Your Guide to Natural Pregnancy Resources

Pregnancy, especially a first pregnancy, can be exciting and overwhelming all at once. Navigating this unchartered territory may seem a bit intimidating, but with the right resources, you’ll begin to feel more at ease. Natural healthcare is a passion of ours at Chiro One Wellness Centers—and we’ve put together a helpful list of resources so you can support the health of you and your baby naturally.

Birth Without Fear

This is an empowering support network of women found on Facebook, birthwithoutfearblog.com and on Instagram. The founder, January Harshe, wanted a place where women could learn the different options available to them in childbirth. On her blog, you can find birth stories and videos, information on topics such as circumcision, breastfeeding, bed-sharing, breech babies and more.

Spinning Babies

Created by a midwife with over 30 years’ experience, www.spinningbabies.com coaches you through labor preparation. There are tons of techniques and daily activities to help properly position your baby and increase your likelihood of an easier, less painful, non-surgical birth.

HypnoBirthing

Ahh, rest, relaxation and releasing tension, fear and anxiety is what you’ll get out of HypnoBirthing—a hypno-therapy birthing technique. You can search online for classes in your area and read Marie Mongan’s book, HypnoBirthing, the Mongan Method. Through classes or the book, you’ll learn special breathing, relaxation, visualization, meditative practice and more to help guide you through the birth process without fear—or maybe even without pain.

Ina May Gaskin

Described as the midwife in the United States and known as the “the mother of authentic midwifery,” Ina May Gaskin is a wealth of information on natural birth. She started The Farm Midwifery Center in 1971 in Summertown, Tennessee, which has overseen over 2,800 pregnancies since then with incredible low rates of interventions. The Farm has a 1.7% Cesarean section rate (compare that to 2013’s national c-section rate of 32.2%—this means that 1 in 3 women deliver surgically). Ina May has published five books; Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth is particular helpful.

Chiropractic Care

A chiropractor is an essential part of your pregnancy support team. The body goes through an incredible amount of physiological and endocrinological changes during and following a pregnancy. As the body changes, the curve in the back increases, the abdomen protrudes, the ligaments relax and the pelvis changes—and more. Regular chiropractic adjustments can help the body adapt to these changes and can treat common musculoskeletal symptoms.

Chiropractic can also help you maintain a healthier pregnancy overall, control the symptoms of nausea, reduce your labor and delivery time, relieve back neck or joint pain and properly position the baby—just to name a few benefits!

KellyMom

Kellymom.com is an incredible breastfeeding and parenting support site with a wealth of information. They offer a realistic, evidence-based information and advice. You can comb through the breastfeeding section or use the search bar to find answers to your pressing questions. There’s an entire section of the site devoted to preparing to breastfeed (under “pregnancy”)—so if you’re pregnant, you can get started now!