For information on birth choices, including homebirth, birth centres and birth support (doulas) - see Birth Options
It is becoming widely acknowledged that babies think, feel, smell and hear throughout the pregnancy. Therefore, as Michel Odent says, the most important thing is to protect a woman's emotional state during pregnancy.
THIS SECTION IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND WILL BE UPDATED SHORTLY.
Natural therapies for pregnancy & birth
"Before I discovered natural therapies there were many conditions that I thought were just a part of life and had to be endured, such as premenstrual syndrome; morning sickness, fluid retention and stretch marks during pregnancy; a breech or posterior baby during labour; mastitis whilst breastfeeding; and infant allergies, ear infections and runny noses. To my delight I found that natural therapies could prevent, lessen or cure all of these conditions" (Jen, mother of 2)
While conventional medicine can respond to some of these conditions, the pharmaceuticals prescribed are often harmful and more powerful than necessary. Often they don’t address the cause of the problem.
Alternatively, natural therapies can replace the need for pharmaceuticals as they treat specific conditions. Also natural therapists with more than one specialty (eg. naturopath/homoeopath/herbalist or acupuncturist/traditional Chinese herbalist) have many tools in their kit and so can find one that best suits the individual.
See the tables below to find out which natural therapies are best at treating common conditions during pregnancy and birth.
Natural Therapies (Homoeopathy, Naturopathy, Western Herbalism)
Traditional Chinese Medicine (Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine)
Chiropractic
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Birth & older women
Is your age a problem or is somebody else's attitude the problem?
"Research on pregnancy and birth for older mothers does tend to confirm the view that older women are more likely to experience complications. However, it is important to look at the type of complications which were experienced; are they things which mean that emergency intervention in a spontaneous labour is more likely to be needed, or are they complications which you would know about before labour starts? And if your pregnancy is uncomplicated, does being an older mother really put you at any higher risk once you go into labour?" (Source)
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Preconception Care & Pregnancy Diet
"Recent research has shown that every aspect of our reproduction is adversely affected in some way by our twentieth-century lifestyle and living conditions. …the good news is that studies have also clearly shown that if both prospective parents improve their general health, and if they avoid many common lifestyle factors and environmental hazards in the months preceding conception, they can greatly improve outcomes. The most important improvement being seen is in the physical, mental and emotional health of their child" (Source).
See the Natural Parenting Directory (on the left hand side of this website) for the following:
Services that can assist with Preconception care
Fertility Management & Preconception care
Naturopath
Products that can assist with Preconception care
Books – The Natural Way to Better Babies: Preconception Health Care for Prospective Parents by Francesca Naish and Janette Roberts, Random House, Sydney, 1996
Dietary Supplements during Preconception period & Pregnancy
While we all know it is important to eat well during pregnancy, many people do not realise that diet alone may not be enough to provide all the minerals and vitamins we need. Much of the soil in Australia is nutrient poor due to its age and farming techniques and nutrients are lost during the transport, storage and processing of foods. As a result, supplementation is often recommended, especially during preconception, pregnancy and breastfeeding (Source).
While the importance of Folate is now well known, following public health campaigns, the significance of Iron and Protein, especially during the preconception period, is not.
Revised Guidelines Reinforce Need for Vitamin & Mineral Supplements in Pregnancy by Complementary Healthcare Council of Australia, Aug 2008
Pre Conception Care Fact Sheet by Herbs & Health Lifestyle Magazine, Edition 3, Feb/March 2008
Preconception & Pregnancy Nutrition by Alchemy Holistic Health
Optimal foetal positioning
‘The baby's position is not by accident. A baby settles in the space provided by the womb’
‘Subtle malpositions of the baby's head can add hours or even days to labour’
“I wish I’d known about OFP for my first pregnancy! So often posterior babies are born with epidurals and with forceps, vacuum extraction or by caesarean. From the beginning of my second pregnancy I changed my sitting and yoga positions so that by the end of the pregnancy good posture was second nature. It worked like a dream - my baby was beautifully positioned and he was born quickly and easily underwater at home” (Jenny, mother of 2, owner of NP in Sydney) Read Jenny’s birth story.
Optimal Foetal Positioning is a theory developed by a midwife, Jean Sutton, and Pauline Scott, an antenatal teacher, who found that the mother's position and movement could influence the way her baby lay in the womb in the final weeks of pregnancy. Many difficult labours result from 'malpresentation', where the baby's position makes it hard for the head to move through the pelvis, so changing the way the baby lies could make birth easier for mother and child.
Spinning Babies: easier birth through fetal positioning
"What makes Spinning Babies unique is the
attention to a mother's soft tissues, her muscles and ligaments, when
addressing the topic of Optimal Fetal Positioning. These techniques were found around the world, but
"what to do when" is found right here. Your labour can be shorter and less painful. Easier, in other words, than labour lying in
bed on your back with a posterior baby trying to rotate into birthing position" (Source) .
Get Your Baby Lined Up!: Optimum Foetal Positioning by Home Birth Reference Site
Suboptimal Fetal Positions by midwife archives in Gentlebirth.org