Now nurses are singing its praises, too. By comparison, the 40 women who did no relaxation exercises had, on average, 38-week pregnancies. Janke speculates that reducing stress increases circulation, so the uterus and the baby get more oxygen, leading to bigger infants. Although the smaller babies who were carried for 38 weeks were just as healthy, the study suggests that relaxation may be a simple, inexpensive way for some women to buy more time. Audiotapes aren't the only way to go, of course.
Relaxation is individual.
The idea is to consciously relax and have nothing else going on. For more techniques, see BabyTalk's de-stressing program for new moms. Copyright 2001, The Parenting Group.