Hi there! I’m Kylie, the chiropractor at Organic Family Chiropractic based in Cheltenham, who specialises in prenatal and paediatric care. This basically means I have the best job in the world. I am so fortunate to be able to help women to enjoy their pregnancy whilst setting their bodies up for a positive birth experience and I help them prepare for a strong recovery into their fourth trimester.
I also have a post-graduate diploma in paediatric chiropractic care from Australian College of Chiropractic Paediatrics which means I can help newborn, babies and children of all ages and stages to grow and develop into healthy and happy children. I’m also a HUGE talker and love to give away a variety of healthy family life ‘hack’s so you will always find me giving out free advice in practice to my families!
Today I’m going to share with you 5 of my best tips for expectant mums in helping to manage stress during pregnancy. We all know that stress during pregnancy is going to happen, but the goal is to have stress move through you so that you don’t hang onto it unnecessarily and you can focus on helping your body relax ready for labour to come.
Tip 1: Walking. The brain is your control centre and it makes decisions every second about the function in your body. The clearer and more precise the information it receives from the body, the better its ability to help you to function. And when you’re pregnant, you really want good communication! Movement is one ‘hack’ that stimulates the brain in a really positive way. Walking is one of my preferred methods, but essentially, gentle movement of any sort is helpful!
Tip 2: Epsom salt baths as often as possible. I recommend this to all of my patients (including the babies I care for). Epsom salts are fantastic at aiding the body to relax muscles and to detox. When we relax the body, we relax the brain. And when we relax well our babies absolutely love it and often come out to play and say hey!
Tip 3: Box Breathing. This is a really simple breathing technique I teach to people who struggle with regulating themselves on a regular basis. When our nervous system feels overwhelmed, we can help to calm ourselves down using our breath. Simply breathe in for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, breathe out for 4 counts and hold for 4 counts. As you do this, try to do ‘elephant counts’ to help slow the breath down and calm the brain.
Tip 4: Eat living food groups. When we are looking at helping the nervous system to regulate our stress, a large amount of dysregulation can actually come from the food groups we eat. So taking out processed sugars and foods that come from factories over farms can actually create a really positive shift in our brains ability to regulate our hormones and helps to prevent and tackle feelings of anxiety and overwhelm.
Tip 5: Consider talking through any emotional trauma in a safe environment prior to birth. If you are becoming a mother for the first time, there is a lot of unknown that can create a lot of fear surrounding your birth and raising a child. If you are pregnant after a traumatic birth, I highly recommend making sure you have fully processed your previous experience in a supportive environment so that you can approach this birth fresh and emotionally secure. Putting in the emotional work early and learning to protect your mental health with positive self care regimes and supportive networks will be one of the best things you can do for yourself and your family as you enter this next transition in your life.
I hope you’ve found these tips helpful. If you would like to find out more about the work I do personally for pregnant women to support their pregnancy both physically and emotionally please reach out and ask me any questions!
Yours in Health,
Kylie
For more expert advice from Kylie you can find her at:
From personal experience, she is the best!
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