Prenatal yoga and breastfeeding education. Should the two of them go hand in hand? How about even the mention of breastfeeding when it is a value the yoga instructor has and wants to share with her class?
I for one think it would be a marvelous idea. One of the best things about being pregnant was going to my weekly yoga class. I loved the chance to really tune into my body and the baby inside me at that time, physically, mentally and spiritually.
Next to my midwives my first yoga instructor had one of the biggest influences on my birth experience. I took home her quotes-of-the-day that she read to us at the end of the class and pasted them in my pregnancy scrapbook. I made my husband take a special yoga class for expecting parents where she gave dads the opportunity to bond with their unborn children in a new way and taught poses for the birth partner to help with in labour. I even bought a copy of the CD we listened to when we meditated to use as my birth music. During my labour, I growled and howled and sighed like she taught us. I clearly remember making my vocalizations as low and gutteral as possible – it was slightly embarrasing to do in class but essential for managing the contractions at home. The tools she gave me were indispensable to managing a natural birth. And even though I took pre-natal yoga from two other great instructors for my second pregnancy, it was the first teacher’s teachings that remained most strongly in my mind. But she didn’t talk about breastfeeding.
I recently met Mary, a yoga instructor in Montreal, Quebec at Spice of Life Yoga who incorporates breastfeeding education into her pre-natal yoga classes. If you’re in the Montreal area and pregnant I highly recommend her. I would have gone to her in a heartbeat after reading this:
I drop the word “breastfeeding” in various contexts throughout our sessions, making it a term that is brought up often, naturally and consistently- they become familiar and hopefully comfortable with the subject and are almost always compelled to ask more questions. If anyone feels uncomfortable about it – I ask them why and it usually sparks up dialogue, opens up the opportunity to clarify facts and myths, in which case the other women become the support group and I moderate and listen. It all goes hand in hand.
I integrate it into the class during asana practice (what poses help strengthen the muscles that will be used to hold baby and which stretches will alleviate any strain).
I refer to the bond between mother and child often, especially during meditation and visualization techniques. I use the analogy that the breath is a stream of light flowing through their energy centers and that its very similar to the way breastmilk will flow through them and into their baby’s body and energy centers. Just like the nourishment that the umbilical bond provides in womb.
The main point that I focus on – is perseverance, not to give up so quickly. I remind them that as difficult as it may be in the first few hours to the first week, it is worth the sacrifice! I emphasize the that the long term benefits are invaluable for their baby and that the bond is for life.
I remind them that the probability of women who CAN breastfeed, drastically outnumbers those who for some medical reason cannot (at first). And that even those who cannot (providing the problem lies with the mother) it can usually be resolved.
I remind them that colostrum is liquid gold and that just because it may seem like a teeny amount of “food” to provide to their baby- that this liquid is a gift and that their baby only needs that small amount at first.
I recount my own story – I breastfed my son until he was two. I never pushed him into early independence – I waited until he was ready to be weaned. That he never needed to use a pacifier or suck his thumb, and how the comfort of breastfeeding soothed some intense teething bouts without having to use medication. How rarely he became sick with a cold or a virus but if he did, we never had the issue of dehydration because he nursed continuously to feel better.
Most importantly, I love to teach prenatal yoga because many are first time moms and are clueless. Their hearts and minds are open and I am grateful to be able to help guide them and prepare them. Teaching them about conscious birthing, inspiring them to harness their own power as women, as mothers.
Then, there’s the fact that that breast milk comes without pollution to the earth, it’s free AND rewarding and thank goodness, does not smell like formula!
Often the conversations are impromptu and it’s never rehearsed.
My inspiration and passion is my key to success but Janice Clarfield, who is my mentor, has taught me and has provided me with the groundwork for meditative and visualization techniques. She’s the pioneer for conscious birthing and yoga and is an amazing and beautiful person. She teaches in Vancouver, B.C. at Urban Yoga.
I love Mary’s natural approach to discussing breastfeeding in her classes, and when she approached me with her passion for weaving breastfeeding education with yoga instruction I thought it was a beautiful idea. And one I had never considered before. How lovely it would be if other pre-natal yoga instructors did the same. So how many do?
To investigate this further I sent out a tweet: Did your pre-natal instructor talk about/promote breastfeeding in any way? If so, how? Only one respondent said yes (to be fair only six people responded). I am guessing this is a rare practice.
I don’t think yoga instructors would need any specific breastfeeding knowledge/training to promote breastfeeding. To me, it’s about the woman-to-woman, mother-to-mother experience and belief in the value of breastfeeding where instructors can influence future moms. They’re already helping to change the way women experience birth – why not use their mentoring role to expand the way women chose to feed their babies too?
What do you think? Is pre-natal yoga class an appropriate place for an instructor to talk about breastfeeding?
Related posts:
- Monday Musings: How Hospitals Contribute to Lower Breastfeeding Rates
- Monday Musings: How Much Thought Did You Give To Breastfeeding When Pregnant?
- Links To Some Great Breastfeeding Posts
Tags: breastfeeding benefits, lactivism, prenatal yoga
Prenatal yoga and breastfeeding education. Should the two of them go hand in hand? How about even the mention of breastfeeding when it is a value the yoga instructor has and wants to share with her class?
Well, my prenatal yoga instructor never discussed birth, let alone breastfeeding. It wasn’t a birth class, it was a yoga class. I’ll admit that I had never taken yoga before becoming pregnant, and when I realized exactly how hard yoga was (especially when I couldn’t even see my feet, let alone put them behind my head) I quit that class. But I never heard any discussion of birth at all (there was no discussion.) It was just the typical “do this position, now breathe, now change to this one” stuff.
I’m not sure if a yoga class is the right setting for breastfeeding education, simply because I never heard any talking at all at the class I went to. Where would it fit in? I’m having a hard time imagining it.
Now, should breastfeeding be a part of an actual Birth class? ABSOLUTELY! IMO it should take up 50% of the class!
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@TheFeministBreeder – Are you sure you took a pre-natal yoga class? I have never heard of a pre-natal yoga class that didn’t talk about labor and birth. The instructor must not have had any babies or been very shy or not confident in her knowledge or something. I think that kind of discussion is pretty standard. We always started class with each woman stating her name and due date, how she was feeling and what part of her body she might like to focus working on that day. Then as we went through the movements the instructor would take us through visualizations (Imagine your yoni is a pink opening rose – relax that area – during contractions you will want to tense up but that won’t be helpful for moving the birth along. You must remember to relax, OR you are a mother wolf. Let’s make our primal birthing sounds, etc) and she would talk about her own births and sometimes ask us questions about our expectations/fears throughout the session.
(I suppose I should reply here too…)
Yep, I’m 1000% sure it was a Prenatal Yoga class – I even went and looked up the description of the class on the studio’s website, and it makes no mention of any birthing info – only on exercises to relieve pregnancy pains (which is all we focused on.) Nobody ever talked about their pregnancy or due dates, or how they were feeling. The only time it was ever mentioned is when somebody said “where’s so-and-so” and the instructor said “oh, she had her baby.” That was it.
Birth education would have been pretty helpful to me in that pregnancy because I had no idea what I was doing, and went in for the induction that cause my cesarean.
Prenatal
This class is designed for expectant moms in all stages of their pregnancy. Experience relaxing yet challenging poses suitable for students of all levels. Students will learn key poses intended to help alleviate common aches and pains associated with pregnancy like back pain, leg cramps, and sciatica. Simple breathing techniques that are beneficial throughout the entire pregnancy are also taught in this helpful class.
TheFeministBreeder’s last blog post..A Message to my Boys about Michael Jackson
What a great topic!
I for one was sorely disappointed with my prenatal yoga classes. There were no introductions and I always felt a tiny bit awkward b/c no one was ever introduced. She did talk while getting us into poses (“this is great to do in the shower to alleviate back pressure etc.) However, I was planning a homebirth and she was always making these comments like, “Oh your so brave!” There were a few women who came to class in early labor and she would get all stressed out. I thought it was odd for a pre-natal instructor.
Anyhow, I’m planning on getting certified and dream of creating a hybrid type of class. I want to incorporate yoga, but also have quotes to take home, maybe a little time for journaling/discussion and I absolutely love Mary’s take on it! I’m inspired and will definitely speak of bfing and a normal part of the whole process!
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I missed this convo while out of town and unplugged for 4 days.
I took a prenatal yoga class in LA at the well-known Golden Bridge yoga studio. The instructor asked each of us our due dates, concerns, etc. No mention of breast feeding – just soreness of enlarging breasts. I didn’t miss it though. It was a PRE natal class. I got out of it what I expected to get out of it. I left the breast-feeding info up to my midwife, Bradley coach and lactation consultant. Perhaps prenatal yoga instructors could offer handouts or resources after class or offer to answer questions expectant moms may have about nourishing their child POST natal.
But, I knew I was going to breast feed. So, I don’t see the harm in an instructor mentioning it for the benefit of mothers who may not know.
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I think that discussing breastfeeding during a prenatal yoga class is a great idea. I attended prenatal yoga when I was expecting my first child but our instructor actually didn’t have any kids of her own. Understandably she didn’t talk much about childbirth or baby care. If I could have found an affordable, more holistic class in my area I would absolutely have taken it.
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Hey, what an interesting topic. I haven’t been to an in person yoga class more than a couple times since 2005 – I’ve been picking up yoga DVDs to do at home here and there, and since getting pregnant, I’ve found three prenatal ones. As I tweeted to Mel, they focus on health, discomfort relief and point out postures that are particularly good for helping with labour, plus one or two not to do in certain situations. If breastfeeding is brought up in a natural way, the way it sounds Mary is doing in her class, I think that’s great. We should be bringing conversations about breastfeeding into more situations – maybe it doesn’t need to be a formal session on things to expect with latching, but discussing it can help to disperse fears or a sense that it’s a weird thing to do.
And yeah, seems like breastfeeding is still considered a weird thing to do for some. In my prenatal classes, which is largely attended by poor African American women, we have both midwives and breastfeeding peer counsellors advocating with us every week: teaching us the basics of how and for how long plus loads of info about why you’d want to breastfeed. And still there are quite a few of the women in my class who refuse to consider doing it themselves. There’s some cultural stuff that I’ve read about there – can’t remember where – it’s sad though, with the infant mortality rate in DC being as bad as it is.
Thanks for bringing this one up, Mel! And happy Canada Day!
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