Cesarean Birth and Prevention

Blog post featured image: Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

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Hi. I wanted to come on and talk about cesarean and why I'm so passionate about preventing it. 

But what I want to mention first is that the rates in this country, in the United States, are going up and our outcomes are getting worse. Okay. The national average is 30%.

That's just unacceptable.

Some hospitals around where I live, the rate is 40 to 50%. Unbelievable. Why? There are so many reasons why, but I just want to share something with you.  

My rate is 5%. My rate of cesarean birth is 5%. I'm not bragging. This has nothing really to do with me. I, 

What's different. Why is that?

Why do you think the rates in my practice are 5%, and the rates in the national average of hospitals are 30% and climbing?

The families that come to my practice don't have different bodies. The people don't have different bodies. 

You know what's different. They're getting midwifery care.

They're getting midwifery care. They are low risk and healthy. And maybe someone even labeled them as high risk, but they're not really high risk. They're just healthy. They might have an issue or two, but you know what they're doing? They're taking responsibility. That's also what they're doing.

They're preparing as I recommend them to prepare, and they're taking responsibility for the birth, they're not just saying to me, do whatever, right. 

They are taking it upon themselves. 

Why do they need to prepare? I'll tell you why they need to prepare, because I know that women's bodies know exactly how to give birth. A healthy body knows how to give birth. Right? 

Why in the West do we need to prepare? Because we're in the West. We're in the Western culture.

I feel so strongly about this because I do hospital shifts. I do hospital shifts and I love to do hospitals shifts in hospitals that serve the immigrant populations.

I love that. And I can actually do prenatal care and help a mama in labor as much as possible with my heart and with my Spanish. Now I am not fluent, okay, but I love working with this community, the immigrant population that's coming up, because I'll tell you why. Not just, I love them, but the less Westernized they are, they don't need to take childbirth classes, they just come and birth just like that. 

And you know why? Because the newer they are to this country, the less westernized they are, they came from countries where they were surrounded by people having birth. And in a community. And the women in their community, the elders, the wiser ones would talk to them about it and they would see it. 

I mean, I just spoke with a grand-momma, an abuela, who had 11 babies in her casa - back in her country. 11 babies in her Casa. That's what everybody did.

She didn't need a childbirth course. She was surrounded by everybody doing that. So, she got that education, and she got that by osmosis, that “We know how to do this. This is what we know how to do". And you know what, it's hard, but we can do hard things. Like we don't need to numb ourselves from pain. They deal with pain. They just deal with it. The more westernized they are, the more we are in our brains, the more we are in fear. Not “we”. No, because I've healed myself, I've tried to de-Westernize myself when it comes to helping moms give birth.

And I feel strongly about this, because, we can't help the way of our culture. Okay. We get fear messages. Oh my gosh we get fear messages all over the media. You know, someone sees you're pregnant they're going to tell you a story. And we are addicted to Googling everything. We're just too much in our brains. It's just, it's just the way it is. We have to research this, we have to research that, and we have to numb. We're not comfortable with discomfort.

And that's why I love my yoga training. That taught me, that deep in yoga, to combine that with being a midwife is just an amazing combination. Yoga doesn't come from the West. It comes from the East. To be comfortable with uncomfortable. To be comfortable with discomfort. To be comfortable and relax into intensity. 

And I needed that to help me understand and how to help other people do that. But there are cultures around the world, here are countries around the world that never did any yoga. They just live in a community, and are surrounded by the elders and other women in the community. They just do it. You know, we do hard things. And we just give birth.

So, that’s why I think a huge part of the success of a lot in my practice, and a lot of my colleagues, is that we're really are, to the families that have a baby in the home, in our practice are Westernized. They might want to have a home birth, but it's their first time, they know nothing about birth. They haven't been around it. 

They tell me they don't know anybody that's had a home birth that I can connect them with. Well, I know tons of people that have had a home birth.

So, that's why I love connecting moms and their partners, so that they don't feel so isolated. But a lot of times the families that come to me, their parents gave birth in hospitals with all kinds of interventions and they just, they feel very isolated and unprepared. And, and just looking at videos and pictures, scrolling down, on Instagram is not the way to prepare. I'm sorry. It's not. And that's why I really think a lot of the success comes from myself and my colleagues really being insistent that the family who comes in to have a home birth is going to prepare like a boss, right? 

Get de-Westernized, get primal and get sensual, and learn how to relax into intensity and learn about birth because no one ever taught you. Right. And learn the techniques that you need to do to master your calm. And, and to just let your body do it. And, and I think that's a huge part of our success. 

I track my stats, and unfortunately the 7% of times that I have to go into the hospital, it's not because of an emergency. Emergencies are rare. We deal with them, or I can count them on my hand.

I'm the EMT. The midwife is the EMT at the birth. We prevent and we deal with any problems that come up. And if we need to go to the hospital, we need to go to the hospital.

But that's 7% of the time. That means 93% are having births at home.

But who is my 7% that needs to go to the hospital?
It tends to be, and I track my statistics. I've been tracking them for years. It's people with long, stuck labors, first time birthers, first time vaginal birthers, who did not prepare.

They just didn't want to take a course, they were preparing on Instagram or they, or they just weren't preparing at all before Instagram.

You can't prepare on Instagram. You have to take a class today. Yes. In the West. You have to take a class, unless your mom and your grandparents have given birth at home, and you're surrounded by, natural birth. Because natural birth in the West is very different. It's a very different experience if you've never done it before and you can't prepare on social media. Okay? 

Then, you have to think about who are you going to, who are you going to - let's say you want a natural birth. Well, if the hospital or the provider that you're going to is, let's say you're healthy and you want a natural birth, if the hospital and the provider that you're going to doesn't do natural birth. They're not into it. They weren't trained in it. They're into interventive birth, it's going to be very hard for you to have a natural birth, right? And one intervention leads to another intervention, leads to the other intervention, and unfortunately ends up in too much intervention and complications and cesarean births. 

I am so grateful for cesarean births for when it's necessary and that's why I post on it. And yes, we could have gentle cesareans for those mamas. Five percent - they're still human beings, and that's still a birth, and those mamas are rockstars because they need to have a compassionate, human, respectful family centered, gentle cesarean, and we can have as much as possible that home-sweet-home birth in the hospital or in the operating room, but we still have to prevent. 

So, you have to think about – even if you want a vaginal birth - let's say you want an epidural - if you want a vaginal birth, you have to know. Ask “What's the rate of cesareans in your hospital?”. Is it 30%? Is it 40%? Is it 50%? Then it's very unlikely - unless you prepare. Then have to prepare even more, right, to fight that system. Because, I don’t know, I talk about this all the time and I'm so passionate about it because I think that's how we make the change. 

How we be the change, how we make the change, is for you all to prepare yourselves and take back your birth and know what setting and what provider you're going to. 

And if you are blessed, if you're healthy, or you have a little issue or two, that doesn't risk you out of midwifery care. Find a midwife. 

That's the model of care in a lot of countries where the midwives who are trained. You know, I have seven years of training, it's not just a weekend course. I had to get my bachelor's, and I got my master's, and where I live, I need a master's degree. I have seven years of training and education, and it's specifically focused on supporting the low risk healthy.

Yes, we screen, we prevent, and we look. That's what prenatal care is all about, that relationship, and making sure that it is still safe and appropriate for that mama to have a home birth, or a birth with a midwife in the hospital. 

But midwifery, our specialty, is supporting normal. Keeping it normal. Lay low on intervention. No intervention. No interventions necessary when it's working well. 

What's an obstetrician? What's an OB/GYN. Do you know the difference? There’s a huge difference, and we need them, thank god, but an obstetrician and a gynecologist, OB/GYN, goes to medical school and does residency and extra training for high-risk pregnancies and surgery, to use very highly sophisticated technology to diagnose and treat high-risk situations, medically or surgically. But that kind of provider, I have doctors, I love the obstetricians that I work, but they always tell me they know nothing about natural birth. They're bored of it. They don't know what to do. They love the midwives. If someone's healthy, they say “you're going to get better care with a midwife”. 

So, it's very important for you to know the difference between a midwife and an obstetrician, their training and their background, because if you want a surgical birth, then no, you don't go to a midwife – go to a surgeon.

And that's what an obstetrician and gynecologist, OB/GYN is. And we need them. 

And that's why there are certain countries, that's why the United States ranks the lowest among all developed countries in the world, in terms of maternal and newborn outcomes. We're losing more babies and mamas, or having more serious complications with mamas and babies, than all the other developed countries in the world.

The countries that have the best outcomes are countries where, like Sweden, there's a lot of countries where everybody sees a midwife, if they're healthy. The doctor (obstetrician) is there for the high risk. High-risk and when surgery is needed. When medicine and surgery is needed. 

And that's how we serve the whole population of people having babies, and that's how we get excellent outcomes - live, happy, healthy mamas and babies. 

So last week I talked about a bleeding in pregnancy - this week I thought I'd talk about this.

If you found that helpful, comment, share. I'd love to hear what you have to say, but that's all for now. 

Have a wonderful weekend. Bye.

--- END TRANSCRIPT ---

Plan like a Boss! Create your ideal birth plan and take back your birth!

Feel empowered and prepared for your childbirth experience and all the possible interventions you need to make decisions about - whether you are planning to birth in the hospital, birthing center or home setting! :)

Creating your ideal birth plan with this FREE video and ebook guide will not only help you prepare in advance, it will:

• help you speak up for what you want and what you do not want

• provide the keys to prevent high rates of unnecessary, risky medical and surgical interventions and birth trauma, and

• coach you about the hows and whys, and some great recommendations for helping you design the birth of your dreams!

This is the special guide that I give to each family in my practice, that has been refined and refined over the many years of practice, brought to life in an updatable, printable and shareable guide.

Then use these different but crucial resources to prepare like a boss! Prevent that first cesarean or plan your VBAC! It takes work and is worth every penny, but this is your and your baby’s health and life we are protecting.

Love Your Birth Course

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A Walk With Anne - Tips & Insights on Holistic Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond Online Course

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Getting Real With A Mama in My Practice Who Rocked Her VBAC

Part one and two of a an awesome video I was invited to do with Joni, a mama in my practice who had a homebirth birth after cesarean, that really brings together many things pregnancy, birth, and breathwork, holistic health and healing.

Learn how to rock your VBAC and have the birth of your dreams with these three different but crucial resources - so you can prepare like a boss!

Love Your Birth Course

$397.00

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A Walk With Anne - Tips & Insights on Holistic Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond Online Course

$77.00

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Get deep in this childbearing bible, a reference guide for the whole journey from planning a pregnancy, expecting, birth, postpartum and newborn care, with effective holistic modalities for common discomforts and issues along the way.

Natural Measures for Treatment and Prevention of Headaches

Natural Measures for Treatment and Prevention of Headaches

Nearly everyone gets a headache at one time or another. In fact, headaches account for more doctor’s visits than any other health condition. The tension headache is the most common variety, which usually begins in the early afternoon or evening, and feels like a steady tight band around your head. The pain can sometimes radiate up your neck and the back of your head.

Headaches are common in pregnancy, as well as before your period, related to the effects of the changing hormones within your body. However, many women claim that pre-existing headaches like migraines often improve when they are pregnant. 

On the rare occasion, a headache can be caused by a serious health problem, especially when persistent, severe, or following an injury. If you are pregnant and developing high blood pressure, a headache could be a sign of a potentially dangerous condition known as preeclampsia, which must be prevented ideally, and addressed promptly by your provider. However, in the majority of cases, a headache signals your body’s reaction to a variety of stresses, such as: 

• Overwork

• Emotional upset or worry

• Muscle tension

• Too much time on the computer or smart phone

• Not enough sleep

• Too much sleep

• Eye strain

• Improper posture

• Teeth grinding

• Strong sun or bright light

• Irritating stimulation like too much noise or a strong unpleasant smell

• Feeling too hot or too cold

• Stuffy rooms

• Fluorescent lighting

• Motion sickness

• Nasal or sinus congestion

• Infection

• Low blood sugar 

• Poor diet or overeating

• Sensitivities to certain foods

• Exposure to toxic substances like tobacco, alcohol, caffeine, certain drugs and medications, chemicals, food preservatives, gases, fumes, insecticides and even household products

Headache Prevention

Minimize time online, especially addictive stressful apps, social media and computer games. Avoid things (like certain agitating movies, blasting hard rock or rap music and the news), and people (like those who are angry, stressed out, negative, down, fearful, critical or demanding) that agitate your mind and raise your internal tension. Surround yourself as much as possible with calm, centered people, things, sounds and places that inspire, relax you, cause you to feel at ease, and restore you to inner peace and serenity. For some, this means being around nature, beautiful art, soothing music, or close family and friends.

Learn how to recognize early sensations of emotional and muscular tension so that you can: 

• Get out of the stressful situation for a few minutes until you are feeling more calm.

• Do some stretching and exercise activity like dancing to release the built up tension and move emotional energy through the body.

• Practice slow deep breathing, meditation, QiGong, Tai Chi, yoga (especially Yin, prenatal, gentle and restorative), progressive muscle relaxation techniques (yoga nidra), or prayer.

• Take a walk outside.

• Use natural light as much as possible, or lamps and dimmer lighting when indoors when indoors

• Take a relaxing bath with a few drops of lavender oil.

• Watch a funny movie or video.

• Read these recent blog posts on natural remedies for stress and ways to manage your emotions.

Get in the habit of reducing inner tension and increasing feelings of centeredness and calm by taking a “healing interval” for a few minutes several times each day using any of the above mentioned techniques or the following breathing exercises. They are totally safe, easy, without side effects, and are extremely health-enhancing natural tranquilizers, especially if you do them often. They disengage conscious attention away from thought and outside stimulation and relax your nervous system.

The following breathwork exercises are simple to do and can be done any time and place. For example, while traveling, waiting in line, resting, before rising in the morning and going to bed at night, in the bath, on the toilet, or whenever you feel stressed or triggered. 

Sit up straight but comfortably, with your eyes closed, internally keeping your gaze between your eyes, or open and focused on a nonmoving distant object or place like where the floor meets the wall. While breathing be mindful, and just observe and release any muscle tension working your way slowly from head to toe. This is meditation, combined with the benefits of breathwork.

Breath Awareness

Start with being more conscious about your breath, and simply focusing all of your attention on your breathing. Get curious about all the details of your sensations as you inhale and exhale, without trying to change anything. Notice what you are currently seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, tasting. Just watch without judgment. This brings you to the present and is deliciously relaxing. 

Deep Abdominal Breathing

1. Exhale slowly with an audible sigh, releasing all muscle tension, especially in your jaw and breathing diaphragm muscle. 

2. Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4. Imagine a pump expanding your abdomen, and lower back, down to your pelvic floor, causing you to inhale. Allow ribs to expand with air, then inhale air into your upper chest towards your collarbone and shoulders.

3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 4. Release effortlessly, in the same order you inhaled, returning to baseline, your abdomen, ribs, then upper chest. With each exhalation, try to let go and relax even more.

4. Repeat this cycle a total of 8 times or at least a few minutes. You may need to play with counts, using a count of 3 or maybe even 5 or 6. But keep the counts of inhale the same as the counts of exhale.  

5. Then extend, or double the exhale. For example, if you are inhaling to a count or 3, exhale to a count of 6, or if you are inhaling to a count of 4, exhale to a count of 6. And repeat this cycle for several minutes.

Triangle Breathing

Inhale for a count of 3 or 4, exhale to the same count of 3 or 4, then pause for the same count of 3 or 4, while consciously and deeply relaxing your diaphragm muscle of respiration, as well as all other muscles. Repeat for several cycles or a few minutes.

Box Breathing

Another great breathing technique that disengages your conscious attention from thought and relaxes the nervous system, and can be done any time, is box breathing. With this exercise, you add a timed pause between each inhalation and exhalation. 

1. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes.  

2. Inhale deeply into your belly as above for a count of 3.

3. Hold without tension for a count of 6.

4. Exhale to a count of 6 while consciously relaxing more and more.

5. Hold again without tension for a count of 3. 

6. Repeat until your timer chimes. You may love this so much you will want to do it longer.

Breathing In Varied Ratios

Play with the ratios and counts of inhalation, exhalation and the pausing in between them. For example, exhale slowly through your mouth with an audible sigh. Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4, hold for a count of 7, then exhale through your mouth for a count of 8. Repeat for a total of 8 cycles. 

Forced Exhalation Breathing

One more breathing exercise to try is forced exhalation: 

1. After a normal breath, try squeezing as much air out as possible using your intercostal muscles.

2. Next, allow the breath to come in naturally and deeply, but automatically. 

3. Repeat the cycle for several minutes or as long as you like.

See what feels best for you in each situation. Make these sorts of deep breathing and breath awareness practices, meditation and authentic yoga a regular part of your daily routine, even for 20-30 minutes. 

Practice abdominal breathing as much as possible so it becomes habitual. This is the ideal form of breathing, as opposed to rapid shallow breathing. Do this by imagining a pump expanding your abdomen and lower back, which causes you to inhale. The pump then releases effortlessly, which causes you to exhale. Then there is a natural pause until you need to inhale again. 

Don’t hesitate to schedule a session with me if you need more guidance with mastering breathwork and experiencing its transformative power.

Conscious Relaxation

Notice habits of increased muscle tension, especially around your upper back, shoulders, neck, forehead and jaw, and make an effort to release these tightened muscles while doing slow deep abdominal breathing. Ask someone to massage these areas or treat yourself to regular massage therapy.

It would be very beneficial to you if you could learn how to relax the muscles that are tensing up. It is an essential skill for labor and can be used in any stressful situation. Set aside a 10-15 minute time slot, like during one or two of your “healing intervals,” to focus on releasing all of your muscles:

1. Get into a comfortable position.

2. Breathe slowly and deeply while thinking about relaxing each muscle from your head down to your toes.

3. Visualize feeling heavy and limp like a rag doll, or like your napping dog or cat.

Life is stressful and always has been, and eliminating all outside stress is not an option. But, you can learn to activate your own relaxation response and quiet your nervous system not only with breath work and relaxation techniques, but also by making a conscious effort to be aware of anxiety provoking, tension causing thought patterns that are not serving you. And to stop them or shift your attention to something more positive and ultimately change your mental state.

You have the capability to change your attitude and reaction to your life experiences to more health enhancing responses. For example, you can surrender to and totally accept unpleasant events over which you have no power, and/or you can view them as a wake-up call, an opportunity for personal growth, development and redirection. You can try to focus as much of your attention as possible on the present moment, literally without letting your thoughts wander into the past or imagined future. 

For more information about this and other great ways to improve your physical and emotional well-being, read Natural Health, Natural Medicine by Dr. Andrew Weil, Practicing the Power Of  Now by Eckhart Tolle, Loving What Is by Byron Katie, and Prescriptions for Living by Dr. Bernie Siegel.

Make a conscious effort to work on increasing your own feelings of forgiveness, appreciation, love, joy, optimism, and healing, while letting go of anger, resentment, envy, fear, sadness, and negativity. Do not be afraid to seek counseling if you need help with this. It is helpful to express your worries, resentments, anger, sadness and other troubling feelings with a sympathetic ear, but more effective to move these emotions through your body and release them through conscious connected breathing type of breathwork. It is also critical to develop skills of self-mastery and empowerment.

Additional Self Awareness and Care

Keep a written record of your headaches to increase your own awareness of situations in your life that proceed your headaches, and make needed changes if possible. Sometimes it’s as simple as:

• Taking a daily nap or just lying down for a few minutes with your eyes closed in a quiet room.

• Getting a mother’s helper for the afternoon or morning rush.

• Making sure you don’t forget to eat breakfast or lunch.

• Deleting foods with monosodium glutamate and other chemical additives in processed foods.

• Getting some fresh air or moving away from cigarette smoke.

• Saying “I’m sorry but I can’t help you this time” when you are overworked.

• Having your eyes checked and getting new glasses.

Notice your posture when standing as well as when sitting. Make sure your back is straight and lifted using your stomach muscles, your pelvis is tilted forward and your shoulders are relaxed and down. Avoid high heels.

If your headaches are related to awkward posture and chronic muscle straining, you may benefit from osteopathy, acupuncture, and/or the Alexander or Rolfing deep massage technique, in addition to regular yoga practice.

Pay attention to your diet and don’t skip meals, especially if you are pregnant. Make sure you are drinking at least 64 ounces every day of filtered, spring or well water between meals, at least 20–30 minutes before or 2 hours after eating. Eat enough of a variety of healthy, ideally organic, whole foods like:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables

• Whole grains

• Seeds, nuts, nut butters and nut milks

• Beans, tofu and tempeh

• Whole organic eggs

• Wild Alaskan salmon

• Limited organic chicken and turkey, beef, buffalo, venison, or lamb

• Fresh organic raw whole dairy - ideally goat or sheep

Make sure you are eating at least 80 grams of protein daily. Use healthy fats like organic cold expeller pressed extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil and butter instead of refined vegetable oils and partially hydrogenated vegetable fat. Limit highly processed refined white flour foods made with lots of chemical additives, unhealthy fat, and sugar. Avoid coffee, even decaffeinated, and all other products with caffeine, like soda, chocolate, and certain over-the-counter medications. Salt your food to taste with quality mineral dense sea salt.  

Small frequent meals that include fat and protein and fresh whole foods are preferable to fewer large binges, to keep your blood sugar stable. If you are eating a carbohydrate like fruit, a starchy vegetable like corn or potatoes, or a grain, make sure to eat it with a protein or fat like nuts, nut butter, meat or dairy, to prevent the rapid rise, then drop in blood sugar that can cause headaches from eating high sugar and white flour foods. Take your prenatal supplements - including fish oil - to ensure you are getting the additional nourishment you need beyond what healthy diet can provide. Make sure to take iron if you are anemic and prevent constipation so that you are having daily bowel movements to release rather than reabsorb toxic waste that can cause headaches, and trigger migraines. 

Get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise 5 times per week. Brisk walking, dancing, swimming, cycling, and low impact aerobics are all great choices, especially during a healthy pregnancy.

Ensure you are getting 7-8 hours of sleep if not pregnant. If you are pregnant, aim for more sleep by going to bed earlier and/or waking later, as well as taking a short daily power nap. Even if you can not sleep, laying down in savasana (the yoga corpse pose) focusing on breath and gazing internally between your eyebrows for 20 minutes will do the trick.

Natural Treatment for Headaches

Reputable brands of supplements and remedies I recommend below include Innate Response, Wish Garden, Gaia, Herb Pharm, Wise Woman Herbals, Pure Encapsulations and Eclectic Institute, or any of those in my online holistic apothecary.

SINUS HEADACHE

If your headache is related to a mild infectious illness or the flu, refer to my post on natural remedies and suggestions for treating infections. This includes sinus infection, which is indicated by:

• A steady pain in your forehead

• Pain around your eyes and nose

• Post nasal drip 

• Cough with thick sometimes yellow or green nasal congestion

In this case, pay particular attention to increasing your fluid intake and liquefying your secretions with a humidifier or vaporizer during sleep, steam inhalation with essential oils, and nasal douching with a Neti Pot. Use plain nasal saline spray. Strengthen your immune system with lifestyle modification, herbs, supplements and homeopathy. At the start of sinus trouble, put hot wet towels over your upper face for 15 minutes 3-4 times per day, eliminate milk and all other dairy products, and avoid smoking. If your sinus headache is triggered by allergies, take stinging nettle herb in capsules or infusion. You can make your own by steeping 1 large handful of dried nettle leaf in a quart of boiling water for at least 4 hours. 

If the natural remedies in the aforementioned post do not help and your symptoms worsen or do not improve, please contact your practitioner. If your sinus headaches are chronic, they may be due to allergies, which are not covered in this handout. However, osteopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, and mind/body work can be very helpful, as well as working with an integrative or holistic allergist physician.

MIGRAINE HEADACHE

If you get migraine headaches, which are usually felt as one-sided, severe, throbbing pain, often preceded by an “aura” like visual disturbance and associated with nausea and vomiting, as well as intolerance to light, noise and motion (and many other variant symptoms), there are things you can do to prevent them:

• Eliminate all coffee and caffeinated products during headache-free intervals.

• Note what else triggers your headaches and avoid them. Common triggers include:

  • Chocolate

  • Red and white wine

  • Strong flavored aged cheese

  • Processed meats with nitrites

  • Fermented foods like soy sauce and miso, especially with monosodium glutamate

  • Sardines, anchovies, and pickled herring 

  • Artificial sweeteners like aspartame

  • Strong synthetic fragrances in perfumes, body care products and incense

  • Certain medications

Keep a headache journal to help you become more aware of what triggers your migraines, what makes them worse and what makes them better, so you can be more aware and empowered to prevent them or treat them most effectively. You may benefit from doing an elimination diet for 3 weeks, to see what common foods might be responsible. 

At the first sign of a migraine, drink 1-2 cups of strong coffee, take 1-2 Advil (only to be used occasionally in the 1st or 2nd trimester of pregnancy) or Aspirin if you are NOT pregnant. Lie down in a dark room focusing on slow deep breathing. For maintenance, Dr. Adrew Weil recommends to take the following daily over 1 ½ - 2 months to notice your response:

• Magnesium, 500 mg 1-2x/day

• Calcium, 500 mg 1- 2x/day

• Vitamin B2 400 mg daily

• Coenzyme Q 10, 100-150 mg 1-2 x/day

Get biofeedback training to master your autonomic nervous system and increase the temperature of your hands (a wonderful technique you can use to abort an attack). Do hypnotherapy with a trained professional, to go beyond what is conscious and experience effective healing.

If you are NOT pregnant, take Petadolex’s supercritical freeze dried extract of Butterbur, 50-100 mg 1-2 times per day, that is free of toxic PAs, and Feverfew, at least 100-150 mg, with at least 0.2% parthinolides, or a combination formula of these herbs. Dr. Aviva Romm additionally advises trying either Melatonin 3 mg or 5 Hydroxytryptophan 200 mg every day, ideally taken before bed. It may take several weeks to months to notice the full benefit.

Dr. Weil suggests changing the way you think about your migraines: “View them as electrical storms in the head, violent and disruptive, but leading to a calm clear state in the end. Let yourself have a headache once in awhile. Be with your headache, as it’s a good excuse to drop your usual routine and go inward, letting accumulated stress dissipate. As you come to accept them in this way and see them as serving a purpose in your life, you may not have them as often.”

THE OCCASIONAL HEADACHE

To remedy the occasional headache...

Eat a nutritious wholesome snack with complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fat.

Get off the computer or smart phone and get some fresh air.

Lie down in a quiet place with your eyes closed, and take a nap if possible.

Apply an iced or warm pack or a cool or warm dampened washcloth to the area that hurts.

Rotate your head slowly and evenly around in each direction, lift your shoulders high and then  lower them.

Massage your aching muscles - especially jaw, neck, shoulders and temples of your head with Tiger Balm alone, or almond oil blended with a few drops of each or any combination of your favorite essential oils of Chamomile, Vanilla, Melissa, Lavender, Rose, Geranium, Frankincense, Jasmine, Marjoram, Basil, Citrus, Sandalwood, Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, and/or Neroli. You can also add them to your diffuser, into your relaxing very warm, Epsom Salt bath by candlelight, in a spray bottle to sprinkle in your space, and onto your pillow if needed.  

Try this healing visualization:

1. Choose a comfortable spot to sit or lay down for at least 15-20 minutes.

2. Close your eyes and focus internally between your eyebrows. Block out light with a soothing weighted lavender eye pillow, and mute sound with a noise reducing ear muff headset.

3. Breathe slowly in from your abdomen, expanding your ribs and lungs up to your collarbone to a count of 3 or 4.

4. Pause, then exhale to a count of 3 or 4 and release all the tension in your body.

5. Repeat this cycle a few times, each time releasing more with each exhale. 

6. Imagine the pain and tension melting away down into the ground, or a spiritual light shining on your head filling you with light and releasing all the tension and head discomfort out into the surroundings. 

7. Then imagine yourself sitting, reclining, walking or floating on a cloud blissfully in your favorite place, where you feel the most joy and relaxed. Really visualize what it is like to be there, use all your senses. 

8. When you feel calm and more comfortable, hang out there as long as you want.

9. When ready to return, transition slowly back to a calm alert state of being. 

Visualization is amazingly effective, if you really open your mind, use your imagination, and practice this self-healing skill on a regular basis.

Drink a relaxing herbal tea with lemon or lime juice, mint or a dash of honey to taste. Repeat as needed throughout the day. Good choices include Chamomile, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Motherwort, Hops, Skullcap, Catnip, and Passionflower.

Helpful herbs include the following. Try one at a time as indicated and see what works best for you. Tinctures are taken best in a small amount of water or followed by juice:

Ginger, especially effective at the earliest sign of a migraine or daily as prevention. Take 1-2 capsules or 1-2 dropperfuls of the tincture once or twice per day.

Passionflower. You can take capsules with at least 0.8% flavonoids, as directed on bottle 2-3 times per day as needed, or 1-2 dropperfuls of tincture 1-2 times (after the first trimester).

Skullcap tincture 1-2 dropperfuls, capsules as directed especially if your headache is keeping you from sleep.

Chamomile tincture 1-2 dropperfuls. 

Lavender Oil can be taken in capsule form or 1-2 dropperfuls of the tincture if not pregnant.

Lemon Balm in one higher dose for sleep, as directed on the bottle, or in lower doses of 200-300 mg early evening and before bed. This can be quite sedating, so take precautions. 

Motherwort  ½ - 1 dropperful of the tincture no more than every 2 hours, or up to 3 times per day for tension headaches, after the first trimester.

Renowned herbalist, midwife and physician Dr. Aviva Romm recommends Jamaican Dogwood tincture, 15-20 drops every 4 hours up to four times for the occasional severe headache, as well as cannabis (if not pregnant or breastfeeding). You can take the CBD from hemp oil, as it is gently calming, and can relieve headaches without the potential risks of the THC component of cannabis on the developing fetus. Results from anecdotal evidence and preliminary research, although sparse (as is common with most natural remedies in pregnancy), are promising. Make sure it is absolutely pure, and from a reputable source who can recommend proper dosing or from pharmacies licensed to dispense it. It is usually taken as several drops under the tongue. 

In The Natural Pregnancy Book, for more severe tension headaches, Dr. Romm suggests St. John’s Wort (½-1 tsp), Black Cohosh (¼ tsp every 4 hours) and Cramp Bark (½  tsp every 4 hours) alone or in combination. She also advises another herbal medley in adjunct, to support liver and digestive functions, for more mild but recurrent headaches: Dandelion root and leaves, Yellow Dock root, Blue vervain (after the first trimester) and Burdock root. Take any of these tinctures up to ½ tsp alone or in combination 3-4 times per day. 

Definitely get osteopath or chiropractor treatment, to gently restore anything out of alignment.

If you are pregnant and nothing else helps, you can take an occasional Tylenol (acetaminophen) 500 mg tablets every four hours until you feel better. But consult your practitioner before taking any other medication, since many products sold over the counter contain substances that are not safe to take during pregnancy (like aspirin or ergot), and their regular use can actually worsen your headaches.

If you are NOT pregnant, you can use over-the counter medications containing ibuprofen, aspirin, or acetaminophen as directed, if the more natural measures are not effective and you do not have any other health problems that would contraindicate their use. But before reaching for these medications, try 1-2 grams of Curcumin (Turmeric) a natural herb studied to be as effective for pain relief than most of these over the counter synthetic analgesics without their associated potential risk of toxicity.

If you need more personal guidance, schedule a consultation with me.

Contact your practitioner if your headache is not relieved by these suggestions and:

• Persists beyond 24 hours

• Occurs frequently

• Is getting worse

• It is unusual for you or severe

• It occurred after a head trauma or prescribed medication (like birth control pills)

• It is accompanied by other unusual symptoms such as a stiff neck or high fever, unexplained vomiting, weakness of part of your body or difficulty speaking, lack of coordination, visual disturbances, dizziness, increased swelling around your face, hands or legs, or sudden weight gain (especially if you are pregnant and/or have high blood pressure)

For those with any sort of chronic headache pain in which serious causes have been ruled out and none of the natural or allopathic remedies help, consider reading the book The Mindbody Prescription By Dr John Sarno, MD. He’s an amazing pioneering physician whose brilliant approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people without drugs, physical measure or surgery. To release stress and trauma in the body that may be responsible and transform your health and well-being, do conscious connected type of breathwork, and open to its miraculous effects. Also check out Brandon Bays’ book The Journey, and her website for more information and her intensive workshops. These are extremely effective mindbody cutting edge methods that have also lead to transformational healing for thousands of people around the world.

Numbness and Tingling (Paresthesias) During Pregnancy

Numbness, tingling, pain and other unusual sensations in the fingers and toes during pregnancy are quite common. Termed paresthesias, these sensations are related to the pressure on local nerves from the growing uterus, fluid retention and/or your altered posture.

To Reduce the Frequency of Paresthesias in Pregnancy

Periodically check the way you are sitting and standing, making sure that you are erect, using your abdominal muscles instead of your back muscles. Keep your pelvis tilted forward so that your back is straight, not arched, and your shoulders relaxed down but not slumped.

Pay scrupulous attention to good body mechanics, meaning that you should use your arms, legs, and abdominal muscles to do your work, never your back. Get close to an object to move it rather than pull or pick it up towards you.

Exercise regularly at least 5 times per week for 30 minutes. Good options are:

• Brisk walking

• Cycling

• Dancing 

• Swimming 

• Pilates

• Prenatal yoga 

• Low impact aerobics

Try a prenatal class in one of the above modalities to help you to work on correct posturing, flexibility and building of muscle strength. Exercise, stretch, elevate and massage the affected extremity as often as you can.

Avoid movements that are jerky or painful, and make sure you are also getting regular daily rest periods off your feet. Sometimes lying down, pelvic tilts on your hands and knees, or assuming a yin, gentle or restorative yoga posture may help.

Drink at least 64 ounces of filtered, spring or well water a day between meals, at least 20-30 minutes before or 2 hours after meals. This is especially important if your hands and feet are a bit swollen with fluid.

Make sure your diet is healthy and nourishing, and includes lots of: 

• Fresh organic fruits and vegetables

• Whole grains

• Nuts and nut butters

• Beans

• Seeds and seed products like tahini 

• Organic tofu and tempeh 

• Organic whole eggs

• Chicken or turkey

• Beef, lamb, and wild game

• Wild Alaskan salmon

• Organic fresh raw whole dairy foods—ideally goat or sheep

• Organic cold expeller pressed extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil or goat butter

• Use plenty of fresh ginger and tumeric in your cooking

Avoid highly processed white flour sugary foods, unhealthy refined vegetable oils and partially hydrogenated fats.

If the sensations are mainly in your hands, this is often termed carpal tunnel syndrome. Periodically elevate your arms, flex and extend your fingers and roll your shoulders to see if this brings relief. Try hanging your arms out of bed at night. Avoid or modify repetitive activities like typing. Try a special wrist brace to wear. Take 100-200 mg a day of Vitamin B6. Most of the supplements and herbal remedies I recommend are available on my customized online holistic apothecary. Find the best supplements that have gone through my thorough screening process there. Look in the category for carpel tunnel syndrome or search them individually. My online dispensary is a convenient way for you to purchase my hand-picked, professional-grade, whole food supplements and other natural health products. Ordering is simple, and the products will be shipped directly to your home or work within a few days.

Practice authentic yoga regularly, to ensure proper body alignment and full use of your lung capacity. Poor posture and shallow breathing have a ripple effect and negatively impact your health, even carpal tunnel syndrome.  

Do the following wrist exercises several times per day.  When home, get out your yoga mat and support your body with props like blankets, bolsters or blocks  as needed. 

Wrist Flexes

Sit or stand straight and hold your arms out in front of you with palms facing down. Flex one wrist so that your fingers point towards the floor, and use the other hand to increase the stretch. Hold for 20-30 seconds, then repeat on the other side. You can also hold your hands in namaste or prayer position, move each hand forward and backward using the other hand for resistance.

Then press the palms and fingers firmly together in front of your chest, and hold for a few minutes. Finally, reverse your hands so that the back of your hands are pressing together, fingers pointing down. Hold as is comfortable. 

Hand Circles

Circle your fisted hands in each full circular direction, then shake them out for 15-30 seconds.

Wrist Stretch

Place a folded yoga blanket in the middle of your mat for extra knee padding. Get on your hands and knees, with your feet flexed, and your fingers facing backwards, towards your knees. Press down evenly on your hands as you move your hips back enough to feel the wrists stretch. Stretch for as as long as comfortable.

Then switch it up so the backs of your hands are on the floor, palms facing upward, with your fingers now facing forward.  Lift up as you evenly press the backs of your hands into the floor, and move your body to feel the stretch in your wrists. Again, hold for as long as comfortable. You can also do this with your fingers pointing inwards, and again with your fingers pointing outwards, palms up and palms down. 

For those with any sort of chronic symptoms, including carpal tunnel syndrome, in which serious causes have been ruled out and none of the natural or allopathic remedies help, consider Clarity Breathwork. Read the book The Mindbody Prescription By Dr John Sarno, MD. He is an amazing pioneering physician whose brilliant approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people without drugs, physical measure or surgery. Also check out Brandon Bays’ book The Journey, and her intensive workshops for extremely effective mindbody cutting edge methods that have also lead to transformational healing for thousands of people around the world.

Seek out a classical homeopath to find a remedy specific to your symptoms. A chiropractor, osteopath, acupuncturist, or massage therapist may also be helpful.

If you need more personal guidance, schedule a session with me.

If none of these suggestions work for you or your paresthesias become severe, persistent, or worrisome, or they are associated with other unusual symptoms, consult a specialist in orthopedics or neurology. 

Battling with low back or pelvic discomfort? Having common pregnancy aches and pains and need some additional support?

Try Bellefit’s prenatal support wear. You can purchase here.

Want a comprehensive holistic guide to the journey of getting pregnant, being pregnant, birth, breastfeeding, postpartum and beyond? Check out the second edition of my international and national best selling book Natural Birth Secrets.

Prenatal & Mindful Hatha Flow Yoga Class Series Online Course

$147.00

This course has 16 yoga classes plus bonus material:

• Seven ~ 60-80 minute Prenatal Yoga classes

• Seven ~ 60-80 minute Mindful Hatha Flow Yoga classes

• A soothing Gentle Slow Flow Yoga class

• A Restorative Yoga class for deep relaxation

• Bonus videos of an hour Live more advanced Vinyasa Class, shorter breaks of yoga anywhere anytime, use of props - like the wall, a chair, yoga blocks, yoga belts, yoga blankets and bolsters to enhance your practice, and practicing with your baby or pet.

The prenatal yoga 7 class series will invite you to grow, strengthen, focus, train and enhance your mind, body, heart and spirit. Discover for yourself the calming, healing and transformative power of yoga - intentional meditative movement with breath. Classes begin with meditation made simple using breathwork, gradual warm up, increasing difficulty as well as yoga play, gentle cool down, and end with restorative practices in deep relaxation. They are slow flowing, with space to explore specific poses but are meant to challenge you. Classes are different each session, with classical fundamental alignment based asana fused with modern postures and their many modifications and varied creative transitions. The classes are taught with modifications for pregnancy, incorporate positions for positively influencing baby’s position and active birthing as well as those to relieve common discomforts in pregnancy. They also are fused with meditative, breathwork and visualization techniques and tools for coping with and easing sensations of labor and birth, which will transform your childbirth experience with regular practice.

The seven classes are there for you to practice a different class each day of the week or according to your own frequency, then start over again from the beginning of the series. Each class ranges from on average 60 minutes to 80 minutes, and they build on each other; following the sequence from class 1 onward is advised if it is your first time taking the series or are a beginning practitioner. Classes are mindful, at a slow safe pace, gentle but challenging, so that you build strength, flexibility & agility. They start with the basics but are for all levels, and beginners too are welcome! If you are not pregnant, you can use the prenatal classes as beginner classes, just modify as needed and use any mention of pregnancy and labor as it pertains to any labor of your own life. The need to relax into intensity and the multiple benefits of yoga practice pertain to everyone. Or simply take the general Mindful Hatha Flow Yoga Class Series online course.

Once you hone your skills, you can take the Mindful Hatha Flow 7 Class Series that follows, doing your own modifications as needed - for pregnancy or wherever you are on your yoga journey, or simply start them after you are recovered postpartum. They also build on one another and can be practiced successively until you are ready to mix and match and create your own classes and practice schedule.

Additional videos are included to enhance your practice with use of the various props, as well as a soothing gentle slow flow class and a restorative yoga class for deep relaxation (great for evening!), shorter breaks of doing it anywhere and anytime, and a live bonus video of a more advanced class.

Add to Cart

Insomnia During Pregnancy: Natural Relief

Insomnia during pregnancy is often related to the other various symptoms, aches, pains and worries commonly experienced in pregnancy.

While insomnia is extremely frustrating at night, if you are managing well during the day, you are probably getting enough sleep and should not worry. Your negative moods, fatigue, poor energy, and overall absence of wellness will let you know when this lack of sleep is taking its toll. Stress reduction and maintaining internal calm are crucial for health and well-being as is getting enough sleep, which is just as important, if not more so, than diet and exercise, so make them among your top priorities.

Please consult your integrative practitioner if this has been a chronic problem for you even before pregnancy, as you may suffer from clinical depression or anxiety, hyperthyroidism, chronic high levels of stress, or other health problems that should be evaluated.

Once more serious conditions have been ruled out, try the suggestions below. Also, consider seeking out a classical homeopath, acupuncturist, hypnotherapist, holistic counselor, or breathwork practitioner who can offer wonderfully effective alternatives to dealing with this problem.

Natural Insomnia Prevention

Many foods, drinks and drugs contain stimulating substances that disturb sleep. For example, coffee, tea, chocolate, and soda that contain caffeine, and certain cold, asthma, allergy, pain and psychiatric medications can all keep you awake. Avoid these whenever possible, especially after 4 pm, and ask your provider about alternative prescriptions. Avoid alcohol as well. Aside from its harmful effect on your unborn baby, it may help you fall asleep initially, but can disrupt your sleep cycle, causing early or frequent waking during the night.

Four to five hours before bedtime, depending on the severity of your trouble falling or staying asleep, avoid the following:

• Large meals

• Unhealthy vegetable oils, processed and refined foods, gluten and cane sugar

• Drinking lots of fluids

• Vigorous exercise

• Stimulating or upsetting books, movies, or news reports

• Performing busy work or frustrating tasks

• Intense conversations or arguments

• Electronic media

These activities rev up your nervous system, cause inflammation and blood sugar imbalances, make you feel tense, agitated or excited, and thus interfere with sleep. You do need to stay well hydrated by drinking at least 64 ounces of filtered, spring or well water per day between meals (at least 20-30 minutes before or 2 hours after eating), but try to do get most of your hydration during the daytime.

Do not go to bed hungry. Eat high quality protein and fat at dinner, and a bedtime snack before bed like a bowl of gluten free oatmeal with organic nut milk, avocado and egg, apple and nut butter, or a yummy nutrient dense nut/seed crunch or bar.

Shorten your daytime nap to no more than 20 minutes, or awaken earlier if this is the culprit.

Engage in moderate exercise for 30 minutes 5 days per week during the morning or afternoon (such as brisk walking, dancing, swimming, cycling, low impact aerobics). Regular aerobic activity has many health benefits, as well as helping you feel more energized during the day and sleep better at night.

Honor your body’s circadian rhythms, getting up and going to bed around the same time each day. Make sure you get plenty of fresh air and adequate exposure to sunlight. Weather permitting, try to spend at least 30 minutes outside with nature in the early morning or late afternoon sun each day. At night, keep lights dim. This is why people sleep better when camping - so if you need a reset, spend a week vacation camping!

In the evening, avoid prolonged exposure to blue and artificial bright light. Block out blue light with special glasses and if you must be online, download the free app to minimize blue light on your devices. Ideally, your rooms should be lit by no more than a reading light and amber colored fire like light like calming Himalayan salt lamps. During the day, get out in bright natural daytime light. If you can not go outside, use 150-200 watt incandescent bulbs or full spectrum fluorescent lamps that supply 2,500 or more lux (equivalent to 150-200 watts.) Keep the light within 3 feet of where you are sitting.

Minimize the time you are on the computer and smartphone, especially in the evening. Remove them from your bedroom, as you create an environment within it that is a calming haven for rest and sleep. For help breaking addiction to the smartphone, do read How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price. Put anti electromagnetic radiation devices, crystals, including those made from genuine shungite or black tourmaline in your bedroom to reduce EMF exposure. Sleep with an EMR protective blanket. Explore additional resources for more information and other practical suggestions to mitigate EMR exposure, especially in pregnancy.

If you like making lists of what you need to do or buy at the store, do your to do lists during the day. The day is a better time to journal your feelings, or even better, move them through your body with music. 

PREVENTING INSOMNIA THROUGH STRESS REDUCTION

Life is stressful and always has been, and eliminating all outside stress is not an option. But, you can learn to activate your own relaxation response and quiet your nervous system with breath awareness and relaxation techniques, thought control, and cutting down on the added burdens in your life. While easier said than done, this is an important time to be clear about your priorities. If you feel overstressed, which is interfering with your ability to sleep at night and then function during the day, your body is sending you a warning signal to rearrange your schedule to protect the health of you and your growing baby. Don’t be afraid to ask family and friends to help with chores or child care, or even better, treat yourself to hired help and healthy take-out meals. 

Before going to bed at night, as well as before rising in the morning, periodically throughout the day, in transit, while waiting, and whenever you feel stressed, triggered down or upset, practice the following deep abdominal breathing exercise: 

1. Exhale slowly through your mouth with an audible sigh, while consciously relaxing any muscle tension.

2. Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4. Imagine a pump expanding your abdomen, and lower back, down to your pelvic floor, causing you to inhale. Allow ribs to expand with air, then inhale air into your upper chest towards your collarbone and shoulders.

3. Exhale slowly through your mouth for a count of 4. Release effortlessly, in the same order you inhaled, returning to baseline, your abdomen, ribs, then upper chest. With each exhalation, try to let go and relax even more.

4. Repeat this cycle a total of 8 times or at least a few minutes. You may need to play with counts, using a count of 3 or maybe even 5 or 6. But keep the counts of inhale the same as the counts of exhale.  

5. Then extend, or double the exhale. For example, if you are inhaling to a count or 3, exhale to a count of 6, or if you are inhaling to a count of 4, exhale to a count of 6. And repeat this cycle for several minutes.

These are wonderful natural tranquilizers, especially if you do it often. While breathing be mindful, and just observe and release any muscle tension working your way slowly from head to toe, and then notice what you are currently seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, tasting. Just watch without judgment…this brings you to the present and is deliciously relaxing. When doing this, sit up straight but comfortably, with your eyes closed, internally keeping your gaze between your eyes, or open and focused on a nonmoving distant object or place like where the floor meets the wall. This is meditation, combined with the benefits of breathwork.

Another great breathing technique that disengages your conscious attention from thought and relaxes the nervous system, and can be done any time (like when traveling, waiting in line, resting, bathing, or on the toilet) is box breathing. With this exercise, you add a timed pause between each inhalation and exhalation. 

1. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes.  

2. Inhale deeply into your belly as above for a count of 3.

3. Hold without tension for a count of 6.

4. Exhale to a count of 6 while consciously relaxing more and more.

5. Hold again without tension for a count of 3. 

6. Repeat until your timer chimes. You may love this so much you will want to do it for longer.

One more breathing exercise to try is forced exhalation: 

1. After a normal breath, try squeezing as much air out as possible using your intercostal muscles.

2. Next, allow the breath to come in naturally and deeply, but automatically.

3. Repeat the cycle for several minutes.

These techniques are simple to do, health enhancing, totally safe and without side effects.

Try to stay away from things and people that agitate your mind and raise your internal tension, and instead surround yourself as much as possible with calm centered people, things, sounds and places that inspire, relax and restore you to inner peace and serenity. Make a conscious effort to work on increasing your own feelings of forgiveness, appreciation, love, joy, optimism and healing, while letting go of anger, resentment, envy, fear, sadness and negativity. Most importantly, make a conscious effort to be aware of anxiety provoking, tension causing thought patterns that are not serving you, and to stop them or shift your attention to something more positive and ultimately change your mental state.

You have the ability to change your attitude and reaction to life experiences to more health enhancing responses. For example, you can surrender to, and totally accept unpleasant events over which you have no power, or you can view them as a wake-up call - an opportunity for personal growth and redirection. 

You can always try to focus as much attention as possible on the present moment, literally without letting your thoughts wander into past or imagined future. For more information about this and other great ways to improve your health and well being, read a recent blog on Natural Remedies and Resources for Stress. While it is not only helpful to express your troubling feelings to a sympathetic ear, it is also essential to develop the skills of self mastery and empowerment.

Reduce inner tension and increase feelings of calm by taking a “healing interval” for a few minutes several times per day to sit quietly with your eyes closed and think and do absolutely nothing, practicing slow deep breathing, meditation, QiGong, Tai Chi, yoga (especially Yin, prenatal, gentle and restorative), or progressive muscle relaxation techniques (yoga nidra).

A popular relaxation technique is to tense your whole body and then relax each muscle one by one, starting at your head and face, then moving downward, ending up visualizing yourself completely calm, relaxed, heavy and limp like a rag doll or your napping dog or cat.

Consider making yoga, breath awareness, conscious breathwork and meditation a regular part of your daily routine, even if just for 20-30 minutes each morning or evening, in addition to the “healing intervals” throughout your day. 

Focus on the moment and what all your senses are telling you, just watching feelings and thoughts come and go without judgement as if they were flowing with the river. Locate the nearest Zen Center (Zen is NOT a religion and does not conflict with any religion), read Marc Lesser’s Book Accomplishing More by Doing Less, or any book by Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chodron, or Shunryu Suzuki to learn the basics of mediation and Zen practice.

SLEEP HYGIENE

Develop a regular bedtime relaxation routine such as:

• Gentle stretching

• Yin, gentle, or restorative yoga - like spending 10 minutes laying down with your legs resting up the wall

• Meditation 

• Gentle breathing exercises

• Soaking in a very warm bath with Epsom Salts and 5-10 drops of your favorite essential oil. 

• Reading from a boring, soothing or light drama book before bed

• Recite a calming mantra if needed as you close your eyes

• Listen to effective audio programs that actually train your body to sleep, using sleep phones.

• If noise or lights are keeping you awake, use noise canceling headphones and eye mask combined and/or install black out curtains.

You can create a regular winding down and soothing ritual at night before going to bed, combining a few calming and nurturing techniques like preparing a cup of relaxing Chamomile, Lavender or Lemon Balm tea, turning on some soft tranquil music and lighting a candle, while you take a warm bath with a few rose petals or lavender. Follow this by 5-15 minutes of various restorative yoga poses in silence, eyes covered with a lavender infused eye pillow. Don’t forget to pee just before bed. Read a little inspiration and settle into sleep.

High calcium/magnesium and soothing herbs can help, which include nettle, red raspberry leaf, oat straw, and dandelion greens prepared as infusions. To make an infusion:

1. Combine a handful each of nettle, red raspberry leaf and dandelion with a pinch of oat-straw.

2. Add mixture to 1 qt boiling water in a glass canning jar.

3. Cover and steep for 4-8 hours. 

4. Strain.

5. Add fresh lime or lemon juice, mint leaves or a dash of honey to taste (optional).

6. Drink 1-4 cups daily.

You can make a lovely calming infusion for your evening tea, which is more effective than the ready made teas, by mixing a pinch of each dried herb: chamomile, lavender and lemon balm. Add to 1 cup boiling water, steep covered in a glass mason jar for 15-20 minutes, strain, add lemon, fresh mint or honey to taste, and drink. If you are concerned about drinking too much before going to sleep and needing to get up to go to the bathroom, use capsules or tinctures instead.

Experiment with essential oils, alone or in combination in your bath with Epsom Salts, and see what will best help you sleep. Add 5-10 drops of the essential oils of Chamomile, Vanilla, Lavender, Rose, Geranium, Frankincense, Jasmine, Marjoram, Basil, Citrus, Sandalwood, and/or Neroli to your evening bath, in your diffuser and onto your pillow if needed. Soak for awhile in the bath, and practice your mindfulness. Let the feel, sound and smell of the water and essential oils ease your tension and consciously allow your muscles to release and relax.

Make sure your mattress is comfortable, you have enough pillows and blankets, the noise is minimum, and the light, temperature and ventilation are adjusted to your comfort level. Use natural bedding to minimize toxic exposure that disrupts sleep. Try sleeping on Earthing Grounding sheets. Many have had much success with using a white noise machine, Dream Pad pillow or pillow speaker, which creates soothing sounds that helps promote sleep. Others like the Dream Pad Pillow or pillow speaker, or find that earplugs and an eye mask help to cut out noise and light they can not control. Create a restful environment in your bedroom and keep all of the things that cause you stress (like computer, smartphone, to do lists, unpaid bills, unfinished work or projects) in other rooms. Get a simple alarm clock without light instead of using your phone, and keep it out of your easy reach or vision while in bed. Or use a Sunrise alarm clock with sunset nightlight.

Many sleep better when the room temperature is cool (in the mid 60s degrees) and they are not hot, by adjusting the thermostat, open a window, use a cooling mattress pad topper or Chilipad. Be sure to make your bedroom as dark as possible.

Ideally, go to bed not much later than 10:00 or 11:00 PM and get up at a consistent time each day. Try not to sleep in more than an hour, even on weekends, to keep within your circadian rhythm. The later you go to bed, the more trouble you will have sleeping, even though you are exhausted.

SLEEP SUPPLEMENTS

Reputable brands of the supplements and remedies I recommend include Innate Response, Wish Garden, Gaia, Herb Pharm, Wise Woman Herbals, Pure Encapsulations and Eclectic Institute, or any of those in my online holistic apothecary.

Take 500-1000 mg of calcium and/or 500-1000 mg of magnesium before sleep. Natural Calm is a wonderful powdered liquid magnesium. It is important to understand that individual needs will vary. Some individuals will need more Natural Calm than others. Start with 1 teaspoon daily, and increase your dose up to the point of loose stools. This will be the dose you will need to maintain for regular use. The final amount taken could range anywhere from a 1/4 teaspoon to 3-4 teaspoons. This could be taken all at once or split into 2-3 smaller doses throughout the day. If you get diarrhea, it is a sign that you used too high a dose, and you need to cut it back to the point where the diarrhea does not reappear. Also, some feel better using an equal ratio of calcium to magnesium, others do best taking double the amount of calcium than magnesium, or vice versa.

Try homeopathic Calms Forte if your symptoms are related to stress, refer to books like Homeopathy For Pregnancy, Birth and Your Baby’s First Year by Miranda Castro for a remedy specific to your unique symptoms, or consult with a classical homeopath for more personal guidance. Get a flower essence kit and look for a Bach Flower remedy that fits your particular situation, such as White Chestnut if persistent unwanted thoughts or mental arguments are preventing sleep.

Also, you can try fresh creamy milky oat tops. Take 1 dropperful of the tincture of fresh creamy milky oat tops in its most potent form 1-2 times daily, especially effective when taken over time. 

Add a TBS of all natural grass-fed gelatin Collagen Hydrolysate in a little apple sauce or gluten free oatmeal in the evening, or about an hour before bed.

Other herbs helpful for insomnia for occasional use only are listed below. Try each of the natural remedies for a few nights to see what is most effective. If it is going to help, its benefits should show up within a day or two (unless otherwise specified).

• If insomnia is related to feelings of internal stress and anxiety, try Passionflower. You can take capsules with at least 0.8% flavonoids, as directed on bottle 2-3 times per day as needed, or 1-2 dropperfuls of tincture 1-2 times before bed (after the first trimester).

• Motherwort, ½ - 1 dropperful of the tincture in water or juice no more than every 2 hours, or up to 3 times per day in a period of more acute stress.

• Skullcap, ½ dropperful twice before bedtime with a 15 minute interval.

• Chamomile tincture, 1-2 dropperfuls before bed. 

• Lemon Balm in doses 300 mg early evening and before bed. This can be quite sedating, so take precautions, or try lower doses in effective combination formulas.

• St. John’s Wort, 1 dropperful of tincture or 300-600 mg of capsules at bedtime.

• Valerian, 2 capsules of standardized extract or one dropperful of the tincture in juice to help with taste a half an hour before you go to bed..

• CBD from hemp oil. This is the new rage, as it is gently calming, relieves anxiety and helps with sleep without the potential risks of the THC component of cannabis on the developing fetus. Results from anecdotal evidence and preliminary research, although sparse (as is common with most natural remedies in pregnancy), are promising. Make sure it is absolutely pure, and from a reputable source who can recommend proper dosing or from pharmacies licensed to dispense it. It is usually taken as several drops under the tongue every hour or so in the evening a few hours before bed.

When not pregnant, you can try the following and see what works best for you:

• Encapsulated Lavender oil - 1-2 80 mg capsules an hour before sleep, is as effective as benzodiazepine medications.

• Hops - If your sleeplessness is related to muscle tension or poor quality, broken light sleep from feeling stressed. Take 2 capsules of freeze dried extract of Hops at bedtime or a dropperful of tincture twice, ½ hour apart, starting an hour before bed for a nice deep sleep. 

• Ashwagandha - If you feel burned out, overstressed, exhausted but too wired to sleep, dissolve 1-2 tsp of the powder in your smoothie, tea or warm milk for 5-10 minutes 2-3 times per day, or take 2-3 dropperfuls of the tincture twice daily and before sleep, or 2-5 grams of the capsules daily in divided doses. 

• Rhodiola - As a tonic herb, take 100-200 mg twice daily (an extract standardized to 2-3% rosavins and 0.8-1% salidrosides). This usually improves anxiety and sleep, but needs to be taken more regularly. Obviously stop it if it is too stimulating and worsens insomnia.

• Magnolia - 200-400 mg an hour before sleep.

• Reishi mushrooms - 1 gram (2 capsules) an hour before bed.

• Kava Kava - A few drops up to a dropperfuls of the tincture or 150 -450 mg of the encapsulated liquid capsules before bed can be taken for occasional short term use only. Do not use if you are taking any substance including alcohol or medications that affect the liver, or you have any liver issues. This is one of my favorite herbs for anxiety and/or insomnia from inner stress and is usually well tolerated and very effective.

• California Poppy - Also for periodic use only, take 1-2 dropperfuls of the tincture before bed.

• Melatonin - Best for jet lag and after working the night shift, take under the tongue before bedtime starting at 2.5 mg and increasing up to 5 mg if needed.

Another helpful approach is using natural amino acid supplements:

•  5-HTP (hydroxytryptophan), 50-150 mg before going to sleep or up to 100-300 mg 2-3 times daily if anxious.

• L-theanine, 100-200 mg twice daily at lunch and bedtime is also very calming.

• GABA, up to 500 -700 mg, depending on how much you need to get to sleep.

For more information on using amino acids and increasing them naturally in your diet, read The Mood Cure by Julia Ross. Also read The Chemistry of Calm and The Chemistry of Joy by Dr. Henry Emmons for a more detailed and thorough information on the supplements, as well as wonderful suggestions for what really is most effective in the long term: self-relaxation and visualization exercises to deal with stress, quiet the mind, and find a stronger sense of long lasting true happiness.

DURING TIMES OF INSOMNIA

When sleeplessness strikes, don’t worry or fight it. Instead, try forcing yourself to stay awake with your eyes open rather than fall asleep, and simply lie there and rest. You may suddenly find yourself waking up in the morning. If you are still up after 30 minutes, turn the light on and read, listen to soothing music, a podcast or a radio talk show, fold laundry or do some other repetitive sedating chore, and then try again only when you start to feel sleepy.

To break an insomnia pattern, set a time 1-2 hours after your usual bedtime and force yourself not to go to bed until then. You’ll probably worry more about how to stay awake that long than about your inability to fall asleep, and you’ll be tired the next day, which should help you fall asleep easier the following night. Each night, move your “later bedtime” 15 minutes earlier until you’ve forgotten about your insomnia altogether. 

If you are having difficulty stopping all the worrisome and anxiety provoking thoughts, write them down with an action plan to deal with them in the morning. Now is the time to get out of your mind and focus on your breathing, practice your muscle relaxation techniques, visualization exercises or meditation and use your skills of self mastery.

Ideally, it is best to avoid sleeping pills on a regular basis, as some can have negative side effects for you and your baby, and they can lead to addiction. Please let your practitioner know if none of the suggestions mentioned above help and you are suffering and at your wits end, as they can prescribe relatively safe medications for occasional use.

If you need more personal guidance, schedule a consultation with me.

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