Pathways Connect Group is a group in New York City and online for expectant parents interested in holistic health care, where they can meet to ask questions and learn from professionals on various topics such as chiropractic, lactation, prenatal exercise, natural childbirth and more.
What is the Pathways Connect Group all about?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: The Pathways Connect Group is a free, nonprofit project that we started here in New York City, and it is actually a subsidiary of the ICPA, which is the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. They help us connect with people all around. And basically it is a website and a group where like-hearted parents can share their insights and experience about having natural birth, or if someone is having any type of particular problem. It is basically a crowd-sourced group where someone says, “Hey. I need a chiropractor,” and then they can post it up on this site. Or “I’m looking for a doula or a lactation specialist.” It is basically a place where, what I call crunchy moms or holistic moms can get together and really speak freely and ask questions about holistic health in parenting and child care. So everyone is welcome. We have quarterly meetings, which they can come to and just come check it out. It is absolutely free, and it is moderated by myself, which is the maternity and pediatric chiropractic aspect of it.
We also have a doula and a lactation specialist who monitors the site, as well as an exercise physiologist who specializes in pre and postnatal exercise programs, so we have most of the bases covered, and it’s just a great place where people can get information and share information and learn more. We did a meeting last week in my office, which was our founding meeting. And it was just a great opportunity for people to get together. Stephanie spoke a little bit about breathing exercises and how to have a great birth. And then Verena spoke much about exercise and what you can do when you’re pregnant and what you can’t. And I spoke a little bit about the Webster Technique to get the moms oriented. And we are going to do another event in probably about two and a half months. We haven’t picked the date and the time and the topic of that, but we are working on that as we speak.
Why was this group established and who exactly started it?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: Well, it was kind of brainstormed by me and Stephanie Heintzeler, who is the doula. And we basically spoke about starting a group where we can answer questions and help each other educate moms.
It was really started primarily because the C-section rate in New York is somewhere between 40% and 50%, which seems very excessive. Women need to know that they have choices and they can control certain aspects of their birthing. They have legal rights, and some things they have to do, some things they don’t.
As a doula, Stephanie has seen many women suffer with back pain and neck pain, and so she knows that she can send them to our office because they’re not going to get drugs. When moms are expecting, obviously they are not going to be able to take medicine because the medicines would affect the growing fetus.
So basically we wanted to start this group to give moms a safe place to share their insights and experience. They have desires to have more natural birth and raise healthy, drug free kids. So we thought it would be a great resource for our community and expecting moms and new moms to really talk freely about the holistic benefits of what we do in chiropractic and as a doula and as an exercise physiologist for their families going forward.
What are some of the topics discussed during the group meetings, or that you plan to discuss?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: Well, there’s a host of topics and people can even suggest topics on our Facebook page. But in the first meeting, like I said, Stephanie spoke a little bit about focusing her breath and how to manage pain to make sure that you don’t go down the path of taking epidurals or other pain control medications, which can actually slow down the birthing process and create a need for additional interventions. Verena spoke about exercise levels and the intensity. She even did some demonstrations on what do to and what not to do when you’re exercising. She demonstrated some standing core exercises. And again, I spoke about the Webster Technique.
The next one, I think we are going to talk a little bit more about what your legal rights are. And if your doctor says that we have to do a C-section, can you refuse? Or what options do you have? Stephanie is going to speak about that. I am going to talk a little bit more about chiropractic care in infants and infant torticollis and some of the things that moms will bring their kids into a chiropractor’s office for very early on in age. Verena is going to talk about postpartum exercise in the next one, which should be coming up in, again, about two months. We can give people, at the end of the talk, the Facebook page and they can log on and check everything out.
Who can join the Pathways Connect Group? And how do you become a member?
Dr. Gregg Rubinstein: Wow. It was like foreshadowing. I kind of dovetailed us right into that question. Anyone can join. It is absolutely free to become a member. And there are also members in other areas of the country, so if someone is listening and they’re not in New York, you can look us up. Our particular group on Facebook is called Conscious Pregnancy/New Parents Group. And you can just go on Facebook and search Conscious Pregnancy/New Parents Group (or click here: Conscious Pregnancy/New Parents Group)and you can just make a request to sign up and you will be approved for that group. Then you’ll be notified when we are having meetings. You can post questions and either myself or the other moderators will answer them, but sometimes some of the crowd people will, if someone’s already experienced an issue. If someone says, “Hey. Who knows a lactation specialist?” Someone from the tribe, so to speak, can actually answer that question as well. So, you’ll get crowd sourced information and from the panel of experts, so it is a really great resource. Anyone can join, parent, non-parent, male, female, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a great way to share information and get information about raising healthy drug-free kids and having a holistic pregnancy.
Learn More
To speak with Dr. Gregg Rubinstein, visit www.ChiropractorMidtown.com or call 917-534-6484 to schedule an appointment
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