Movement and Mindset: Diaphragm Breathing & Stability Breath
We get questions all the time about breath. Keeping it simple, we teach two basic breaths—diaphragm breathing and stability breath. Yes, there are hundreds of ways to get creative with your breath and to practice breath work, but you NEED these two breaths at your foundation of breath work …
Heart Rate Variability
Heart Rate Variability is used to assess your body’s ability to adapt via your nervous system. Your nervous system communicates to you when you’re safe or unsafe. Ideally, 80% of the time we will live in the state of safety and only spend about 20% of our time in that …
Movement and Mindset: Prepare for Labor
These are some of our favorite movements to prepare for labor. Labor will happen in all planes of motion. Labor is a dance with mom and baby. Therefore, hip circles, gentle circles in Table Top, Straddle Stretch, and more are such great movements to breathe into as your prepare for …
The Best Pregnancy Exercises
We know that exercise provides many health benefits whether you’re pregnant or not. Becoming pregnant may bring up questions about which exercises are safe and which aren’t, or what to do if you want to move, but aren’t feeling so great. We want to make things simple. Take a look …
Current Events: Structural Racism and Maternal Morbidity
Once a month we discuss current events in maternal health care. In this installment, we look at a study conducted to quantify the rates of severe maternal morbidity (SMM) based on the intersection of race/ethnicity and insurance status to see how they may impact structural racism. Keep reading for more …
Movement Insight: Pull-ups During Pregnancy
Can I do pull-ups during pregnancy? Should I do pull-ups while pregnant? When we say pull-ups we are referring to strict pull-ups, kipping pull-ups, butterfly pull-ups, and you could even throw ring strict and kipping muscle-ups in the mix. Pull-ups are a gymnastics movement that requires strength, coordination, …
Pelvic Mobility on Birth Ball
Pelvic Mobility Pelvic mobility is critical for comfort and for supporting your body’s ability to adapt throughout pregnancy and the immediate postpartum. Pelvic mobility is also vitally important for labor and delivery. Labor is a dance between mom and baby. Ideally, baby is head down and sort of corkscrewing …
Current Events: VBAC Rates in the U.S.
Once a month we discuss current events in maternal health care. In this installment, we look at a study conducted to better understand the current rates of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) in the United States. Keep reading for more details! Demographic, Socioeconomic, Health Systems, and Geographic Factors Associated …
5 Tips to Help with Nausea and Fatigue in the First Trimester
NAUSEA and FATIGUE often greet women in the first trimester. For the majority of pregnancies, nausea will disappear by the second trimester. Nausea and fatigue only stick around for the second and third trimesters for 9% of pregnancies (Lily Nichols Blog). Here are 5 tips to help …
Spinal Range of Motion for Pregnancy and Postpartum
This video demonstrates the general spinal range of motion for the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. This movement is ideal for anyone postpartum and anyone in their first trimester. We love this movement for postpartum rehab to bring back awareness around strength and stability. The segmentation of this movement allows …