Kelly Camden's Blog
Posted by Kelly Camden
I chose to write about this topic because it was not discussed during my prenatals or during my postpartum exams. I had a significant gap in my muscles, but I didn't know that I should avoid certain exercises. I thought that I just needed to get stronger. Therefore, I did regular abdominal exercises for a long time without any result.
Once I learned which muscles to exercise, I was able to feel the difference in a short period of time.
By exercising the transverse muscles, we can draw the rectus abdominus back together. With the muscles in their proper places, we can move on to other exercises which build the other core muscles. Strong core muscles help to hold our organs in place, burn calories and to relieve back pain.
Posted by Kelly Camden
How often do we wait until a health problem is causing pain before we address it? It may be an aching back, a tooth that needs work, or constipation. In any case, the body will try to get attention until the problem is addressed. That is certainly the case with heart health. When a person smokes, doesn't eat well, or doesn't exercise, the body will be sending signals. Our job is to notice and take action.
Posted by Kelly Camden
As a doula, I have attended many births in the hospital and at home. When midwives are setting up for a homebirth, they always have warm compresses ready, usually in a crockpot. The warm compresses are incredibly soothing for the laboring mother.
I believe that this simple comfort measure should be part of the standard procedures during hospital births as well. This is another one of those situations where, "if you don't know what your options are, you don't have any." Parents have to ask for warm compresses when the mother is pushing. They are generally not offered. Sometimes the staff is not familiar with warm compresses.
Midwives and labor nurses are the most likely to provide warm compresses when asked. Physicians don't often use warm compresses. A few times that I set up them up for a mother, in hopes that the doctor would try it, the purpose was lost. I think that their viewpoint was that with the baby is about to be born, so there is no need. I was disappointed, because the mothers were really feeling alot of burning and it would have been so simple to resolve!
I think that warm compresses help the mother to push better, because it is more comfortable and less scary. Warm washcloths have no side-effects, either. Why not offer this to every woman?
