Prenatal Yoga for Labor

  Christelle Donaghy 

  Christelle Donaghy, a qualified pre and post natal yoga teacher, registered nurse and yoga practitioner presents the videos.  Christelle practices yoga, yogic breathing and meditation every day.  Before teaching yoga she worked as a nurse in France, Switzerland, Ireland, and New Caledonia where she assisted in delivering babies.  She is qualified in Massage Therapy and Bowen Therapy. 

  Christelle studied yoga for years under the Himalayan yoga master, Keshav Rupakheti from Nepal and travelled To Rishikesh India to practice with Kamal Singh.  She studied pre and post natal yoga with Jane Mackarness from England.  She now runs her own Yoga Studio since 2016 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Spain,  called OmYogaLasPalmas.

  Christelle’s story 

  Our first baby was breech at the first scan - he had plenty of time to turn - but he never did. Instead, he rolled himself up so tightly that even after he was born he used to go to sleep by sucking his own toes. 

  The obstetrician, a kind and experienced woman, advised me to go for a Caesarean section. Our baby’s health was the most important thing for us, so my husband and I were happy with the decision. 

  Our second baby had her head down in my womb so I was determined to have a natural birth and my obstetrician agreed. When my waters broke I was 10 days overdue.  I managed the labor pain with yogic breathing exercises and by laughing at all my husband’s jokes. 

  Because I had already had a Caesarean I was attached to a monitor and was not able to move around much - the only movements were on a birth ball. After 16 hours labor, I was still only 3cm dilated and our baby was showing signs of distress.  I resigned myself to a second Caesarean; everything went fine and one hour later our daughter was born. She was beautiful. 

  Our third child had to be born by Caesarean because I had already had two sections. A natural birth was deemed to be too risky. I feel very lucky. My three children are healthy, and I recovered well. 

  I have often wondered if I did all I could to have a natural delivery with my second baby. Should I have moved around more? Should I have had the monitor taken away, giving me the chance to do yoga and help my baby move down? How important was it to move during labor? I will never know what would have happened.  So many "ifs". 

  But those questions led me to a decision: I wanted to help other mothers through pregnancy, labor and beyond. I practised yoga, but I did not know enough about pregnancy yoga when I was giving birth. Perhaps if I had practised prenatal yoga I would have enjoyed a natural birth with my second and third children. 

  My mission now is to help other mothers by sharing the benefits and techniques of yoga. 

  That is why we set up Yoga4mothers. 

  I am grateful for the three Caesareans because without them I would not have had the chance to learn so much and to share and connect with mothers, fathers and babies around the world. 

  The Yoga4mothers classes respond to the changes that take place so quickly during pregnancy. They are built on a combination of research and personal experience. I used my nursing background to research in depth what happens in the womb each week. I combined this knowledge with my own experience of pregnancy to develop classes that are appropriate for each week of our pregnancy. 

  I look forward to seeing you on your yoga mat. 

  Namaste, 

  Christelle 

  Yoga4mothers 

  Our mission at Yoga4Mothers is to help women through pregnancy and after childbirth. 

  Yoga has enormous benefits for mother and child and we want to share knowledge and techniques so as many women as possible can benefit.  Yoga during pregnancy keeps mother and baby healthy.  It prepares the mother mentally and physically for labor.  It maintains the mother’s figure and speeds up the process of regaining the woman’s figure after giving birth. 

  Yoga4mothers offers yoga video classes and information for pregnant women and new mothers.