Ep 291: Breath, Movement & Birth: Why Every Pregnancy Can Benefit from Yoga with Dr. Shilpa Babbar

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (00:00)

Did you know that practicing prenatal yoga can actually shorten your labor or that simple breathing techniques might help you manage your blood pressure during pregnancy? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Shilpa Babbar, a double board certified maternal fetal medicine specialist, researcher and yoga instructor. We dive deep into the science-backed benefits of prenatal yoga.

how it can support you physically and emotionally, and the misconceptions that might be holding you back. Listen and learn why yoga is more than just movement. It's a powerful tool for pregnancy and birth.

Welcome to the Birth with Power podcast, where knowledge is power and power transforms birth. I'm Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins, mom of two and practicing board certified OB-GYN with over 20 years of experience and nearly 2000 births attended. I've seen firsthand how the hospital system can leave women feeling unheard and uncertain, but that doesn't have to be your story. Here, you'll get the knowledge, support,

and strategies to take charge of your birth experience so you can walk into the hospital feeling calm, confident, and empowered. Note this podcast is for educational purposes only and it's not a substitute for medical advice. See the full disclaimer at drnaclomeragins.com forward slash disclaimer. Now let's get to it.

Hello there, welcome to another episode of the podcast. This is episode number 291, and I am so glad you are spending some of your time with me today. Today we have an incredible guest, Dr. Shilpa Babar. She is a double board certified maternal fetal medicine specialist in OB-GYN. I actually helped train her during her OB-GYN residency. She's a researcher and a yoga instructor.

with over a decade of experience studying prenatal yoga. She's deeply passionate about bridging the gap between traditional obstetric care and integrative practices, particularly through the power of yoga. Now in this episode, she is here to break down the real research-backed benefits of yoga during pregnancy, things like reducing stress,

managing blood pressure, and even making labor shorter and more manageable. We'll also discuss the different types of yoga, what modifications are necessary for pregnancy, and how simple breath work techniques can make a huge difference in labor and birth. Whether you are new to yoga or already love it, this episode is packed with insights that will help you understand how this practice can support your pregnancy and birth journey.

in a holistic and empowering way. Now this episode ties in beautifully with my mama mindset framework. The mama mindset is part of my birth with power pathway, which empowers you with knowledge, confidence, and practical strategies to have the best birth experience possible. I talked about the mama mindset in the last episode of the podcast. So do check that out if you haven't.

Now this episode with Dr. Babar specifically touches on the second M of the mama mindset, which is move your body. Movement is such a powerful way to prepare your body and mind for birth. And yoga is an incredible tool to help you do just that. So without further ado, let's get into the episode with Dr. Babar.

Thank you so much, Shilpa, Dr. Babar for coming onto the podcast. Y'all, I have known her for a very long time. We're going to date ourselves a little bit here. It was since she was in training and my first job out of training. So over 10 years, I guess it's been. It has, yes. Yep. It has indeed. has indeed. It's good to see you too. So why don't you start off a bit by telling us a bit about yourself and your work and your family, if you'd like.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (04:13)

good to see you again.

Yeah, so my name is Shilpa Babar. I'm a double board certified physician in obstetrics and gynecology as well as maternal fetal medicine. I am a researcher. I have a master's in bioinformatics and I am an associate professor currently at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. I am a yoga instructor. I have completed my RYT 200 and also a prenatal yoga instructor as well. And I'm a wife and a mom of two young little girls.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (04:50)

Okay, all right. So you have plenty, plenty to do. So I always, it's important for me when I have guests on for them to know that the background, the training that people have gone through in order to do the work that they do, because so much online, know, everybody has a social media account these days. So you mentioned your yoga training. So tell us if there's anything to add about what you've done to do your yoga training. And then also what training have you gone through to be a maternal fetal medicine specialist?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (05:17)

Yeah, for becoming a maternal fetal medicine specialist, I completed four years of OB-GYN residency. And then after that, I did a three-year maternal fetal medicine fellowship program. During my residency, that's actually where my passion for yoga started. And I decided to do a RYT 200 program, which is 200 hours of yoga training.

I did that during my residency. So anytime I had off during residency, I decided to for a period of time, I decided to go for yoga training at that time. And so I started off with that. And then after that, I did a specialized prenatal yoga training, which I believe is 65 hours. And in addition to the 200 hours of the prenatal yoga teacher training. And then in addition, like I was teaching classes as well. And

after I got my 200 hours and so just keeping myself really busy between medicine and yoga.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (06:17)

Okay, I love it. I love it. I love it. So let's get into some of the details of yoga and how it can help during pregnancy. Why don't we start off by having you tell us what are the different types of yoga and then how is prenatal yoga different if it is different.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (06:33)

Yeah. So I will say nowadays, the yoga industry is a multi-billion dollar business. And so when it comes to types of yoga, there's so many, right? There's just so many different names, so many different types. And it's really kind of it gets confusing and it gets really kind of inundating because you might go to a yoga studio and be like, I'm signing up for X, Y and Z. And then you walk in and it's something that you're not expecting. there there's

just so many different types. will say we can just go through some of the top ones. So Hatha yoga is one that is commonly taught in a lot of yoga studios. It's mainly focused on alignment and the postures. So let's just back up. Let's just define yoga real quick. So yoga is a practice that helps to unite the mind, the body, and the soul or the spirit. It's mainly focused when in the Western world is mainly focused on yoga postures or asanas.

deep breathing or Branayamas as well as meditation. So almost every single class that someone would go to will encompass most of these if not all three components of what I just mentioned. So there's the different types. So like there's Hatha yoga, which like I'm saying focuses mainly on the alignment of the postures when you're performing those in the class, which is also very similar to some called Ayangar yoga. There is hot yoga, which we can go into as well with regards to pregnancy.

That one was typically called Bikram yoga, but there's been, think, a rename with regards to the hot yoga practice or just a heated hot yoga. That one actually has a set sequence of postures that they go through at every single class. There's Ashtanga yoga, very similar as well, where there's a set sequence that you would go through with regards to the postures. And those are just kind of the top ones. So when it comes to prenatal yoga, there is some variation with regards to

what is taught or what is maybe practiced in a prenatal yoga class. So first of all, we have to make some modifications because as a growing pregnant body, you have to accommodate the belly, right? Which is where obviously the baby is. So in order to accommodate that, there's some postures that are typically not practiced or not recommended. A lot of that is number one, laying flat on your back, right? So after 20 weeks in pregnancy,

For some women, laying flat on their back is not very comfortable. so postures that are done in yoga, in which women are laying flat on their back, typically they're not held for a long period of time. Like they may be in a non-pregnant or non-prenatal class. Secondly is twists. So there's something called closed twists where you're trying to like, I don't know how to describe it, but where you're just kind of like trying to deepen a twist.

You're twisting usually from the base of your spine. And so with the growing belly in that area, it's kind of hard to do physically. so typically you would do an open twist, which is kind of twisting in the opposite direction than what you would normally do. And that's just, again, you're getting some of the benefits of that twist posture, but just not putting any undue pressure onto the abdomen. And then also posture is where you're laying on your belly. Right. So there's a lot of postures in yoga where

you're on your belly and maybe like lifting your back legs up etc. So we typically avoid those postures in pregnancy as well.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (09:56)

Okay, awesome. That was excellent. And thank you for clarifying that yoga is actually the postures, breath and meditation, because I don't think a lot of people realize that or that it gets talked about enough. So that's really helpful to know. So let's talk about what are some benefits of prenatal yoga, you have two or three of your favorite benefits.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (10:16)

Yeah, so when it comes to the benefits, first of I think there's a whole host of benefits. And the good news is that the literature is actually catching up on it. So like we mentioned at the beginning, you and I kind of know each other from when I was in my residency training. And that was actually when my my passion for yoga began. And at that time, now that's over 10 years ago, I looked at the literature and I realized that there wasn't really enough information on the practice of prenatal yoga and what the benefits are.

And so it's really exciting to see that over the past 10 years, the literature to support the practice of prenatal and postpartum yoga has grown significantly. And there's a fair amount of literature around the benefits around anxiety, depression, and stress in pregnancy, which are very common for almost every pregnant woman to experience at some point in their pregnancy. a prenatal yoga, practicing prenatal yoga during a pregnancy can definitely...

help reduce those anxiety, stress, and depression. And there's a lot of literature around it. I mean, to the point where we have systematic reviews and meta-analyses that are all consistently saying, yes, this is where prenatal yoga can help. Other benefits of prenatal yoga can also be with regards to most, like some of the common ailments that come along with pregnancy. So for example, low back pain.

There's been some studies that have looked to see if there's any benefits with regards to low back pain and they have shown that there is improvement in symptoms as well. But one of the benefits that I find really fascinating and I will say I can attest to it for my own pregnancies was the reduction in the length of labor. So there's a lot of research on prenatal yoga. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So there's a lot of research on prenatal yoga and

like labor duration and other labor characteristics. And now we have over seven studies that are consistently demonstrating a reduction in the length of the first stage of labor and also overall total length of labor by around two and a half to three hours, which doesn't sound like a lot. But for someone who's going through the labor process, reducing that by two to three hours, I will take it. Yes.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (12:29)

That is a long time. That's an excellent reduction. Yes.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (12:32)

Yeah. And there are studies like the meta-analysis also show that women who engage in prenatal yoga during their pregnancy are at a higher chance of having a vaginal birth versus having a C-section as well. there's many benefits and I'm just really happy to report that the literature is catching up. There's still lots of work that we still need to do, but the literature is catching up.

to show that there are significant benefits for women who engage in yoga during their pregnancy.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (13:02)

That's great to know. I think part of it is that, not to say that there's not, you know, sometimes research into these quote unquote alternative things can be challenging because a lot of times research is funded by, you know, a company or the government and it doesn't necessarily get the same monetary return, so to speak, as like a medication or doesn't necessarily change practice like a.

you know, labor induction medicine or anything, but it's good to see that people are actually studying this and coming up with that data.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (13:34)

Yeah, I agree. think it is when it comes to complementary alternative therapies and including prenatal yoga, I think it does become hard to study that rigorously from a scientific perspective. And mainly it's because we're able to get qualitative benefits, which are hard to quantify. And so

in research, in medical research specifically, we want a number. We want to say, it went from 10 to 2 and that's great, right? But with yoga, like you feel better and it's really hard to show like how does someone feel better, right? Like besides saying I feel better, right? So it's just you don't always have a great like number to say like, I went from a feeling not great of a 2 and now I feel great at a 10, you know, so I think it does become a bit challenging but

It's like I was saying, really reassuring that people are looking into this and understanding that there is significant benefit.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (14:30)

Definitely, definitely. So if someone is interested in starting yoga during their pregnancy, what are the two or three suggestions that you have for them to start?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (14:40)

Yeah. So when it comes to yoga, I will say first of all, give it a try, right? So people that have done yoga before are usually like willing to continue that during their pregnancy. And for people that are brand new to it, I will say here's the kind of like the top recommendations. Number one, try to find a yoga studio that is either dedicated to prenatal and postpartum yoga classes or a studio that offers prenatal yoga classes.

Now that we're out of the pandemic, going back to in-person is really beneficial. And it was one thing that we lost during the pandemic, but there's just a sense of community that you build when you're physically in a room with other people who are going through the same process as you. Secondly, you have an instructor who is able to help guide you. So it becomes really hard to watch video sometimes, especially if you're brand new to it, just to watch a video and...

Okay, like, am I doing it right? Like, what are they doing? I got to do that, you know? So having an instructor there to help you guide through your practice, at least at the beginning, I think is really beneficial. Also, the body changes significantly during pregnancy. And so something that might feel good to you at the beginning of pregnancy, whether it's yoga or any type of exercise, may not feel as great towards the end, right? So my big advice is to just always listen to your body and do what feels best for you. So...

You will notice also if you do yoga at the beginning and continue it throughout that some postures just aren't as comfortable as they were before or something that actually feel really good, especially if you're having like a low back pain or something that's just kind of getting aggravated from like a musculoskeletal standpoint. So just trying to listen to your body and do the postures and deep breathing and meditation that feels good for you. So those are kind of my top recommendations.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (16:34)

Awesome. Those all make great sense. do you, what, how frequently do people need to do yoga in order to find the benefits? Like how many times a week or how does that work?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (16:44)

Yeah, that's a good question. So that was actually a question that I've always wanted to know the answer to, right? What is the right dose of yoga? And so the literature, from a literature standpoint, there was actually a study that came out not too long ago that tried to kind of answer that question based off the literature that we have. And so the best answer is every day, right? Now, life happens and it's sometimes hard to carve out maybe 30 to 45 or an hour of your time.

to go and do yoga. So the short answer is as often as you can, right? But there are like someone who actually analyzed literature to see what is the right dose. It turns out to be at least two to three times a week for ideally either like six to 12 weeks in a pregnancy. so the more you do it, there is more benefit to it. And also,

either like you can always start it at any point in the pregnancy. It doesn't have to be, you if you missed the first trimester, second trimester, you can't do it in third. Even if you start a yoga practice in the third trimester, there is still significant benefit towards it. Also, some of the classes actually focus on helping, you know, kind of focus your attention or build some of the pelvic floor muscles. And so, kind of even getting some of those techniques or, you know, guidance on trying to

you know, engage those muscles because those are the muscles that work during labor as well, right? So, so kind of engaging those muscles and also just learning different deep breathing exercises can actually just go a long way. So really, you can start it at any point in the pregnancy. The more you do it, the better it is.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (18:23)

That's really encouraging, I think, because people probably think, my gosh, I didn't start it. You know, I'm too late to it. So that's really encouraging that even six weeks is gonna be able to bring you some benefit. And I also appreciate what you said about like trying to find an instructor, at least to get started to help you would be great. I know lots of people find community in yoga classes as well. So that's really, important. Now, is there anyone who should not do yoga?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (18:52)

Yeah, so for the most part, yoga is a low impact, safe exercise for women during pregnancy and the postpartum period. One of the research studies that I did was to actually assess the fetal response to prenatal yoga, just to make sure that the fetus tolerates the yoga practice without any changes in its heart rate or blood flow to the baby or anything like that. And so that was a randomized trial that I did during my fellowship.

And we demonstrated that baby is just fine in there, which we anticipated, but we were able to at least get the scientific backing for it. for the most part, really anybody can do yoga during their pregnancy. I will say, even speaking from personal experience with uncontrolled blood pressure, sometimes different postures might not feel as comfortable. So I just want to share my story with my experience during yoga. Yeah.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (19:43)

Sure, yeah.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (19:47)

So when my first pregnancy, it was March 2020. that kind of puts us, usually puts us, puts everyone back to the beginning of COVID. I just found out that I was pregnant and I just started a new job as well. And I was a new, I was the director of the current place that I'm working at. So just everything was really new and then the pandemic hits and we don't know how that it's going to affect pregnancy.

Needless to say, I was pretty stressed out. so my blood pressure was my blood pressure was being reflected that way as well. So I was practicing yoga at the beginning of my pregnancy and realized that when I was in like a forward fold, for example, I felt like blood was rushing through my head and I could it was no longer comfortable for me. And I was like, what's going on? Like, I can do forward fold without any problem. Yet here I am. And this is no longer feeling good. So that kind of led me to like.

pay attention to my blood pressure and it was slowly rising. And I practiced what I preached at around 18 weeks of my pregnancy. My blood pressure was really high where I would start somebody on a medication if I saw those numbers in somebody else. And so I started on a blood pressure medication and kept monitoring my blood pressure and things were going well. Simultaneously though, I took a little break from my yoga practice, but then was back into it around 20 weeks onwards of my pregnancy.

and felt like I was able to do the postures and I felt better with them. But the other thing I started to do was to do different deep breathing exercises. So the one that I focused on in my pregnancy is called alternate nostril breathing. And so I started to do that just a few times a day. And after I started blood pressure medications, I actually started to do more and more of the alternate nostril breathing. I was typically doing it right before going to bed. So just laying in bed for just five or 10 minutes or so.

just slowly increasing the practice of my ulcer and ulcer breathing. And so things were going well from a blood pressure standpoint and I was feeling good and at around 30 weeks of my pregnancy, one night I accidentally took two doses of my medication. So I would normally sit down and take my blood pressure medication. I would check my blood pressure and one night I was just engaged in conversation with my husband and accidentally took a second dose of medication. So I

panicked briefly and I was like, oh no, what's this going to do to my blood pressure? Luckily, I was fine and nothing happened. But then the following day I said, okay, I just took an extra dose and so let me just monitor my blood pressure and see how I do. And my blood pressure the following day was fine and I felt okay. And I said, okay, let me just hold off, keep monitoring and see how my blood pressure does. And it did fine.

I was able to actually come off of my blood pressure medications, but at the same time, I increased the amount of times I was doing my ultrinocephalic breathing. And for the remainder of my pregnancy, my blood pressure did well. I delivered full term at 38 plus weeks, didn't have any issues with preeclampsia, and everything went really well. So that really kind of helped me understand the power of breath during pregnancy. And I really do contribute to the successful outcome of my pregnancy due to

my own prenatal yoga practice, my deep breathing practice, and I also did other complementary alternative therapies as well to help me kind of prepare for the labor process and for postpartum as well. So. Right.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (23:17)

Right, I love this story, especially coming from a high risk pregnancy doctor who's gonna be sometimes more of the challenging things. And I think also that we tend to go towards medicine, medicine, because it's because it's what we know. We're just not exposed to other things that we can offer people. Plus it's also like we can prescribe this dose of this blood pressure medicine.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (23:21)

to

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (23:44)

and we can kind of like, you know, do it like this and sort of standardize it. Well, whereas it's harder necessarily to, you know, standardize going yoga, doing yoga with a certain person or a teacher or breath work or things like that. So how do you and your, sounds like you integrated it in your own pregnancy. So how do you, how do you incorporate that into the way that you care for, for pregnant women and pregnant people?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (24:09)

Yeah, so I often do recommend different deep breathing exercises as well as engaging in prenatal yoga with my patients. And so over the past couple of years, we've also, I'm currently conducting a study. So there are signs in our office that talk about different, potentially being enrolled into a deep breathing study. And we also did a study looking at breach babies as well to see if there was different complementary on turn of therapy practices that can help turn a breach baby. So.

So sometimes patients come into our office and we'll see signs. So they're not like totally immune to it. But usually when I have patients ask me, you know, what can I do for X, Y, and Z? Right. And so I'm not the first person to like jump to a medication to be like, you know, take this pill. And most women we know are kind of hesitant to try to take medications or they're seeking kind of alternative therapies to say like, what else can I do? This medication is not working or I don't want to take this medication. What else can I do? So I often do recommend

different deep breathing exercises, I would tell them, there are a couple yoga studios in our area, why don't you check them out and see if they help you. Sometimes I can give specific yoga postures or asanas to help relieve specific symptoms. For example, if someone's feeling like they have restless legs syndrome or just kind of feel like, oh yeah, my legs kind of hurt in the evening.

or after I wake up, I would just say, okay, do some like legs up the wall, which is just kind of laying on your back and literally putting your legs up the wall for a couple of minutes. With usually I tell them to put a wedge under their hips so they're not lying flat on their back. you know, so just sometimes giving a couple, you know, pinpoint exercises to say, maybe just try this out for the next couple of days and see if it works for you. I definitely work closely with a chiropractor. I do believe in chiropractic care during pregnancy as well. especially for women who have low back pain, if

like exercises aren't working, then potentially seeing a chiropractor, different massage therapists are in our area as well. So we have a lot of great resources in our area that I try to take advantage of and tell my patients to take advantage of as well.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (26:13)

Yeah, thank you for mentioning those things and how we can work together. And it doesn't, it's not like you're saying like, no, never prescribe medication, but we can think outside of that as like the first thing to go to. And we can work with other professionals in order to do a really holistic approach to health. And sometimes it may be that you still need medications and that's okay too, but we shouldn't discount.

the other modalities. And it's always interesting to me that we call them alternative or because like some of these things have been around for thousands of years, like before modern medicine was even invented. So to call it alternative is, it's like, it's not, cause it's been around for a really long

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (26:54)

Yeah. Well, and so I guess like the term alternative comes to essentially alternative to Western medicine, right? And so you're totally right. Like a lot of these things, these practices have been around for a very long time. And within individual communities, some of these practices are still there and people engage in them. But it's just like I was saying earlier is that we need the literature as a Western.

medicine society, we are very evidence-based. And so we want the literature to support the recommendation that we give to patients. so, but yeah, and I will say that there's a new term, newer term than complementary alternative therapies is now called integrative therapies, right? So more like integrating it into the current standard of care, right? So say, okay, we're still going to do X, Y, and Z, but here are some things that we can add along the way to potentially help, you know.

So integrative medicine is the new term.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (27:52)

Yeah, well, which is good, which is how it should be. So tell us, don't want to forget, because you mentioned it earlier, tell us about hot yoga and hot yoga in pregnancy specifically.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (28:04)

Yeah, so I feel like it's always a good question with regards to can someone do hot yoga in a pregnancy? I will say that the standard answer is no, right? And so for me, always want to, I always try to explain to my patients when I give them a recommendation where it's coming from. So when it comes to hot yoga, right? Like the concern is that

the body temperature raises and sometimes, especially in the first trimester, that that could potentially affect the developing fetus. And so the stand, not stand, guess stand is not the right word, but the current recommendations is to avoid hot yoga in a pregnancy for that reason. And then also, it's, don't know, have you tried to hot yoga before?

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (28:50)

I hate being hot. So go ahead. You've tried it before.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (28:59)

I tried it because I wanted to understand what the hype was and I realized it's not a practice for me. I also just don't thrive in a very, very hot environment, but you are sweating profusely, right? so also the so pregnancy is also the only healthy physiological state of basal sympathetic hyperactivity. And what that means is that your body is already going through changes to help.

regulate and maintain a pregnancy within the body. And there's two auto there's one on an autonomic nervous system in our body, but there's two branches to it called the sympathetic branch of the parasympathetic branch. And so the sympathetic branch is already kind of on hyperdrive to maintain all the changes to accommodate a pregnant a pregnant body. So when you're sweating, for example, that's sympathetic activation. So when you're already kind of in this hyperactive state kind of

doing hot yoga might not feel as comfortable because it's just kind of, it could be kind of more like just accentuating the sympathetic stage. So there are studies, well, there's actually not a lot of studies on hot yoga. actually recently, last year we published a survey study trying to understand what hot yoga studios are doing. And you and I actually authored a paper also over 10 years ago on hot yoga.

And so we have some background, some information on it, but again, another survey study just to get an understanding of what are people doing in the community? Because I will say that people who practice hot yoga when they're not pregnant, some of them actually continue to practice it during a pregnancy and they feel comfortable with it, know? And they'll have positive outcomes. so...

So I wouldn't say it's a practice that anyone will likely start. Kind of if you're starting to look for yoga, you're not going to start with a hot yoga class during pregnancy. But for some people who are very well versed in that practice, they sometimes will continue during a pregnancy. And I would say it would be really important to let your physicians know, your providers know that you're engaging in these activities as well, just to make sure that they don't need to do anything in addition from their standpoint.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (31:13)

Gotcha. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, it's about informed decision-making and giving people the information to make the best choices for themselves. Okay, so one thing I also wanted to talk about, you talked about how your blood pressure, you were able to affect your blood pressure during your pregnancy with using Pranayama. Am I saying it right?

So was there anything specifically about your own experience or that you can share in general about how yoga helped during the labor and birth process specifically?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (31:49)

Yeah. So, like I mentioned earlier, with regards to the duration of my labor, I do feel that having a yoga practice actually helps shorten my labor process. And so for my first pregnancy, delivered within 24 hours. I think being able to focus on my breath really helped with regards to potentially like to reducing, know, to improving pain control.

I also did practice a little bit of hypnotherapy during my pregnancy as well. I do feel like that was helpful too. It's just kind of getting that mind-body connection and focusing potentially on something else versus on the pain that you're experiencing. And I was able to push my baby out, my first baby, within 10 contractions. And I thought that was pretty good when it goes to a short second stage of labor.

But then I beat it second time around and I pushed her out, the second baby out with four contractions. So I was like, okay, that's cool. I think that really helped.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (32:52)

Yeah, I think something that I talk about is like your breath is such a powerful tool that you have in order to help you manage not just labor, but life actually. So trying to tap into that can just be a really, really powerful thing.

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (33:12)

100%. I totally agree with that. And I think it comes down to labor prep, right? And so sometimes people just don't think about it. They're just like, okay, I'm going to go in labor and that's it, right? But my whole thing is trying to get the tools in the tool bag to help you prepare for when you go in for delivery, right? So learning different deep breathing exercises can definitely go a long way just so that it becomes more.

like automatic, right? You're not being like, how do I do alternostal breathing and like trying to learn that when you're in the throes of labor, right? Versus saying like, I know how to do alternostal breathing. I know how to do other different day breathing techniques. My body is feeling, you know, pain right now or I'm feeling discomfort. What can I do to help myself get some control? And, you know, usually it's controlling your breath.

And so being able to automatically kind of turn those different deep breathing techniques on is, I think, really, really helpful and a great tool to have ready for you when you go in for labor and delivery.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (34:17)

Yeah, absolutely. Definitely. So then as we wrap up, there any, I'm going through my questions. Sorry. Are there any misconceptions that you'd like to clear up or anything that we didn't touch on about yoga that you want us to know?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (34:31)

Yeah, so with regards to misconceptions, I want to say that some people look at social media and think yoga is like twisting your body into a pretzel, right? Or if you don't look a certain way or have a certain body type that you can't do yoga. And none of that is true, right?

So social media will portray like those advanced postures and you know, which no one starts at, right? You always start somewhere and then you can work your way up, right? Like you don't start by being first place running a marathon, right? You have to practice, right? And so that's the one thing that yoga is for everyone, regardless of how you look, your body shape or anything like that. Prenatal yoga is definitely a much more gentler practice and I would encourage essentially

every person going through pregnancy to explore it to whatever degree that they feel is comfortable for them. And so just, you know, give it a try. And even if you tried yoga before and you're like, yeah, yoga wasn't for me. I didn't like it or whatever. Like I was saying earlier that there's just so many different types of yoga practices that you kind of have to.

do like a little bit of shopping to a degree to say, okay, like I tried hot yoga that didn't work for me. about there? are like Ashtanga yoga is a bit of a faster paced yoga or vinyasa yoga. Those are faster like yoga classes. Maybe you tried that and didn't like it and you're looking for something much, much more low key. There's yin yoga where you're holding practice, holding postures for several minutes at a time. And maybe that's what works best for you. So kind of

you know, try a few different types and see what works best for you with the understanding that prenatal yoga is a much more gentler practice. You're not in a marathon to like, you know, stand on your head or anything like that in pregnancy. so essentially just, you know, being kind to your body to respecting your body and listening to your body when it's telling you that it needs some, you know, some tender loving care.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (36:33)

I love that. Excellent, excellent advice. So then what would you say is the most frustrating part of your work?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (36:41)

I think just healthcare systems as a whole, I'm not going to get into that any further, I think sometimes, yeah, I see you nodding your head, you know.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (36:52)

Yeah.

Yeah. It's just a challenge in so many ways behind the scenes, whether it's scheduling or insurance or our healthcare system is, so let's just move on to talk about then what is the most rewarding part of your work?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (37:11)

Yeah, so the most rewarding part of my work is when I am able to establish rapport with my patients and then being able to give them advice. And then when I hear that it works for them, it just really like lights up my soul because, know, like I said, I do give advice that's not maybe traditional or, you know, I'm not saying take this pill, see you in two weeks and, you know, we'll still take it from there. Right. I'll be like, I'll give them more tailored advice to say.

maybe try out these postures, do something else, let's try this, let's see what works for you. And then when I hear back from them and they're like, yeah, I tried that out and that was really helpful, or this work to help ease my anxiety with regards to whatever they're experiencing, it's those key moments that for me just make it all worthwhile. And then of course, seeing them through to having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy mom and healthy baby at the end is always the cherry on top.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (38:05)

Yeah, definitely, definitely. So if you had to pick one piece of advice, like your favorite piece of advice that you would give to someone who is expecting a baby, what would you say?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (38:16)

Oh, there's so much. I don't know. I didn't think about this one. The one piece of advice would be to just listen to your body and understand that your body is doing something that's really amazing and awesome. And like it's all going to feel new, especially the first time around. Right. So

I will say again, even as a high risk physician, it was really stressful being pregnant because I felt like I just knew too much, right? Like I know about all the bad things that can happen and sometimes we don't have a clear answer for it. you know, so it's really just doing your best and to lean on your community, your support people around you when you're feeling anxious or just nervous about something, you know, lean on those people that can help support you and then finding whatever works best for you.

to help you just kind of get through the whole process of pregnancy. yeah, not a lot of people, know, some people don't enjoy being pregnant and some people love being pregnant, right? So understanding that either way it's a temporary time in life, but a very amazing and precious time as well. So.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (39:26)

Yeah, for sure, for sure. And then I put, last question, are there any particular resources that you like to share with people where they can go if they want to learn more?

Dr. Shilpa Babbar (39:35)

Yeah. So one thing I didn't get a chance to talk to you about earlier today was in April of last year, April of this year, 2024, we held a conference called Integrative Obstetric Care Conference. so I was the chair of that conference. And we just kind of have been starting the hopefully the path with regards to getting more and more people interested or kind of on the same page when it comes to.

integrative medicine as it applies to obstetrics. And so we had a great, it was in Kansas City, we had a great response, a great turnout. We had six speakers. Rebecca Decker from Evidence-Based for Birth was our keynote speaker and it was just an amazing time. So we do plan to do some more. And so if you're interested in kind of learning more about that conference and then what kind of our next projects are, we are on all different social media handles under Integrative Obstetric Care Conference.

2024 and I'll be happy to share those links with you as well. And then I have a website at drshilapababar.com as well. And so those are great resources to start with. And then if you're looking for resources specifically for yoga, mean, YouTube has a whole bunch. Unfortunately, I don't follow anybody in particular on YouTube, but there's definitely lots of resources on prenatal yoga on YouTube as well.

Dr. Nicole Callaway-Rankins (40:56)

Okay, awesome. Well, thank you so much for agreeing to come on. This was such wonderful, important information, particularly coming from someone with the training and background and knowledge to talk about it. So thank you. I so appreciate it.

Wasn't that a great episode and such a pleasure for me to interview someone who I helped become a doctor. Now, you know, after every episode, when I have a guest on, I do something called Dr. Nicole's notes, which are my top takeaways from the conversation. And here are my top takeaways from the conversation with Dr. Babar. Number one is you don't have to be flexible or experienced. Yoga is for everyone.

There are many different styles and prenatal yoga is a more gentle, accessible practice designed specifically for pregnancy. It's really never too late to start. Even if you begin yoga in your third trimester, you can still experience significant benefits from strengthening your pelvic floor to easing labor discomforts. Now, of course, listen to your body. You are the expert on your own body. Pay attention to how you feel, honor your limits, modify movements as needed.

to ensure a safe and beneficial practice, but it is never too late to get started with yoga. Okay, number two, breath work is a really powerful tool. Deep breathing techniques, like the alternate nostril breathing that Dr. Babar described, can help do so many things like manage your blood pressure, prepare you for labor by improving your focus and relaxation.

Your breath is one of the things that is completely and totally under your control and your control only. Nobody else can breathe for you. And when you learn how to harness that power of using your breath, it can really be a game changer, not just in your birth, but actually in your life. Okay, number three, yoga is more than just movement.

This is something that I think a lot of people don't necessarily realize. I mean, they know about yoga postures and things like that, but yoga is actually a holistic practice that encompasses not just postures, but also the breath work and also meditation. These three elements together create that powerful way to connect with your body and mind during pregnancy and outside of pregnancy.

So definitely don't just think of it as just the postures. Be sure to work on that breath work. As I mentioned, it's incredibly powerful and add in that meditation too. Also very important. And then the last point that I'll make is that I know that integrative medicine is going to be the future. More doctors, including high risk pregnancy doctors like Dr. Babar are embracing yoga.

and other integrative therapies like acupuncture, like physical therapy, all of those things as part of a more holistic approach to prenatal care. Now do know that these integrative approaches, they do take time. It takes time for the system to catch up and it also takes time for us or for you to...

incorporate those practices. Sometimes it can be challenging to stick to a practice of yoga or meditation. It requires patience. It requires consistency, of course requires an open mind. But I promise you that the long-term benefits make the effort that you put into this of incorporating this into your pregnancy preparation and really your life that benefits

really, really, really make the effort worthwhile. Okay, so that is it for this episode. If you found it helpful, please share it with a friend because every pregnant woman and person deserves to feel informed and empowered. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you're loving the show, I'd really appreciate you leaving a quick review.

It helps more moms to be found birth with power and most importantly, it helps them step into birth with confidence just like you. And if you enjoyed this episode and you want even more expert insights on pregnancy, birth and postpartum, be sure to subscribe to my new newsletter, The Birth with Power Brief. You'll get empowering tips, science-backed advice, fun pregnancy facts.

and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox once a week. You can sign up for that at drnicholerinkins.com forward slash email. Now do me one last favor and come on back next week and remember trust your power and take charge of your birth.