How all women can protect themselves from this shameful behaviour
There has been a great deal of publicity in the last couple of days about the Duchess of Sussex stroking her bump. The trolls on social media have been out in full force with posts which are seething with negative sentiment. A negative state of mind is harmful to mother and baby, which really concerns me. It is very important for a pregnant woman to surround herself with positivity.
One critic decided to take a pot-shot at Meghan cradling the bump as though she was just showing off her pregnancy, missing the point entirely.
{jumi [*53]}
Netmums
Netmums contacted me earlier today for my views for their article; Meghan Markle criticised for cradling her baby bump, but there’s a good reason behind it. I focussed on the positive aspects of cradling and stroking:
‘If the mother is feeling calm and positive and happy, her hormones pass on to the baby so, not only is the mother having a happier pregnancy but that’s affecting her baby.’
I explained about oxytocin and its effect on ‘efficient labour’:
‘There are oxytocin receptors in the uterus, and that’s one of our main hormones that facilitates labour, so if mum’s feeling calm and happy and confident she’s likely to go into labour perfectly naturally’.
Femail
Femail also ran an article; ‘Pregnant Meghan is targeted by trolls for ‘touching her stomach too much’ on stage at the British Fashion Awards – but an expert insists the habit can POSITIVELY affect the baby’ in which I stated that it is a comforting gesture to which the baby responds and will have a profound effect on baby.
Stroking is one of the relaxation methods taught on the KGHypnobirthing course, along with equipping expectant parents with key information and questions to ask their caregivers during pregnancy, birth and beyond to ensure they understand the choices available to them. I also highlighted the impact of negativity on cortisol levels.
Daily Express
And in the article in the Express; ‘Reason Meghan Markle ALWAYS cradles her baby bump in public REVEALED’ I highlighted that this is not unusual:
“Meghan is practicing responsive natural parenting and touching, speaking and cradling her bump will be very beneficial for the baby.”
Ultimately this is what it is all about – doing what comes so naturally and has done for generations. Amongst all the negativity, there are some positive thoughts, including tweets like this:
{jumi [*54]}
As we train our KGHypnobirthing teachers to respect the natural processes of pregnancy and birth, seeing a high-profile woman discussed in this way is so counter-intuitive, but at least we are able to add a positive contribution to the conversation.
