Four words to improve childbirth education pt 2

Now that we know the four words: unification, separation, inward, and outward, we can discuss how to view and balance them in everyday life. According to natural cycles as dictated by our environment, mirrored by the movement of our life energy, there are three considerations to make each day (also, see how these same three considerations are used for improving fertility on the Hunyuan Fertility blog by Dr Yaron Seidman):

1. Increase separation in the morning
2. Increase unification in the evening
3. Cultivate the heart to preserve energy throughout the day

What does this mean for us? Just as the warmth and light of the sun on our skin in the morning can stir our senses awake on the exterior, the light and warmth of our recharged heart stirs us to wakefulness on the inside. When our energy is sufficiently recharged and our heart stirs us to wakefulness, this induces a separation state to initiate the outward movement to activate the physical body. Because our heart and body are naturally opening outward toward separation and movement, this is the best time to engage in separation type activities, meaning morning is the optimal time to exercise, go for a walk, or stretch. Not only do we have the most energy to support exercise at this time, but morning movement helps the body and mind conform to the natural opening process that is already underway.

In the evening, we feel a decrease in the outward movement of life as a result of the expenditure of the day, and we begin to feel tired. As we transition into this phase of the day, it is a good idea to lessen the separation activity and focus on quiet, inward activities such as meditation, gentle qi gong, tai chi or yoga that induce calmness. Diming the lights and reducing the levels of noise from the television, computer and other electronic sources, will help support inward motion toward the unification state further as bright light and loud sounds can induce separation. Many of our patients report that changing habits to those that conform with natural cycles improves sleep, reduces their feelings of stress, and contributes to better sense of overall wellbeing.

As we continue to advance our awareness of unification and separation, we can begin to see the many ways in which this balance is pulled off center throughout the day. Emotions, stress, pain, fatigue, and so on, these are all indications that we are not in harmony with natural cycles and we are consuming more energy than we should. Learning to notice these indicators is the first step in cultivating the heart toward developing a more calm and peaceful, or centered, life overall. In Hunyuan medicine, we call the development of this awareness xinfa and it is this method that we use to cultivate the heart. The overall goal of xinfa is to cultivate a good and proper heart, meaning we naturally take good and proper actions and have good and proper feelings for ourselves and others automatically. When we reach this goal, we use only the energy we need for a balanced life, nothing more, nothing less; but to get there takes cultivation. The first step in embarking on this cultivation is to generate awareness for emotions, feelings and actions, first simply noticing them when they arise and letting it go. Dwelling on our emotions or actions consumes energy, therefore our first step is simply to generate awareness and practice letting go. Part 3 of this series will go deeper into xinfa practices, including how to make a ledger to sort emotions and actions, until then we begin to generate awareness and practice letting go…For those ready to embark on more now, the Hunyuan Research Institute has developed heart cultivation tools, which can be found on the Hunyuan xinfa website, so feel free to give them a try and let us know how you like them and how they have helped in your daily life!

Four words to improve childbirth education pt 1

When it comes to childbirth education, in Hunyuan Birth we emphasize the importance of using the simple and elegant principles of life, with four easy concepts: unification, separation, inward and outward to help guide expectant couples through the birth process. With these four words, which apply to everyday life, anyone can understand the process and natural flow of birth without needing to memorize numbers, stages, and other technical information.

In Hunyuan medicine, unification is the daily and nightly recharging of our energy and life to support our life for our lifetime. Unification is supported by inward motion into our physical body, including inhaling oxygen, eating healthy food, drinking enough water, and sleeping. Generally, the stronger our inward movement and unification, the better we feel, the more energy we have throughout our day, and even improves aspects such as mood, healthy appetite, normal thirst, and so on.

Separation is the activity we undergo during the day as part of our daily living and relies on our energy, or life, to be able to expand outward to initiate movement in our physical body and engagement of our mind and heart with the exterior environment. When unification is strong, we are easily able to engage in separation activity each day. When separation is sufficient, we are able to obtain enough life via food, water, air, social engagement, to renew our life energy each night.

These same principles also apply to pregnancy and childbirth, meaning, the more we are able to prioritize healthy inward motion and strengthening unification, in other words, live more healthfully, the better we may feel during pregnancy and the more strength we will have preserved for the process of birth. The further we can contemplate how  these simple concepts apply in daily life, the easier it becomes to see how they also apply throughout gestation, birth and the postpartum period. If you find you need help learning where to start to begin focusing on inward movement and unification, we are here to help! Read other posts on this blog, attend our free courses through the Hunyuan Academy, or visit www.birdandbeeacupuncture.com to learn more about the services and classes that we offer to help support healthy pregnancies, healthy births, and healthy life.

When is a full term pregnancy really full term?

In 2013, ACOG-American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, updated their definition of full-term pregnancy. The new guidelines read as such:

"In the past, the period from 3 weeks before until 2 weeks after the estimated date of delivery was considered “term,” with the expectation that neonatal outcomes from deliveries in this interval were uniform and good. Increasingly, however, research has shown that neonatal outcomes, especially respiratory morbidity, vary depending on the timing of delivery within this 5-week gestational age range. To address this lack of uniformity, a work group was convened in late 2012, which recommended that the label “term” be replaced with the designations early term (37 0/7 weeks of gestation through 38 6/7 weeks of gestation), full term (39 0/7 weeks of gestation through 40 6/7 weeks of gestation), late term (41 0/7 weeks of gestation through 41 6/7 weeks of gestation), and post term (42 0/7 weeks of gestation and beyond) to more accurately describe deliveries occurring at or beyond 37 0/7 weeks of gestation."

The reason for the revisions is stated to be:

"The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine endorse and encourage the uniform use of the work group’s recommended new gestational age designations by all clinicians, researchers, and public health officials to facilitate data reporting, delivery of quality health care, and clinical research."

The need for this revision could lead us to question how we really know when it is appropriate to induce labor or allow a near term labor to progress. In other words, how do we know that the baby of a mother at 39 weeks + 0 days gestation is ready as opposed to 38 weeks + 6 days?

In Hunyuan medicine and Hunyuan birth, we find that it is not the calendar that is most beneficial in determining the appropriate timing of the onset of labor, but what we call the strength of her unification or recharging ability and the yin-pivot. The unification and recharging ability refers to the mother's ability to maintain strength, vitality and health, or what we call life, while the yin-pivot is the shared connection between the mother and her fetus that supports the life of the fetus throughout gestation and birth.

If we examine what needs to happen before a pregnancy reaches term, there are two aspects that warrant consideration. The first, and why ACOG revised their definition of full-term, is that the fetus must be mature and able to sustain his own life outside the womb. For the entire gestation, this new life was supported by the mother, but after birth, the newborn must be able to begin life sustaining activities right away. When fully mature, at birth a newborn will have cleared his lungs of fluid so he can breathe, he will eliminate waste from his intestines so he can eat, he will be able to blink his eyes open and closed, and cry to get his parents' attention. Because of the connection between mother and fetus through the yin-pivot, the timing of the maturation of the fetus could be affected by the strength of the mother's unification and recharging.

In addition to the fetus reaching maturity, the second aspect involved in the onset of labor is the unification strength and recharging ability of the mother. When a mother is healthy with good vitality, she has more strength, vitality and life available to give to the demanding process of birth. If we take the example of sleep, which is a recharging state, as a parallel-think about a night of being awake all night unable to fall asleep. When it was time to go to work or school, it was probably more difficult than the mornings after a good night of sleep, there is physical exhaustion and sluggish mental faculties, all because of the lack of recharging overnight. Going into labor presents the same challenge if the expectant mother is inadequately recharged thus it may be difficult for her body to build up enough strength for labor to begin at the appropriate time. On the other hand, if the mother is healthy, with adequate recharging and unification, her fetus matures on time, and when ready to exist outside the womb, the mother is strong enough to begin an efficient and timely labor. From the Hunyuan perspective, this is a labor that beings on time.

For optimal recharging, we recommend that expectant mothers prioritize sleep, first and foremost. This may mean cutting back on other obligations or taking naps during the day. In addition, getting plenty of whole foods and fresh water support recharging and unification strength. Finally, working on deep breathing techniques to bring more oxygen into the body will make great improvements in health and life. When the mother is healthy and recharged, the fetus reaps all the benefit, both during pregnancy and birth.

For more information, contact Bird & Bee Acupuncture &Birth Services or watch for our presentations in the Hunyuan Academy.

Resources: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Obstetric Practice Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Committee Opinion, Number 579, November 2013. http://www.acog.org/Resources-And-Publications/Committee-Opinions/Committee-on-Obstetric-Practice/Definition-of-Term-Pregnancy

The Power of Words: Why We Need Xinfa Cultivation in Medicine and Life

I came across a really lovely TED talk this week presented by a mother recounting two scenarios that reveal the power of words to help or harm the center of patients, and parents, in healthcare settings. Cultivating the heart, or xinfa, is removed from much of the practice of medicine, but with practice, words naturally arise from the heart of practitioners, not from the head:

“What you cannot obtain from a person’s words, there is no point looking for it in their Heart. What you cannot obtain from a person’s Heart, there is no point in looking for it in their Qi.”*

Two Conversations that Changed My Life, Tamara Taggert, TEDxSFU

Enjoy!

________________________
*Quote from the philosopher Gaozi. Translated by Seidman and Janesch. Hunyuan Xinfa: The Lost Heart of Medicine. p 156.

Ye Feng on Childbirth

"The great energy of nature is called life. This life or life-giving
principle is every where apparent, and is most strikingly
displayed in giving life to man. Now pregnancy is the commencement
of human existence, hence it is called life; further,
the passing into life is a spontaneous operation of nature, as the
eye sees and the ear hears, as the hand grasps and foot walks,
all is perfectly plain and easy, there is nothing that calls for
violent exertion and no difficulties present themselves."

~A Treatise on Midwifery. A new Edition published
in the fifth Year of TAOU KWONG, (1825). Translated
from the Chinese by W. LOCKHART, Esq., M.D.~

Chinese medicine and maternity care

Chinese medicine, having its roots in life principles, holds great potential for helping to improve maternity care by bridging the application of medicine and the principles of preserving life. Preserving life means living in a manner that promotes health and longevity, that recognizes the natural rhythms in nature that assist the rhythms within us, and places importance upon the balance of emotions and the physical body. In the end, medicine of any kind is of no value if it does not consider life first. The true cost of medicine is measured not in dollars, but in how much life is lost. There is no time in which preserving life has more importance than during pregnancy and birth.

We have two choices in how we help expectant mothers during pregnancy and birth, we can fill their heads with technical terms, statistics and data, or we can speak to their hearts, empowering them to be confident in their pregnancy and birth and allowing them to see that what they need to know in order to grow, birth, and raise their children already exists in the heart of every mother. In this way, the technical terms, statastics and data can stay in the heads of birth providers where it belongs, and the experience of birth can stay in the heart of the mother. By reconnecting to the innate wisdom that exists within each of us, expectant mothers can build their inner courage, follow their natural instincts, and identify support people who will help positively support their birth experience and preserve the life of mother and child for the future.

The wisdom of Hunyuan medicine has been instrumental in the development of how I now help mothers find the knowledge of pregnancy and childbirth within themselves and I am pleased to be introducing this information through the Hunyuan Academy, alongside a team of knowledgeable, insightful and compassionate colleagues. My hope is that access to this information will help families build confidence in their own inner knowledge and ability to maintain health and preserve life from the beginning. In addition to the blogs, we are pleased to offer free lectures, talks, and discussions on various topics of health, wellness, life and humanity. To register for any of the free courses offered, please visit the Hunyuan Academy website.

A Couple Lines from History

In looking through some old journals, I came across this letter to the editor in the American Journal of Nursing, published October 1, 1912 by G.L. who was apparently an obstetrical nurse in Kansas:

"Dear Editor: Obstetrics in private nursing differs from obstetrics in hospital nursing only as the surroundings differ. The actual care of the mother and child are identical."

Times haven't really changed so much...