Questions About Pregnancy

22 December 2007

Don't exactly know why I'm posting a blog today since www.birthingbetter.com is actually down. at the moment. Life on the internet.

I got an email from a woman who is less than 20 weeks pregnant. She is having back problems, feels terribly tired and is just beginning to think through her choices.

Thought I'd share with you my response.

'There's so much to say to you. Isn't pregnancy SO full of issues?

As to your back. This is not uncommon to have back problems. Yes, hormones are one reason but growth of uterus is another. Yes, any scar tissue can be stretched. yes there are things you can do. yes, part of being pregnant is passing us through the Gateway to Parenthood and coping, managing and dealing with our issues AND keep going.

Our child is the child now and we truly become adults if we use this time to do so. This does not mean 'suffer' for your child. It means continue to work with what is bothering you (actively) until you get resolution. Back problems can be dealt with by: homeopathics, accupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathic, some massage, yoga, physio, stretching, strengthening your belly muscles and some very good herbs: Devil's claw, MSM, condroitin, glucosamine and others.

AND of course, relaxation and breathing techniques.

By taking care of yourself with attentiveness you will feel better and better. pregnancy is probably the only experience in which we are growing something that is not us. We have to share our body. And we have to nurture that which is not us. The best way to do this is to care for ourselves with attention.

Please do order the Pink Kit Package and get stuck in with your mother and friend. Now's a good time to start. You'll have to go directly to http://www.thepinkkit.com. have your mother give it to you as a gift. She'll enjoy it for sure.

You're the same age as my daughter. This stuff evolved between my daughter and my son (12 years later). When's your birthday?

Tiredness. Well, keep in mind that the earliest part of pregnancy is growing (dividing cells) your baby at the speed of light. This means your baby is using you up and discharging all his/her waste products into your system for you to get rid of. The Chinese say that pregnancy is cleaning out the old sewer system.

So, the ways to deal with this: rest (duh), drink heaps of warmish water (that your stomach doesn't have to warm), no coffee, tea (except herbal), small pieces of seaweed put in water (trace minerals), lots of acidopholus or miso or other, lots of protein, steamed vegies and fruits (not cold ... weakens kidneys). Breathe the tiredness out with each exhale. Breathe in good energy with your inhale. Take your time to do things, don't rush. Lots of good vitamins out there as well.

Next issue. There are two factors. What you need to do and what you want of others. The PKPackage is about you, your mother and friend. As you become more skilled you'll make choices in a different manner. yes, it's true that having one care provider with you throughout pregnancy, birth and afterwards is terrific. Keep in mind that Murphy's Law sometimes activates and that person is at another birth the day you go into labour. That's why having your skills permits you to get on with birth no matter what.

The PK skills are for you, your mother and friend to work together through every moment of birth. Birth is an activity just like driving a car. If you didn't have the skills to drive a car you'd be looking around for an expert to guide you. Once you have the skills, practiced them and use them at every nano second then you look for mechanics not guides.

The activity of birth means that every moment you have to be conscious of what you are doing .... just like driving ... conscious of how you control the car and of what's outside you. Instead during birth you are conscious of how you control your body while experiencing pain if you labour and the messages your baby is giving you in his/her effort to be born. Working together with yourself, your mother, friend and your baby is the most empowering experience.

But no one has told you that when you are pregnant you must learn how-to birth and your mother (friend) must learn how to coach you. The PK skills are based on what all of us do as humans and are not techniques. The more you prepare your body to let your baby (big object) out, the more you learn the skills (practice while you're doing other things) and use the skills (as you move into labour and throughout or when you are going to hospital and during surgery if you have a c/s).

Once you decide to become skilled you will then realize that your care provider is the mechanic if something needs fixing rather than the one to help you. First you help yourself. Second your mother (friend) help you. You know you and they know you. And I'll bet they'll be there as a priority and no other birth to attend.

Too many people believe that the 'choices' they make will determine the birth they have. This has led to a big reality check. You are doing the birth! If you want a midwife/doula by all means hire one. Don't confuse what you want from them with their ability to do your labour. The only reason midwives in hospital give mixed messages to women is that people don't yet share the common language of The PK. When a midwife tells a woman what to do it's because what the woman is doing isn't working.

How to get through labour has been made much more complex because when women are pregnant they really aren't learning any birth skills or just simple ones. That's sort of like telling people who want to drive a car just hold onto the steering wheel and put your foot on the pedal. Not so simple. Just think about driving skills. Do they vary alot? Nope.

Even when people are driving recklessly they are basically using the same skills. But it's amazing that millions of people actually all drive pretty much the same. This is because the right skills have been determined and then are expected to be learned.

Birth can be the same way'.

Moving Right Along

21 Dec 2007

Well, time passes. Merry Christmas to everyone and a Happy New Year from all of us at Common Knowledge Trust.

Even over the holidays families around the world are giving birth. What a wonderful gift you can give to anyone of them by giving them The Pink Kit Package.

But on to the news.

Andrea Vincent, one of the midwives who has collected statistics for the past 7 years is meeting with our District Health Board early in February. She hopes they will set up a pilot project with the childbirth education classes at the local hospital.

She wants the DHB to purchase Pink Kit Packages for all the couples coming through the classes and have the childbirth educator explain to them the importance of learning the birth/coaching skills. The couples will be able to keep the PKPackage until they give birth.

This hopefully will be coupled to a research project done by a Psychology Master's Student who is working with three research advisors who want to study the impact of the Pink Kit skills on birth experiences as well as 'outcomes'.

This is very good news. We hope you'll all come on board and get this incredible resource into your community. Become a wholesaler or website affiliate. Together we can change the world.