The Secret to having a intervention free birth
More women are looking into natural birth these days. I love it. I have noticed no matter your back ground, your culture the women are more interest in the benefits it offer not just them but baby.
every woman has a reason for their journey into the natural. Some are drawn because they were raised in a family full of natural living people, lifestyle changes and because it seems like the trend amongst the crunchy parents. it truly doesn't matter which is your reasoning. what's most important is that you know what your goal is and you have a support system to make it attainable. The funny thing is everybody idea of what natural is appears to be different. To be honest what you consider natural is your opinion. Know your limits in the labour and birthing process. If you set a goal higher than you truly believe you can achieve you can come out on the other end of the birth feeling disappointed. we tend to be harsher on ourselves than we should be.
Birth is a very beautiful experience and preparing for it is such an intimate process. think about it. during the entire process you are developing a beautiful relationship with your baby while in the womb. We learn our babies personality and corks during the preparation time. baby let you know when you fatigued, over doing it, need to eat and need to prepare for their arrival. I loved the process.
you have to have a positive out look no matter your symptoms, experience with those around you and what your physical body look like. When you think pregnancy in the start your excited and eager to get started with the journey. You know you may gain a lot of weight but you don't know how your body with respond to the over all process. This is why I have a few tips to assist in the intervention free experience.
How you are before the pregnancy start can tell you many things:
here are some questions to consider.
1. will I feel out of control?
2. will I be able to submit to the experience?
3. will I be able to let my body work naturally?
4. Can I rely on my body?
5. am I comfortable in my own skin?
6. can receive help without rejecting or trying to take over
I have a talk I do titled the 7 secrets to having an intervention free birth. The tips aren't difficult they are just things that most have a issue handling or identifying.
1. Mentality (meditation/visualization/
Pregnancy is hormonal and so staying positive is important. I always advise families to sort through your stuff before labour and delivery because emotion can translate through your pregnancy and labour. If you have unresolved stresses, angers, family issues this all can affect the way your pregnancy will play out as well as your labour.
To clear your mind and prepare for this journey of a life time I advise you to work on meditation, visualization and daily affirmations. I just started to provide affirmations for Mom and Dad for pregnancy, Labour and delivery. Your mental state is so important. If you are not mentally sound this can also affect your postpartum recovery. I also am a firm believer if your mental state is the healthiest than how can you positively receive support.
2. Support
Every woman who is looking to conceive or expecting their partner need to understand the importance of their support.
The comfort you experience knowing that your spouse, parents and friends are supportive and willing to be a part of your experience in what ever way is needed is very comforting.
All of this is very helpful to Mom and will give a breath of fresh air before delivery. This will allow Mom t enjoy pregnancy with out the huge list of tasks. I always suggest creating a pregnancy and postpartum task list for family and friends. be specific with time slots so there is no confusion or disturbances while your home resting with the baby.The funny thing is in North America we are so behind culturally with pregnancy and the birthing experience how can we expect our culture to be understanding of the postpartum experience. In some cultures the Mom is not allowed to do anything. the family will come in and care for the house and family until her healing and bonding process is complete. In Asia, India and Africa the village come together to make sure you are prepared to care for your new addition and family without any relapse. We are still behind in breastfeeding and maternity leave. we are even behind with paternity leave. that's right men are allowed time off of work to help the Mom. If your partner can stay home for at least 2 weeks you decrease your chances of postpartum depression significantly.
3. Relaxation (yoga/ massage/
spend time relaxing. Anything that is mentally soothing and physically calming. If you do not have any allergies aromatherapy is great. A little lavender goes a long way when you put a couple drops in a defusor or hot tub of water. It is ok to use during pregnancy, labor and delivery. Get prenatal massage and frequent a prenatal yoga class as often as your schedule will allow.
4. Mobility (walk/ exercise) A walk around the blog is great. There are pregnancy and Mommy groups that you can join so you can have someone to walk with the same journey a head as you.
5. Chiropractic (joint and structural health
6. Nutrition ( eat for preventative health, healing in food ( helps with hormonal balance, anxiety, hydration etc..
7. Doula
When you hire a doula we are there to decrease your chances of C-section, Pitocin, epidural and we increase your chances of a natural labour an delivery. We assist you in staying the course with your birth plan within reason. We help you with any information you need to make decisions about your birthing experience. We also help you to trust your body and find a healthy place mentally during the pregnancy, labour and delivery. We help with any resources you may need during your journey. We also assist with your transition from hospital to home during those postpartum stages. Having a Doula allows you to not free to experience without stress the beautiful journey of birthing.
I love watching the families transform and grow. Each woman that has delivered I have witnessed them turn into what I call a womb warrior. Birth turns you into the most resilient woman you will ever become without having to experience a trauma.
For questions about hire Peace Birthing Doula for Birth Doula or Postpartum Support, Placenta Encapsulation and Massage please visit www.peacefulbirthingdoula.com or (630)481-6079
Tunisia Macklin DONA(CD), Placenta Encapsulator, Massage Therapist
