Lose Your Mummy Tummy
by Julie Tupler
from Da Capo Press
Active Birth : The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally, Revised Edition
by Janet Balaskas
from Harvard Common Press
Revolutionary natural-childbirth book by world-renowned authority promotes comfort and safety.
Exercising Through Your Pregnancy
by James F. Clapp III
from Addicus Books
However, according to Dr. Clapp’s research, women who exercise feel better, perform better, and have babies that are be stronger physiologically and perhaps better developed neurologically.” Among the questions he answers:
· How does exercise benefit the mother?
· How does exercise affect growth of the fetus?
· What is the effect of exercise on milk production?
· Does exercise limit weight gain during pregnancy?
· What is the right amount of exercise?
· What are the dos and don’ts of exercising when pregnant?
· When should exercise be avoided?
· How late into pregnancy can you exercise?
· What should be the exercise regimen after giving birth?
Dr. Clapp provides guidelines for exercise plans that safely fulfill a mother’s needs during different phases of pregnancy.
2. Exercise during lactation makes the milk taste sour.
3. Women should avoid abdominal exercises in mid and late pregnancy.
4. Pregnant women should not lift weights.
5. The bouncing and jarring which occur during running and high-impact aerobics increase the risk for the baby getting tangled up in the umbilical cord.
6. Exercise causes premature labor.
7. Exercise will cause the fetus to detach from the wall of the womb.
8. Exercise right after a pregnancy will cause hernias and loss of vaginal and pelvic support.
Yoga for Pregnancy: Ninety-Two Safe, Gentle Stretches Appropriate for Pregnant Women & New Mothers
by Sandra Jordan
from St. Martin's Griffin
Maternal Fitness: Preparing for a Healthy Pregnancy, an Easier Labor, and a Quick Recovery
by Julie Tupler
from Fireside
Get Your Body Ready for the Marathon of Labor!
If you're newly pregnant, you're probably watching your diet carefully, getting plenty of rest, and preparing for the arrival of your new baby. You're also thinking about the big day itself and what the experience of labor will be like. Even if you're following a regular fitness program, you'll want to do everything you can to strengthen and prepare your body for the rigors of labor.
Maternal Fitness features clearly illustrated exercises that focus specifically on the muscle groups you'll use throughout labor, especially the transverse abdominals -- the stomach muscles that play a critical role during delivery. A powerful set of transverse abs can speed labor and delivery and make for a quick recovery. By learning how to strengthen your abdominals and relax your pelvic floor muscles, you'll be able to push more effectively.
While the Maternal Fitness program is designed specifically for the big moment, it also has other benefits, from minimizing backache and fatigue to giving you a welcome head start on getting back into shape after childbirth. Developed by a professional trainer who is also a registered nurse and childbirth educator, the Maternal Fitness program is safe for you and your baby and easy to do. Once learned, it can be incorporated into any workout.
Baby Om: Yoga for Mothers and Babies
by Laura Staton
from Holt Paperbacks
How does a new mother get back her shape without giving up precious time with her baby? In Baby Om, authors Laura Staton and Sarah Perron -- both dancers, yoga instructors, and moms themselves -- answer the new mother's need for a calming and rigorous way to align and strengthen her body while having fun with her baby. Based on their popular New York classes of the same name, Baby Om takes mothers through a yoga practice they can do with their infants -- anytime and anywhere. The techniques help new mothers enjoy the spiritual and physical benefits of yoga, allowing them to nurture themselves as well as their babies. This easy-to-use book includes:
--Baby Om basics -- the practical information you need to get started
--baby engagement -- how to play with and stimulate your baby during yoga
--four step-by-step Baby Om classes -- each concentrating on a unique stage in your child's development
The beautiful illustrations and photographs in Baby Om capture the intimate sharing between mother and child, and create a visual model for how to achieve the poses at home. Safe, effective, and easy to learn, Baby Om brings mother and baby together, ensuring the health and happiness of both.
The Alexander Technique Manual: Take Control of Your Posture and Your Life
by Richard Brennan
from Connections
The Alexander Technique is a simple yet profound way to release muscular tension throughout the body. It teaches us new ways of sitting, standing, and moving that put less stress on the bones and joints and help us move more gracefully. Developed by Fredrick Matthias Alexander, this technique explores the physical law of cause and effect and applies it to everyday common ailments.
The Alexander Technique Manual explains how to reduce stress levels to achieve a happier and more fulfilling lifestyle and reveals how Alexander made his unique discoveries. Simple step-by-step instructions aided by specially commissioned color photographs will enhance your understanding of the underlying principles of the technique. Special sections covering a wide range of sports as well as pregnancy and childbirth make this simple yet comprehensive book a must for anyone wishing to improve their lifestyle.
The Alexander Technique Manual will help you move through life with greater ease.
* A step-by-step guide to improve breathing, posture, and well-being
* The first complete color-illustrated guide to this world-famous technique
* Written by an established author in this field
Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year: A Guide to Health and Comfort Before and After Your Baby Is Born
by Elizabeth Noble
from New Life Images
A book to help women understand the biomechanics of the entire maternity cycle and the rationale for and against certain exercises. Noble shows how to recognize and remedy weakness and dysfunction that often plagues the average, sedentary woman during her childbearing year. As well as chapters explaining role of the key muscles (abdominal and pelvic floor) during pregnancy, labor, birth and postpartum, there are chapters on the principles of exercise, posture, comfort, bed rest, and Cesarean rehabilitation. Hands-on techniques for relieving some of the common joint discomforts are listed in the appendix and there are summary tear-sheets at the back of the bookfor the prenatal, postpartum and Cesarean recovery programs.
Runner's World Guide to Running and Pregnancy
by Chris Lundgren
from Rodale Books
Until now. The Runner's World Guide to Running and Pregnancy is a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive look at the how-tos and benefits of running for expectant mothers. And the benefits abound. Even a modest pregnancy running program gives women a reduced risk of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, and premature birth. It also leads to fewer cesareans, faster recovery after delivery, and even smarter babies!
From the worldwide authority on running, the Runner's World Guide to Running and Pregnancy offers the latest, most detailed information available, along with real-life tips to help you succeed. Inside you'll find:
- Advice from experts including sports gynecologists, nutritionists, and exercise physiologists
- The most current heart rate and training guidelines
- Pre-pregnancy and pregnancy stretching and strength programs
- Cross-training suggestions including yoga, Pilates, swimming, and more
- Running-specific menu plans for a healthy pregnancy
- Strategies for preventing injuries
- Money-saving tips for choosing the best maternity running gear
- Guidance for postpartum running
The Runner's World Guide to Running and Pregnancy gets to the bottom of the how-much-is-too-much debate once and for all. Pregnant runners will never be puzzled by conflicting advice again.
The Prenatal Yoga Deck: 50 Poses and Meditations
by Olivia Miller
from Chronicle Books
Yoga is an ideal way for expectant mothers to enhance overall health, cope with the physical demands of pregnancy, and prepare for labor and birth. The physician-approved Prenatal Yoga Deck makes exercise easy with 50 beautifully and precisely illustrated warm-ups, poses, and meditations. Suggested combinations and coding by trimester help create adaptable routines.
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