in labor, I came by Yoga for pregnant women. I read and watched several videos, becoming more and more fond of what I saw. I liked the whole spiritual approach that was different than everything I had heard before and also different from what the women around me had experienced.
An alternative way to cope with pain…
I never liked the thought of pain medication or medication in any way… I also remember my mother telling me that she chose not to receive any pain medication during labor with me and my sister so she could experience our births with a full conscience. Unfortunately, she passed away before I was even married so I did not have the chance to ask her the questions that came along with my first pregnancy…
But she raised us with lots of love and power that made us strong and ready to cope with anything. I was never afraid of giving birth. And I started practicing prenatal yoga with the help of Youtube videos. I liked all the postures from the beginning. Doing sports my whole life and especially gymnastics, my body was already quite flexible and I enjoyed every second of practicing yoga.
Prenatal yoga fits almost everyone!
It is important to know that there are sessions and yoga flows for anybody. You do not have to be super flexible or super fit to practice prenatal yoga! The important thing about yoga is not to overwhelm your body with new postures and overdo it with too heavy exercise! The great thing is to get connected to your unborn baby, concentrate on your body, and feel and embrace the changes that you are going through to create a new life! Put on some chill music together with your practice, and you will even come close to meditation.
The benefits of yoga during pregnancy for you and your child are amazing.
8 Simple Tips
1. Hire a doula
When it gets really hard and hospital staff and even your husband may advise you to take medication, she will understand if you really need that last push to go through with it. It is her job to understand and estimate your situation.
2. Have a reason for wanting to have an unmedicated birth
You will want to have something to stick to or else you might give up more easily. It does not matter what your reason is as long as it is strong enough to push you through.
3. Dancing and Walking
Move around in as many different ways as possible! Rhythmic movement helps with labor progress and relaxation – Listen to calming yoga music will relax you and take your mind off the contraction pain
4. Breathing
Breathe out every time you have a contraction and combine moving around or a yoga posture
5. Lower back massage
Massage of the lower back will ease contraction pain. If you have a doula she will exactly know what to do.
6. Do Yoga Postures
Squat or the Warrior 2 – together with breathing will help overcome contractions and help with faster dilation.
7. Do not fight the contractions
If you cramp and freeze every time you have a contraction you won`t be able to work with them, the pain will get unbearably worse and you will progress much slower. have in mind – that contraction is your friend and it brings your baby closer every time!
8. Water, water, water
Water is the best natural painkiller. If it is a shower or the tab – be in warm water as much as you can – it will ease the pain in ways you would not imagine and helps labor progress fast!
9. Take a birth preparation class
Get prepared and learn the techniques of working during each stage of labor including how you push out your baby the right way! it is also a great way to get to know other Moms-to-be! And if you don`t like to be on a schedule or otherwise don`t have the opportunity- there are birth preparation courses available online.
Prenatal Yoga as Birth Preparation
I am happy and excited to announce that I after 3 years of frontal teaching I am now working on an online 10-step Prenatal Yoga Program for an easier pregnancy and smooth childbirth! In the meantime, if you are looking out for a good birth preparation class or maybe want to go through an in-person class, here is what you should look out for:
- How a baby`s position affects labor and birth and what we can do
- Each stage of labor and its exercises
- Breathing techniques
- Massage techniques for the lower back to minimize labor pain
- Partner exercises
- How to push and breathe out your baby the right way
- The anatomy of your body in different pushing positions
- Relaxation and vizualisation
The two most impressive Tips
One thing was, a yoga teacher explained in one of her videos, that childbirth was not just about pushing and pressing the baby out of your body, but sometimes you would have to do a little bit of “jiggling” to get the baby in the right direction first! It came clear to me that all those exercises you do, moving your hips around like sitting on a gymnastic ball, walking, doing yoga or dancing, gently moving your baby towards and into the birth canal...
The second thing is the interpretation of how contractions and labor pain are not your enemies but your friend. This may seem kind of hard to believe when you first hear it, but actually, it is true since every contraction brings your baby closer to you! If you learn to work together with your body and not against it, you will be able to give birth with almost no medical intervention.
Believe me, I gave this explanation to a few of my friends, and together with “The Warrior 2 Pose” practiced during contractions, they were able to go through hours of labor without any pain medication… And they never even practiced yoga before.
A lifetime experience
As much as I wanted a water birth, it turned out that the hospital I went to did not offer that opportunity. But they had a shower in my room so I could spend almost the whole time underwater, which also helped me a great deal.
The first contraction came at seven am after I was 5 days overdue… My husband was at work and I got up, observing the time between contractions. They were quite bearable in the beginning so I started cleaning the house and moving around. By noon the contractions were only 2 minutes apart and got stronger so I called my husband and started to get ready. By about 1 pm we arrived at the hospital and it was then that the contractions became quite unbearable… Of course, with your first time going through the whole thing, you have no clue about anything and I had heard stories about women being in labor for 20 hours or several days! And I started to doubt myself… Was I really strong enough to do this? The hospital staff was unbelievably nice and supportive. And I went on breathing, doing my exercises and working myself through. And really, finally, after 3 hours I was fully dilated and not much later I held my first child in my arms. An amazing baby boy who gazed at me with his large brown eyes from the very first moment he was there.
I will never forget this moment. The moment when all of a sudden the feeling of endless happiness wipes away every bit of pain and exhaustion. The moment of knowing you just did the most unbelievable thing on earth- give life!
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