us from moving forward, uninhibited by past emotional baggage. Whilst a series of generic Yoga Nidra sessions by way of a cassette tape or public yoga class can often do the trick, sometimes a personally guided program by a yoga therapist is more appropriate and effective.
   Every conception is the manifestation of a new life, and is rightly perceived as something pure and untainted. A woman should do everything within her abilities to foster a mindset that each new pregnancy is something uninvolved with her own birthing history. Following the death of a child, at any age from the first trimester of pregnancy to adolescence, there is the danger that a new pregnancy might be seen as a replacement for that child rather than being appreciated for its own value. It has also been documented that there can be seasonal reminders and even an annual cycle of depression associated with such events unless fully resolved at the deepest level.
   I would therefore counsel all women who have experienced incomplete or traumatic pregnancies, not to become pregnant again for at least 12 months after the end of that pregnancy. In conjunction with yoga, this allows time for proper mental and physical resolution, plus a bit of free space to develop a new pregnancy as a completely fresh start.

	~Unplanned Conceptions~

   So you have made the decision that the unplanned pregnancy will continue, and that you will try to make the best of it. You know that the pregnancy, the birth and the years of mother-hood ahead are destined to disrupt your previous life plans. Can you safely discriminate between an unplanned pregnancy that you now want, and an unplanned pregnancy that is actually still unwanted? Will this unexpected start to motherhood cause some subtle residual resentment, either against the father for “getting you pregnant” or “talking you into keeping the child”, or against yourself for the eventual decision to go ahead with the pregnancy, or might that resentment sometimes come out and be projected into the child during pregnancy, or onto the child after birth? This is why the decisions surrounding terminating or continuing a pregnancy need to be thoroughly addressed and resolved at that time.
   I know it takes great honesty and effort to undo what may have been a less than auspicious beginning for a child. Having had a few unplanned pregnancies myself, I have often reflected on the different outcomes of each pregnancy, and how the conception and pregnancy influenced my relationship with my children.  

“Unplanned but not Unwanted”

     Since we had planned for another child 5 years into the future, George’s unexpected conception only 8 months after the birth of our previous child was a shock. My immediate instincts were to continue with the pregnancy, but since we had a plan mapped out, there was still much confusion on both our parts about whether to continue with the preg-nancy.
     After a couple of weeks deliberation, we began to feel more comfort-able with the idea of another child and all thoughts of termination passed. Since neither of us had wanted a child at this time in our lives, and it was basically myself who took on the responsibility to “keep the baby”, to say that all my negative feelings about the pregnancy were resolved right then and there would not be true. Without realising it, I had just pushed them aside and decided to “get on with it” – as many women do.
     The pregnancy passed in a haze of work and relationship distrac-tions. All throughout this pregnancy I felt that I was carrying not only the physical child, but also his whole emotional well being, alone. At times I felt almost ambivalent about the child I was carrying. I imagined that this new child would just slot into my life without disruption, and that the pregnancy would just look after itself.