Having a baby is a natural and beautiful process. It is a blessing. However, for many women it can be a stressful time. Stress can contribute to a more difficult childbirth. As a woman prepares to bring a baby into the world, there are many factors that can play a role in creating the optimal birth. One of the first steps is to reduce stress.
How are we affected by stress? Is our stress largely due to stressful events in our lives? Or is it caused by body dysfunction? There are many natural strategies that can be implemented to reduce stress in your life as well as in your body.
Healthy Diet During Pregnancy
A healthy diet during pregnancy is very similar to a generally healthy diet. The best way to reduce stress in our body is to reduce inflammation. Through diet, we can be very effective in reducing inflammation. The typical U.S. diet is very inflammatory, which means that when we eat our typical foods, we increase swelling inside our body. Inflammation is an underlying factor to every disease and illness today. By reducing inflammation in our body through a healthy diet, we are able to prevent illness and promote healing from disease.
Maintaining a healthy diet during pregnancy supports optimal development of the baby as well as supporting the mother through pregnancy. So often, women feel depleted during pregnancy. This depletion can present as morning sickness, fatigue, and pain. The amount of food a pregnant woman eats is not the only important factor; the quality of food is vital as well. A healthy diet during pregnancy can support a strong healthy mother and a strong healthy baby.
Anti-Inflammatory Diet
What is an anti-inflammatory diet? Here are the basics:
- Gluten-free
- Avoid refined sugars and processed foods
- Eat a lot of vegetables and some fruit
- Limit meat to natural meats that are free of growth hormones and antibiotics
A gluten-free diet is becoming more and more common today. Gluten is a protein that is found in certain grains, including wheat, rye, barley, and some oats. When ingested, gluten can contribute to many body issues such as pain, digestive problems, bloating, learning and behavioral challenges, and much more. When you eliminate gluten from your diet, you can reduce many of these symptoms. Being gluten free reduces some common pregnancy complaints such as back and leg pain, joint stiffness, urinary incontinence, constipation, heartburn, and nausea. For more information on eliminating gluten from your diet, you can visit http://www.instituteofimt.com/gluten-sensitivity.php.
Avoiding Refined Sugars is a Must
The incidence of gestational diabetes continues to rise; avoiding refined sugars is a must for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy life. There are many natural sweeteners that can be substituted in moderation, including palm sugar, coconut sugar, pure honey in moderation, and pure maple syrup in moderation. For more information about cooking and baking with natural sweeteners, you can visit naturallivingfamily.com.
Processed Foods are Very Toxic
To optimize the baby’s development inside the womb, it is important to create a healthy environment in the woman’s body. This healthy environment is maximized by a diet free of synthetic foods and additives. Processed foods contain many chemicals, many of which are very toxic to the body and a developing fetus. By eliminating processed foods during pregnancy and maintaining a diet of freshly prepared foods we can create an environment that is most conducive to the healthy growth of a baby.
Add Healthy Protein
As we all know, protein is very important for growth. There are some women that feel better on a vegetarian diet, but it takes a lot of preparation to eat healthy on a vegetarian regimen. For a pregnant woman, eating animal protein is often the better choice. While eating meat can be a great source of protein, it is important to limit meat intake to natural sources such as grass-fed beef, natural and organic poultry, and wild seafood that is low in mercury. Today, natural meats are more available in all grocery chains.
In addition to a healthy diet, there are other strategies for reducing stress in the body and improving body health.
Integrative Manual Therapy for a Healthy Pregnancy
Most pregnant women experience considerable back and foot pain. In addition, they often have urinary and bowel issues such as bladder incontinence and constipation. Integrative Manual Therapy can be helpful in reducing these symptoms.
Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT) was developed by Dr. Sharon Giammatteo, PhD, IMT,C, over the last thirty-five years. IMT is a gentle, hands-on therapy that focuses on alleviating tension patterns in the body that affect the spine and soft tissues of the body. IMT specializes in identifying and treating underlying contributors to pain and dysfunction.
IMT incorporates the whole body. With a pregnant woman, assessment of the spine and possible underlying contributors to spinal dysfunction is integral to this comprehensive approach. The IMT therapist looks at the ability of the joints to move, for example, the lumbar spine and the sacroiliac joints. The therapist also assesses the alignment of the joints, such as the individual spinal vertebrae and the pelvis. Gentle techniques are used to improve mobility and alignment of these joints. IMT Therapists assess the tension of the fascial tissues in the lumbar and pelvic region to determine areas of compression and possible ‘protection.’ Assessment goes beyond the joints and includes soft tissues such as the pelvic organs, nerves, arteries and veins, lymphatic drainage vessels, and more.
Pregnant women often suffer from poor alignment of the spine and pelvis. Treating the alignment of the spine with IMT can result in significant reductions in pain as well as increased mobility and ease of movement with position changes, walking, and more.
Healthy Elimination
It is common to see a pregnant woman running to the bathroom. Urinating more frequently during pregnancy is appropriate to some degree because of the increased pressures on the bladder as the uterus grows. But for many women, there is inflammation and scar tissue in the pelvis from prior dysfunction that can contribute to increased pressures in the area. IMT can be helpful to reduce this pelvic inflammation and scar tissue and support healthy bladder function.
Constipation and bowel urgency can become a real challenge for some pregnant women. These issues can be caused by a variety of reasons, including dehydration and poor diet. Changing one’s diet is always beneficial and can create a healthier pregnancy and a healthier baby. But often, there is structural dysfunction at the bowel region which can be improved with manual therapy. This bowel dysfunction can contribute to left hip pain and stiffness as well. Performing Integrative Manual Therapy for the bowel, focusing on improving circulation and drainage in the region as well as promoting mobility of the hip and pelvis, can create optimal changes in bowel and hip function.
The Optimal Pregnancy and Delivery
Ultimately, having an optimal pregnancy and delivering a vital, healthy baby can be promoted by eating an anti-inflammatory diet and maintaining a structurally healthy body. Using Integrative Manual Therapy while maintaining a healthy diet can help to reduce stress in the body which will lead to the healthiest pregnancy. As a pregnant woman, it can be very helpful to introduce stress-relieving practices into the day such as yoga and meditation. Introducing these strategies into a daily routine can reduce the stress caused by life.
Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, PhD, PT, IMT,C is the Practice Manager and Director of Pediatrics for Regional Physical Therapy and The Institute of Integrative Manual Therapy (IIMT), headquartered in Bloomfield, CT. She is also the Dean of the Connecticut School of Integrative Manual Therapy (CSIMT). Dr. Connell-Giammatteo has taught courses in IMT nationally and internationally for over 15 years. She received her doctoral degree focusing in neuropediatrics, with a concentration in autism.
Dr. Connell-Giammatteo is a Physical Therapist and Certified Integrative Manual Therapist. She has been practicing in the field of IMT for over 15 years. Dr. Connell-Giammatteo is a graduate of the Institute of Functional Medicine’s program “Applying Functional Medicine into Clinical Practice” focusing on nutritional wellness. She is also a local of this community and has been living in the Greater Hartford area for many years. In addition to managing the clinical and educational arms of IMT, she also integrates a healthy lifestyle at home with her husband, children, and dogs.