When the Doctor Says “No.”
“I am a doula to a mom with Mo/Di twins. I recommended SpinningBabies to her since her wee ones are transverse right now. She spoke with her Dr. who said to avoid the Spinning Babies exercises stating they were not safe for her type of twins.
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| Monochorionic Twins |
“Which exercise does her Dr. mean to avoid? [Spinning Babies presents dozens of exercises when you combine the website and the videos. The doctor may not have meant to ban walking, Maya abdominal massage, or many others. He is likely concerned that her movement might have the twins bump each other and move in the uterus and so entangle the cords or the twins. When the twins are small, 12-18 weeks or even 24 weeks, their own play in the watery environment might do just that. Life is mobile and so objects and people interact.] I would suspect [the doctor meant for her to avoid] is the forward-leaning inversion. There are, instead of the forward-leaning inversion, balancing exercises that do not require an inversion.
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| Your hand will follow the tension later in the release |
The standing sacral release requires nothing more than standing with soft knees (for both the mother and the helper), breathing into a relaxed belly, and the lightest touch, no lighter than that even.
She can ask her doctor about that one.
My approach [to support the best release of maternal hormones] is to honor the relationship that the mother has chosen and not to interject my opinion. I find there are many avenues to “yes” and seek those that lie within the scope of practice for the doula and within the parameters the mother has set by her choice of care provider.
Balance is a spectrum. Unwinding or untwisting the lower uterine segment is a goal and while the forward-leaning inversion is most efficient at doing this unwinding, there may be other places in her body that, once balanced, can encourage her body to find the space to allow the lower uterine segment to unwind.
Think of the cervical ligaments and their fibrous, living rope, connection to the pelvis, particularly the sacrum. If we can’t “move the lower uterine segment” via the forward-leaning inversion, is there a way to mobilize the sacrum gently without inversion? Seek these ways. Seek a greater connection to the babies and a more parasympathetic nervous system state. So calm and open though inward and peaceful, rather than alert and aware.
