6 hot trends for your winter pregnancy

When the leaves have long since displayed a kaleidoscope of color and have fallen to the ground, it’s time to pull out the sweaters and get in the mood for all things winter! We wanted to give you some great ways to de-stress this winter, for baby’s health and yours, too.

Bath Time

Candles and bath with classical music is a win/win for everyone involved. Add a pregnancy-friendly bath ball to add fizz and fun to the adventure, as well as some wonderful calming music and candles to create a complete refuge right in your own home. This is an inexpensive way to gain mental and physical relief.

Meditation

One of the best things you can do for the health of your baby is to remain in a calm and mindful emotional state. By creating a daily practice of gratitude, mindfulness, and deliberate thinking, you will greatly improve your ability to control and shape your emotions as well as the way you see the world. You can start this journey by practicing guided meditation ten minutes a day with mobile apps. These routines begin with bringing yourself outside of your body, focusing on your sensations of touch, and concentrating on the weight of your body. They then progress to locating the area in your body where you can most accurately gauge the rhythm of your breathing. They guide you to focus your attention on your breathing, instead of your thoughts. The goal is not to push away your thoughts; it is to become comfortable with them, to learn to live with them. Meditation, a time-tested and scientifically supported technique, has been shown to alleviate the effects of postpartum depression.

Floating in a Deprivation Tank

Sometimes being pregnant is uncomfortable. Floating in a deprivation tank refers to when you lay in a tank filled with 80 lbs. of salt and allow your body to float on top of the water, rendering your body weightless. There you are: no light, no sound, no body. Just your thoughts. What happens next will vary from person to person. If you are familiar with meditation you will feel the similarities quickly and have a deeper experience. Another profound effect that floating may have on you and your baby is called the “mirror effect.” Due to the isolation of the senses you may feel even more connected with your baby as it is in your belly in its very own deprivation tank…your womb.

Even if you do not meditate regularly you can still enjoy the benefits of the departure from your body and the physical relief of weightlessness.  Finally, pregnant women are encouraged to increase their magnesium intake, which can be done naturally in the deprivation tank due to the magnesium in Epsom salt being absorbed through the skin. Always consult with a doctor before trying any form of exercise, and floating is recommended after the first trimester of pregnancy.

Prenatal Yoga

Prenatal yoga is a great way to do some light exercise that will make you feel great and it’s safe for your baby! Yoga has been around for thousands of years, and using yoga to make you more limber will also help you in the birthing process. The natural wave of movements in certain practices can prepare you for the ebb and flow of labor.

Preparation for Birth

Nothing will calm you more than nesting and preparing for your baby’s arrival. Start your checklist! Have you completed the nursery? Do you have your hospital bag packed? Your nursery is an expression of the happy home with safety and comfort for your baby. The hospital bag should include a bathrobe, your birth plan, nursing bra, maternity underpants, and your cord blood kit.

Cord Blood Banking and Genotyping

Complete your checklist by choosing the cord blood bank you will use to store your child’s stem cells. Have the best piece of mind by knowing that you are doing everything possible for your baby by storing their stem cells so they can use them in future regenerative treatments. You can only collect their stem cells from their umbilical cord at birth, and Americord is a wonderful choice for private stem cell banking.

Americord offers exclusive services for cord blood banking and genotyping as a resource for potential for treating leukemia, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.

Want to know more about stem cell banking with Americord? Click here to fill out this form and receive a cord blood info guide so you can make the right choice for your baby.