Prenatal Medicine
High quality prenatal medical care is the foundation of health for a mother to be, as well as for the unborn baby. This type of health care is usually provided by an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, a Family Physician, a Nurse Practitioner, a Certified Nurse Midwife, or a Perinatologist. During routine perinatal visits, the practitioner usually measures the mother’s weight, blood pressure, and the size of the uterus to check for proper growth of the fetus. The routine examinations also include urine tests for diabetes and pre-eclampsia (a condition characterized by pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, protein in the urine, and swelling due to fluid retention), prenatal screening tests, and fetal heart rate measurement.
In addition to routine tests, expectant mothers may want to pursue an array of integrative or complementary health activities. Options for such care should be discussed with your prenatal care provider. Yoga is a safe and well tested modality that can be practiced throughout the prenatal period. A safe yoga program can help the body prepare for the delivery. Yoga may also be an effective modality to help the expectant mother cope with the emotional stress and symptoms of depression that may be experienced both during pregnancy and in the period after delivery. Other common pregnancy related problems such as back pain, swelling, nausea, and digestive problems may be improved with prenatal yoga.
The ideal yoga program is designed to accommodate each stage of the pregnancy and can then be modified after delivery. The Medicine Yoga Prenatal Yoga program can help guide your personal yoga practice through your delivery and beyond.
In addition to yoga, meditation and visualization are excellent adjuncts in the prenatal period to help relieve stress for the mother and the baby. In our weekly prenatal programs we offer meditation and visualization programs specifically created for expecting mothers. We also have a wide variety of other meditations and visualizations which you may find useful.