00:00Hi, I'm Latham Thomas, founder of Mama Glow, and I'm so delighted to be having this intimate
00:12womb wellness experience with Bianca at Essence Wellness House. Today we'll be having an incredible
00:19conversation about pregnancy, well-being, and self-care, and I can't wait to hear what
00:25Bianca has to share with us. Hi, Bianca. Hi, Latham. How's it going? I'm so well. How are you?
00:33I'm doing great. I mean, just given the complexity of pregnancy and COVID, but I'm doing great. I'm
00:42in great spirit. And where are you located and how far along are you? Well, actually,
00:48I'm located in New York and I am, I guess, 32 weeks. Looking good, too. Thank you. Thank you.
00:58Well, excellent. I wanted to sort of start us off in a little bit of grounding and mindfulness,
01:05because I know that in this time it is challenging. I know that there's overwhelm. I know that you are
01:13probably feeling all of the things, you know, that are going on around us, and that can lead to
01:20stress and anxiety and a little tension, right? So I'm thinking maybe let's just do a little
01:27breathing exercise together. And this is something that you can do when you wake up in the morning,
01:31when you go to bed at night. It's also something you could do at any time when you start to feel
01:35yourself getting a sense of stress or overwhelm or anxiety that might come up. It's also a great
01:40technique that you can use during labor. So why don't we get comfortable? And I'm going to have
01:47you sit up nice and tall. And so as you sit, move the flesh of your behind back behind you a little
01:55bit. So you feel your sits bones beneath you. Okay. Those sit bones. Now take your feet about
02:00hip distance apart so that your knees are directly over your ankles, right? And so just how you would
02:06normally sit if you were sitting at your desk or something like that. Beautiful. And then maybe
02:11take your palms face up over your knees like this and just rest your palms and then bring your shoulders
02:16up by your ears. Inhale and exhale them onto the back. Good. Yeah. You're already ready, Bianca.
02:23I'm ready for the meditation.
02:25Just close your eyes and just take a moment here and let's just breathe. And so with your eyes closed,
02:31Bianca, I'm just going to invite you to inhale through your nose and then exhale as you sigh it
02:38all out through your mouth. Good. Let's do that again. Inhale through your nose
02:44and then exhale, sigh it all out through your mouth. Good. Again, just like that. Inhale
02:55exhale. And exhale. Now just keep breathing and just moving at your own pace, your own rhythm,
03:10your own breath. Now I want us to just be here and acknowledge all that is happening through your body
03:17right now. Every second of every minute. Your body is working to create the building blocks that will
03:25become your baby. Your body is keeping you well. You and your baby working together in this divine dance,
03:36inhaling and exhale. Inhaling again and exhale. And again and exhale.
03:59Now I'm going to invite you to take your right hand and just place it on your womb and just rub your
04:04belly. Feel all of that space that contains your baby. Knowing that your uterus has expanded 500 to 1,000 times
04:17its normal size to accommodate this life growing within you. Inhale and exhale. And then place your left hand
04:28on your heart. And so you can feel the beat of your heart. You can feel the movement of your belly
04:40and all of the internal sensations. And I want you just to take a moment to focus your energy on yourself.
04:50focus your intention inward on yourself. Think about something that you can commit to that's just for you,
05:00that honors you in this journey that you're experiencing. Take a moment to just bring into
05:10your mind's eye very clearly what that might be. And with that intention set, I want you to gently just bow your head
05:29as you salute yourself, you salute your baby, you salute that intention.
05:34And receive a deep breath, and exhale. Another deep breath, and exhale.
05:50Good. And again, and exhale.
05:55And Bianca, I want you to just bring your arms across your body so you're hugging yourself.
06:00Hug yourself. Hug yourself. Embrace yourself. Swaddle yourself with love.
06:05Good. And then just gently open your eyes when you're ready.
06:14Hi. Welcome back.
06:17I'm happy to be here.
06:20Good. So, so, Bianca, tell me, tell me about this pregnancy and what's going on for you. Tell
06:28me what you're feeling in your body and in your consciousness right now.
06:33So, so right now, you know, I just reached around my third trimester and, um, before now things have
06:41been going okay. You know, I've been feeling good health wise. Um, but I think the, the stretch is the
06:50third semester, the third trimester, you know, it's like, I feel like this is where the rubber hits the road
06:57and it's get, it gets real. Yeah. No, it's like around the corner. And, um, I just feel a little
07:04disconnected, you know, definitely with the COVID in the backdrop and working with the hospitals, you
07:09don't, you don't have that intimacy like you've had in the past. Like I can't just go up there and do a
07:15visit, you know, um, visit of the labor room and, you know, where I would be giving birth. So it's just
07:22kind of like, I wish I could, you know, and so how do you kind of find peace in that, you know, that, um,
07:32I guess that unknown. Yeah. And, and how have you been sort of navigating that experience? You have
07:41community support, have you worked with a doula at all, or do you have family members that are
07:47supporting you through this? All of the above. I've definitely hired a doula through mom.
07:54So definitely, um, she's been a support just reaching out, you know, just like that girlfriend,
08:02how you doing, how things going. And of course the family, you know, just being in New York city,
08:09the Epic center, so-called Epic center, right. Of the COVID virus, definitely checking on me. And, um,
08:15and also I do, I'm so grateful that you started with a meditation. I'm practicing mindful meditation
08:23and, and it's definitely kind of pushing me along far as, um, understanding my expectations. Like I
08:31may have expectations, but understand too, that for the health of me and my baby, that I might have to
08:38make a decision and do something different. Yeah. I love that you're in that headspace of sort of being
08:44open to the possibility. Um, and I also want to, to remind you that this is your experience and this
08:53is your opportunity to, uh, design the birth that you would like. And so I want to have you focus on
09:00a few things with your doula, make sure that the understanding that you have, as you go into the
09:08hospital is that you understand what informed consent looks like, and that you also find a
09:15balance between the safety and the experience of birth during this time of COVID-19. I also make
09:23sure that as you move through this process, that you do some work around protecting your energy,
09:31protecting your emotional state. And I love that meditation is something you've already been
09:35bringing into your practice, because this is going to help to keep you calmer, especially as you get
09:40closer to the days of meeting your baby. Um, and then the third thing I would say is I want you to
09:47establish a sister circle, a network of people, whether that's a text message, a group chat,
09:53something where you can check in with people and they can support you now and through the early
09:58postpartum period. So start identifying those people and your doula can be very helpful with that.
10:02Okay. Okay. Definitely. Does that sound like that's doable?
10:07Oh, yes. Yes. That's definitely doable. And, you know, just that sister circle that you spoke
10:13about, I've, I've been thinking about it, been reaching out and it's definitely been on my mind.
10:19I just haven't put the action behind it, but thank you for bringing it back up and reminding me.
10:25Beautiful. So that's going to be your homework and we're going to check back in. I want to know that
10:29you're, you're busy doing the work. Thank you. Yes. Yes. No problem.
10:34Thank you for this time together, Bianca. It was so lovely to connect with you and so excited for
10:39this baby and this birth. Same here. Same here. Thank you so much. Just this short moment have just
10:45made me, made my day today, you know? So thank you.
10:49My honor. So great to be with you. Thank you.
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