small ball between your knees, your feet on tiptoes and your arms held at shoulder level with your hands on the opposite forearm. Squeeze the ball, hold for a few seconds and release. Repeat 10–15 times.
Place a rolled-up towel or small cushion under your heels, your feet slightly apart. Squat while keeping your back straight, using the seat of a chair for support. Push up from the squat as far as is comfortable and then squat back down. Repeat 10 times.
To strengthen your chest muscles
Stand comfortably with good posture, raise your elbows to shoulder height and hold a small ball between your hands. Squeeze the ball, hold for a count of three and release. Repeat 10–15 times.
Stretch exercises to relieve aching and promote flexibility
For shoulder pain. Stand with your belly and buttocks pulled in, your shoulders back and comfortably down and your chin slightly up. Press your upper arms close to your body and extend your forearms in front of you with your palms towards the ceiling. Swivel your forearms to the sides, consciously keeping your good posture, hold for five seconds and return to the starting position. Repeat 5–10 times.
For a supple perineum and to relieve minor aching of your legs. Sit on the floor with your buttocks against a wall, your legs drawn up and the soles of your feet touching each other. Place your hands on your thighs close to your knees and press down and release, making “butterfly” movements. Repeat five times.
To strengthen your thigh muscles, relieve discomfort between your shoulder blade and help prepare your perineum to stretch. Kneel on a floor mat, spread your knees as wide as you can, toes touching, heels apart, your buttocks resting on your feet. Keeping your buttocks low, your back straight and your head between your arms, “walk” your hands away until you feel your inner thighs and perineum stretch; hold for 10 seconds, then slowly “walk” your hands back. Repeat three times.
Exercises with a pregnancy ball
Place the ball behind your back against a wall. Slowly bending your knees, roll the ball down until your thighs are at 135 degrees to your knees, and up again. Repeat 10–15 times to strengthen your thighs.
Exercises with a pregnancy ball
Sit securely on the ball with your feet placed wide apart. Lunge to the right while extending your right arm, then roll back to the start and lunge to the left. Repeat 15 times to strengthen the muscles on the side of your torso.
Sit securely on the ball with your feet wide apart. Keep your spine straight while rolling your hips in big, slow circles; your back will tilt slightly as you roll. Repeat 10 times to tone your pelvic muscles.
Sit securely on the ball with your feet placed wide apart. Roll forwards and backwards to “rock” your pelvis, keeping your spine straight. Repeat 10 times to tone your pelvic muscles.
CHAPTER 5
Mind, heart and soul in pregnancy
Pregnancy often turns out to be quite an emotional rollercoaster and, in fact, it’s normal to feel more emotional during pregnancy or to feel exceptionally stressed. You may feel irritable, angry, anxious, tearful and as though you simply need your personal space back.
THE EMOTIONS OF PREGNANCY
Sometimes moodiness is worse during first pregnancies because of the unexpectedly huge adjustment. Other times, subsequent pregnancies are worse because you’ve already got a small child who drains your resources, and perhaps the people around you are less understanding and supportive, thinking you’ve “been there, done that!”
The fluctuations in hormone levels definitely contribute to emotional swings, but these tend to settle somewhat by the end of the first trimester. There are other factors to consider too:
•Pregnancy is an overwhelming experience in many ways, and poses a challenge physically, mentally and emotionally. Your body, mind and emotions have never been anywhere near this before, and every facet of your life is affected. Some women handle this better than others, but it can lead to tears, anxiety and even depression in pregnancy.
•Women often feel very alone when pregnant. Even those close to a pregnant woman don’t always offer the support she really needs. Partners don’t always understand just what these changes mean – a woman can hardly forget for a moment that she’s pregnant and that her life is changing forever, whereas he probably still forgets about it for long periods when he’s busy with other activities.
•Close female relatives and friends often discourage a pregnant woman with anxiety-provoking stories about pregnancy and birth. This anxiety is mostly about pain and how to deal with it, and often also about the effects of birth on one’s body. It is very sad that women think that a typical “normal” hospital delivery with all the usual procedures is the same as a “natural” birth. Remember, so-called “normal” vaginal delivery and a caesarean section are not your only options and natural birth (as Mother Nature intended) is beautiful and empowering. Giving birth may need you to dig deep but you are made to be able to give birth well! Read more about birth and pain relief options in the next section and you will see that there are a wide range of resources you can rely on to ease your experience.
•If you work, you have to keep up with your job as well as being a 24-hour baby-making factory. This can also make one feel rather weepy, especially if you aren’t sleeping well, are generally a sensitive person or you tend to be a perfectionist.
Extra tender loving care and nurturing from those close to you (and you will have to try to explain your feelings, using some of the ideas suggested here) will help a lot. Also be kind to yourself and take things a little easier. This is a more “feminine” and sensitive phase in your life and you’re supposed to be more emotional!
SPECIAL PREGNANCY STRESS RELIEVERS
There are a number of stress-relieving techniques that can benefit everyone, not just pregnant women. Turn to them when you notice that your stress levels are on the rise or if you are someone who becomes anxious or uptight easily.
Tongue trick
Sit in a comfortable chair, gently close your eyes but resist the impulse to go to sleep. Rest the tip of your tongue against the fleshy part of your upper gum just above and behind your front top teeth. You will feel how your facial bones and muscles immediately realign, leaving your face and
