This Wednesday marks the third successful week of The Baby Show’s Live @ Home talks. Each week, top pregnancy and parenting experts share practical advice on a range of topics, plus top tips on staying healthy and active at home to help new and expectant parents feel a little less anxious during this time.
The talks, hosted on The Baby Show Instagram Live, are a series of digital events to enable The Baby Show exhibitors and community to provide the essential advice and baby items parents need for the arrival of their little one.
As part of a series titled #WednesdayWellness, this Wednesday evening at 8pm Siobhan Miller, founder of The Positive Birth Company and author of bestselling book “Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better” will be going live on Instagram to offer free advice on how to have a positive birth experience during a pandemic.
Siobhan Miller, comments on the coronavirus lockdown for pregnant women and new parents:
“This is an incredibly tough situation for pregnant women and new parents. Antenatal education is vital in the run up to giving birth, especially for first-time mums, as is postnatal support. Regular home visits, baby clinics and baby groups are an important life-line for new parents in the fourth trimester and enable them to easily access essential information, seek reassurance and socialise with others going through the same.
But with antenatal classes, clinics and baby groups cancelled, and no visitors allowed, this lockdown is likely to cause increasing anxiety for expectant and new parents, who might have been relying on the in-person support which is sadly no longer available.’’
So, with that in mind, we’ve teamed up with The Positive Birth Company to give you these 7 IDEAL tips to help pregnant women cope during lockdown.
REMAIN CALM AND RELAXED
It’s vital during such uncertain times to find ways to remain calm and relaxed. Whether it’s reading a book, taking a bath or practicing mediation, taking time out each day to unwind and give your mind and body the rest it needs during this stressful period will go a long way in helping reduce any anxiety you may be experiencing.
EAT WELL AND EXERCISE
During the enforced lockdown, it’s important to keep yourself and your baby healthy and well. Eliminating foods that have been influenced by hormones, pesticides, added preservatives and chemicals and avoiding foods that are rich in sugar will go some way to helping you feel better in yourself.
Exercising, whether it’s yoga practice or a home workout that’s safe for you to do, or even a walk outside when you can, will leave you feeling brighter and happier thanks to the endorphins you release when moving your body. Regular exercise has been proven to boost circulation to your reproductive organs and your immune system, and helps you maintain a healthy body and mind.
STAY SAFE AND FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES
It’s important to ensure you regularly wash your hands for 20 seconds in line with government advice and avoid touching your face, particularly when you’ve been outside and not had the chance to wash or sanitise your hands.
If you need to go out for essentials or if you’re a key worker, ensure you’re following the recommendations for social-distancing, otherwise self-isolate at home as far as possible. When you need to travel to hospital for an appointment or for anything else, avoid public transport if you can.
UTILISE ONLINE RESOURCES
With a lockdown in place and antenatal and postnatal classes and baby groups cancelled, online courses and live Q&As are a great way to access the same level of support but from the comfort of your own home.
The Positive Birth Company’s online hypnobirthing course (the ‘Digital Pack’) can easily be completed at home and is a comprehensive program of antenatal education, which teaches women about how their body is designed to work perfectly in birth from a physiological and psychological perspective.
This fantastic resource also equips them with relaxation tools and techniques that facilitate a quicker, easier and more comfortable birth, and helps them to understand why it is important to remain calm and relaxed and how best to achieve this, even when things don’t go to plan. These tools can be used at any point in life to reduce anxiety, stress and panic.
CONSIDER A HOME BIRTH
The NHS is under a huge amount of strain already and this is only set to increase, reducing the ratio of medical professionals available in hospitals to support patients and birthing mothers. Opting for a home birth (where this is an option) can help to alleviate some worry for expectant mums, especially those who might be concerned about no beds or midwives being available in hospital or their birth partner not being allowed to come in.
Being at home means you have more control over your environment and who is there with you, and also enables you to limit how many people are coming into contact with your newborn.
USE A VIRTUAL BIRTH PARTNER
With many women being advised by the NHS that their partners may no longer be able to be present at the birth due to the coronavirus, a virtual birth partner app can be an alternative to ensure you don’t feel like you’re going it alone.
The Positive Birth Company’s Freya app will coach you through each surge with a simple breathing technique and then play guided meditations, positive affirmations and relaxing music in between to keep you calm and relaxed. The app will also keep track of your progress and even let you know when it’s time to call a midwife. The app can be used in pregnancy and the lead up to birth as a meditation tool.
CONNECT WITH OTHER MUMS ONLINE
With the internet at our fingertips, it has never been easier to talk to other mums-to-be or new mums around the world. Connecting with others who are in the same situation as you will help you feel less alone and also provide you with some welcome advice and reassurance. We recommend joining The Positive Birth Company’s Bump Clubs on Facebook, these are free groups where you can connect with other women, share advice, receive support and read tons of inspiring and positive birth stories.
