3. Be in the moment
This is such a cliché but nonetheless it’s true! It’s so very easy to wish pregnancy away. We’re anticipating meeting our little one for the first time, we may be feeling pretty yucky, and towards the end, most women experience a desire to ‘get this baby out of me!!’. That’s a sure sign labour will be coming soon. Amidst all of this, try to take time to smell the roses. Pregnancy is a unique and precious experience and even if it’s challenging, you won’t always be feeling the way you do. In our busy lives we often forget to ‘check in’ with how our bodies are feeling and even how we’re doing emotionally.
Pregnancy might be a great time to start a journal or treat yourself to a regular massage or set up a meditation routine.
However you do it, it’s important to take time to connect and ‘just be’. Many studies have shown that pregnant women who do this adjust to motherhood more easily.
4. Nest and nurture
Especially towards the end of your pregnancy, take some time out to spring clean your home, make your environment beautiful and nurture yourself. Get a good friend to help you. Set up your kitchen with teas and herbs that will nourish you postnatally (when it might be harder to get out to the shops). You might also want to consider the beautiful ritual of having a ‘Blessingway’ around this time. Read ‘Mother Rising: The Blessingway Journey into Motherhood’ by Yan Cortlund for more information.
5. Let go of guilt
In the yoga tradition, there is no word for ‘guilt’. I mean that quite literally – in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit, there is no word that directly translates as ‘guilt’. Instead, the idea of actions and consequences or results is emphasised.
Guilt is a phenomenon of the developed world and also one that is quite linked to my generation of parents I think.
It’s almost as though we have too many resources and too much information and no matter what you do, there is a voice out there somewhere (or a little voice inside your head) saying you could have done differently and usually better. This is as true of the journey of pregnancy as it is of the journey of parenthood. Give yourself a break! No good comes of feeling guilty, especially when you are doing your absolute best in a situation.
Katie Rose is a published author, advanced level yoga teacher, ayurveda consultant and doula. Supporting women’s wellbeing with simple and practical strategies is her speciality and she provides online training. She is the mother of four boys and lives in Sydney, Australia. Find out more at www.BhaktiRose.com.au. You can sign up for her FREE three-hour pregnancy yoga training here.
