Jeff's Dad, Dennis, got me one of my favorite gifts ever for Christmas - a gift certificate for a massage. Instead of the local spa, however, he hooked me up with a lady that is a certified doula (helps women with labor) and is experienced in giving pregnancy massages. I saw her on Saturday and it was great.
I usually like to zone out during a massage, but this lady has so much knowledge on labor and delivery that I talked to her through most of it. The most helpful thing I took away was this piece of information: Do not sit in a reclined position wks 34 - 40 of pregnancy.
The logic here is that the ideal position for a baby to be born is head first, face down. The reason face down is better is because some part of their head has to travel across your lower vertebrae during delivery, and it's more comfortable for the soft face to do this than the hardest part of the body...the back of the head. Women that have a baby come out face up claim that the back labor, or back pain, is not so fun.
If you kick back in a reclined position during those last week's of pregnancy, gravity helps the heaviest part of the head sink to the lowest part, or back, of your uterus, which would increase the chances of back labor. Instead, if you sit "indian style" on the floor while watching TV with a pillow under your bottom, so that your bottom is higher than your knees, then the heavy part of the head sinks again to the lowest part of the uterus, or front, decreasing the chances of back labor.
She said she was prepared for her labors because as a massage therapist she stands all day and slightly leans forward, which puts the baby in a great position. I asked how I could mimic this at home and she said I could wash dishes. Ironically our dishwasher broke before Christmas and we've been too busy to get it fixed. So now I don't want to get it fixed until after the baby. I like doing dishes anyway...the hot water warms me up (I'm always cold).
The other helpful thing she said was that pure vitamin E oil works great for stretch marks. I've been using Palmer's from Target, but maybe I'll try this...
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Trent was born "sunny side up". I wouldn't recommend that for anyone. Alyssa wasn't born that way and I could tell a BIG difference. I would recommend doing what ever she said to try to avoid it.
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