9-30-24 S. Tenuta
Midwifery and optimal prenatal care is what every mother wants deep inside. Midwifery is one possibility for care when a mother is pregnant. Every mother wants good care at this time. She wants care that she can trust. She wants care that helps her know her baby is growing well. She wants care to feel confident and well. Where will she find that care? She must look. She often believes that care is from other people. And some of it is. The other portion of the care is actually from within mother. She can learn to be in tune with her baby, and with her inner knowing if she does not yet have that confident connection. The people that guide her can give her the confidence that her optimal prenatal care is definitely the best when she trusts her inner wisdom.
An attitude that helps with this is being in a space of acknowledgement, acceptance and gratitude. Mother knows she is pregnant, and she accepts this being within her. She is grateful to be the vessel for this spirit to come to earth. Mother chooses friends with positive attitudes, friends who are positive and supportive of her announcement of being pregnant, and then she positively communicates to baby, her love for it. If there happens to be some emotions that are overwhelming or damaging, then it is wise for mother to let the being within her to know of her care for it while mother processes her stressing emotions. This does allow baby to let go of the stress that it would otherwise take into its conscious memory which could be held in muscles or tissues or organs. If not let go while within mother, then it could potentially stay there until baby discovers later in life how to release the traumatic experience. Our consciousness does hold memories. The memories do affect our living. This has been discovered repeatedly by Perinatal Psychologists.
Food is a physical way for mother to be healthy and well while pregnant. Proper food is part of optimal prenatal care. According to the Brewer Diet, there is a need for at least 7 proteins a day for mother to eat while pregnant. These can be the size of the palm of one’s hand. They include dairy, eggs, meats, fish, nuts, rice and beans and more. If mother is nauseous, then it is still important to eat, but eating small amounts of a food, like half a grape, every 10 minutes is suggested. It is important to get something into mother regularly. If nauseous during the night, mother could have crackers sitting at the side of her sleeping area to nibble on. Eating a variety of vegetables will benefit mother’s system. Eating veggies that are grown in one’s own backyard, has the benefit of helping cells of our bodies to acclimate to the area we live in. Somehow the leaves of plants take in the air and carbon dioxide of the area and create a special leaf filter to be able to survive and then translate that into food for health for us living creatures.
Drinking fluids from natural sources keeps the body hydrated. Hydration is another tool needed for optimal prenatal care. Sometimes due to stresses, even drinking won’t be enough to be hydrated. The cells need a communication to take in the hydration. There are ways to know that one’s body is successfully hydrating. Some people have knowledge to help with this. Consciously avoiding toxins, limiting caffeine, and drinking about 8 cups of water a day will help the cells communicate better, than not having enough fluids in the body. The hydration helps the neurons communicate and send information to the brain. Without hydration, the messages are hindered from leaving the place of origin.
Exercise in some way. Exercise contributes to optimal prenatal care. Keep moving the legs, and arms. Do stretches, or lifts. Squat and practice leaning into a person who will be willing to assist at birth. That means they can tune into your needs. They are there and you trust their presence. You feel encouraged to be yourself in the space of your chosen birth partner. Exercise keeps the functions of the body moving. The lymphatic system can keep flowing and ridding the body of what it no longer needs. The blood can keep purifying itself. The muscles can be kept toned and ready when needed during the labor and birth process. There is no optimal prenatal care if exercise is not included in a woman’s prenatal practices.
The partner that was already mentioned, could be the daddy of the baby. If the partner is daddy, then there is the special husband – wife connection that can stimulate the hormonal process of labor and birth. There are special receptors on the uterus and throughout the body that can turn on when the mother goes into labor and when mother feels safe in the presence of her special partner. That partner is wise to trust the woman’s body’s wisdom, that it knows how to get a baby out. That partner is in a great space if he is able to touch the woman in special ways that create her tingly moments of loving more. These are some ways to increase the oxytocin in the body. Oxytocin is called the love hormone. It stimulates the uterine muscles to contract. It increases the production of prostaglandins which help the uterus to contract. Oxytocin helps partners feel more affectionate. It is the hormone that reduces stress, and it calms a person during the pains of labor. Baby too will be able to produce oxytocin during this time through the stimulation from the parents. Oxytocin also helps with the bonding immediately after birth and hangs around for a couple of hours as the parents and child become a family. Finding the ability to bathe in this hormone, is a great aid in the optimal prenatal and birth care.
Communicating to baby with sound during pregnancy aids in the baby’s ability to recognize mother and father’s voice when baby arrives on the earth side. Singing, and reading and talking to baby gets baby familiar with its future surroundings. If there are animals present, baby will recognize their sounds as well. Choosing music that stimulates the growth of baby, and neurons is wise. Music that brings about positive vibes is part of optimal prenatal care. The midwife is one of the people that can encourage a mother to be on the path for optimal prenatal care.
A mother to be, when consciously making decisions about her pregnancy and birth will find that her optimal prenatal care, with or without a midwife, will be best if she does the things already discussed. A summary for this care includes doing physical activity, caring for her emotional wellbeing, finding needed energy through using tools from the medical or energetic systems available to her. Also, breathing deeply or meditating and praying will be tools that can touch mother’s wisdom sources.
Throughout this process, the mother who finds her courage, her wisdom and her strength from within herself, will find she has what is needed to be that mother who already has optimal prenatal care. The midwives and the physicians, are people outside of mother who can give suggestions for optimal prenatal care. However, Mother must listen to her inner own wisdom to make decisions. If people respect these boundaries, even if they have a degree, then they will be the best sources to give support for the mother who needs or wants other care outside of herself. Midwifery can be a part of optimal prenatal care. In Touch and In Tune would love to be part of a woman’s prenatal journey.
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