For the Expectant Mother

Find time every day to sit quietly and communicate to your unborn baby. You may choose to close your eyes and place your hands on your belly while taking deep breathes in and out…you may choose to enroll in a prenatal yoga class guided by an instructor…or perhaps you’ll choose to spend this time reading from a book with words of encouragement. Whatever method you choose, by spending this time in a calm and peaceful environment you are creating an environment conducive to bonding.
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Nutritional Protection for your Perineum

In my many years working with women in the birthing world, one of the main concerns that always comes up is protecting the perineum from tearing. As a new doula and childbirth educator, I would respond to these concerns with the usual “cookie cutter recipe” response of heat packs, oils, and perineum massage. This recipe had mixed results when actually put into practice.

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Raw Pregnancy: A Journey Through Disappointment to Peace

As many of you readers know, I have been following a raw food diet for almost 2 years. This has had tremendous positive results on my health in all areas: physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual. It is something that I love and am very passionate about. Read more

Signs of Labor

Picture this- you’re about 38 or 39 weeks pregnant, excitedly awaiting your first labor and birth, all of which will take place safely at home. Chances are you wake up every day, wondering if today or tomorrow will be the day you meet your baby. Here are some myths and truths about determining when that day will arrive. Above all, remember to cherish those last few weeks and days, and rest assured that your baby will be born when he is ready.

*Losing your mucus plug

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The Salt Myth

I’d bet that many of you reading this have been told by your doctor to limit your salt intake during pregnancy. My studies and experience have taught me that not only is this mostly false, but the average caregiver out there imparts so little information about nutrition to their clients that even good advice can be misinterpreted.

When you hear that salt is “bad” in pregnancy, it’s not a completely false statement. There are many kinds of salt- from iodized salt, to sodium bicarbonate to monosodium glutamate to completely unrefined, pure sea salt. All of these “salts” are not created equally, and what needs to be part of the salt/pregnancy discussion is what type of salt you are using.
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Great Smoothie Recipe for Pregnancy

I have been pregnant three times, and I know how I’m not the only one that felt like I was eating the same things, day in and day out. I see pregnant women on a regular basis, and I am always looking at their diets, trying to come up with suggestions to add even more healthful calories and protein to their diets. Instead of just suggesting more eggs or more greens, I have been compiling a “pregnancy cookbook”. Below is one of my favorite recipes.
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Gestational Diabetes

What is it?
Also called “gestational carbohydrate intolerance”, “abnormal carbohydrate metabolism” or type 3 diabetes, gestational diabetes is a transient condition that occurs and is diagnosed only during pregnancy. The word “diabetes” was used (instead of “glucose intolerance”) so that insurance companies would cover costs. GD is quite different than “true” diabetes (which comes with its own set of risks in pregnancy).
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Being Pregnant is Being Stuck Between Two Worlds

As I await labor and birth, it becomes clear to me that I am feeling stuck between two worlds.

I had never thought about it like that before, but once the thought gets in my brain I realize how fitting it is, and how the end of pregnancy gives way to this feeling in order to prepare one for birth, and motherhood.
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How to Eat to Avoid Morning Sickness

As many of you know already, or soon will find out when you open the barrage of books on pregnancy, there is a lot to learn about nutrition during this wonderful season of life. There is plenty of information out there about 3 servings of this or that, and which supplements to take to make sure you and your baby are healthy. But, before you get overwhelmed, let’s take a step back and talk about basic nutrition. After all, good nutrition during pregnancy is the most important factor in making sure that you have a successful, positive natural birthing experience.
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What the Medical World Hopes You Won’t Read About Premature Birth

In response to a reader that has accused me of “perpetuating the myth that premature birth is somehow the mother’s fault”, I feel I must address all of my readers. This email comes as a response to my last article, You Have the Power to Experience a Full-Term Pregnancy.

I am outraged, frankly, that the editor of Preemie magazine would rather quote a statistic (namely, that “60% of premature births have NO KNOWN cause”) than Read more

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