The Alexander Technique for Pregnancy and Childbirth

162 Pages·1995·50.652 MB·English

by  Brita Forsstrom, Mel Hampson

~E ___ DE
TECHNIQUE
FOR PREGNANCY
AND CHILDBIRTH
BRITA FORSSTROM AND MEL HAMPSON
THE
ALEXANDER
TECHNIQUE
FOR PREGNANCY
AND CHILDBIRTH
Brita Forsstrom is an Alexander teacher and a mother. She
first trained in librarianship and followed this with a short
spell working as a journ alist in her native Sweden. She has
run a private practice since 1984 and regularly gives
,.vorkshops and talks. She is also experienced in teaching
groups of pregnant women and new mothers. Brita
Forsstrom lives in Bloomsbury, London.
Mel Hampson has a degree in psychology, and has worked
as an editor and copyv.riter in this area. She is a trained
midwife and has a private practice teaching the Alexander
Technique , regularly running introductory courses and
working with pregnant women both individually and in
antenatal Alexander groups. She is currently studying for a
Masters degree in Occupationa l Psychology. Mel Hampson
lives in Hampstead, London .
Nancy Durrell McKenna is an award-winning
photographer and film maker specializing in pregnanc y and
childbirth and Third World issues.

---- THE ----
ALE _ NDER
TECHNIQUE
FOR PREGNANCY
AND
CHILDBIRTH
BRITA FORSSTROM AND MEL HAMPSON
Photographbsy N ancyD urrellM cI(enna
VICTOR GOLLANCZ
LONDON
First published in Grear Britain 1995 by Victor Gollancz
A Division of the Cassell group
Wellington House, 125-130 Strand, London WC2R 0BB
A Gollancz Paperback Original© Brita Forssrrom and /vld Hampson 1995
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopy ing,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publishers.
The right of Brira Forssrrom and Mel Hampson to be identified as autho rs of this
work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0 575 05486 7
Designed by Robert Updegraff
Line illustrations by Karen Hiscock
Printed by The Bath Press, Avon
CONTENTS
Introduction 7
PART ONE: What Is the Alexander Technique? 9
1 Alexander Technique: the Theory 10
2 The Alexander Technique in Practice 33
PART Two: The Alexander Way for Pregnancy 52
3 Use in Pregnancy 54
4 Everyday Activities During Pregnancy 67
5 Breathing in Pregnancy 7 4
6 C01n1non Complaints in Pregnancy 82
PART THREE: Labour and Birth 88
7 Use in Labour 89
8 The Process of Labour 107
9 Overcoming Fear and Pain in Labour 120
10 Birth Support 128
PART FOUR: The Alexander Technique for Parenting 131
11 After the Baby Is Born 131
12 Looking After Your Baby with Good Use 138
13 Use and Your Child 152
Further Reading 15 7
Useful Addresses 157
h~ 1~
Brita: For Ann-Mari, my mother, and Anna, my daughter
Mel: For Jackie, my mother
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Little Gidding, T. S. Eliot
Acknowledgements
Brita: I wish to thank the following who have helped to see the book through from
conception to birth: Veronica Peck for passing it my way, all the pregnant women
and new mother s whom I have taught, and who have been a great source of
inspiration, John 1 icholls for support in my O\rn learning process, Sam McCarter
for seeing me through a sticky patch, Susan Fleming for her edjting and many
friends and colleagues for providing comments, suggestions and encouragement,
and and finally a special thanks to John and Anna for their loving support during
the time of writing.
Mel: I'd like to thank all the women I have had the pleasure ofworkjng with and of
learning from during their childbearing year; and my friends and colleagues for
generou sly contributin g their ideas to this book. My heartfelt thanks go to all my
friends for their love and support, most especially Heather Amos, Jenny Ashworth,
Susan Dailey, Mark Gessler, and my partner Simon Wilkinson.
We would both like to express our thanks to the following: Sean Carey, Jean Clark,
Claire Dannatt , Helen Gibson (Johnson ), Sheila Gleeson, Judy Hammond,
Christine Matheson, Lynne Nicholls , Jenny Norton, Janet Pinder, R.efia Sacks, Liz
Scannell, Monique Stone and Francoise Urquhart for their wealth of contributions;
Nancy Durrell -McKenna for the photog raphy, Robert Updegraff for the design,
Karen Hiscock for her splenrud illustrations, Roz Lewis for her eruting skills, and
Katrina Whone at Victor Gollancz for her continual optimism and patience in
seeing the book through to production .
INTRODUCTION
Mel: the midwife)s perspective
While practising as a midwife I was privileged to share in the joy of many
women's pregnancy, birthin g and early days with the baby. However, I was
saddened to see a widespread acceptance of the common complaints of
pregnancy and also of the frequency with which medical intervention was
used for the birth.
Although I believed that the approac h taken by the medical profession was
partly to blame, I also felt there were other factors: a large majority of women
lead busy and stressful lives, which precludes adequate time for exercise and
relaxation; and tl1e prevailing cultural belief in Britain is that birth is painful
and dangerous. I felt strong ly that, in addition to changes in hospital
practices, women tl1emselves needed to take some practical steps to promote a
healthy pregnancy, and also to regain confidence in their own ability to give
birth.
I reluctantly stopped working as a midwife because of a debilitating back
problem. My training in the Alexander Technique not only gave me a strong
back, but a new and satisfying way to work with pregnant women, addressing
the problems I had encountered as a midwife. The understanding of the
intimate relationship between mind and body that is learned in tJ1e Technique
effects tJ1e most fundamenta l changes in a woman's approach to childbearing
and motherhood.
I have found that the Techn ique facilitates a more comfortable and
enjoyable pregnancy, engenders a trust that birth is a norma l physiological
process and prepares a woman for actively participating in tl1e birtl1 of her
baby. It gives her the skills for looking after herself while caring for tJ1e
newborn child, and maintaining a healthy sense of her own self at this time
when the boundaries between mother and child become so blurred.
Of course, practising the Alexander Technique does not mean there will be
no difficulties, but it does give women the ability to have real choice and
contro l, whatever the circumstances. Thus, for all women, childbirth can be a
positive and enriching experience, laying strong foundations for parenthood.
Mel Hampson, London, November 1994
Brita: the mother)s perspective
Pregnancy is the start of a journe y into the unknown. Although we can find
out a great deal about what to expect from pregnancy, childbirth and
parenthood, our own experiences will be new and our reactions
unpredictable. When I was pregnant I often felt that books, midwives and
doctor s were concerned with the pregnancy independently of me, with much
emphasis on the end result, the baby. I sometimes vvondered 'What about me,
what about afterwards?' For me the Alexander Technique provided the
missing link.
This very practical metl1od teaches us a better way to 'use' ourselves - mind
and body - and tl1us promotes healthy functioning in general, and hence of
ilie processes of pregnancy and birth. Its main concern is wiili teaching us to
have choice and control over our reactions as a means to establish this better
'use', and it was this aspect of tl1e Technique that I found most helpful. It
helped me to keep a sense of myself and yet to allow the constant changes in
my body and lifestyle. I was able to go on teaching right up to six days before
going into labour. I also had the benefit of having Diana Aubrey, friend and
Alexander teacher, with me in tl1e labour ward. Her 'hands-on direction'
during the pushjng stage helped enormous ly. The Technique was invaluable
in tl1e recovery afterwards, and as the years of motherhood pass by ( often too
quickly!) I continue to receive constant help and inspiration from the work.
I hope the reader too will be inspired to learn and benefit from it, as I
believe that the Alexander Technique is tl1e ideal preparation for pregnancy,
birth , pareniliood, and beyond.
Brita Forsstrom, London, November 1994
PART ONE
What Is the Alexander Technique?
The Alexander Technique is a form of sensory re-education that teaches
people how to eliminate ingrained habits of body 'misuse' and stress
patterns, common ly experienced as physical disorders such as bad backs,
neck problems and headaches, or mental and emotiona l problems such as
irritability or depression.
The Technique was discovered over a hundr ed years ago, and has been
taught in this country for many years. People approach the Technique for a
variety of reasons. Some have heard it will help the aforementio ned
conditions, some are simply attracted to the ideas that underpin the work.
Whatever the reason, pupils of the Technique all have one thing in
common - they want to change and improve conditions that stop them
enjoying a happy, healthy life.
Although primarily a physical teaching ( teachers gently use their hands
to help change the body) the Technique has important philosophical
concepts behind it, which makes it more than a simple therapy. It is not a
passive treatment, such as osteopathy or massage, with which it is often
erroneously compared. The difference lies in the teacher's approach to the
pupil and their problems. The Techniq ue leans on its philosophical
background and encourages the pupil to think, to become more conscious,
to learn awareness of the mind and body in order to heal themselves.
In this book we will be showing hmv the Alexander Technique can be
helpful during pregnancy and childbirth, and in caring for babies and small
children. We strong ly recommend that you use this book as an adjunct to
direct experience of having lessons yourself, as no amount of text can hope
to convey the personal experience that will be unique to you and your body
when you start to practise Alexander work. First, though, let us look at the
basic principles of the Technique, and explain some of the terms Alexander
coined to describe his work.