Yoga for Pregnant People

Should you do Yoga while you are pregnant?  Absolutely. Pregnancy Yoga is a great way to prepare yourself for birth. This physical regimen, which includes a lot of breathing rituals helps ground you both physically and psychologically so that you have a less stressful birth.  It can help calm you so you have a peaceful and happy pregnancy. Yoga can also help with such symptoms of pregnancy as sore feet, aching back, morning sickness and shortness of breath. Also yoga is a known cure for anxiety so it may help any nervousness that you might be experiencing about giving birth.   There are special yoga programs for pregnant women and these are called prenatal Yoga. You can probably find announcements for when this type of Yoga is taught at your local YWMCA.  These classes are deliberately designed to be gentle for you. Prenatal yoga is considered to be generally harmless but when you are pregnant you should first consult with your doctor. Your pre natal yoga instructor will also be able to tell you quite a bit about the specific risks that come with doing yoga while pregnant but your doctor is the ultimate expert when it comes to informing you about the health of your baby and your body. The main issue when it comes to yoga for expectant mothers is that is a risk for babies that are not in the right position in the womb by the third trimester. In that situation it is wiser not to practice prenatal yoga. Consulting with your physician should reveal whether or not your baby is in the proper position in your womb or not. Most doctors however will perceive prenatal  yoga as being a safe and healthy way to prepare your muscles for giving birth. Many of these ancient yoga postures have been specifically developed throughout the ages to strengthen the back and stomach muscles of the mother. As pregnancy yoga also helps the mother strengthen and align her spine she will suffer less from the backaches that develop as the result of extra pregnancy body weight and having to carry a child. The mental and meditative components of doing yoga might also allay the anxiety and pain associated with labor. Yoga also significantly increases one's stamina and patience in general which is a good thing while lying in a hospital waiting to give birth.  Another physical benefit is improved circulation to the entire body (including the umbilical cord!), which helps keeps the baby healthy. There are also many social benefits to joining a prenatal yoga group. It offers you a chance to socialize with other mothers to be and develop a support group.  Also the fact that every single other person working out is as round as you means that you don't have to be embarrassed about your body in the same way as you might be working out in a fashion conscious gym.  In a nutshell, joining a prenatal class is a great way to bond with other mothers and make friends!

Parenting Tips
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Window Guards Save Kid’s Lives

 There have been too many new stories about children falling out of windows lately.  This of course is a great tragedy as it is so easy to install window guards and yet still hundreds of children take a tumble annually.  This type of terrible accident is more common than you think.

 In 2005, the United Stated Consumer Safety Commission reported that 732 children were hurt because they crawled out a window and then fell. Twelve of the children who fell died. This has also resulted in a greater number of lawsuits against landlords who have failed to install window guards. 

What is a window guard?  Window guards in effect prevent the child from opening the window. It is the equivalent of a childproof cap on a bottle of drugs.
Landlords should install window guards to prevent lawsuits. Unfortunately most property owners, especially the slumlord types find the installation of window guards to be too expensive and any laws do not enforce their installation. This is why if you are a parent who lives in an apartment building you still might want to pay for window guards even if you ethically feel that the landlord should pay for them.  Install them and then hand your landlord a bill. A window guard is not a complicated thing.  All it amounts to being is a frame of metal bars that can be fixes with screws to a windowpane. As an added bonus they also prevent small animals such as squirrels or even birds from getting in or out of your place as well. Window guards work the best when they are installed along with window stops. Window stops prevent the window from opening more than four inches.  A child simply cannot squeeze through the bars. This allows a lot of air to circulate through the apartment without letting small creatures in or out of the building.

Window stops are most commonly found as part of the fixtures on winding type window knobs. For even more safety, also make sure that all of your windows have screens. A window screen can easily be torn or popped out by the weight of a child’s or pet’s body. So make sure it is a durable heavy one of high quality. Furthermore, a window without a screen is more likely to tempt the curiosity of a child or a pet. However if you do decide to use window guards in your apartment it is not a good idea to put them on every single window. This is because at least one window should be used as an exit in case of fire. The one window in your place that should not have a window guard should be the one that leads to the fire escape.  You should keep this window closed. The latch or handle on this window should also be of the type of design that can make it difficult for a child's little hand to pry open.  Taking just a few of these precautions can help prevent some senseless tragedies from occurring.

Parenting Tips
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