PLANNED PARENTHOOD

JERUSALEM POST SUPPLEMENT “HEALTHY LIVING” 26/9/2003

Before, during and after pregnancy, you can be bombarded with “good advice” about what you should and should not do, but there is very little advice about the positive things you can do to feel more comfortable and less debilitated. Most of this advice comes from other women, relating what happened to them, but it is not personalized, and you are the only one who counts now. So, how can you cope, ease your symptoms and worries safely, without drugs. Structural Integration (S.I.) and Structural Awareness (S.A.) will give you the support you are looking for, through realignment, flexibility and balance, by easing and slowly erasing the pain and by establishing the body/mind connection.

“If you can imagine how it feels to have a fluid, light, balanced body, free of pain, stiffness and chronic stress, at ease with itself and the earth’s gravitational field, then you will understand the goals of Structural Integration.”    Dr. Ida P. Rolf.

What is Structural Integration ?  S.I. is a process of re-education of the body through movement and touch. It teaches you how to live in your body, reducing stress and discomfort and improving the function of the body. Its primary goal is to help the body work within gravity. Therefore it is of great benefit to the pregnant woman, who struggles with a rapidly enlarging and awkward body, which offsets her normal center of gravity. How can it help?  S.I. and S.A. work together through deep connective tissue manipulation, which produces body toning and conditioning. This increases awareness, concentration, better breathing, and through guided imagery excercises, will bring comfort during pregnancy and labor.

Before Conception

S.I. and S.A. prepare both parents physically and emotionally for the birth of their child. Pregnancy is a project of two, the male and the female. A couple who wants to include a child in their lives cannot ignore their own bodies. They must take responsibility for entering this stage in their best physical and psychic condition, to “program the fetus”. Each one in the couple has to prepare for the event. With S.I. and S.A., we work towards the enhancement of good physiology and mobility, the development of abilities and sensory function.  The therapists are skilled in creating movement and grace. We assist in that most vital of human attributes: adaptability, an attribute, which will be called on more and more as the pregnancy progresses. S.I. and S.A. improve structure, they don’t merely correct faulty posture. They offer women considering motherhood opportunities for structurally sound, erect posture, prepared to meet and recover from the normal changes of pregnancy.

1.  Pregnancy – The First Trimester

Most pregnant women come for help because they are in distress. During the pregnancy, the mother will undergo many changes, both physical and emotional. The mother will gain about 10-12 kg, much of it centered around the middle. This makes changes in many of the body systems. There will be an increase in the flow of hormones that the mother and baby need. The heart will increase in size and rate to cope with the 40% increase in blood volume. The respiratory system will work for an increased demand in oxygen and a decreased space for functioning. The muscles and skeletal system cope with a constantly and rapidly changing center of gravity.

It Is not surprising then, that pregnant women suffer from a wide range of disagreable symptoms.

What can S.I. and S.A. do?  The treatments are tailored to the woman’s precise needs. The careful application of the principles of S.I. and S.A. has shown that many of the usual pains are relieved when more space and balance is created. When the pelvis is organized appropriately, the baby can settle back against the spine, closer to the mother’s center of gravity. This results in greater ease of movement, with less fatigue and less pain. Sessions are tailored to give support and adaptability within the body. Sessions will raise the energy level, giving increased self-confidence. They will relax the muscles between the ribs and the diaphragm to allow for more ease in breathing and to reduce nausea. Conscientious prenatal S.I. work can bring about tremendous differences to the outcome of the birth.

2.  The Second Trimester

During these 15 weeks, again, there are more physical and emotional changes. At this time, many of the problems are caused by structural shifts, as the uterus expands out of the pelvic cavity. Between 16 and 20 weeks, the baby will move and the mother will begin to feel the differences between the movements of the baby and the more subtle movements of the uterus itself. Unless the mother’s posture is well adapted, the upper and lower back areas are likely to be stressed. At this stage the effects of relaxation of the soft tissue around the uterus are beginning to show, and poor posture may now be adding to the stress of the mother. S.I. sessions are now more likely to be directly related to improving postural changes and structural stresses that are made worse by the growth of the baby.  This would include the lifting of the ribcage so that the diaphragm will not be constricted and the breathing capacity will not be diminished. It will also address the abdominal segment, so that it will not sag but give maximum space for the growth of the uterus.

3.  The Third Trimester

In the last trimester, the body undergoes great changes as it prepares itself for the birth. The Baby is growing very fast; it is rising up under the diaphragm, leaving little room for the stomach or the lungs, and the general increase in weight makes everything difficult for the mother. This includes increased insomnia, backaches with a chance of hemorrhoids, varicose veins, thrush and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a numbness and pain in the thumb, index & middle fingers which can occur in the last few weeks of pregnancy. S.I. and S.A. sessions are now directed to make more room for the baby in the mother’s body and to help the mother carry the baby comfortably through to the birth. The importance of relaxation during this period and during labor cannot be overstressed. It is one of the prime considerations of childbirth. S.A. is probably of more benefit to the mother at this time, as it will teach her to prepare actively for labor, to “let go” and to “hold on”, to contract one muscle group and relax another.

4.  Delivery

S.I. and S.A. begin working before the actual birth begins, and have a far- reaching effect on the process itself. When the pelvis and the pelvic floor muscles are healthy and supple, they are capable of allowing more distention of the vaginal canal for the delivery. In the process of giving birth, the work done earlier on the diaphragm, even before conception, pays off, especially in the second stage of labor.