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	<title>Prenatal Yoga Blog</title>
	<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog</link>
	<description>Deb's blog about the Prenatal Yoga Center, life as a Doula, and her own journey to motherhood</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:17:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>Get To Know Your Muscles &#8216;Way Down There&#8217;: The Importance of Kegels</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It is a given that in a yoga class we will likely do downward facing dog, warrior two and savasana.  But one exercise that is unique to a prenatal or postnatal yoga class is a round or two of pelvic floor exercises, also know as &#8220;Kegels&#8221;.
I am often surprised how many women do not [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/get-to-know-your-muscles-way-down-there-the-importance-of-kegels/</link>
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		<title>Prenatal Yoga May Result in Less Labor Pain, Shorter Labor</title>
		<description><![CDATA[For years I have been asked to substantiate with a clinical study the idea that prenatal yoga helps pregnant women during labor. So you can imagine my excitement when I was reading from the Journal of Perinatal Education and found this article doing just that.  Please read and enjoy the article.  This may [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/prenatal-yoga-may-result-in-less-labor-pain-shorter-labor/</link>
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		<title>Where Does Dad Belong During Labor?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week I stumbled upon the article &#8220;A Top Obstetrician On Why Men Should NEVER Be At the Birth Of Their Child&#8221; by a very renowned obstetrician, Michel Odent, about the father&#8217;s place in labor and birth.  Odent is a father of three and a pioneer in water birth.  At first I was [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/where-does-dad-belong-during-labor/</link>
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		<title>Hormonal Blueprint of Labor</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I finally sat down to go through the many books that are stockpiled on my bookcase to give away to Housing Works.  As I was tossing several of my chick lit books into a paper bag, I came across a book I forgot I was given, Enjoy your labor: A new approach to pain [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/hormonal-blueprint-of-labor/</link>
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		<title>Open Throat, Open Vagina</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I am very excited that I can finally put my degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music to good use in my current career!  Recently during class I have been focusing a lot on vocal toning and its benefits during labor and birth.  
So let me back up a bit to my days [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/open-throat-open-vagina/</link>
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		<title>Birthing Positions: Don&#8217;t Just Take it Lying Down!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I attended Andrea&#8217;s birth almost 5 years ago.  I think this was the third birth in which I took the role of a doula - I was just a doula in training.  Andrea had given birth naturally to her first child (almost 10 pounds if I remember correctly) and was well on her [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/dont-just-take-it-lying-down/</link>
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		<title>What is a Doula?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Over the last few weeks I have received so many inquiries about doulas.  What is a doula?  What does a doula do?  How much do they cost?  How do you interview a doula?  So, I thought I would try to answer these questions to the best of my ability.  [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/what-is-a-doula/</link>
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		<title>Home Birth: Is This the Next &#8216;Right to Choose&#8217;?!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On June 18th the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a resolution in support of the ACOG statement that &#8220;the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and ACOG, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/home-birth-is-this-the-next-right-to-choose/</link>
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		<title>Celebrity Births.  The Good.  The Bad.  The Influence.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have never been one to closely follow celebrity gossip.  In fact, I am embarrassingly behind the times - stuck somewhere in the late 90&#8217;s when Julia Roberts, Meg Ryan and Friends were big.  But I can&#8217;t deny the influence celebrities have on society. They are the American equivalent of the British Royal [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/celebrity-births-the-good-the-bad-the-influence/</link>
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		<title>My Labor Has Started.  Now What?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Very few occasions in life have the expectations and anticipation that compare to those of pregnancy - the whole pregnancy is called &#8216;expecting&#8217;!  So of course, the onset of labor is going to be a big deal - but maybe it shouldn&#8217;t.  I am not saying that you shouldn&#8217;t be excited about finally [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/my-labor-has-started-now-what/</link>
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		<title>Get a Move On!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I was talking to one of the students yesterday about freedom of movement during labor.  She was concerned that as soon as she arrived at the hospital she would be hooked up to the EFM and would not have the freedom to move about as she would like.  She asked what I thought [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/get-a-move-on/</link>
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		<title>50 Ways to Scare a Mother</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I came across this video on YouTube.  I encourage all expectant moms to take 3 minutes and 3 seconds out of their day to watch it.
What I think is really scary about this video is how much truth is revealed about the practices of birth in our society.  The video demonstrates the many [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/50-ways-to-scare-a-mother/</link>
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		<title>Explanation of Fetal Positions; What Poses Are Beneficial and What Poses Should Be Avoided During Pregnancy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The cervix is opened by the baby’s head pushing against it with each contraction.  You can visualize this action by picturing the cervix as a turtle neck sweater through which the head is slowly emerging.  Ideally, to push the cervix open most effectively, the baby’s chin is flexed, and the smallest part of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/explanation-of-fetal-positions-what-poses-are-beneficial-and-what-poses-should-be-avoided-during-pregnancy/</link>
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		<title>Eating During Labor</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Labor is probably not the time to request a huge steak dinner, but it is a good idea to continue to nourish your body.  Not eating during labor may reduce your energy, increase your fatigue and decrease your ability to deal with stress.  Can you imagine laboring for 15 hours and then pushing [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/eating-during-labor/</link>
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		<title>Elective Surgery: Nose Job.  Breast Augmentation.  Cesarean????</title>
		<description><![CDATA[True story:  I had the misfortune of bad timing the other day in the bathroom at the UWS Loews Theater, overhearing a brief conversation between two very pregnant women.  The conversation went something like this:
&#8220;When are you due?&#8221;
&#8220;March 20th, but I&#8217;m having my c-section on the 18th.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m having a c-section on the 23rd. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/elective-surgery-nose-job-breast-augmentation-cesarean/</link>
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		<title>Debunking the Difficult Doula</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have just finished reading &#8216;And the Doula Makes Four&#8217;, an article on doulas and lactation consultants in last week&#8217;s New York Times.  The article certainly does not paint a pretty picture of either vocation.
In any field there is a range of professionals and an equally wide range of beliefs and practices to which [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/debunking-the-difficult-doula/</link>
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		<title>Step Away From the DRAMA!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The other day I was channel surfing and landed on &#8220;A Baby Story&#8221;.  I hear students speak often about this show as well as other baby/birthing shows, so I figured I should see what all the fuss is about.  Also, I&#8217;m aware that the images shown in these programs significantly influence how people [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/step-away-from-the-drama/</link>
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		<title>Playing the Field</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last weekend I did a private in-home childbirth education class with one of my students and her husband.  It was really more of a refresher class, since she has already given birth to two beautiful children.  I asked her a bit about her past birth experiences to get an idea of what we [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/playing-the-field/</link>
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		<title>Paging Dr. Feel Good</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Massage is one of the most useful tools for non-medicated pain relief I can bring to a birth.  It has been credited with helping to reduce pain, anxiety, and fear by increasing endorphin levels in the body.  A study reported in &#8216;Mental Health Update&#8217; that &#8220;the women in a group that received physical [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/paging-dr-feel-good/</link>
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		<title>&#8220;The Business of Being Born&#8221;&#8230;Please See This Movie!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I saw a screening of &#8220;The Business of Being Born&#8221; downtown at the IFC on Friday night with a few of the teachers.  I had been anticipating the release of this movie for months.  Within moments of the start of the film, I was already teary.  The facts and images that came [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://prenatalyogacenter.com/blog/the-business-of-being-bornplease-see-this-movie/</link>
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