Russian singer, organiser and vocalist of rock group ‘Masha i medvedi’ (Mashsa and the bears), mother of three children.

Masha Makarova

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My name is Vera Zhestovskaya. I’m a mother to three grown-up sons and a grandmother to the three most delightful nieces in the world!!!

I gave birth to my oldest son Konstantin when I was still studying at university, and I remember how much I needed information about pregnancy and childbirth then!! I tired out our psychology tutor with my questions. I felt really scared of not knowing and what is more, I was far away from my mother at the time. I was with friends and peers who, to give them credit, cared for me as much as they could. I remember that on my first day of our practical lesson, I ran into class on sky-high heels with a massive belly, and my course mates pleaded, “Veronika, be careful, don’t run like that”.

I was in good health and went through pregnancy like a breeze, but when I was giving birth in the labour ward, the nurse who was fed up of the shouts coming from mothers in labour warned me, “If you shout like that, your child won’t shout at all”… and so I remained silent… As a result, the doctors missed the active labour phase and had to use forceps to help the baby out, which is a huge trauma for both mother and child. When giving birth to my second child I screamed with all my might, which was probably not the best thing either. And when giving birth a third time I didn’t shout for another reason – I knew it all!!! I chose the maternity ward myself – one where the child is put to the mother’s breast straight away and stays with the mother from the moment it is born. This seems like the norm now but 25 years ago only one maternity ward provided these conditions. The nurses were drinking their morning tea and didn’t feel like stopping their conversation. I told them, “Ladies, I’m giving birth to my third child, I know what to do, just show me where the labour ward is.” And when the waters broke I ran past the nurses holding a sheet under me and shouted, “Ladies, follow me!” I got onto the chair by myself and breathing calmly and pushing with a feeling of joy and great happiness, without shouting even once, I gave birth to a wonderful hero!

Aleksandra Alma’s book, Womb Bloom, is indispensable for future mothers. It contains a lot of hints and ancient experience on how to give birth to children with Knowledge, Skill, Happiness and Joy!!!

Director of a PR agency, personality figure in Russia, mother of three children.

Vera Zhestovskaya

List of contents

Before.

Choosing a man

Respect between partners

Freeing yourself from foreign intentions

Cleansing by water practise

Readiness of partners

Conception

How to prepare for conception

Exercises for couples

Ocean’s breath exercise

Exercise for energy exchange

Joint dreaming exercise

Bridge between hearts exercise

8 personality types

Parents’ expectations of their children

First place in life

Week 1

Parents’ visualization

Creating a visualization sphere

Woman’s gift

Week 2

Week 3

Do we need to do physical exercise during pregnancy?

Water Dance

Leading into the dance

Lotus unfolding on a lake exercise

Pregnancy as steadiness

Strength in relaxation

Being centred

Only positive thoughts

Week 4

Week 5

Woman as Ancestral Tree

Favourite pastime

Energy Pie

Woman as family’s resource

Nature

La naturalesa es lo mas importante

Doing and being

Week 6

Week 7

Pregnancy – naturalness

The Chimera and the Sorceress

Maid be joyful!

Hail Mary

Week 8

Healthy clothes

Modernizing one’s clothing

Energy of the skirt

Woman’s shoes

Symbols and decorations for pregnant women

Human life – a journey from the Mother to Mother Earth

Breathing through the feet

Week 9

The whole world can wait!

I love myself massage technique

Why do pregnant women need daily massage?

A woman’s emotional centre

Massaging the emotional centre

Dance of the heart. Cleansing and relaxing the emotional centre

Self-massage – rotating the toes

Stone therapy for the baby

Week 10

Nutrition during pregnancy

Sweet treats

Secrets of healthy eating

Week 11

Galaxy exercise

Week 12

Bowls of balance breathing technique

Axis of balance breathing technique