Pregnancy Survival Guide During COVID-19

We all need more coping skills to help us through this time. And, during pregnancy it’s vital! I know, you want to do ALL the right things and maintain your sanity throughout your pregnancy for the health of your mind, body and baby, during a pandemic! That’s where this Survival Guide will help. You’ll find easy to incorporate Meditations, Yoga and Nutritional Tips for daily use to support your overall pregnancy health during this anxiety ridden time. 

All the best CDC practices of staying home, social distancing, washing your hands, getting enough sleep are a great first defense on the physical level yet, they don’t address any mental and spiritual health and wellness guidelines nor the implications of dealing with anxieties, fears and stress. 

In this pregnancy survival guide you’ll find simple, yet powerful tips on how to maintain your mental health and mindset including tips on meditation practices, mantra, breath work, as well as, different ways to remedy your innate need for physical connection as human beings and how to connect within to your higher self or spiritual nature, your friends and your community at large. Ultimately, you’ll find the content below addresses this gap between how the Western Medical system approaches health and feeding the health and wellness of your mind, body and baby.

My hope is that these tools help to build a wellness framework and daily routine empowering your day to day so you maintain feelings of strength and control over your daily life, your pregnancy, the health of your baby, and your environment.

By taking action you’ll feel more empowered as a Woman and a Mother!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Medical resources to support pregnancy health during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Healthful foods for Immune System strength

• Meditations - Yoga - Breath work

• Mindset

• Yogic and mindset health tips

• Staying connected and engaging in life

• Connect with hobbies ~ old and new

MEDICAL RESOURCES RELATED TO PREGNANCY HEALTH

Staying well informed on pregnancy and your baby’s health during this pandemic with the latest news from credible resources is one part of maintaining control in this environment. Unfortunately, there isn’t much definitive science specific to COVID-19 and pregnancy. Yet, with so many unknowns there are strong theories and past scientific studies related to immune respiratory health that apply to overall immune health which can be utilized in preventative health. 

Some of the top resources include the CDC, ACOG, and the Pediatric JAMA. JAMA  (Journal of American Medical Association) is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. And, of course, there’s Google.

• CDC (Center for Disease Control)

  • CDC Prevention Recommendations: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

  • CDC Breastfeeding Recommendations:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/pregnancy-breastfeeding.html

  • The CDC Hand Washing recommendation as a best defense. “Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds especially after you’ve been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.

• ACOG (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)

  • COVID-19 & Breastfeeding, April 8.  https://www.acog.org/patient-resources/faqs/pregnancy/coronavirus-pregnancy-and-breastfeeding

• NIH (National Institute of Health) - search NIH and COVID-10 or NIH and COVID and Pregnancy for the latest news, science and articles.

  • Mar 23 - Risks of Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Pregnancy; a Narrative Review. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7092922/

• Leading Medical Journals

  • Pediatric JAMA https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics  If you scroll down a little bit on this webpage on the far right side of the page you’ll see a section called Get The Latest From JAMA Pediatrics. This is a great section to quickly scan for articles with the greatest views and those related to COVID-19 and Pregnancy.

• A Pediatrician

  • What Pediatrician Dr. Elisa Song, MD wants you to know. Article regularly updated.

HEALTHFUL FOODS FOR IMMUNE SYSTEM STRENGTH

A healthy diet and healthy Immune system are essential to staying both physically and mentally healthy. They help our organs to function at their best, help to maintain our memory and cognitive ability, help to strengthen the immune system, and promote muscle and bone health.

• DO’S - Hot Tea, Veggies, Fruits, Healthy fats

• DONT’S - Sugar, Processed foods

• Buy fruits and vegetables with the least amount of pesticides. Reference the EWG (Environmental Working Group) for a list of fruits and vegetables tested and ranked by them as having the highest quantities of pesticides. You’ll want organic options here!

  • Handy lists from the EWG for cleaner eating - Produce Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen Lists.

Vitamin C strengthens your immune health, produces antibodies, destroys viruses and bacteria and clears infected cells. It appears to treat respiratory and systemic infection. [1] Daily need increases in patients with conditions like asthma, infections (pneumonia, sinusitis, rheumatic fever), and chronic illnesses. [2] 

Also worth noting; high doses of Vitamin C have been noted to help with fighting COVID-19 and are beginning to be used in the U.S. [3]. And, news broke Apr 6 about China beginning a new clinical trial on the use of intravenous Vitamin C in treating COVID-19, study findings due in Sept., 2020. [4]

MEDITATIONS - BREATH - YOGA

Continuing to find ways to move the body is important in maintaining mind, body and baby health. There are many forms of movement that can be used to achieve this; yoga, walks, breath work (working out the lungs), pelvic floor work, meditations (adjusting & aligning the mind, body, & soul). All of these reduce stress, anxiety and release and increase the availability of “happy” hormones like Serotonin and Melatonin.

Harvard Health Blog on coping with coronavirus anxiety through yoga, meditation and breath.

Mantras

The use of ancient sounds or words called Mantras are frequently used in meditation and for good reason. Known to Indians and documented more than 7,000 years ago [5] all Beej mantras end with the Anuswaram (nasal sound) MMMM which boosts the production of Nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is a molecule that our body produces to help its 50 trillion cells communicate with each other by transmitting signals throughout the entire body. Either silently or aloud. So, it’s the nasal vibration that stimulates the body’s production Nitric Oxide.

NO (nitric oxide) helps with proper immune system function. It’s also an important regulator and mediator of numerous processes in the nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems.

There’s good reason to meditate with the use of mantra as we age too. When the human body reaches the age of 27 years, the secretion of nitric oxide is at its peak. As we get older, the production of nitric oxide in the human body declines gradually [6] and more so from age 42 onwards.

Meditations / Breath Work

Meditation therapy has been used by some doctors in Bombay Hospital [7] in preventing various diseases particularly cardiovascular ailments.

Meditation as a defense against COVID-19. This coronavirus attacks the lungs so any meditations supporting Lung (Breath work), Immune, and/or the Nervous System are a great defense and practice during this time.

Lung Health. 

• 3minute Guided Meditation. This guided Long Deep Breathing meditation is great to use as a simple, daily practice. Sit quietly and take long deep breaths first filling your belly, then your chest and finally your clavicular area. Then exhale in reverse order allowing all the air to leave the body. Continue for 3minutes.

Immune Health 

• Meditate to kill virus more quickly. Sit comfortably with a straight spine. Plug your right nostril and take long deep breaths. At the top of each inhale suspend the breath. Exhale completely and suspend the breath out. Continue with this breath pattern making the inhale and exhale equal lengths.

Nervous System Health

• Join breath with movement AND to reduce overwhelm bring a Mantra into your breath rhythm.

Yoga

• Prenatal Kundalini Yoga Class to support COVID-19 stresses.  KundaliniBaby

• Kundalini Meditation Class to support COVID-19 stresses.   KundaliniBaby.com

• Private Prenatal Kundalini Yoga and Meditation 1:1 work using Yoga, Meditation, and Mantra to specifically support You and Baby during this time. Learn about how to maintain optimal and positive energy flow (prana) in mind, body and baby.

MINDSET

I recently heard this perspective that I LOVE and want to share it with you in hopes that it helps you to stay centered and to remember YOU. It’s a quick thought process. Follow along! 

• Point to your Heart and say “This is Who I Am” 

• Then point to your mind and say “This is Always Going To Be the Place I Live.”

Repeat this to yourself as many times as needed or that feels right for you.

It’s about being present with our mind and having awareness. And ultimately, with practice, choosing your thoughts and reactions. Yes, with practice we can shift our engrained thought patterns and catch ourselves mid-thought and decide to choose a different thought.

Mindset Tools

1. Keep a daily routine. Health benefits: it helps to provide a sense of security and predictability, it helps to reduce stress and anxiety, and it has the added benefit of helping you sleep better at night.

2. Shut off access to news stories around COVID-19 for most of the day.

3. Schedule specific times to check on the latest news. Morning and/or evenings.

4. Recite a positive affirmation every time you wash your hands (see Yogic Daily Rituals & Health Tips below for examples)

5. Byron Katie’s 4 questions that defeat negative thoughts. A great time to put her work into practice. She says, “all the suffering that goes on inside our minds is not reality. It's just a story we torture ourselves with. Her simple system helps to process and shift these thoughts. She has a worksheet on her website (click link) that walks you through the process too!

YOGIC & MINDSET HEALTH TIPS

• Yogis often have a daily meditation practice that starts before dawn. But, a simple 3minute meditation at a time of day that’s convenient for you and baby is all it takes. (See referenced meditations above).

• Practice Long Deep Breathing. Sit quietly for 3minutes and breathe using the full capacity of your breathe. Breathe all the way down first filling your belly, then into your chest and last into your clavicular area. Release the full breath in reverse order and continue with this breath pattern. This is not only calming but helps to clear the lungs of toxins in the little air sacs at the bottom of the lung.

• Try a Yogic twist on the CDC’s hand washing as the best defense protocol. Create your personal grateful or positive hand washing affirmation to recite to yourself every time you wash your hands for the recommended 20 seconds of hand washing. 

Examples of Affirmations:

• “I love and trust my body exactly as it is and listen to what it and Baby are telling me.”

• “I intuitively know what my Baby needs and trust what my Baby tells me.”

• Light a candle for yourself and baby 10-15min. per day.

• Epson salt or Magnesium baths with Lavender Oil. So good! So relaxing!

• Yogi Tea [8] *can be made with decaf black or green tea as a substitute.

STAYING CONNECTED - ENGAGING IN LIFE

1. Plan calls, dates, celebrations, meals with friends with apps downloaded to your phone like FaceTime (iPhone), What’s App, Zoom or Houseparty.

2. Join DJ parties such as: 

• @D-Nice (instagram) with Club Quarantine

• DJ Mel on Facebook. DJ Mel spun for President Obama’s Inaugural party and is the official DJ for the University of Texas Football and Men’s Baskets Teams. He was inducted into The Austin Music Hall of Fame.

SPEND TIME ON A HOBBY (new or old)

• Catch up on reading that pregnancy book

• Learn about care during the first 40-days post pregnancy. Here’s a great book “the first forty days” by Heng Ou.

• Gardening; it’s Spring!

• Take an online class. Such as learning about meal prep in preparation for being home with your baby after birthing or gardening at home.

• Watch episodes of Ted Talks or Tedx Talks

• Find a podcast on a topic you want to learn more about.

• Learn about creating your “Birth Center / Hospital” bag IF you’ll be birthing at a birth center or hospital.

   

Grab Your Survival Guide “EXTRA” Content Here

Including:

- Which fruits & veggies have the highest Vit. C content for a strong Immune system

- Yogi Tea recipe for Immune Health

- An Immune Booster Meditation

- A powerful physical Yoga exercise to break stress, improve health and gain emotional control 

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We’re all in this together! Love yourself, be well, and stay safe!

xo Katherine