Growing Rose: Modern Babies Made Naturally

In Costa Rica, around 15 weeks pregnant, day after Christmas During my retreat in Costa Rica in December, I had the pleasure of meeting another pregnant mama of 27 weeks, who also happened to be my yoga instructor for a class or two during my stay. I loved watching her teach yoga with her pregnant belly because she helped calm my nerves about performing stretches while pregnant, and I could tangibly see how I could modify my movements to accommodate the growing body. She helped me so much by demonstrating. After our first class, we connected and chatted animatedly and then I even got to hang out with her and her partner for a while.  We talked about Ina May’s work, and she let me know that it was actually very hard to find or order Ina May’s books in her town. So I promised to send her some literature when I got back. Back in Chicago, I sent her two of Ina May’s books, and in return, she sent me a wonderful pair of Guatemalan sandals. From there, we stayed in touch, and after ...

When I read that I would need to be screened for something called gestational diabetes at the beginning of my pregnancy, I didn’t give it much thought. It did not seem like something that deserved a wealth of my attention. My thinking pattern was, “Well, I don’t have diabetes now, so this must just be some sort of routine test that I’ll pass with flying colors.” So, imagine my surprise, when I found out that I was considered at-risk when I was 3 mg of sugar over the standard of 140mg of sugar per 100 milli-liters of blood on my one-hour screening exam. This is how it goes generally: Around 28 weeks of your pregnancy you will be instructed to drink about 60g of sugar in the form of a glucose beverage, grape juice, or a bunch of Twizzlers an hour before your blood test. Then you’ll get a sample of blood drawn at your lab, midwife, or obgyn visit. You’ll get the results back within a day or so and if the number is over 140mg (depending on where you live and who you see) then you may be i...