Your actions can impact your baby's growth at this stage
Position Matters!
- Labor is an active phase and not a passive event. The key to a more comfortable labor is position. Being able to assume different positions based on how your body feels and your baby will help your labor and generally allow an easier flow of things. Your body will guide you and you should follow these cues. Practicing them ahead of time will help strengthen those muscles and get your geared up mentally as well.
One such example is to Lean Forward
Leaning forward will help tip the baby into your pelvis. This can help lessen the odds of back labor; it can be done standing or leaning against a birth ball or a person. You can also do it sitting or leaning forward or kneeling, and expect to reap the following benefits:
- Promotes the chances of baby moving into your pelvis
- Induces relaxation
- Can be used in between or during contractions
Birth Ball
A good tool to invest in, a birth ball or physiotherapy ball is a fundamentally useful tool for labor. It can be used to ease the strain on your back and bottom, compels you to practice good posture which in turn aids your back. If you don't have one, get one now!
Weekly Nutrition advice in Week 34
Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids in a gist..
Omega 3 fatty acids are vital to your diet now. They are important to your baby's proper visual and neurological development. Secondly, through a biochemical mechanism, they impede the formation of factors that can lead to premature labor. And finally they protect your own brainpower. During pregnancy the mother's blood level of these fatty acids drops considerably - studies indicate that in the final trimester the mother's brain shrinks by 3% thus explaining the memory loss. These three factors demonstrate the importance of sufficient omega 3 fatty acids in your diet. Best sources are coldwater fish, flax seed, olive and canola oils. Work on getting 1000mg of these fatty acids per day. Here is how:
- Have tuna sandwich or salad for a meal. A 3oz serving of tuna provides 500mg of omega-3. Other ways include:
- Choose salmon or mackerel for a meal
- Add an extra dash of olive oil to your salad dressing
- Use olive oil instead of margarine to your bread
- Sauté poultry and vegetables in canola or safflower oil instead of butter or other types of oil.
At a Glance
- Omega-3 fatty acid (the more advantageous version of fatty acids) also called linolenic acid can be found in all fish and seafood.
- Egg yolks
- Leaves and seeds of many plants
- Soybeans
- Nuts
- Oils such as canola, flaxseed, olive, and walnut
Omega-6 fatty acid (the less beneficial version of fatty acids) also called linoleic acid can be found in
- Nuts including walnuts, peanuts and almonds
- Seeds such as sunflower seeds
- Oils such as corn, safflower, sunflower and soybean