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+--- Thread: I am going to try Bates method and I am pregnant! Any problem? (/showthread.php?tid=474)
I am going to try Bates method and I am pregnant! Any problem? - NATT - 07-28-2007
Hi everybody in this great forum. I wonder if someone could help me. I would like to start practising Bates because next week I start a three weeks holiday and it is a good moment to get rid of my glasses (Ỉ̫ve got -7 and -3 myopia and also some astigmatism). The problem is that I have just discovered I am pregnant. It is great news for me
but I don̫̉t know if I could have more difficulties with Bates method. I went to the ophtometrist after having my first baby and she mencionated something about having more diopters for that reason because something in the eye changes during pregnancy.(I apologize for my English because it is not my mother tongue)
Re: I am going to try Bates method and I am pregnant! Any problem? - apavel - 07-28-2007
Hi NATT,
Congratulations!
-7 and -3, that's quite the difference between your eyes.
Personally, I don't see how pregnancy could hinder your progress. I bet your optometrist was referring to the hormonal changes during pregnancy (probably during the onset of the second trimester), in which case it can be a good thing or bad thing. Some mothers could get stressed leading to poorer eyesight, while others exhibit an opposite emotion. I think it's entirely up to you
I wish you the best,
Paul
Re: I am going to try Bates method and I am pregnant! Any problem? - NATT - 07-30-2007
Thanks a lot for you reply, Paul. It has been very helpful. I am going to start, in fact I am already writing without my glasses. The worst thing it could happen is that my eyes stay the same...
As you say, the difference between my eyes is very big but I will work as hard as possible.
Thanks again and kind regards.
Re: I am going to try Bates method and I am pregnant! Any problem? - apavel - 07-30-2007
Don't work hard!.. relax
Let us know if you have any questions, we'd be glad to help
Paul
Re: I am going to try Bates method and I am pregnant! Any problem? - trailmix - 08-01-2007
Just to repeat what Paul said because it is so important, I recommend trying as little as possible. If you must try for anything, try to structure your life so that you do what makes you happy, around people who support your happiness and calm. Or try to pretend you are blind...seriously. Normal vision is secondary and effortless. Think about the rest of your body and emotions instead. Bates clarifies a few basic principles reminding myopic people what normal vision is, not "exercises." I understand these principles to be movement, centralization, and (primarily taught by his example) reaching out toward life with confidence.
I read in pregnancy books that women's visual acuity can diminish during pregnancy due to hormonal changes, but if not "treated," it returns to normal after birth, so is not cause for concern. Informed doctors (who are few and far between in this discipline) are officially not supposed to change women's prescriptions during pregnancy because even their field acknowledges it is a temporary phenomenon. I do not know any women who experienced this during pregnancy. However, I think it is possible that it could represent one instance in which a vision problem can occur without strain. Conventional myopia is certainly due to strain, but there are so many huge factors at play in pregnancy and this form of myopia self-corrects, whereas conventional myopia progresses until the person changes the way they think.
The difference between your eyes is an advantage. One eye is more ready for normalcy than the other! But it is unlikely to go away during a three week vacation if you are new to Bates and certainly if you try.
Having kids is also an advantage. They model normal eyesight, and they require their parents to not get frustrated about anything, even eyes.