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Are you eating your dates?
Did you know that eating dates during the last weeks of pregnancy has many advantages? Keep on reading to find out more! You might have heard that you should eat dates during the last weeks of your pregnancy. But did you know that this is not just a myth or an old wives tale? Research actually backs this up! Keep on reading to find out more. Research on eating dates during pregnancy On this paper by Kura et al., researchers compared a group of two women: the women of the first group consumed six dates per day on the four weeks prior to their due date, and the women on…
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Move to be Born: challenging our preconceptions surrounding childbirth
At the end of November I was honored to be part of the FNR’s Researcher’s Days, a science festival dedicated to bringing research closer to the wider public. I participated in the two first days of the exhibition that were exclusive for high school students. A total of 141 classes were present at the event, with more than 2660 students at teachers in total. Keep on reading to find out more about our participation on the 2024 Researchers Days! Giving birth like a movie star: not the best idea Movies and TV series tend to depict women giving birth lying down on their backs. However, research suggests that this is…
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Some thoughts about preparing for birth
During my first pregnancy, I was super in tune with my body. I kept dancing, flying, training, and I enjoyed every second of it. And I was very naive, for I believed that that was enough. I thought I didn’t need to prepare much for birth, since I was so connected with my body, so used to using it, to listening to it, to responding to it. I wanted to have an unmedicated birth, and I thought that I was used to pain, I was used to breathing through it, so I should be fine. Gosh was I wrong ? That is why, 4 years later, I put together a…
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Esferodinamia: a way to move through pregnancy
Esferodinamia: Weekly movement classes in Luxembourg for pregnancy, to move and connect with your body and your baby. A technique to help you move and connect During the spring I was lucky to be able to take a training that I had been wanted to take for a long time, and I became an Esferodinamia Instructor for Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum. Esferodinamia is a technique in which one move (dynamis) with the help of big balls (sphaerae) and other elements such as smaller balls, suspensions and chairs or barres. Classes, particularly during pregnancy, are much more than a workout: they are meant to help women reconnect with their bodies, acknowledge…
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Movement during Labor and Birth
“Movement is the only intervention with no risks and proven benefits.” Let’s go a bit deeper into understanding what this phrase really means. Movement is the only intervention with NO risks and proven benefits Ok, so you probably heard me say it a few times already. Movement is the only ‘intervention’ with no risks and proven benefits. Ok, but what does this mean exactly? Let’s go deeper into understanding the role of movement during labor and birth. It is not uncommon during labor, specially in hospital settings, that a practitioner might (for many different reasons) suggest a medical intervention, such as artificial oxytocin to speed up labor, or even an…
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Writing a birth plan
On this post I will tell you why I think birth plans are so important, in general, and particularly in the Luxembourgish birth system. I will as well give you a few tips on how to write one! Birth plans and the birth system in Luxembourg I trully believe that birth plans are always useful no matter the context, but in the particular situation here in Luxembourg, they become super important. As you probably know, here in Luxembourg you cannot chose the midwife that will be with you during your labor and birth. (If you didn’t know about this, you can read the post I wrote about the birth system…
