Class #3

Maternal fitness class #3 was interesting. It was the first class without the men so I expected it to be somewhat intense. First we watched a DVD of a home birth. Again, it was amazing. This time I noticed the husband's role more and the couple had involved their 2 children (they helped by feeding their mom fruit, putting cool towels on her head, etc). The birth was so relaxed and the baby was so calm afterwards. We then discussed what we saw and this led into what our fears were concerning birth. In most cases it was fear of pain, followed by complications. One lady expressed that she was afraid to lose control and that she'd take it out on her husband. I was concerned about not having the ability to chose how I'd like to give birth. We then got into how to prepare our minds and bodies for childbirth and in the process destroy these fears.Before we got into the exercise portion we then talked about using evening primrose oil to soften the cervix leading up to birth (starting at week 36). We also discussed the importance of walking. Then we discussed what do do to prevent Group B Strep. This covered everything from garlic, to probiotics, to saurkraut, tea tree olil and vitamin C. Then we got into eating to reduce blood loss during birth. This discussion involved collard greens, kale, spinach, molasses, lentils, broccoli, wheat grass juice and barley juice. We then discussed mother's milk tea and spent a lot of time on rasberry leaf tea. I need to read more about it more because everyone had been drinking it during the first trimester and had increased intake in the second but I had read somewhere that women were encourged not to drink it in the first trimester.... I guess it's just one of those things. Finally we discussed using a sesame massage ole (Aura Cacia massage oil to be exact) to masage your belly daily nd then to massage the baby as well after birth.

Then it was exercise time. We started with belly breathing and hip circles on our knees. We got into more stretches and twists while breathing and a few extensions. When we got up off of the floor we then got into more hip circles, lunges, hamstring stretches and calf raises (for 3 minutes straight - ouch). We ended with squats and they were actually easier this week. I felt so calm afterwards.