This is not medical advice. I am a mother who achieved an amazing unmedicated water birth with my son on June 23rd 2018! This was the most empowering, beautiful experience of my life thus far. I want you to know that it is possible for you to also experience an amazing unmedicated birth as well. The tips below are simply what helped me through my birthing plan and birthing experience. This is not a substitute for your medical care. Specific birth plans and concerns should be discussed with your professional medical care team. So here are my 6 tips to prepare for an unmedicated birth.
1).Train your mind (hypnobirthing)
When I decided my birthing plan would be to have an unmedicated water birth, I was encouraged to take a birthing class to mentally prepare myself. We decided on hypno-birthing classes. Hypno-birthing is a method of managing pain, fear, and anxiety during childbirth.
After reading HypnoBirthing by Marie Mongan, I began to understand that when a woman’s body is fearful and/or anxious the body will tense up making it much more difficult for the baby to come down the birthing canal. Another part of the hypno-birthing classes was to listen to Rainbow Relaxation audiotapes. I would listen to these audiotapes a couple nights per week. These classes were so beneficial to helping me mentally release a lot of fears and anxieties I had around childbirth. Oftentimes we don’t realize that there is a negative stigma around childbirth. It should not be this way. Childbirth should be a beautiful experience and should be viewed in a positive light.
2). Birth Doula Support
A birth doula is like your best friend and cheerleader during labor and delivery. My doula was that extra emotional support that I needed! While I was in my birthing room, my doula assisted me with various relaxation strategies to help me through each contraction. She gave me water and honey sticks to make sure I stayed hydrated. My birth doula was the calm that I needed to get through the delivery of my son. She gave me motivation and encouragement. My birth doula was also clearly aware of my birthing plan so she was my advocate. It can be very difficult to make birthing decisions when you’re having contractions, therefore, having a birthing doula by your side to advocate for you is very necessary.
3). Relaxing Atmosphere
Whether you choose to give birth in a hospital, at home, or at a birthing center, it’s going to be important for you to create a relaxing atmosphere. I chose to have my son at a birthing center. When I went to tour the birthing center, I knew this was the right place for me. The birthing center made me feel like I was at home. I felt relaxed as soon as I walked in.
Creating a relaxing atmosphere is so important because it helps the body relax during childbirth. In my birthing room, I had my playlist of slow jams, the lights were dim, and the room temperature was perfect. I also only wanted 3 people in the room with me during my labor and delivery (my doula, my midwife, and my husband). A relaxing atmosphere looks different for everyone. Do you want dim lighting? How many people do you want in the room with you while giving birth? Do you want your birthing room to smell a certain way? What room temperature do you need your room to be? These are all questions that I asked myself and I wrote these out in my birthing plan.
4). Healthy Eating Lifestyle
When I got pregnant with my son, I began paying more attention to what I was eating. In particular I began eating more fruits and green vegetables, taking my prenatal vitamins, and eating a good amount of protein. Having a healthy eating lifestyle will help you to have the unmedicated birthing experience that you want. You need to physically prepare your body for the birthing experience.
5). Exercise
Despite being very tired throughout my whole pregnancy, I knew that exercise was important. I did not exercise so I could keep a small figure. The main reasons why I chose to exercise was because I know that exercise during pregnancy can help with fighting fatigue, lowering blood pressure, improving sleep and relieving constipation.
I didn’t want to go to the gym, so instead I simply switched up some lifestyle routines. I walked around the neighborhood every morning. A couple days out of the week I would put on a prenatal youtube yoga video and I did yoga with my 4 year old daughter in our living room. Instead of parking super close every time I went to the grocery store, I would park a little further away to get some walking in. There’s simple things you can implement into your pregnancy journey to get light exercise daily. It’s important to physically prepare your body for an unmedicated birth by exercising.
6). Birthing Affirmations
Positive birthing affirmations are such a vital role in achieving an unmediated birth! As I mentioned in my first tip, we have to train our mind to view birthing in a positive light. Understand that the mind is a very powerful tool. My suggestion is to write out at least 10 birthing affirmations on a card and say these affirmations everyday. For example, here are couple birthing affirmations you can add to your list:
My baby moves gently down the birthing canal
I am relaxed, calm, and at peace with every breath I take
My baby trusts me and I trust my body
In conclusion, my hope is that you are able to implement some of these tips into your birthing plan and your journey during your pregnancy. I was able to implement all 6 of these tips into my lifestyle and I had an amazing unmedicated water birth with my son. Be sure to check out My Unmedicated Water Birth
XO,
Ashley
