Mother's Day is a traditional holiday honoring mothers throughout the world. American Mother's Day was created in 1908 by Anna Jarvis and became a national holiday in 1914. Ironically, Jarvis tried to denounce the holiday's commercialization and spent the later part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.

Mother's Day typically falls on the 2nd Sunday in May. It can be traced back even farther than Jarvis to the ancient Greeks and Romans yet the most understood precedent for Mother's Day is the early Christian festival known as "Mothering Sunday". This holiday began as a day when Christians returned to their "mother church" for a special service and then later transitioned into a day when children presented their mother's with flowers and tokens of their appreciation.

Mother's Day historical events:

• Pre-civil war, Ann Reeves Jarvis, mother of Anna Jarvis, starts "Mother's Day Work Clubs" to teach local women how to properly care for their children.
• Julia Ward Howe, an abolitionist and suffragette, wrote the "Mother's Day Proclamation" that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace and campaigned for a "Mother's Peace Day".
• Juliet Calhoun Blakely inspired a local Mother's Day in the 1870s in Michigan.
• Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Jering worked to organize a Mother's Day in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Anna Jarvis, following her mother's death in 1905, conceived of Mother's Day as a way to honor the sacrifices mothers made for their children. She received financial backing and organized the first official Mother's Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia.

By 1912, many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother's Day as an annual holida and Jarvis established the Mother's Day International Association to help promote her cause. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

Mother's Day has become a wonderful tradition to honor the unconditional love and care mothers around the world give to their children.

A heartfelt happy Mother's Day to you and your families. 

A recent study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology determined excessive gestational weight gain increases cesarean delivery risk. Young maternal age was protective of this effect. However, excessive gestational weight gain increased cesarean delivery risk in both teen and adult mothers.

The study suggests education on optimal gestational weight gain should be more readily available in an attempt to reduce the primary cesarean delivery rate, especially those at highest risk, obese women of all ages.

In addition to cesarean risks, excessive gestational weight gain can create additional health concerns for pregnant women including pregnancy complications, larger infant birth weight and postpartum weight retention that may lead to obesity and other related health risks in subsequent pregnancies.

In 2009, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published revised gestational weight gain guidelines that are based on pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) ranges for underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese women recommended by the World Health Organization and are independent of age, parity, smoking history, race, and ethnic background. Other changes include the removal of the previous recommendations for special populations and the addition of weight gain guidelines for women with twin gestations.

The updated IOM recommendations have met with controversial reactions from some physicians who believe that the weight gain targets are too high, especially for overweight and obese women. Also, these perceived high weight gain targets do not address concerns regarding postpartum weight retention. In addition, concerns have been raised that the guidelines do not differentiate degrees of obesity, especially for morbidly obese women.

In general, following are some guidelines for maintaining a healthy gestational weight gain:

• Eat a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and low in saturated fats and sugar.
• Develop an exercise program that can be maintained throughout your pregnancy.
• Drink plenty of water and eliminate drinks with empty calories and artificial ingredients.
• Take a prenatal vitamin with folic acid.
• Gain weight gradually.
• Eating for two doesn't mean eating twice as much as you usually do. In fact, you don't need any extra calories in your first trimester. According to the IOM, you need only 340 extra calories a day in your second trimester, and 450 extra calories daily in your third trimester.

Please note - this is only one of many guidelines in determining weight gain during pregnancy. If you have any questions regarding gestational nutrition, please make an appointment with one of our doctors. 

It can be as simple as holding the door open for someone, smiling at a cashier during a weekend rush or maybe even buying someone a cup of coffee in line next to you. Giving to other's has health benefits.

There is a scientific benefit to good-doing. A "helper's high" could help you live a longer, healthier life. Think about the rush you get after helping someone - and the effect it has on that person's life. Research shows that when we act on the behalf of others, we help them feel greater comfort and less stress. The same goes for the do-gooder - along with a sense of gratification of helping someone.

The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love created a comprehensive investigation of altruism. Two large studies found that those who volunteered were living longer than non-volunteers. In fact, there was a 44% reduction in early death among those who volunteered a lot.

When we stress, physiological changes happen to our bodies that cause our heart rate to increase and our immune and cardiovascular systems to be weakened, making us more susceptible to abnormal cellular changes. Good deeds help us reduce stress by thwarting this effect. The high we get from helping creates a lowered stress response and improved immunity (higher levels of protective antibodies). It is said to also affect beneficial brain chemicals. Oxytocin, a feel-good hormone, levels go up when we do something good, which helps relieve our stress hormone levels. It has also been proven to lower blood pressure and have an overall calming effect.

Ultimately, creating a positive emotional state through do-gooding may help lengthen your life.

Try to surround yourself with positive emotions and good deeds - it will change you and the world around you. Just think of the trickle-down effect. 

Prenatal yoga can be a great way to prepare for childbirth and contribute to a healthier pregnancy.

Benefits Of Prenatal Yoga

Prenatal yoga can:

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Improve sleep, muscle strength, flexibility and endurance
• Reduce low back pain, sciatica, nausea, wrist and shoulder pain
• Improve pelvic floor strength
• Enhance a connection between mom and baby

LoYa, a local yoga facility, offers prenatal yoga classes from 6:15pm-7:30pm at their facility at 86 Summit Ave, 3rd Floor, in Summit, NJ.  LoYa provides a safe and effective yoga class for pregnant women aimed to improve tone, strength, flexibility and relaxation of your mind. The prenatal classes are specifically modified for women in any stage of their pregnancy.

What To Expect In A LoYa Prenatal Class

The prenatal class will teach pranayama (breathing) techniques, move you through vinyasa ( flow) yoga sequences, teach restorative positions using cushions and blankets to relieve pain in joints, offer relaxation techniques (savasana) and allow mothers to meet and bond in a nurturing and supportive space. Calming tea and fresh baked muffins are offered at the end of class.

Who Is The Instructor?

The prenatal program at LoYa is taught by Gayle Lemke, a mother, writer, yoga teacher and passionate childbirth educator and advocate. She has been a labor support doula and post partum consultant for 15 years and in 2005, created Shakti Ma, where she directed the pre/postnatal yoga and childbirth education programs.

For more information: www.loyayoga.com / 908-277-2270.

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