Preparing for Birth the “Body Ready” Way.
A pain free pregnancy, seamless birth, and ease in postpartum recovery can feel like an unattainable dream in today’s fear-based birth culture. As an experienced doula, I have witnessed years of women going into their births with discomfort, disconnection, and very little confidence around their body’s abilities to support themselves and their babies. While there are many factors at play; minimal self-confidence, a plethora of incorrect or incomplete information being pushed to pregnant people on social media, lack of movement during pregnancy, and insufficient community support are the top culprits I see leading to uncomfortable pregnancies and difficult births.
After a while, I saw the same pattern emerge with clients. They would work with a us (a doula) during their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, and that would help ease much of the mental load of emerging motherhood; but they were still trudging through pregnancy and occasionally having long and difficult birth experiences. I would consistently see stalled labors and mispositioned babies, especially on first-time moms who worked all day at a desk, that wouldn’t be easily resolved with normal pregnancy stretches and knowledgeable labor positioning. Me and Emma (another doula on our team!) were talking about this consistent problem we were having with our clients and decided a more advanced education on how we could help these families, and families who don’t have a doula, was needed.
We had heard great things from other doulas, midwives, and physical therapists about an emerging program called The Body Ready Method, and decided it was time for us to commit to the six-month training and jump in.
Both I and Emma are completing the final parts of the six-month certification program, and to say the education has been mind-blowing is an understatement. The program has made me realize how little is taught to birth professionals of all kinds (doulas, midwives, OBGYNs, nurses, alike), on the mechanics of the birthing body and how to create a more ideal experience for each individual giving birth. We have started integrating it into our client’s birth experiences and I have already seen it create ease in the birthing process.
So, what is the Body Ready Method?
Body Ready Method is a program that uses birth physiology, along with exercise, to balance the body, creating comfort during pregnancy and space for birth. The program brings confidence to the pregnant women by making her feel in control of her experience and confident in her body’s ability to move and birth how she needs it to.
Many of us sit most of the day for work and lounge to watch tv (me included!), and the way our bodies need to move for birth is not supported by these positions our bodies hold all day. Even if we integrate walking and exercise into our routine, most of our bodies have over-shortened and over-lengthened positions that hold the pelvis out of balance from years of compensation patterns, that will affect babies positioning. Body Ready Method seeks to identify individualized issues and bring balance to the body to help with discomfort during pregnancy (hello low back pain) and also promote an easier birth experience and postpartum recovery.
You can find a Body Ready Birth Pro near you to do an individualized assessment and put together a care plan tailored to your needs, but whether you work with a birth pro or not, I would highly recommend the Body Ready Birth Method exercise programs for your prenatal exercise and physical birth preparation. These programs help bring body awareness to you, as a pregnant person, identifying areas you need more mobility in for birth and helping bring comfort to your pregnancy. They also help you build strength to recover from birth faster and jump into motherhood with confidence. The programs offer various levels, with those needing a lot of modifications for pregnancy limitations and pain, and those wanting more advanced strengthening exercises.
Here at The Bloc, we are very hesitant about the things we recommend to our clients and followers, as we know how much is marketed to new moms as things they need to have a “better birth”. I feel confident in recommending this program not only from the impressive things I learned about the program while completing the certification, but also the affordability and expertise you get from the program — in short, it’s a good bang for your buck!
Please use this coupon code for an additional $10 of the program cost: dcyd1094
Try out the Body Ready Method today!
Minimize pregnancy discomfort, find ease in birth, and have a smoother postpartum recovery with Body Ready Method online programs.
