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Bringing in Baby: Pregnancy and Childbirth Made Healthy

Your guide for a healthy pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, providing holistic advice on practices and lifestyle choices that will ensure ongoing health for you and your baby from those on the leading edge of the natural birth movement. Staying healthy and happy during pregnancy, birth and beyond is within your grasp.

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Pregnancy & Childbirth

Planning for a Health Pregnancy

Published: Wednesday, 5 May 2010

One of the best ways to ensure a healthy pregnancy is to start planning up to a year before the actual conception. When we prepare our bodies for the demands of pregnancy and labor prior to the actual conception, we are giving ourselves and our babies the best chances of having good health throughout life. What we eat and what we are exposed to during pregnancy also directly impacts baby’s development.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Care Plan After a Cesarean Birth

Published: Wednesday, 19 May 2010

Recovering from a cesarean birth requires much attention and support in order for you to heal properly and within a shorter period of time. A cesarean birth is traumatic to the tissues, muscles, and fascia, and to your emotional body as well.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Thriving Postpartum: Avoiding Post-Partum Depression

Published: Wednesday, 19 May 2010

The time period following birth is an extremely vulnerable and potentially volatile period. You are learning a new full-time job without a time clock you can punch out on, with “on the job” training, and even with manuals and “professionals” there to help, it can often be overwhelming. Listed below are some pointers to ensure you have the smoothest transition into motherhood. These are some effective tools to avoid postpartum depression.

Surroundings:

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Looking Ahead: Making Postpartum Easier

Published: Thursday, 20 August 2009

Twelve Tips for helping you after delivery:

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Mastitis in Nursing Mothers

Published: Thursday, 13 August 2009

Breast infections, also known as mastitis, are usually not a serious health risk, but they can make you feel miserable. They usually start with a sore, red spot or lump that appears on your breast. They’re often accompanied by flu-like symptoms such as fever, body aches, headaches and chills. Usually, they’re caused by a milk duct not being thoroughly emptied when the baby nurses or by an ill-fitting bra that’s putting too much pressure on an area of your breast. The duct then becomes clogged and the milk backs up, causing swelling and pain.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Pregnancy: Letting the Fairytale Go

Published: Saturday, 8 August 2009

When we are little girls, we often dream about how all the pieces of our future are going to come together. We fantasize about the meeting the perfect mate, our prince in shining armor who sweeps us off our feet, we imagine our dream home with spectacular views set in an ideal setting, and we allow our minds to explore careers as expansive or as simple as suits our fancy. Like directors of a movie, we plot out these monumental life culminations and wait with anticipation for their unfolding.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Preparing Your Body for Pregnancy

Published: Friday, 4 December 2009

One of the best ways to ensure a healthy pregnancy is to start planning up to a year before the actual conception. When we prepare our bodies for the demands of pregnancy and labor prior to the actual conception, we are giving ourselves and our babies the best chances of having good health throughout life. What we eat and what we are exposed to during pregnancy also directly impacts baby’s development.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Anemia During Pregnancy

Published: Friday, 4 December 2009

Anemia is a common problem during pregnancy where the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood is diminished. Oxygen is carried to every cell in your body by a component of the blood called hemoglobin. Your blood will expand to almost twice the normal volume by the 28th week of pregnancy to ensure enough oxygen is getting to you and your baby.  Hemoglobin takes longer to develop then other components of your blood and an iron-rich diet is essential to the development of hemoglobin.

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Having Guests at Your Birth

Published: Friday, 4 December 2009

Every birth facility, other than your own home, has an official policy on guests attending births. While you will need to follow those guidelines, we have some additional suggestions that can help you decide what is best for you in this situation.

When thinking about whether or not to have someone other than your partner at your birth, consider the following:

Pregnancy & Childbirth

Anemia During Pregnancy

Published: Friday, 4 December 2009

Anemia is a condition where the oxygen-carrying capacity of your blood is diminished. Oxygen is carried to every cell in your body by a component of the blood called hemoglobin. Your blood will expand to almost twice the normal volume by the 28th week of pregnancy to ensure that enough oxygen is being carried to your baby. Your body’s need for oxygen-rich blood during this time is extraordinary. Hemoglobin takes longer to develop then other components of your blood.