Pregnancy

This is where it all begins. All of the pleasures and pains of bringing a child into this world. There's nothing to compare to the feeling of a life growing inside of you. You always wonder if you're not eating enough of the good stuff and eating too much of the bad. If the tumble you took when you slipped on the ice did any harm to your unborn child. You choose a name and say it over and over until you get tired of it and choose another, or finally adopt it as "the name" for your child. Do you or do you not find out what this bundle will be? Pink or blue? hmmm....

I would encourage a good diet and routine exercise. I regret that I don't do so well in either area. I feel that if I was in better shape I would have better endurance during labor. Think of your pregnancy as training for a marathon. Both your body and spirit need to be strengthened and nourished to give yourself and your baby the best start to life. Though it may be your child being born, it's a new birth for you as well. I also believe that midwives give the best prenatal and postnatal care (assuming there are no major risk factors to consider). You will need to spend some time searching for the right midwife for you, just as you would with an OB. There's something special when you prepare for the birth of your child with another woman who has experience and knowledge. It gives you strength to do the work you were created to do.

Many believe you should prepare yourself months before you even conceive your child. I never got that luxury when I first became pregnant. I had plans on preparing myself before I conceived my second child, only to find out God had His own plan. My third pregnancy was different. I had time to plan. I worked hard to help my body to become balanced following the weaning of my second child. I experienced many unfavorable physical discomforts which led me to be tested for various hormonal problems, only to have the tests show that I "should" have been fine. I continued to struggle but did my best with acupuncture, chiropractic care, eating well, taking supplements, and trying to establish a regular exercise routine. I finally got to a point where I felt comfortable about getting pregnant again. My husband and I never have to "try" and get pregnant. We just stop "trying" not to and get pregnant almost immediately. Needless to say, I was pregnant right away. I realized a few short weeks after conception that something wasn't quite right with the pregnancy. I wasn't nauseated at all, which was strange for me (but don't panic if you aren't sick, some women are lucky that way). Nine weeks into the pregnancy I had a miscarriage.

Very few women can say that a miscarriage is how they want a pregnancy to end. I never imagined having to go through something so sad. I wasn't prepared. Fortunately God was with me and offered me strength. At first I was a bit numb. It was as if the miscarriage wasn't really happening. As the days and weeks unfolded I went through a range of emotions, but was spared any physical pains during the process. My husband and I knew everything was happening under God's watchful eye. We felt Him close and knew our baby was safe with Him, for now. We also knew that my body would heal quickly, which it did, amazingly so. Once I was healed I became pregnant once again, which produced an extremely large and healthy baby. A few years after that I gave birth to another healthy baby and am now enjoying days full of four actively unique children. Only time will tell if/when we will go through the experience of another pregnancy.

Soon I hope to include some of my personal remedies and suggestions for a comfortable pregnancy based after my own experience and those mentioned by other mothers I know.

Page Last Updated - Monday, January 22, 2007 3:07 PM