Lucina's Blessings: Doulas of Southeastern PA

Babies wait for no one!

A great way to teach children about germs and using soap to wash hands!

Nice to finally have data on this. ETA: The link to the original study: https://www.thelancet.com//PIIS0140-6736(20)30360/fulltext ETA: UK COVID-19 & Pregnanc...y Guidelines: https://www.facebook.com/vbacfacts/posts/10158255139518921 US COVID-19 & Pregnancy Guidelines: https://www.facebook.com/vbacfacts/posts/10158257080198921

Squatting during pregnancy. I have heard a lot of myths! I have heard everything from "don't let your knees go higher than your hips in the third trimester" to ..."just do a bunch of squats and you'll be good." Neither is all that accurate. Squats are amazing and amazingly helpful during pregnancy. They create length the pelvic floor- which is critical to the great stretch of giving birth. They create space in the bottom of the pelvis, which is great for when baby is LOW in the pelvis. Squats also create strength and stabilization in the pelvis- which tends to really need it during pregnancy! The squat can get too much glory, though. Believe me, I love the squat, but the caveat I like to give is that the squat is NOT the new kegel. The kegel isn't even the new kegel . Honestly, I wish it were that easy, but the body is a complex and incredible system of parts that work together. Think of your pelvic floor as a gear in that system. If you polish up one gear... is the system going to work better? Well maybe a bit, but if the gears don't work together well you've got yourself a problem that can not be fixed by polishing one gear (spot treatments). If we look at the relationship between all the gears and learn how to get them to work together? Boom. That's how we do it! This is why we at OSM talk about the 5 pillar approach. This targets the relationship between all our parts and gets them working together in a way that creates a responsive pelvic floor, core, and whole system. For pregnancy, birth, and beyond. Like if you are a fan of the squat! You know I am!

Baffled by the #hipsqueeze? You’re not alone! One of the most common things I hear at my #creatingspace workshops is that when to do the hip squeeze and whe...re to apply the pressure is a bit of a mystery. So here’s the scoop - explore your own body! Find your true hips (where the femurs enter into the pelvis - see the pics on the right), find your iliac crests (highest part of the pelvic wings) and feel how they move as you shift your body. To apply this to #laborandbirth, we first need to know where the baby is in the #pelvis (For more on this, join me in the spring at one of our workshops - link in bio!) Then gentle counter pressure at the true hips can be used to help encourage pelvic opening at the inlet and gentle counter pressure at the iliac crests can be used to help opening at the outlet. My favorite line - the pelvis is like a clothespin! You apply pressure at one end to open the other This technique can be used with or without pain medication - just remember that with an epidural, the #laboring person is not able to feel the sensation and know what pressure is right for them so gentle is Beautiful painting in the background by the talented @lorendann #blossomingbellies #bornouttheback #thisisyourbirth #empoweredbirth #doulasupport #laborcomfort #childbirth #birth #healthybirth #pelvis101 #pelvicdynamics #phillybirthclass #childbirtheducation #labor #moveyourbody

This is what it's like to return back to work from maternity leave.