Holistic Pregnancy & Childbirth
A holistic approach incorporates all of who you are and all you know about pregnancy and childbirth. You and your support team recognize your innate capabilities and seek to enhance them. You deliberately make choices that maximize your potential to have the healthiest pregnancy and the most natural progression of labor possible.
These choices cover all aspects of health that can affect your pregnancy and birth - not just physical factors like diet and exercise, but also social, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual factors, such as your relationships, your support system, and how you manage stress.
A holistic approach can to pregnancy and childbirth can:
- Reduce the discomfort of childbirth
- Maximize physical health
- Regulate emotions
- Increase calm
Increase your wellbeing during pregnancy
Having a healthy, comfortable pregnancy involves eating well and staying active of course, but it also includes getting support, addressing stress, and considering spiritual questions. So check out the health, relationships, and purpose sections of wellbeing.
Boston Women's Health Book Collective (2008). Our Bodies, Ourselves: Pregnancy and Birth. Boston: Simon & Schuster.
Evans, J.M., Aronson, R. (2005). The Whole Pregnancy Handbook: An Obstetrician's Guide to Integrating Conventional and Alternative Medicine Before, During, and After Pregnancy. New York, NY. Gotham Books.
Evans, J.M. (2007). Why we need holism in pregnancy care: A review. Alternative Therapies, 13(3).
Gawain, S. (1997). The four levels of healing. Novato, CA: Nataraj Publishing.
