Bloom.n.birth

🤰🏽 *POSITIVE BIRTHING ANTENATAL CLASSES* 🤰🏻

HappyMOMents are thrilled to be working with Originatal and Bloom 'n' Birth *again* to bring you tailored antenatal support classes!

Meet other Moms-to-be

Learn about labour, birth and delivery

Learn about how to have a more empowered birth experience

Discover the Islamic approaches on labour, birth and mental health

Prepare for life with a newborn

~£90~ £35 thanks to subsidy from Originatal and & Bloom 'n' Birth

5-8pm
3hours sessions
3 Thursdays 4th, 11th and 18th August

☕️ Refreshments included

(On site Childcare available at £5 per session)

Royds Mill, Calder Road, Mirfield, WF14 8PJ

BOOK NOW ON 07796670624

http://Happymoments.org.uk/positive-birthing for more information 💕

The HappyMOMents Team 💝

Originatal - Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond

Bloom.n.birth

🚨NEW COURSE DATES🚨

As part of my community outreach work with Happymoments, and in collaboration with Bloom.n.birth, we are offering another amazing opportunity to access this complete birth preparation course at a HUGE discount.

Subsidised by myself and Raeesah.

🤰🏽 *POSITIVE BIRTHING ANTENATAL CLASSES* 🤰🏻

HappyMOMents are thrilled to be working with Originatal and Bloom 'n' Birth *again* to bring you tailored antenatal support classes!

Meet other Moms-to-be

Learn about labour, birth and delivery

Learn about how to have a more empowered birth experience

Discover the Islamic approaches on labour, birth and mental health.

~£90~ £35 thanks to subsidy from Originatal and & Bloom 'n' Birth

5-8pm
3hours sessions
3 Thursdays 4th, 11th and 18th August

☕️ Refreshments included

(On site Childcare available at £5 per session)

Royds Mill, Calder Road, Mirfield, WF14 8PJ

BOOK NOW ON 07796670624

http://Happymoments.org.uk/positive-birthing for more information 💕

The HappyMOMents Team 💝

When you think of it like this,
pregnant mamas produce waste BOTH from yourself and your baby....

And that then gets released into your system..

You get why you need MORE water than the average person when you are pregnant as you have a greater need for detoxification!

Hydration is also important in order to:

✅ form amniotic fluid,

✅produce extra blood,

✅ build new tissue, carry nutrients,

✅ and flush out wastes and toxins.


📌it's also worth thinking about how CLEAN the water you drink is.

Most of the water you drink likely comes from public water systems and is generally safe to drink,
but it can be contaminated with high levels of chemicals that could harm a fetus.

So could you possibly find ways to have purer water ?

And remember you can also get water from the foods you eat. Fruits and vegetables are on average 90% water!🍉🍍🍇🥦🥒🥑

🧊 How are you finding keeping up with 6- 8 medium (200ml) glasses of water a day during pregnancy?

🌸 Islamic Child-Birth Course Testimonial 🌸

[part of the testimonial]

When i had requested a very dear sister to write a course testimonial, who Alhamdulillah studied the Islamic Childbirth Course ,
She had written it so well that I definitely had to make it into a blog post - Masha'Allah! ❤


Her writing reflects everything what the Islamic Childbirth Course has the chance to provide you with and really highlights the key message of this course -

That Allah has created your body perfectly to give birth and that knowledge is really key, knowledge can transform your whole experience!

Find the FULL course testimonial on https://bloomnbirth.com/coursetestimonial/

▪︎ Dua for good offspring▪︎

This dua can be prayed during pregnancy for pious children and also if you are trying to conceive.

رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ

My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.

[Al-Qur’ān, Sūrah Āl `Imrān: 38]


This is the heartfelt dua of Hadhrat Zakariyyah AS when he became old and wanted children.

Due to his age, he felt there was no hope of him having children.

However, when he saw Maryam AS eating fruit that was out of season, his hopes were rekindled.

Zakariyyah AS thought if Allah SWT can grant Maryam A.S. fruits out of season, He SWT definitely can grant him a child out of season (meaning in old age)

Hence he made this beautiful dua!
🌸 tap the save button to keep this post saved Insha'Allah!

May Allah grant us all pious children who will be pleasing to Allah and their parents ❤

How we give birth sets the stage for our parenting journey!

Our parenting sets the tone for our children's inner values, their character and inner voice which they will carry on into adulthood.

So Invest in your birth.

Guard, educate and prepare yourself

It will go a long way!

🧡

You are someone's home 💜

🔆 Islamic Birth Affirmations 🔆

الفتاح

The meaning of Allah Fattah; The Opener.

A beautiful and meaningful word you can keep on your lips whilst in labour.

يا فتاح يا فتاح
When you are repeating this name of Allah have an intention that you are asking

'Ya Allah, Ya Fattah; open up my body to allow me to birth my baby with ease!'

'Ya Fattah, open up the doors of goodness and ease for me!'

'Ya Fattah keep open your doors of mercy and help for me !'

Aameen

P.s. remember how we said an open jaw is so important whilst in labour as an open and relaxed jaw = relaxed and open va**na ?!

And so one of the best ways to remind yourself NOT to clech your Jaw is to PRAY as that will definitely keep your mouth open AND gain your reward Insha'Allah!

🤎

When I was expecting i remember the midwife telling me towards the end of pregnancy that she was concerned that baby was measuring 'big' and so referred me to have a growth scan.

I didn't have the knowledge that i have now (by the grace of Allah)
and so I was up worrying, feeling anxious and googling all night!

All of which was not needed and caused unnecessary anxiety which is the worse thing for a pregnant woman!

And unfortunately this is another fear many women have

Being told that your pelvis is too small or baby is too big to have a physiological birth.

Commonly referred in medical terms as CPD-Cephalopelvic disproportion

Ok here are the FACTS

Ready?

➡️ 𝙉𝙚𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮’𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙭𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩!

➡️ 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙐𝙡𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚-𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙗𝙮 15% !

Research has shown that it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE to diagnose CPD before labour has been well established.

Because there is NO ACCURATE way to measure the breadth your pelvis can EXPAND to in labour!

Unless you have had a serious injury to the pelvis, such as a traumatic fall or accident. Or childhood malnutrition or rickets-

I really love how this quote sums this topic up well...

The inability to birth larger
babies largely originates in
doctors' heads, not
women's bodies.''

-Henci Goer:

I hope this helps anyone facing any worries around this topic Insha'Allah!
💕

〰️Contractions /
Sensations/ Surges〰️

You know when you fall down and you hurt yourself and you are in pain -this pain is an indication that some body part has been injured and needs medical attention.

However labour pains/ contractions are quite the opposite.

If you are someone who feels anxious - thinking of how you will cope with contractions,

i want you to really sit with this for a moment.

'Labour pain is PURPOSEFUL.'

It fuels labour and increases dilation.

Its a sign that your bod is WORKING and PROGRESSING.

It is part of how Allah made you stop what you are doing and focus on this event of giving birth.

So it does NOT need to be feared!

This can be a serious game changer in how you will cope in labour.

There was a actually a study done which concluded that
when women interpret the pain as productive and purposeful, it is associated with positive emotions, and they are more likely to feel they can COPE.

Alternatively, when women interpret the pain as threatening,
it is associated with negative emotions and they tend to feel they need help from external methods of pain control!
[Laura Y Whitburn et al. BMC Pregnancy]
Did you have any mantras that helped you get through labour? 🌸

Sometimes it's the small things that make such a BIG difference!

Like having a straw water bottle🥤

It is so so important to stay hydrated in labour.

Lack of hydration can
-weaken your contractions,
-rapid heart rate,
-infections etc.

All of which we want to avoid in labour!

Having a staw cup near by means minimal effort in taking quick sips of water through your contractions/surges-

and your support partner can help by holding the cup for you too 🙂

And serves as a reminder to stay hydrated!

I also found this small purchase so useful after birth when nursing baby

-as its just that much easier to sip water with one hand whilst cradling baby with the other hand.

🌸 Any small but very useful items/tips that really helped you during labour or postpartum period?

I get it.

I was at the same place not so long ago and would think the same questions.

How will I know that i am in labour?

Will my body know how to give birth?

When do I know that it's time to push?

My dear sister,
just as you follow your body’s cues and instinctively know when you really really need to go to poo,
or when you are exhausted and you need to rest,
or how your body knows how to heal a cut..

Your body will communicate with you that it's time to give birth!

And at this time, the KEY is to tune out external distractions,

facilitate a supportive birth environment

and TUNE INTO YOUR BODY!

Bi nusri'Allah 🌸

Dates dates dates!

A PROVEN food to help with labour and birth 😊

Whwn it comes to otjer fresh tropical fruits like pineapple and papaya-
they are high in an enzyme called bromelain, which has been historically used to start labour.

But they have not been clinically proven to actually help with labour and birth.

That said pineapple 🍍 is a good source of vitamin C,
Papaya - vitamin A ,
folate,
iron and other nutrients essential to a healthy pregnancy!

Did you know this? 🌸

Does Islam support the ideology of positive affirmations?


The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah says:
'I am just as My slave thinks I am,

(i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me.

[Sahih al-Bukhari]


We learn from this that Allah swt works according to our thoughts.

He plans our life according to how we think.

So if you think positively about your birth,

have good hope in Allah that He will make it easy for you

AND

put in your effort by educating yourself on how to work with your body and practically prep your body-

then Insha'Allah it WILL be an empowering birth experience!

So yes.

Positive affirmations are beneficial and supported in Islam

(aslong as they do not have any words going against Islamic beliefs)

Islamic birth affirmations cards coming sooon 🔆

🔅Islamic Birth Affirmations 🔅

الرحمن

I wrote about this in my earlier posts, but I wanted to mention this again as it is such a beautiful concept Subhana'Allah !

The word 'Mercy' in Arabic language is "Rahmah"

and

The word 'Womb' in Arabic language is "Raham"

So why did our Rabb connect the two words 'Mercy' (Rahmah) and 'Womb'
(Raham) in origin?

It is because a mother's womb
beautifully exemplified the
concept of mercy.

The child inside the womb is protected,
nurtured and loved without even seeing the mother.

This analogyis similar to Allah's love for His creation, Subhan'Allah!

'Ya Rahmaan- the Most Merciful
encompass me with your infinite mercy so that I am able to have an easy and empowering pregnancy and birth !

And Ya Rahmaan, have mercy upon my parents as they had mercy on me when I was small.”

Aameen!

So what's the big deal about sleeping on your side in pregnancy?

It boils down to blood flow.

the entire weight of your growing uterus and baby on your back,
your intestines and your vena cava-which is the main vein that carries blood back to the heart from your body!

❓Any research on this?

Research has shown that after 28 weeks of pregnancy-going to sleep on your back increases your risk of stillbirth.

❓What if find myself sleeping on my back during the night?!

The research has been focused on position *going to sleep*,
not position during the night.

So If you wake up on your back, just settle back to sleep on your side
:)

🌟TIP-

If you have long hair, try tying it in a low bun, which may make it uncomfortable to sleep on your back for any length of time!

Did you know the importance of sleeping on your side during pregnancy? 🌿

Bloom.n.birth updated their phone number.

95% of our emotions are determined the way we talk to ourselves as you go through the day!

🧠its safe to say that our mind is a very strong weapon we have!

so no wonder research shows that positive birth affirmations have given women a more 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐫!

[Madden et al. (2016)]

They also:

🔅Eliminate negative thoughts and feelings

🔅Help you stay in the moment and focus on your birth

🔅Help reduce stress and increase oxytocin (perfect for labour)

🔅Can be used by your support person as a way to assist you

➡️ Soo how do they work?

By repeating positive statements to yourself> you 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 to your subconscious mind.

Your subconcious mind runs the show.

so how we feel and behave is due to how we *𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤*

So positive thoughts= positive feelings which = 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐬.

⛔ We reduce adrenaline and stress hormones and we produce more of the good hormones the 𝐨𝐱𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐧 .

🪙Which can be the number one game changer in birth !!

🔆So now we can approach labor with calm and confidence!

Your body will respond and will assist you to birth your baby as quickly and as easily as possible Insha'Allah!

❔Have you used positive birth affirmations before?

💫 will be sharing some islamic positive birth affirmations very soon keep an 👀 out!

▪︎what to read throughout pregnancy▪︎

*These surah's of the Qur'aan have NOT been mentioned to pray during pregnancy from Hadith.

However they have been advised by the scholars to read as they withhold benefit for the reader and Insha'Allah
for the baby.

(Reference.Hazrat M***i Huzaifa Sahab Palanpuri D. B)

The belief should be in Allah alone to instill these qualities in our child, and we pray that the blessed
words of the Qur'aan can be a *means* of attaining this!

♡tag a pregnant mama who can benefit from this ♡

1. Walking
During the first part of labour and really until you have the stamina to do so , keep walking.

walking can help your pelvis move about more freely and help gravity assist your baby in moving down into your pelvis➡️ shorter labour :)

2. Dehydration makes your surges/contractions weaker!
So drink often which will make you go to the toilet and this is good as urinating will allow your pelvic muscles to relax ➡️help you dilate and baby descent

3. Lying on your back is actually the WORST position for labour despite our depiction of birth 😲

Lying down ➡️ restricts the amount of space available in your pelvis

Staying Upright ➡️ 28% more space for baby to move and descend!

4. Deep breathing /belly breathing can help you relax

Breathe in strength, breathe out tension

And your pelvic floor and mouth are connected so remember an open mouth ➡️ open va**na!

I know this sounds like an odd question
But hear me out..

So imagine that you are on a journey, you take a stop at the service station because you really need to use the toilet 🚻

You rush into the cubicle and sit on the 🚽 only to realise the lock is broken
And you can hear someone approaching...

Would you feel comfortable relieving yourself knowing anyone can walk in?

Ok so here's the link with birth.

In birth, just like when we use the toilet our bottom parts work best in privacy!

When we feel like we are:

🚫under a timer
🚫 fearful

🚫lack of privacy
🚫Stimulating the wrong part of the brain

our uterus and body start to have performance anxiety.

Which means , our body will go into fight flight mode, instead of releasing oxytocin- the good hormone needed for birth which is most powerful when we are relaxed.

So now our surges/contractions slow down,
Hence longer labour!

If you really want a physiological birth, its important you learn techniques of how to

👉relax your body and mind

👉natural pain relief techniques

👉Facilitate a positive birth environment

👉Advocate for yourself and set the tone for what kind of birth you'd like

How do you this?
✅ Breathing techniques,

✅Positive affirmations,

✅ Knowing how to work with, and not against your body

✅ Be confident with your birth team and brithing environment - and this starts from YOU.

If YOU have enough KNOWLEDGE of what will help and what will hinder your labour!


💫Insha'Allah launching my Islamic childbirth education course soon which will cover this and so so much more!

so keep an eye 👀 out and until then I pray these posts are helping!

Sending love to you and your growing bub

May Allah keep you both in good health 💜

▪︎dua ▪︎

"Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyatina qurrata a`yunin wa’j`alna li’l muttaqina imama”

[Qur’an, 25:74]

In this powerful dua we are asking Allah to make our spouses & children the "𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔!"

What does this mean?

The "eyes becoming cool" is an Arab idiom.

This expression equates to finding refuge from a storm.

A storm that could possibly be in our own homes too!

So when we make this powerful dua and ask Allah (SWT)  to make our spouses and our children the coolness of our eyes, we are

♡ directly asking that they make our eyes moist with that coolness which will continually bring happiness and comfort to us from them. 😍

♡ we are asking Allah SWT for our home to become a place of refuge.

 A place where our worries disappear when we come home to our spouse & children! 🏠

𝑩𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒖𝒂:

-can be recited when you are pregnant and want to ask Allah for a safe pregnancy and a healthy new born. 🤰

• Asking Allah for obedient children that are good positive influence on others.  💑

• Dua can also be recited for married couple looking to get pregnant and have beautiful babies.👶

• Asking Allah for a righteous life partner.👫

Be sure to add this beautiful dua to your dua list especially in the remaining blessed days of Ramadhan! 🤍

Why does the *way* we birth even matter?

Its true.

You aren't going to get a actual medal 🏅 based on the way you birth.

Whether you used natural pain relief or medical pain relief.

Home birth or hospital birth etc.

But let me tell you one thing..

The way we birth often affects the way we *feel*about our *bodies* and our *capabilities!*

In birthing our babies, we birth ourselves. Our capabilities. Our families and we reshape our lives!
🧡

▪︎ hospital bag tip ▪︎

One of the most useful items items i packed were toiletry bags/pouches!

It really helped in keeping my hospital bag organised as the bags were like mini compartments  :)

You can use them to:

- put in toiletry items like toothbrush, massage oil, sanitary towels, hairbands etc 🪥🧼🧴

- These pouches can also come in use when  going to the toilet in the hospital,🚽
as you can take your toiletries easily and put them down without feeling weary of your necessities becoming unclean!

-Put in babys first outfit :)

Having baby's outfit on one accessible place can be really useful for your birth partner.
It saves them from sifting through your bag to find babys clothes!
👶🩲

that sweet sweet moment your baby is born, you most likely will be overwhelmed with joy, awe and happiness! 👼🥰

So having babies necessities like their babygrow, baby vest, nappy near by in one place can be helpful!

When my bump had become quite visible and I had shared my news of expecting to my friends, I remember a passionate family friend asking me if I had looked into “natural birthing”

I remembered thinking, “ what, there’s different ways of giving birth?!?”
🤔

I was under the impression that probably around my due date,
I'd go to the hospital and the medical staff would be there to help me 'deliver' my baby.

And I'd pray and pray and pray a little more that my labour is very short and I have a healthy baby. 🤲

See that’s exactly what the problem is my dear sis!!

I had already subconsciously handed my body over to somebody else to 'deliver' my baby. 

I believed that birth is a 'medical emergency' and that I need to be 'saved' from it by medical professionals.

On a subconscious level, I didn’t have full trust in my body that it was capable of birthing my child.

It was then I started looking into the field of birthing.

And the more I studied and took courses, I came to the beautiful, simple and reassuring belief that

Allah has made our bodies perfectly capable of carrying, birthing and nurturing our babies.

That birth should not be something to fear

That my body is NOT BROKEN and I do not need to invite unnecessary medical interventions.

Dont get me wrong sis, dctors, medical interventions have their place and we are blessed and grateful for their presence and skills;

they have saved lives (bi nusri'Allah)

But most women CAN give birth without medical interventions.

Because birth is a NATURAL LIFE EVENT and not a MEDICAL EMERGENCY!

But in order to achieve this, you need to take out time to 'educate' and prepare for this day,

just as how we put all our heart, mind and soul into prepping for other major events in life.

And remember your birth should be your biggest ACHIEVEMENT and not your biggest FEAR!

- Re -phrase the word "contractions" to "powerfu surges" / "waves" / "sensations"

-when we allow negative words and concepts into our thoughts, we're increasing the activity in our brain's fear center, causing +stress+ producing hormones to flood our system.
Changing to positive language can help us to
*stop*feeling afraid or anxious.

Examples:

-Surges not contractions
-Sensations not pains
-Breathing down not pushing

- it is signal & blessing from Allah

When a baby is born, it will have quite a jounrey descending down and out into the world. magine just walking outside and the baby dropped out!
Contractions forces you to stop and give attention to your body. So you can *prepare* for your baby to come out *safely*

- visualise a positive experience!

-Did you know that the brain makes no distinction between actual events and imagined events? A thought is just as important to the mind as an external
event (Jeannerod,1 995)
So imagine a positive experience and sink into it :)

- remind yourself, "this sensation is good!

each wave brings me closer to meeting my bundle of "joy!"!
surrender and submit to Allah .

birth is a *psychological* process. It demands us to let go, surrender and trust the perfect design of our body, designed by the perfect *creator* Allah.
do not fight the urges, instead lean into it!

- *internalise* the belief that Allah will not give you more than you can bear!

- That means Allah will also give you the 'tools' and *capability* to bear whatever discomfort you go through!

Does the way you give birth even matter?

Yes!

An empowering experience can prepare the baby and mother perfectly in every way to contine on their journey together!