Guide
Discover the concept of sensory integration and what sensory tools
you can use during your pregnancy and birth to help nd a sense of
calm and relaxation in your body, mind, and environment.
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TOPIC
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The information contained in this guide is for
informational purposes only and is not intended
to be medical advice. It also is not a substitute
for regular medical care. Please consult with your
care provider about your care options and for
any medical advice. You should never disregard
medical advice or delay in seeking medical
advice or care because of any content presented
as part of this guide. Reliance on the information
presented in this guide is solely at your own risk.
2021
Pregnancy: 27–40 Weeks
Mindset
Sensory Integration In Pregnancy & Birth
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Insights
Although it’s less familiar to people, I’ve found using sensory tools and developing a deeper
understanding of sensory integration helpful in my own life. It’s lifted me up out of stressful
moods or nudged me back into a more balanced state after experiencing a stressful
situation. I hope learning about it will do the same for you. Like anything new, stay curious,
try different tools, and see what works best. Know that your sensory needs and tools will
change over time.
Key Points To Remember
Takeaways
Sensory Integration is how your senses interpret information from the environment around you.
Sensory integration is important in all the things that we need to do everyday (such as getting
dressed, eating, socializing, learning, and working).
The “just right” state is where you feel most balanced and at ease. If you’re feeling sluggish or down,
you may try using alerting sensory tools to reach that “just right” state. If you’re feeling anxious or
overwhelmed, calming or soothing sensory experiences might bring you more into balance.
Each person’s sensory experience is unique. So, you can experiment with sensory tools and notice how
they impact your experience. Consult with your care provider to determine which sensory options are
safe for you. Then, take note of the ones that work for you to build your own sensory meals.
You can work with your support system to build the tools that work for you into your day-to-day
experience during pregnancy, birth process, and postpartum.
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A Framework
For Understanding
This Experience
Landscape
Sensory integration is how your senses interpret information
from your environment through your brain. This interpretation
can impact how you feel, whether that’s more overwhelmed,
calm, sluggish, or alert.
Sensory Integration Theory was created by Anna Jean Ayres. She was a developmental
psychologist, occupational therapist, and an educational psychologist. Her theory also
included the concept of creating a “sensory diet,” which is made up of self-selected
sensory-based activities that you can do throughout your day in order to feel more calm and
organized in your body and mind.
nutrients for energy. A sensory diet and sensory meals nourish our bodies with “sensory-
based nutrients” for calming.
1
Think of it this way: we nourish our bodies with food-based
Let’s explore the sensory system and how to notice when you might want to use sensory
tools to bring you into a more balanced (or “just right”) emotional and physical state.
Your brain receives information from 8 different senses.2
We often hear about the 5 most common senses:
SOUND
Noise from your environment that’s loud or soft, high or low, near or far away can
impact your experience.
SIGHT
Your eyes are stimulated by light, color, and movement. For example, you may find
you feel differently in very cluttered, bright environments vs. tidier, dimmer ones.
SMELL
Smell is linked to the part of the brain that controls basic emotions. Some scents
can have a soothing or alerting effect.
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TA S T E
Bitter or sour tastes can help you focus your attention in the moment.
TOUC H
Tactile senses help us identify touch, pressure, pain, temperature and texture. Some
people find compression tools and weighted blankets to feel soothing on the body.
In addition to the 5 common senses, we have 3 more:
VESTIBULAR
The vestibular system is related to balance and movement, it tells us where we
are in space. The receptors are located in our inner ear and detect the speed and
direction of our movement and the pull of gravity.
PROPRIOCEPTION
Proprioception is the body awareness you gather from your muscles and joints as
you move, which helps us know how to get into a pair of pants or how to climb up
the stairs.
INTEROCEPTION
And there’s one more sense that’s much lesser-known called interoception.
Interoception helps you understand and feel what’s going on inside your body. It’s
how you know if you’re hungry, thirsty, or need to pee.
1
Your sensory experience during pregnancy might have changed a lot, because pregnancy
hormones can cause increased or decreased responses to smell, taste, and tactile
experiences. Our culture has historically done a poor job supporting women in the home
and at work and even when things are at their best. The experience of simply just being a
woman can come with trauma and chronic stress. Pregnancy, even if planned and joyously
welcomed, exists alongside ongoing external and systemic stressors that uniquely impact
women, often leading to an overwhelming sensory response in the body.
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Things To Try
Out And Integrate
Into Your Life
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Skills & Strategies
Get to know your personal sensory response:
• Do you find yourself feeling overly activated or withdrawn?
• Are you frequently overwhelmed during your day?
• Do you have difficulty focusing on tasks?
• Do you often have too much or too little energy, but rarely the “just right” amount?
• Are you often overwhelmed by things like bright lights, strong smells, rough
fabrics, or the sound of sirens?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might like to make time for a sensory
meal, using sensory ingredients from the sensory meal kit below. A sensory meal is a pause
you can build into your day to use a series of sensory activities that help you get into that
“just right” state. You can do this in a specific moment when you’re seeking to feel more
calm or alert, or as a routine you return to regularly throughout your day.3
Pregnancy Sensory Meal Kit
This meal kit contains ideas that can support a bunch of sensory issues. It can be used
when away from home, at work, in crowded places, or in your birth environment—anywhere
that might provoke sensory overload. Some tools are meant to have a calming effect, which
can be helpful when you’re feeling overwhelmed or anxious. Other tools are designed to
help you feel more alert or awake if you’re feeling sluggish or down.3 It’s all about
experimentation. Get curious about your comfort needs, what’s being asked of you in the
moment, and how each tool brings you closer or further from that “just right” state.
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TOUC H
Use: a sensory brush
Use: soft blanket
Wear: soft or stretchy clothing
Wear: a bandana to cover any part of the
body that feels particularly sensitive
Bring & Use: wipes when you leave the
house if the feeling of sticky hands makes
you uncomfortable
Use: play putty; pulling and stretching can
help you feel more regulated
SIGHT
Watch: something calming
Do: open the window or shades and
take in a pleasant view
Wear: sunglasses indoors or outdoors
to dampen intense visual stimuli or light
Wear: a baseball hat
Use: virtual or augmented reality gear
Do: dim the lights or use smart light
bulbs that dim
Pregnancy Sensory
Pick a few tools.
Stay curious
and explore.
SOUND
Listen: binaural beats
Use: noise-cancelling headphones
Listen: to music you enjoy
Do: sing or talk to yourself
TA S T E
SMELL
Use: calming essential oils*
bergamot, lavender, grapefruit,
jasmine, neroli, rose geranium,
sandalwood, orange
Use: alerting essential oils*
lavender, cedarwood, bergamot,
peppermint, lemongrass, rosewood,
lime, ginger
Use: incense or Palo Santo
Meal Kit Ingredient List
Experiment to discover what’s alerting or
calming for you and make the best sensory
meals to get you into a “just right” state
during your pregnancy and
birth experience.
VESTIBULAR
Do: rock in a rocking chair
Do: slowly turn your head left & right
Do: bounce on a fitness or birthing therapy ball
Do: stretch
Do: doodle
Eat: crunchy or textured foods
Eat: bitter or sour foods
Eat: cold, room temperature, or
warm foods
PROPRIOCEPTION
Use: resistance bands and stretch
them with your hands or legs
Do: brush your teeth
Wear: weighted shoulder vest
Use: a weighted blanket
Do: blow up a balloon
Do: chew gum or “chewelry”
*Be sure to dilute essential oils or otherwise follow package instructions. Do not ingest or put them directly on your skin. For specific safety recommendations, seek qualified medical advice.
This meal kit can help with day-to-day functioning and your birth experience, but will not create permanent changes if
you’re really struggling with sensory issues. Some great next steps would be:
• Occupational Therapy: for a diagnosis related to your specific sensory issues and for more sensory, tools, and tricks
• Psychotherapy: for emotional support
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Feelings & Thoughts
You Might Have About
This Experience
Mindspeak
INSTEAD OF:
“I am feeling so overwhelmed right now,
but I can’t gure out why!”
TR Y:
INSTEAD OF:
“Let me do a quick check in—how am I feeling right
now? Is it too loud in here? Is it too cold in here? Are
the lights too bright? Is it too warm? Would I benet
from being in a quieter environment? Let me see
which changes I can make to feel more comfortable.”
“I’m starting to feel really anxious about being in this
hospital room. I feel trapped and like I have no options.”
TR Y:
“Can you help me change some things about the
environment in this room? Can we lower the lights, put on
some aromatherapy, and play music that helps me relax?”
INSTEAD OF:
“I’m feeling so unlike myself. I shouldn’t be
so overwhelmed and shut down.”
TR Y:
“I know this is an overwhelming time. I know when I
start to feel withdrawn it helps for me to move my body or
even chew on something crunchy to wake myself up.”
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Conversation Starters
To Help You Discuss
This Experience With
People In Your Life
Talk About It
With a partner or support person:
“After an overwhelming doctor’s appointment, it was helpful to
lay under the weighted blanket. Can you make sure that we pack
the weighted vest for the hospital so we can have it handy?”
“Can you help me make a list of what worked
so we can refer back to it together?”
“I’m feeling really anxious and don’t know where to begin. Can
we look at this guide together and pick out a couple things to try?”
“Can you remember to ask the nurse to dim
the lights in the room when we get there?”
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Resources To Explore, If You
Want To Keep Learning About
This Experience
Deep Dive
Sensory Integration Education
(www.sensoryintegration.org.uk/What-is-SI)
Where We Found Our Information
On This Experience
References
1
What is Sensory Integration? (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2021,
from http://www.sensoryintegration.org.uk/What-is-SI
2
Milman, T. (2018, December 13). How your senses can help you
better enjoy the holidays. Retrieved February 20, 2021, from
https://chan.usc.edu/news-and-events/news/how-your-sensescan-help-you-better-enjoy-the-holidays
3
May Benson, T.A. ScD, OTR/L, FAOTA & Wilson, M.W., OTS. “A
Guide to Sensory Integration for Adolescents and Young
Adults.” Spiral Foundation. Retrieved February 20, 2021, from
https://thespiralfoundation.org/adults-and-adolescents-toolkit/
Kelly, K. (2020, October 22). “Sensory diet” Treatment: What you
need to know. Retrieved February 03, 2021, from https://www.
understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatmentsapproaches/therapies/sensory-diet-treatment-what-youneed-to-know
Spiral Foundation. (2017). Sensory Processing Disorder: A Fanny
Pack Toolkit for Adults https://thespiralfoundation.org/adultsand-adolescents-toolkit/
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