Practical resources included!
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I applaud your commitment to educating yourself on birth and the beautiful transition into motherhood. Now let's get into it!
Whether you acknowledge it or not, your birth experience will affect you for the rest of your life.
I want the memory of your birth to be good. I want you to achieve MORE than just a"healthy mom and healthy baby." I want you to avoid the birth trauma that one in three women experience. I want you to achieve a positive birth! But in order to achieve it, you need to prepare for it and put in the work. Do your research, ask the hard questions, and be intentional. I promise you, it will be worth it.
Achieving a positive birth experience comes down to three things:
-Education
-Preparation
-Mindset
Education:
In my four years as a birth doula I've seen first hand that education can be the difference between a positive and satisfying birth experience, and a downright traumatic one.
I can not emphasise the importance of education enough!
Educate yourself about ALL aspects of birth. Here are some resources to help get you started:
Read good books and watch positive birth videos. I always recommend reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and The Birth Partner. These books will help you get an idea of the different approaches to labor and birth. Then, go on youtube and watch as many physiological birth videos as you can find, even if you are not planning an unmedicated birth. Why? Because the physical process is the same no matter what. Here's a great birth playlist to get you started!
Take an out of hospital childbirth education class. These types of classes give you a more comprehensive education, and often cover natural birth as well as induction, cesarean, pain medication, comfort measures, breathing techniques, and the mechanics of a normal birth. A good birth course prepares you for anything. The Built to Birth course covers all of this and more.
Preparation:
I wholeheartedly believe that birth is a natural process and that our bodies were designed for it, but I also believe that we need to spend time preparing our minds and bodies to fully experience it.
Here are some super effective ways to prepare for birth:
Prepare your mind by listening to birth meditations/affirmations. You can find birth meditations on youtube or download the christian hypnobirthing app.
Prepare your body by exercising and incorporating movements to help get your baby into the optimal position for birth. I always recommend doing the Spinning Babies Three Balances during your third trimester.
(If your baby is in a good position, it will make your labor and birth so much easier!)
Actually practice the breathing techniques you learn in your childbirth class! Do this while you are listening to birth affirmations and visualize yourself using those techniques during labor.
Learn comfort measures and natural ways to alleviate contractions. Even if you plan to get an epidural, you may have to labor without it for a while, or it may not work as effectively as you want it to. I don't want you to suffer! Have some comfort measures in your back pocket just in case. The birth partner book teaches some great comfort measures, but I will also be posting an updated video with more specific comfort measures on my Instagram page, so look out for that!
Mindset:
I don't know what your preconceived notions about birth are. I don't know what crazy birth stories you've heard, or what some random doctor told you. But I do know that you can start shifting your mindset about birth right now. You can begin to view birth as a good, beautiful, natural process. You can fill your mind with birth affirmations. You can visualize your baby descending into your pelvis, and being born with ease. You can look forward to the blissful moments in between contractions when the pain has subsided and you simply put your hand on your belly and connect with your baby in a totally new way.
I know that the thought of giving birth can be scary, but please hear me when I tell you that something really powerful happens when you prepare and take charge of your birth experience. Will you be able to totally control every part of your birth? No. But you can become educated about the birth process, learn how to effectively manage your contractions, and make choices that help you achieve a great birth.
I do not want you to miss out on the beauty of birth just because you are uninformed and underprepared!
Read the books. Take the class. PUT IN THE WORK! Because an amazing birth experience doesn't happen on accident. It's possible to have a great birth experience, even with your first baby. I'm rooting for you, mama!
Our Lady of Childbirth, pray for us!
-Lydia Seidling CD(DONA)
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