It can be a very anxious time, waiting until you go into labor and delivery. However, once you are “past due” the wait can be unbearable. If you are past due and are tired of waiting for your little one to arrive, you are probably seeking ways to start labor naturally. Yet, no matter how impatient or excited you may be, it is important not to just rush out and try anything. Sometimes, well meaning people may give false advice and a woman may wind up trying something that is actually harmful when all she wanted to do was start labor naturally.
A great example of this is natural herbs, rather in tablet or a tincture form. Using herbs is a common way to start labor, but if you don’t understand the risks, you may be putting yourself and child in harms way. In fact, just because a medicine or remedy is “all natural” doesn’t mean that it is without harm, risk, or side effects. Great care and caution should be used whenever anyone attempts to start labor naturally.
Black and Blue Cohosh are two widely used herbs used to start labor naturally. However, what you may not be aware of is that Black Cohosh is commonly associated with bleeding. In fact, many women who have used Black Cohosh to induce labor naturally have had so much bleeding during labor that they were required to have a blood transfusion. This can be dangerous when caesarean section becomes necessary and is not a wise idea for women who are struggling with anemia or low iron counts. Before using Blue or Black Cohosh or other herbs to induce labor, always consult with your healthcare provider.
Another example of an all-natural labor induce is nipple stimulation. A natural labor inducer, oxytocin, is produced by the body during nipple stimulation. This is usually effective, but could cause very sore nipples and sometimes over-stimulate the uterus and lead into very painful labor contractions.
Instead, if you are looking for natural remedies to start labor, you should make sure that they have very little or no side effects. A perfect example is walking. Brisk walking has helped many women who are past their due date to bring on labor naturally. Walking puts pressure on the cervix; the more you walk the more pressure is exhibited. As you continue walking, your cervix will begin to efface and that is the first step of labor. The longer you walk, the more you’ll begin to dilate. Labor will soon start and before you know it, your baby will be in your arms.
There is one more method that has been proven to be very safe and effective at stimulating labor and inducing childbirth naturally, and that is maternity acupressure. Not only has acupressure been studied, and shown effective, it is also relaxing. This makes acupressure one of the best and most effective methods available for starting labor naturally.
Ive been a strength and coniditioning coach for over 10 years now working with athletes and fitness enthusiasts of all levels. Over those ten years Ive used just about every new type of training and exercise under the sun.
With this type of expirience you really start to understand what works and what doesn’t.
Ufornutantley, many of the exercises that really don’t work are the very same ones that the health and fitness magazines are promoting and making popular. This ends up sending many eager exercises down the wrong path
The other isssue is that many less expirenced fitness instructors are also following the magazines and using these same un-effective exercises on a regular basis with clients who are spending their hard on money on something that they hoped they couldn’t get on their own.
My goal with this article is to show you why one f the most poplar exercise specialy amoungst women, the kneeling push, is pretty much a watse of time.
In addition, I will provide you with a much better alternative push up exercsise fro those who cant do regular push ups. This alternative is mouch more effective at building muscle definition and strength while burning more calories.
No More Kneeling Push Ups
My issue with the kneeling push up has nothing to do with mechanics or safety, in that respect the movement is okay. My issue is one of progression, or in this case, a lack there of.
In the past, I have used the kneeling push up as a regression strategy. I did this in the hopes that it had some progression potential and would eventually lead into normal push-ups
Unfortunately, I have found little to no carry over from the kneeling push –up to the regular push-up.
I can’t tell you why the kneeling push-up doesn’t carryover, it could be lever arm length, it could the angle difference, I really don’t know, it just doesn’t.
What I can tell you is that I have seen 100’s of people who could bang out endless reps of kneeling push-ups but still couldn’t even come close to performing a single regular push-up.
The kneeling push up is what I call a “dead end” exercise. Keep doing them and you will go nowhere!
Luckily, we have found a much better regression / progression strategy.
Incline push-ups
An incline push up is performed basically like the traditional style push up except you hold onto a object like a racked barbbell in the gym or the side of your bed if your at home.
The concept here is pretty simple, because you are at an incline there’s less force on the moving muscles and torso stabilizers. Which intern makes the push-up easier?
The best place to do this is on a smith machine because it’s easy to adjust and keep track of the bar depth from session to session.
Once someone can perform 20 quality reps at one height, we simply lower the bar one or two pegs. The lower the bar gets the harder the push up becomes.
As I said earlier, just because someone can easily perform kneeling push-ups doesn’t necessarily mean that they can do any real push-ups.
However, I can promise you from years of experience that if someone can perform 20 reps at a low bar setting; they can definitely bang out a few good reps from the floor.
In the end, this means that your getting stronger. If you’re stronger than you have more muscle. Because muscle is the shape of your body, you will most definitely look better.
Well, many of you have probably found that the nights of broken sleep start well before the baby is born. During pregnancy your body seems to wake you up in the early hours, whether because you need to go to the toilet, or for no clear reason at all! It’s seems to be just another way your body prepares you for the interrupted nights of the months to come.
Once the baby is born…well, you may have heard this before, but there’s no harm in you hearing it again, because if you are anything like me it didn’t really sink in the first time. Living with a newborn baby is very tiring, and you need to get your rest – and lots of it – whenever the baby is resting. Keeping a spotless house, running marathons, and cooking four course banquets can wait until things settle down, and that may take a while.
My ‘baby’ is over a year old now and I had a two hour afternoon nap when she did yesterday. I don’t do it every day, but it is a great way to recharge once in a while, and remember, when you are breastfeeding, sleep (as much as you can get!) is just as important as eating well in keeping up a good milk supply. So you need to make your sleep a priority too!
Here at Queen Bee we busy busy mums have found co-sleeping seems to give us the best night’s rest. Just attach baby when they stir and go right back to sleep…but basically every mum needs to decide exactly what works best for her and her baby. Don’t listen to anything anyone else says about how often your baby should be feeding or how much they should be waking at night. Remember, every mother and baby pair is unique!
So, seeing as you’re going to be spending plenty of time in pyjamas, they might as well be comfortable and stylish. We have a great range which will take you from pregnancy through to the early months of breastfeeding your baby.
Brand new to our maternity range are the cute summery pj sets from Maternal America. They come in both cami and shorts, and cami and capri-length pants, in grey and lilac. There’s a robe available to go with both as well.
We like to make things as easy as possible for breastfeeding mums, and our range of nursing camis has been an enduring favourite. This is always one of our top recommendations for your hospital bag. Our red floral cami or silky soft modal jersey brown polka dot nursing cami are great day and night; they’re too cute not to show off, so during the day, why not layer them with a favourite cardi or shawl?
Remember, layers work well at night too, for practical reasons. Try one of our nursing camis under a long sleeved pyjama top, so your midriff will always stay warm during night feeds. Especially important if you will be breastfeeding during the colder months! For long sleeved options, try this ruffle edged top and pants lounge set in soft stretch cotton, which will take you through from pregnancy to breastfeeding with ease.
This long sleeved cotton jersey nightie is also great for the cold months. Add one of our beautiful maternity bras underneath and it will hold breast pads and provide support. We love the black bra with pink hearts, or the blue and cream striped bra.
For the warmer months, try this cotton lycra Bird’s Nest babydoll and pants set in beautiful soft eggshell blue, or Belabumbum has you covered with their cotton dot babydoll lounge set. It’s pink and white and 100% cotton. Both are suitable for use from pregnancy through to breastfeeding.
For the record, I think when pyjamas are referred to as a ‘lounge set’ it means you can wear them all day with complete equanimity. I know I do!
Until next time, sweet dreams.
love queen bee
xx