Ambience Items for Clients of
Ronnie Falcao, LM
Creating the right ambience at your birth can have a wonderful effect
in many different ways:
- When you are surrounded by pleasant sights, sounds and smells
that you
have chosen as being particularly soothing for you, you are more likely
to be relaxed during your labor, so labor is likely to progress better
and be easier.
- Many cultures believe that the baby imprints on the environment
they're
born into; it makes sense to have this be as beautiful, calm and
inspiring
as possible.
- Your support people will be better able to support you if they
feel happy
and calm in a pleasant environment.
Some families already have a space that is ideal for labor and
birth.
Others have constraints that call for some compromises, and sometimes
they appreciate some help in creating a special place for the baby's
birth.
Here are some items that I offer for loan from 37 weeks until
after
the baby is born.
Please let me know if you'd like me to reserve some of these items
for you.
Sometimes these items are just an extra bother or a distraction from
the business of laboring,
so I recommend that you only choose those items that particularly
appeal
to you.
Lighting
Decoration - Valances,
Banners, and Wall
Hangings
Relaxing Imagery DVDs
Aromatherapy
Flower Essences
Music CDs
Miscellaneous
Lighting
The Birthing Star - this hangs in my office most of the time -
it
creates a very nice dim lighting.
.
Gentle LED Birth Lights - for a candle-like glow that is
fire-safe
for children. - battery-powered LED lights in pretty shades.
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"Low lighting is soothing. We seek it as a refuge from the
bright light
of
the workplace and from the fluorescent lights of institutions. We
return
to
low light to rest, reflect, relax. We meditate or pray in the dim light
of holy
places. We make love in candlelight, in the moonlight or in darkness.
During the birth process, low light provides the most
comfortable
environment for mother and child. Low light creates a relaxing and
private
atmosphere in which a special, intimate event can occur. A room
lit with
natural light, candles, or a very low wattage light provides an ideal
ambience for a laboring woman."
from Barbara Harper's "Gentle Birth Choices"
|
Decoration
- Valances, Wall Hangings and Banners
| Silk Scarf Valances - If you
have some
large mirrors or electronic equipment that you'd like to cover during
your
birth, or if you just want to create a more beautiful environment for
your
baby to be born into, I have four silk valances which can be used
creatively
to dress up your birthing area. Colors: white, orchid
(pale,
ethereal), sea foam green (vibrant), medium blue (muted).
Each
measures
42" by 218", i.e. 3.5' by about 18'. These are very
light, so they can be held in place with thread or maybe with
tape.
And, yes, they're machine washable! |
|
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Good Karma Banners - Strings of
inspiring
banners add visual beauty and also can serve as Buddhist-style prayer
flags:
Each panel is about 14" x 14", and the cord is about 12' long, I think.
SPIRAL HEART - "Spiral into the dance of the open heart and awaken
your
limitless potential." (Garden not included.)
MEDITATION MANDALA - "Inspiring meditation and the opening of heart
and mind, like the lotus flower, to the love and wisdom of the
universe."
GARDEN OF THE GODDESS - "Awaken the goddess within blessing
you
with gifts of freedom, compassion, wisdom, strength, abundance
and
passion of the heart."
NIRVANA - "Eternal Lotus unfolds with fragrant bliss; Buddha and
Quan
Yin rest peacefully within its tranquil bloom. May the peace in your
heart
forever unfold."
Wall Hangings - These are 32" x
32"
- very appropriate as a focal point for hypnosis-based coping
techniques:
| Golden Lotus |
Yin Yang Lotus |
 |
 |
| Night Lotus |
Dragofly Moon |
 |
 |
Relaxing Imagery DVDs
Aquaria
- these fish-tank videos create a visually hypnotic environment.
This was recommended to me by an AquaDoula renter who said they played
it throughout the labor, and during a contraction, the laboring woman
would
submerge herself in the tub and imagine herself to be like one of the
fish
on the video; she said it was wonderful, and she had a very short,
easy,
first-baby labor.
Ashes and Snow - video
art
with a meditative quality and subject matter very supportive of labor
and
birth.
Blossoming
Lotus
with
Hemi-Sync® - "mystical, sacred symbols of the Far East.
Hypnotic animation and vibrantly brilliant color merged with the
heart-opening
Indigo for Quantum Focus Hemi-Sync® soundtrack truly will inspire
you
to unparalleled new peaks of creative inspiration."
LightSOURCE
with
Deep
Time Dreaming and Hemi-Sync® 2nd Edition - "journeys
to a zone beyond time and space where the mind becomes empty and Spirit
becomes manifest. LIGHTSOURCE doesn’t just look and sound like a
shamanic
experience, it actually feels like one. Drawing on imagery that is both
ancient and divine, LIGHTSOURCE leaves little doubt that there is a
SACRED
GEOMETRY which transcends and includes all spiritual paths. Influences
from Mayan, Tibetan, Islamic/Judeo/Christian, Egyptian cosmologies —
and
Alchemy, too — all merge into Oneness with animation so beautiful it‘s
entrancing."
Squirrel Threesome - Ambient Squirrels (produced by a neighbor,
Carol
Wright)
Aromatherapy
I sometimes carry these essential
oils with me, but it helps if you let me know if you're interested
in using them so I can be sure to have them handy for you during your
labor/birth.
You can rub some on your hands, feet or temples or use a diffuser or
just
put some in a cup of warm water.
Eucalyptus oil to help keep head clear and centered - euphoric for
some
women
Clary sage or Jasmine - classic birthing oils
Lavender - relaxes, balances emotions
Linden blossom - for clearing negative energy from your own mother
Black spruce - for grounding - on soles of feet or sniff
Sweet basil - emmenagogue (for starting labor), helps let go
Lavender Mailette - anti-spasmodic for labor
Fennel - stops delusions
Geranium - helps keep an abuse history in perspective (also lavender)
Champaca - euphoric
Pink grapefruit - for exhaustion
Flower Essences
I have a very large selection of flower essences, which is too big to
bring
to births. If you would like, you may reserve some time to select
some special flower essences for yourself, and we can create a dose
bottle
for you to take orally, add to the birthing tub, or put in a spray
bottle.
[NOTE - flower essences are not fragrant - rather, they are said to
hold
the energy of the plant used to make them. If you want a pleasant
smelling fragrance, see the Aromatherapy
section.]
Music CDs
Reminder: The
HypnoLibrary CD-ROM has .mp3 versions of many, varied
audio guided imagery relaxation readings that can be very useful during
labor, even if you didn't practice with them during pregnancy
Music can help create a physically and mentally relaxing
atmosphere.
I have a fairly diverse collection available for loan:
Birth Music
Everywhere A Child Is Born
by Michael Stillwater
-
This
is my absolutely favorite birth album - "Intuitive songs,
dedicated
to gentle birthing, with songs for each participant and relationship in
the birthing partnership: the mother, father, baby, and attendants" - I
especially love "the father's song" with the lyrics, "Letting love in,
and nothing more." And, of course, the two renditions of "simply
surrender". Ah, this music is perfect for birth inspiration. [This
album
is now called BirthSongs
-
Songs
for Birthing & Creativity.]
Music
To
Be
Born By by Mickey Hart
Chanting
Ancient
Mother
-
Robert Gass & On Wings Of Song
From
the
Goddess
- Robert Gass & On Wings Of Song
Tibetan
Incantations
Tibetan
Sacred
Temple
Music -Eight Lamas From Drepung
Magical
Healing
Mantras
- Namaste
Sacred
Chants
For
Courage, Confidence and Limitless Joy
SWEET
DREAMS
VOL.
1 - Lullaby Chants for Children, sung by Swami Gurumayi
Chidvilasananda
Music
To
Set
A Sacred Mood... RITUAL SONGS by the Colorado Midwives
Association
- Acappella chants and songs performed by 4 members of the Colorado
Midwives
Association (C.M.A.), designed for sing-along learning. It contains
material
for gatherings (Blessingway, Rituals and Birth), as well as private
meditations
to cleanse heal and strengthen. Selections include Woman I Am, I Am the
Circle, Mother Moon, We Are Sisters, as well as more traditional images
such as May the Blessings of God Rest Upon You and We All Come From
God.
Simple and lovely.
Steven Halpern
Music
for
Sound
Healing
Spectrum
Suite
Chakra
Suite
Music
for
Sound
Healing
Gifts
of
the
Angels
Radiance
Lullabies and Inspirational/Healing Songs
Lullaby:
A
Collection
- Various Artists
Songs
for
the
Inner Child - Shaina Noll
Bread
for
the
Journey - Shaina Noll
Songs
of
Healing
- Robert Gass & On Wings Of Song
Ethereal Music
"Sweet Dreams" Lullaby Chants for Children, sung by Swami
Chidvilasananda
Ancestral Voices - R. Carlos Nakai
Wiracocha by Rumilljata - Andean music
Relaxing Background Music
Distant Fields
- Gary Lamb
Classical Music
Mozart
for
Mothers-to-Be
Miscellaneous
The Tingler - "With a
name like The Tingler™, you know it's got to be good! If your toes curl
in ecstasy during your shampoo at the salon, you've definitely got to
try
The Tingler™ -- the Ultimate Head Massager. Don't be intimidated by its
slightly cagey appearance -- the 10 flexible, soft-tipped copper wires
gently massage the acupressure points and sensitive nerve endings in
your
scalp, sending waves of shivery goosebumps down your spine! Gently
twist,
turn, raise and lower The Tingler™ across and around your partner's
head
and neck and send them into a state of utter bliss. Use it on your
friends,
co-workers, kids and pets. A great gift, and our most popular product!"
RESPeRATE
- a device that provides biofeedback on your breathing pattern to help
you slow it down, guided by musical signals. This is very helpful
for women who find that slowing their breathing is the best relaxation.
Ronnie Falcao's homepage
Main web page for gentlebirth.org