Introduction
The pregnancy phase is an important period for all mothers. As the new life grows within the womb, the pregnant woman’s body undergoes changes. To ensure that the pregnancy occurs in an ideal manner, women are encouraged to eat healthy foods and engage in exercise. Research into the relationship between exercise and pregnancy provides clear evidence that properly designed exercises are beneficial to the mother and child (Stephens 326). Many pregnant women, therefore, seek out exercise programs during their pregnancy. One form of exercise that has appealed to many pregnant women is yoga. Practicing yoga leads to the overall conditioning of the mind and body of the yoga student. This paper will provide informative research into prenatal yoga with a focus on the Blossom yoga studio and its services.
Classes offered to Pregnant Women at Blossom
Blossom offers a wide range of yoga programs for various groups of individuals. There are fitness classes specially designed for all pregnant women, regardless of whether they are experiencing their first pregnancy or have been through pregnancy before. The classes offered to make it possible for expectant mothers to enjoy the significant benefits that yoga brings to the mother and baby. In addition to this, the classes present a good opportunity for connections to be made as to the various pregnant women in the yoga class practice together and socialize after the class.
What are some of the benefits of yoga?
Another significant benefit of prenatal yoga is that it reduces the levels of stress and anxiety experienced by pregnant women. Stress has become a defining characteristic of modern society where many people experience varying levels of psychological stress. Women experiencing pregnancy are exposed to even higher levels of stress than the rest of the population. If unchecked, maternal stress might lead to a number of undesirable results. Narendran (2005) documents that pregnant women with high stress and anxiety levels are at risk for spontaneous abortion, preterm labor, malformations, and asymmetric growth retardation. These declarations are corroborated by Rakhshani (2010) who asserts that maternal stress not only negatively affects maternal immunity but also is also linked to many hypertension-related complications of pregnancy.
Due to the significant adverse effects that stress has on pregnancy, numerous efforts have been made to come up with ways to alleviate stress during pregnancy. Yoga contributes to stress reduction by the practice of deep relaxation, slow controlled breathing, and mind-calming techniques. Narendran (2005) documents that the gentle stretching and improved body flexibility caused by practicing yoga decreases muscular tension and stiffness. This has an inhibitory effect on the stress leading to enhanced relaxation.
Yoga presents a non-invasive way for tackling stress and ensuring that the woman is able to enjoy the pregnancy period. Without yoga, women would seek alternative solutions to the problems of pain and stress that are prevalent during pregnancy. Rakhshani (2010) observes that to help alleviate the stress and physical challenges that pregnancy imposes, many women turn to medications for help. This solution is not recommended since it can compromise the health of the woman and affect her pregnancy.
By practicing yoga, women experience greater ease in the delivery process. Yoga also reduces some of the physical risks that occur naturally during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Stephens (2010) explains that yoga reduces the risks of perineal tears, urinary incontinence, and vaginal prolapse. Yoga reduces these risks by bringing greater pelvic awareness and health to pregnant students. Prenatal yoga refines one’s awareness of the lower pelvic muscles and organs. Through specific poses, stronger and more flexible perineal muscles are developed and greater awareness of the lower pelvic organs and their surrounding support structure is fostered.
Yoga strengthens the skeletal muscles of the body making it easier for pregnant women to cope with the additional weight. One obvious effect of pregnancy is the increase in body weight. As the baby develops in the womb, the mother is forced to support the additional weight. Yoga routines strengthen the muscles that support the skeleton helping pregnant women to support the extra weight of pregnancy (Matheson, 2004).
When is the best time to start yoga?
Having considered the significant benefits that yoga offers to pregnant women, it would be important to highlight the best time for pregnant women to start practicing yoga. Research indicates that yoga is particularly beneficial to pregnant women if they began a yoga practice prior to becoming pregnant (Stephens, 2010). As such, the best time to start yoga would be before pregnancy. However, this is not always possible and most women acknowledge the importance of exercise programs such as yoga only after they have become pregnant. Experts advise that women should start practicing yoga at the earliest moment. Stephens (2010) recommends that yoga should begin in the first trimester, which lasts up to the thirteenth week. During this time, the body is undergoing some transformations. Pregnant women have the opportunity to use yoga to create a favorable environment for the ovum to grow into a healthy fetus. While it is advisable to begin yoga at the earliest stage, the woman can start her classes at any stage.
Does yoga have any effects on the unborn child?
The prenatal yoga techniques are an adaptation of the regular yoga moves. These adaptations are specially designed to accommodate the changes that a woman’s body experiences as the child grows in the womb. By accommodating the growing belly, prenatal yoga does not compress the uterus, therefore, ensuring that the baby is safe. An important aspect of prenatal yoga is that it should not be vigorous in nature. Specifically, the yoga moves should not entail deep flexion and extensions of joints (Stephens, 2010). Yoga instructors for pregnant women always keep in mind that the child’s health and safety are of primary importance. Pregnant women are therefore encouraged to be extremely cautious and conservative in their yoga practice.
Pregnant women should observe a number of precautions while practicing yoga in order to safeguard the child. An important rule for pregnant women is to avoid any yoga poses that are performed while lying on the stomach. Poses such as the locust, cobra, or bow should therefore be avoided entirely by the pregnant women since they will cause compression of the uterus, which is undesirable (Matheson, 2004). Yoga experts declare that pregnant women should listen to their bodies and avoid pressing, pushing, or overly stretching their abdominal area. By taking this case, the woman will be able to enjoy the benefits of calmness, flexibility, strength, and fitness that yoga brings without causing any unnecessary danger to the unborn child.
Yoga does not compromise the mother or baby unless there is some significant pathological condition (Stephens, 2010). If there is a significant pathological condition, the pregnant woman is advised to consult with a doctor before engaging in the classes. The doctor will carry out tests and review her case and he might give consent for the mother to take up yoga classes. However, if the pathological condition will be adversely affected by yoga, the mother is supposed to avoid taking yoga classes.
Is it safe to do yoga if I know I will be having a C-section?
It is safe to practice yoga even if the child is going to be delivered through a C-section operation. While women who are going to deliver naturally benefit the most from the reduced pain and better breathing during delivery, women who will deliver by C-section also benefit from yoga. Yoga prepared the woman emotionally for the birth experience (Narendran, 2005). It also alleviates the pains that are common during the course of the pregnancy. Yoga does not create any additional hazards to the mother or child during the surgery. On the contrary, Matheson (2004) reveals that yoga ensures that the mother is able to recover more quickly after the C-section operation. Since yoga promotes fitness, the body is able to heal itself faster even after the c-section surgery.
How many times a week is yoga safe for the mother and the baby?
Prenatal yoga is safe for the mother and baby to practice as many times as possible. Since the exercises are specially designed to avoid putting pressure on the uterus, the baby is not affected by the frequency of practice. After the fourth month, yoga should be done on a selective basis and under the proper care and guidance of a professional yoga trainer. To get the maximum benefits from prenatal yoga, the woman should engage in regular exercising. Most experts recommend that the mother should practice yoga every day. However, this might be hard for most women to achieve. If the pregnant mother is unable to practice yoga daily, two sessions per week are adequate.
Does Blossom offer different levels of yoga classes?
Blossom offers different levels of yoga classes depending on the individual woman. Women who have never practiced yoga, have sedentary lifestyles, and are in poor physical health are encouraged to practice at the easy level. These moves are easy to carry out and do not cause strain to the participants. For women who have had previous exposure to yoga, the medium to difficult levels of yoga can be practiced. In these levels, the poses are challenging but they are specifically designed to accommodate the pregnancy. Each class can have participants at all the different levels. As instructions are issued to the class, many options for the women are always given for each pose from easy, medium, to difficult poses. This consideration is made since some of the women in the class are first-timers while others have been attending Blossom classes since their first pregnancy and now they are on 3 or 4th pregnancy.
How Blossom birth assists low-income mothers
The Blossom Center hopes to make yoga classes accessible to as many pregnant women as possible. Yoga is a non-invasive and economical way to reduce stress levels during pregnancy. This makes prenatal yoga well suited for low-income pregnant women. However, most of the women who come from low socio-economic backgrounds cannot afford to pay for their yoga classes. To assist such women to benefit from prenatal yoga, blossom allows women to engage in some services in return for yoga classes. Women could come early and devote 1-hour volunteer services, selling clothes, organizing our books in return for the free yoga class.
Number of Volunteers
The “services for free yoga classes” offer is beneficial and Blossoms gets a few women who engage in the 1-hour volunteer work in return for yoga classes. However, the majority of volunteers at Blossom are individuals who just want to help without expecting any returns. The center gets many volunteers such as high school and college students who just want to help. In addition to this, people living near the center and children actively participate in volunteer work at the center.
Since Blossom is a non-profit organization, how does it keep prices low and compete favorably with other private businesses?
Blossom is committed to keeping prices low and competitive in order to benefit as many pregnant women with prenatal yoga. To achieve this, the center has a membership fee of $ 75 tax-deductible. With this, the customers can get discount-priced classes and free playtime for their children. Registered customers are also able to borrow DVDs and books from the well-equipped library at the Center. Blossom also rents out rooms for personal events to increase its revenue. Many of Blossom’s yoga instructors have other places where they teach and if they want to carry out private lessons at Blossom, they can rent a yoga room and carry out their lessons. A portion of the money made by Blossom goes to community funds to serve all expecting and new parents regardless of their economic status.
Effect of Obama Care on Blossom Birth Center
The Affordable Health care for America Act (HR 3962), which was signed by President Obama in 2010 proposes significant changes in the health care system of the country. An important aspect of Obamacare is its emphasis on preventive care. Since prenatal yoga is a part of preventative care, it will be affected by Obamacare. Insurance plans will cover some of the costs associated with preventive health services and employers are expected to cover some of the costs for wellness programs. This means that the individual cost of engaging in a prenatal yoga class might reduce for the individual woman. However, funding for the Blossom birth center will not change due to Obamacare.
Conclusion
Maintaining proper physical and mental health is crucial for good outcomes to be observed by the pregnant woman. This paper has reviewed the prenatal yoga classes offered at Blossom center and answered some of the common questions that a mother hoping to enroll in these classes would ask. A detailed look at the significant physical health and mental well-being impacts of yoga on the mother has been made. It has been acknowledged that yoga protects the mother from many common pregnancy risks and decreases stress. This research has noted that prenatal yoga is safe for the mother and baby and leads to improved physical and mental health outcomes for both. More women should therefore be encouraged to join prenatal yoga classes during their pregnancies.
References
Matheson, C. (2004). Yoga for Two. Vegetarian Times, 323(1), 37-41.
Narendran, S. (2005). Efficacy of Yoga on Pregnancy Outcome. Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 11(2), 237-244.
Rakhshani, A. (2010). Effects of integrated yoga on quality of life and interpersonal relationship of pregnant women. Quality of Life Research, 19(10), 1447-1455.
Stephens, M. (2010). Teaching Yoga: Essential Foundations and Techniques. NY: North Atlantic Books.