What Running 85 km’s Through the Forest Taught Me About Birth
In what feels like another life, I was a runner.
And not just a runner, an ultra runner. For those of you unfamiliar with this title, an ultramarathon is any distance greater than a marathon (42.2km’s). Ultra’s are often run on trails, through forest and mountain ranges, and tend to focus on the journey and the experience more than the speed.
Here are 5 lessons I’ve learned about birth from running ultramarathons
Should I schedule an elective induction at 39 weeks?
It started with a whatsapp message from my 37 week pregnant doula client. In the message she attached a study she had stumbled upon. This study was claiming that scheduling an elective induction at 39 weeks would reduce her chances of having a Cesarean!
Seemed like a non-brainer right?
“Welllllll”I warned her, “it's a bit more complicated than that”.
In 2018, a study was released in the New England Journal of Medicine that made huge waves in the birth community. This study concluded that for low risk, first time birthers, scheduling an elective induction at 39 weeks would reduce your chance of having a Cesarean Birth.
But is this study applicable to YOU?
Navigating Childbirth: A Guide to the Stages of Labour
So you just found out you’re pregnant, and feeling a bit anxious? It makes sense that you’re unsure what labour is going to look and feel like. You’ve probably never attended a birth before and your only image of birth is from Hollywood movies which, I PROMISE you, couldn’t be further from reality.
In this blog post, we’re gonna set the record straight.
You will learn:
The 3 stages of labour
How long each stage typically lasts
What you can expect to feel in each stage
What you can do during each stage
What your partner can do to support you in each stage
What to Include in a Prenatal Fitness Program
Gone are the days when exercise was considered unsafe during pregnancy.It’s now widely understood that not only is exercise perfectly safe in any low risk pregnancy, but there are SO MANY BENEFITS. These range from improved sleep and mood, less aches and pains, shorter and less painful labours (umm yes please!) and less risk of developing pregnancy related complications like hypertension or gestational diabetes. But that leads to the question - what should you DO?
I’d love to work with you
If you are interested in any of Hannah Etlin-Stein’s services please be in touch!