Often touted as something to be feared, perineal tears are a common, and sometimes unavoidable hazard of giving birth. However, tears do heal, and they are something you can actively minimise.

The routine use of episiotomy, is unncessary, especially when it is performed in the name of protecting the perineum. A natural tear, will go through skin, and many less layers than the episiotomy, which cuts through into the muscular layer.

A natural tear will often heal faster than an episiotomy, often not even requiring stitches.

Natural tears are often less painful than an episiotomy, whilst healing, on account of the fact there is less swelling, and less stitching (less layers to stitch)

Preventing tearing, or at least minimising it, is something you can actively prepare for.

Prior to labour, you can practise perineal massage, and oil the perineal area with olive oil after showering.

Allowing your body the optimum chance to stretch slowly, will help avoid a tear. As the baby’s head is crowning, don’t push conciously - it will often come down, and go back up again, giving your perineum plenty of time fan out and accomodate the baby’s head. Breathing the baby out is often a technique taught to birthing women.

The hospital policy of coached pushing is a recipe for perineal damage. Especially when combined with supine positoning (flat on ones back, or with feet in stirrups)

Your best option is to trust your body, and go with it’s urges. Push when you feel the need, stay upright, and move as you feel you need to.

Chiropractic works on the principle that if the spine is functioning optimally, the body will function optimally. By removing nerve interference, chirpractic makes way for optimum health.

So it stands to reason, that a pregnant woman recieving regular chiropractic adjustments, will have a healthier body, to grow and birth her baby with.

Women assume that the “ailments of pregnancy” like fluid retention, and heartburn, are unavoidable unpleasant side effects of gestating. But this is not necessarily the case.  Regular adjustments will allow the body to do what it inately knows how to do, without the discomfort: that is, grow and birth a baby.

New research has again revealed that Chiropractic can assist in birthing-  by removing pelvic distortions, the body can labour and birth at it’s most efficient - the baby can present in optimal position, and the uterus knows how to contract effectively.

Women recieving chiropractic adjustments on average have  a shorter labour too. With the average length of labour for a first time mum being 9 hours.

A good article on this is here:http://www.pr.com/press-release/136771

A Bellycast, or Bellymould, is a plaster cast taken of your pregnant belly, that you can then decorate, and display as a keepsake of your pregnancy.

Casting Kits are available to buy all over the internet, or you can gather the materials you need for one yourself. A good one is available here with a lovely CD that details ideas on casting, and how to decorate them!

You will need:

• Plaster Gauze Strips (available from most pharmacies, or even art stores. Gypsona is reputably the best)
• A barrier cream, such as Shea Butter, or Vaseline, so the plaster doesn’t stick to you
• A Tarp, or plastic mat to cover your working area
• Scissors
• A bowl of body temperature water

1. To cast your belly, first prepare your plaster strips,  by cutting them into 30-45cm lengths. (Measure the girth of your belly with some string, that will give you an indication of how long they need to be)
2. Cut some smaller strips about 20-25cm if you intend on casting your breasts.
3. Then, strip down, cover yourself in barrier cream. get comfortable, and get a helper to dip the strips in the water, one at a time, and working from the top down, smooth them over your belly. Overlap each strip slightly, and make sure the plaster is smooth. 2 layers of plaster will make a nice strong cast.
4. The cast should set in about 20 minutes, and you can slowly and carefully wriggle your way out of it. Stuff it with newspaper to support it, and let it dry thoroughly for about 48 hours.
5. Then you can decorate it with whatever you like, paints, moasics, decopauge….

A blessingway, or mother blessing, is the non-commercial “equivalent” to a baby shower. It’s a ceremony for a pregnant woman, to honour her transition into motherhood.

Traditionally, a South American ceremony, marking the transition of Maiden to Mother, blessingways are an opportunity for a mother to be surrounded by close friends and family who she trusts - and can gain wisdom from.

A typical blessingway might include ceremonies such as henna tattoos on the mother’s belly, a belly cast, candle lighting, a bead ceremony, or anything that is personal to the mother to be to honour her impending birth.

Like a baby shower, it’s a lovely opportunity to share good food, and good company, but that’s where the comparison ends. A blessingway, is focussed on the mother to be, and it’s her day to be pampered, and spoilt.

Here are a couple of ideas for blessingways, that pamper the mom to be, and are fun for the guests.

Bead Ceremony:

Each guest brings a special bead to the blessingway, and threads it onto a strap to make a necklace for the mother to be. It’s a nice thought to give a blessing or message with your bead as you thread it on, perhaps why you chose it, and it’s significance.

Candle Ceremony

Each guest brings a candle to the blessingway, and the labouring woman lights it when she is in labour, to be surrounded by positive and loving energy.

OR

The mother to be provides each guest with a candle to light when she goes into labour, so their thoughts are with her from afar.

Quilt Ceremony

Each guest brings a piece of fabric, or quilt panel to the blessingway, and together they lay out a quilt design to be sewn together. It’s nice if someone other than the mother to be has the responsibility of sewing the quilt!! So it’s a lovely gift.

The wonderful thing about a blessingway is, it’s so personal to the mother to be - so if she’s crafty, centre the activities on that. If she’s a gardener, plant a commemorative garden, if she’s a cook - bring food (that said, it’s nice for guests to bring a freezable meal for after the birth) If she’s musical, compose a song. Use your imagination.

Pregnancy induced hypertension is often cited as a reason to induce labour,  in medicalised birth. It can be argued that the occurence of a gentle rise in maternal blood pressure, is a naturally occurring and necessary function of the body in order to birth.

However, maintaining a healthy blood pressure, and a healthy pregnancy are a sensible idea. So what strategies can one implement to ensure that their body is in optimum health?

• Engage the services of a reputed Chiropractor, to eliminate any nerve interference.
• Practise relaxation, and deep breathing techniques
• Excercise gently, and regularly
• Eat a healthy diet - try the Brewer Diet
• If this is  your second or subsequent child, consider breastfeeding throughout your pregnancy
• Engage the services of an accupuncturist.
• Indulge in pregnancy massage (Massage has been shown to dramatically lower blood pressure during pregnancy, and it feels divine)

1. Download the installation file(s)
ContractionTimer.zip

2. Extract the installation files

3. Run Setup.exe. This will install any prerequisites if necessary.

4. Once the prerequisites are installed you will be presented with the installation screen

Press next

5. Select the installation folder and who on the computer can use it. You can keep these the same as the defaults.

Press next

6. Press next to confirm the installation

7. The install program will now install the application

8. Installation is now complete and you can press close

Installation is now complete and you can now run the program by going

Start > Programs > Contraction Timer > Contraction Timer

Just Ducky Baby All In One Diapers tote the tagline “The World’s Most Luxurious Diaper” My son was in Just Ducky’s from 4 months of age, comfortably fitting into their medium size.

Pros:

• The diaper is soft, and certainly feels luxurious
• The patterns are adorable, and worth showing off!
• The microfibre inner had great “stay dry” properties

Cons

• Microfibre has been known to absorb skin oils-  however we didn’t find this.
• We’ve had a few compression leaks with this type of diaper
• After 7 months of use in rotation, the velcro on one of the wings has come entirely unstitched.

Summary:

All in all, the Just Ducky Diaper is a great little dipe, and well priced to boot. We currently still use the Medium sized diaper, on my son who is now 16 months old, so the fit has been economical.

Grantley Dick Read, is regarded by many as the father of “modern natural childbirth” meaning that he instigated the movement away from the rigid obstetric model of childbirth in place at the time (early 1900s)

Dick-Read believed that women were capable of naturally birthing their babies, and that the interventions of the “modern” obstetrical system were what hindered birth, and resulted in less than desirable outcomes for mother and baby.

Dick-Read was ridiculed for his methodologies, and it wasn’t until much later that his work and books became childbirth “bibles”

Dick-Read’s approach was to educate the mother on the process of childbirth, and encourage her to participate actively. He believed in fathers being present at the birth, and the rooming in of mother and baby once the baby was born.

Birth without Trauma, Dr Frederik Leboyer’s book, outlines his principles for a gentle birth.  He believed that babies born into calm surroundings were more content.

Some of the principles involve birthing the baby into a room of hushed voices, dimmed lights, and a warm bath. Placing the baby on the mother’s chest, allowing the cord to stop pulsating before clamping and infant massage.

Leboyer’s book makes childbirth sound like a harrowing and traumatic event for the baby - which may well be so, and at the least,  creating a calm environment for all involved, will limit cortisone production, and reduce both mother’s and babie’s stress levels.

The Lamaze Method, was established in 1951 by Dr Fernand Lamaze. It is a childbirth philosophy, that centres around the idea that birth is normal and natural.

The Lamaze Philosphy is:

There are 6 care practises that guide the Lamaze method - they are found here