During my second pregnancy I had regular craniosacral treatments…it not only helped my body to cope with the changes it needed to go through, but also helped me to stay relaxed and seemed to have a calming effect on the baby.
Huge changes take place in the mother’s body during pregnancy. This can lead to all sorts of discomfort including indigestion, back pain and aching arms and legs.
Craniosacral therapy is a gentle therapy which helps pregnant women to adjust and remain comfortable as the baby grows and takes up more room.
I have a lot of clients who come to me near the end of pregnancy to help the baby to find a good position to settle into for the birth.
Often women experience a lot of anxiety at this stage in the pregnancy, particularly if they have already had a difficult birth.
When we are anxious, the body responds with the hormones for fight and flight. This is not a good state to be in when giving birth.
Animals take themselves to a safe hiding place when they are about to give birth, but most women today face the prospect of giving birth among unknown attendants in an unfamiliar and often frightening environment.
My experience as a teacher for the National Childbirth Trust and my attendance at many births enable me to hear these fears and anxieties with understanding and knowledge as well as “listening” with my hands to any tension and allowing it to be released. Women often report feeling more relaxed about the birth after a session.
Links to inform you about preparation for birth
- www.wombecology.com Michel Odent has gathered a lot of evidence about the long term consequences of the time in the womb and the circumstances around the birth. In order to give birth peacefully, the mother’s mind needs to be at rest so her instinctive side has a chance to take over.
- www.primalhealthresearch.com this website has details of the research projects that Michel Odent has initiated.
- Fredrick Leboyer’s book Birth Without Violence is an important reference.
- Ina May Gaskin reintroduced home birth to the United States in the seventies. When I saw her talk in the eighties she was enthusiastic about the skills that British midwives had built up. She told us that to preserve them, all experienced midwives should take apprentices straight away. Unfortunately midwifery training went in the opposite direction and now many midwives feel hemmed in by a system that pays more attention to time-keeping and record-taking than the delicate art of being with the mother and empowering her to tune in to the physiology of her birth. (Mid- wife means “with the mother”) http://inamay.com