I talk about it a lot: the pressure we can feel from others, from “society,” from the statistics and articles we read, and from ourselves to make all the most appropriate choices during our pregnancies. We feel pressure about doing pregnancy the right way. This pressure is actually why I have a job. It’s why I’m here expounding about…
When she got pregnant, Ellen felt the burden of what was going to be needed physically during her pregnancy. She’d gain a bunch of weight, potentially get stretch marks, be tired, and risk interventions and potential surgery during the delivery process – just to name some of the biggies. She clearly knew she physically wouldn’t…
Naoli is a midwife and she talks of the amazing depth of maternal instinct that we all have that gets ignited during pregnancy. She believes it’s most useful for us as pregnant women to expose ourselves to a wide range of advice and then apply only what feels useful to us. She says that we…
Christina is someone who lives her life intentionally. She stays in touch with what she wants and continually considers what she can do today to position herself for what she wants in the future. Last year, Christina was getting clearer and clearer about what she wanted in a couple different aspects of her life. She…
Anita had always been an athlete. She was known in all her different circles as a fit, athletic person. Even people she’d meet for the first time would comment that she looked like she was in great shape or really strong. She’d get an occasional, “Wow, I think you could take my husband!†Anita enjoyed…
Colette was looking forward to gaining a new image during her pregnancy. She had been overweight for a number of years and being pregnant meant having what she called a “legitimate reason†to have a big belly. She would now be pregnant not fat. She looked forward to shaking her previous body image issues and…
You may agree with the idea that you, and only you, need to be fully comfortable with and understand the choices that you make regarding your pregnancy. And sometimes you may agree…only in theory. In reality, you might be dealing with people who question decisions you’ve made, who tell you about why another course of…
What felt good to Georgia was to know that she got to create her own experience of pregnancy and delivery – especially delivery. When she was pregnant she noticed that many women wanted to tell her their labor and delivery stories. Georgia decided that she didn’t want to hear them! She didn’t want to “take…
I coach and encourage expectant moms to do only what works for them during their pregnancies. This is the core focus of the work that I do. That being said, there are some general suggestions that I make. One is that you share with others about what you’re experiencing…especially when you don’t feel like sharing. …
It can be easy to look to others for affirmation and obsessively wonder if others think you’ve made the “right†choices. If you could set aside their opinions (or what you think are their opinions), how would you want to think and feel about your pregnancy? How would you choose to BE during your pregnancy?…