The Gentle Birth Method: The Month-by-Month Jeyarani Way Programme

Fruit: pears – the royal fruit, lots of calcium; pineapples – for digestion; apples; peaches; nectarines; plums; avocado; apricots (high in iron)

Caution: have only three fruit portions a day. If you are eating dried fruits, try to choose unsulphured ones and count it as part of your fresh fruit quota. In addition to whole fruit, you may have

/

of a glass (150ml) of pressed or squeezed fruit juice a day.

Carbohydrates: rice (preferably brown), corn pasta, oats, barley, lentils

Vegetables: cooked greens, marrows, cucumber, carrots, parsnips and, as a general rule, any local vegetables that are in season (as long as they are not on the ‘avoid’ list)

Meat: chicken and occasionally lamb

Fish: with the exception of tuna, all types of fish are good. Oily fish like mackerel and salmon (preferably organic) are particularly important because they contain omega-3 oils (see box below).

Omega-3 fats

It is important to make omega-3 fatty acids a regular part of your diet for the following reasons:

They help foetal brain and nerve tissue development.

They help boost your metabolism, immune system and skeletal system.

They are good for the brain, helping to elevate your mood and improve memory. They can even help stave off cravings for carbohydrates.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in oily fish such as anchovies, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardine and trout. Try to eat such fish three times a week at least. However, because of concerns about mercury and other contaminants in deep-sea fish, pregnant mothers may prefer to buy the fish oil supplement MorDHA, which has been filtered and chilled to remove mercury and other toxins. A vegetarian alternative is to get your omega-3 from oil: hempseed oil, walnut oil, flaxseed oil (also called linseed) or from seeds: pumpkin seeds, walnuts, flaxseeds. The oil or seeds can be sprinkled over foods such as cereal. (Note: Flaxseeds (linseeds) are very hard, therefore either grind them lightly (a coffee grinder is good for this) or soak them overnight.) You need about one large tablespoon of the oil or seeds a day. You can also buy the oil in capsule form. Recommended brands are: Mother Hemp Oil (hempseed oil), flaxseed oil, or Dr Udo’s oils. (For stockists of all sources of Omega-3 supplements see Appendix C, page 312.)

Note: Flaxseed oil is the world’s richest source of omega-3, containing double that of fish oils. The essential fatty acids omega-6 and omega-9 are also beneficial and are often found with omega-3 supplements. The ideal proportion of these oils is 3:(omega-3):2(omega-6):1(omega-9). This perfect combination is found in hempseed oil.

Nutritional and Herbal Supplements

As well as following the dietary guidelines outlined above I also recommend that mothers take nutritional supplements to maximize nutritional status and aid digestion. This is especially important during pregnancy as the digestive system is under a lot of strain during pregnancy and this can result in problems like constipation, heartburn, reflux and so on.

I recommend that every pregnant mother should take the following supplements:

A general vitamin, mineral and trace element supplement. These are widely available and called ‘Pre-natal’ or ‘Pregnancy’ vitamins. Solgar and Biocare are the brands that I recommend.

Probiotics are the helpful bacteria in the gut that break down the cell walls of vegetable matter and make the goodness within more accessible for digestion and absorption. They are available as capsules or tablets (Biocare and Dr Udo brands are good) and should be taken twice a day, half an hour before meals. Alternatively probiotic drinks and yoghurts from supermarkets can be taken if they are sugar-free and well within their sell-by date.

Herbs are also an important part of this programme and I recommend my mothers have two different sets of herbs. These help prepare your body for a gentle birth and should be taken daily throughout pregnancy from week 13. These come in the following forms:Herbal TeaIngredients: false unicorn root, squaw vine leaves, cramp cut bark, raspberry leaf. This tea detoxifies and tones the uterus. Place one teaspoon of the above mixture in a teapot then add one pint of boiling water. Let it steep for 10 minutes, then strain and drink slowly. You can drink it all in one go or half in the morning and half later (just warm it up). It can look an alarmingly large volume to drink but many of my mothers come to really enjoy it.Baladi Choornam drinkVarious Ayurvedic herbs are included in this powder (for stockist details see Appendix C, page 312). The powder is mixed with 1/2 a cup of warm milk (goat’s milk or rice milk is preferable to cow’s milk as it’s more digestible). It should be taken after your evening meal. This is started at week 13 of pregnancy. The herb Bala, the main ingredient of Baladi choornam, has the following properties:

– It reduces the undesirable effects of nervous excitability within the pregnant mother

– Has a calming effect on the central nervous system

– Regulates blood pressure

– Regulates the hormones of pregnancy

– Controls blood sugars thereby helping you to eat healthily (eating healthily can modulate your baby’s weight)

– Very mild diuretic

– Stimulates regular bowel movements

– Softens the cervix and pelvic tissues

In addition to these herbal drinks, you should also take a tiny pill of herbs called the Dhanwantaram pill – I call them ‘baby pills’. These contain potentized digestive herbs that are good for your digestion and absorption of nutrients and, as such, they help to nourish you and your baby. (See Appendix C, page 312 for stockist details.)

Dose: 1 a day along with your herbs.

Homoeopathic Tissue Salt Programme

During pregnancy the baby requires certain salts, which it gets at the expense of the mother. This programme will help to make good any salt deficiencies and help the baby with its salt requirement. Some health food stores sell tissue salts alongside their homoeopathic remedies, or alternatively try companies that supply homoeopathic remedies via the internet (see Appendix C, page 312). Alternatively, the Homoeopathic Tissue Salt Programme is available from the Jeyarani clinic.

Remedies:

Calc. Fluor. – for bone development and elasticity of connective tissue (helps prevent stretch marks)

Mag. Phos. – for heartburn and nerve development

Ferr. Phos. – for blood oxygenation

Nat. Mur. – helps control salt and therefore fluid balance, and helps prevent

swollen ankles

Silica – for teeth, bones, hair and general strength

Dosage:

Take one tablet of each twice a day, morning and evening. The potency is 6c. If you are lucky enough to have a homoeopathic pharmacy nearby, they will combine the required tissue salts into one tablet for you – in which case take one twice a day.

Pregnant mothers may also like to take the following supplements:

Digestive enzymes. I recommend Biocare or Dr Udo’s digestive enzymes as a digestion support for mothers with abdominal distension and discomfort. Take one with breakfast and one with your main meal.

Ambrotose. In the late 1990s a Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of 8 non-calorific sugars that make up cell membrane receptors for cell to cell communication. In nature all these 8 essential sugars should be available to us through the food that we eat; however, due to the storage of fresh produce and undesirable modern farming methods the food we eat is lacking in some of these nutrients. During pregnancy they are important for the development of the foetus and help the pancreas to normalize maternal insulin production and reduce the risk of gestational diabetes. Ambrotose can be obtained from Jeyarani (Appendix C, page 312).

Birth Story: Quick Labour Christine

On Sunday 12th September 1999, my contractions began at 5.00am. I visualized and meditated until they were 5 minutes apart, and decided to go to the hospital. My due date was the 20th September, so this was a week early.

We arrived at the hospital at 11.30am, where I was found to be 2cm dilated. We were told it could be early evening before the baby came, so we asked to be left alone so Mark could help me with breathing techniques and visualizations. He also massaged my back and big toes, especially during the longer contractions. Suddenly at 2pm, I had an almighty urge to push. Mark dashed off to find a midwife who was astonished to find that I was fully dilated. At 2.10pm, Logan Tyler Harris made his appearance, weighing 7lbs 15oz.

I’m proud to say that I took no drugs, had no tears, cuts or stitches and am recovering rapidly. I’m blessing my good fortune at having met Gowri, having heard many ‘horror stories’ about labour and the delivery.

Thanks to Gowri I could cope with labour and manage the whole procedure. I’m so grateful for the preparation that I learnt by attending her classes.