7 Must Have Tips for Attempting a Natural Birth
Natural birth is something that is starting to make a major comeback. With free standing birth centers, access to midwives and doulas, women are now choosing to birth at home or in other settings that are not a hospital. Or some like myself, even choose the hospital setting but still request for a natural birth.
In a time where this is making a comeback, it’s often that I will hear women say that may “try it” or wouldn't mind doing it. Hearing women say that they want something different than what is considered “normal” and conventional makes me giddy. Not because any one birth is better than the other, but because women are realizing that you truly have a choice and a VOICE to say what you do and do not want for your birth plan. While not every doctor or hospital setting may completely cater to your natural minded needs, thankfully we are seeing more progress in this area.
However wanting a natural birth and “just may try it out” is two different mindsets. While technically any woman can birth a baby naturally without any prep beforehand, in today’s time it’s not quite as easy to make it through the hardship of natural birth if you haven’t mentally prepared yourself. This is mostly because we know the convenience of an epidural is right across the hall and “everyone does it, so what are you trying to prove?”
The difference is that some truly want this experience and others just may try it out. The ones who truly want this typically go through some prep work beforehand and this makes things more likely to workout in their favor. Natural birth can be a bit hard to just wing it without going into it with the right mindset. Birth is a natural thing, but when it’s your first and you’re sitting there for hours upon hours, if you’re not prepared it would be quite difficult to navigate.
Here’s some of my tips to help you plan for a natural birth:
Read. You have to read some materials to help you understand just how normal and natural birth is. It breaks down the fear, breaks down statistics and brings you back into the mindset that this is how it once was and still can be. What’s extremely inspiring is to read personal stories and testimonies from women who have done this exact thing before. Their fire, passion and excitement can help fuel you. I recommend Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth as the top pick; I also enjoy The Official Lamaze Guide for their stats and Spiritual Midwifery.
Know your Doctor. Make sure your doctor is on board with your birth plan and desire for a natural birth. While there are so many supportive doctors out there, there are many who don’t want to be bothered with this. They may snicker at you, tell you that it’s hard to do or seem bothered with it. This is because unfortunately in modern day childbirth, many doctors choose the convenience of scheduling births around their calendar. This is why we see a surge in inductions and surgical births. If your doctor isn’t on board, fire them and move on.
Take a class. Whether you are birthing at a hospital or a birth center or at home, there should be a Lamaze class or natural birth class for you and your partner to attend. While every tool and breathing technique they teach you may not get utilized during your birth (I don’t really do the whole Lamaze thing but still found the class very helpful), much of the information and tips will stick and help you throughout your birth. If your partner can’t attend, have your mother or sister (whoever will be present at the birth) attend with you.
Have a person to guide you. Whether this is a doula or a really good midwife, you need someone to be there to support you, encourage you and keep you comfortable during the process. If a doula is out of your budget, make sure to have your partner or whoever will be present at your birth read some materials and attend some classes with you beforehand. This gets them in the right mindset as well to help them realize that with their support, you can easily do this. They will learn comfort measures for you, affirmations to push you along and much more. Support is very needed during this process! And even the husbands who don’t take you seriously about your birth plan can turn out to be the best supporters in the process. ;)
Have a birth plan. Having a birth plan is key to any birth whether you are going natural or not, because truthfully there are so many little things here and there you can ask for that are super beneficial for you and your baby and are not just for “natural” mamas. For a good birth plan, you can check out this post and modify it to fit you and your needs. Having a birth plan means you know what you want and don’t want and you make that known to the doctors and nurses during your birth. Typically they will write this in the notes and on the chart so they can all follow the procedures you want. For instance, delaying the cutting of the cord, immediate skin to skin and delaying baby’s bath are all VERY beneficial to your baby’s health — these are things to add into your birth plan.
Be ready to move. While you may talk to a natural birth mama who says that she labored in the bed the whole time, many mamas and most classes will tell you that laboring in the bed is actually the most painful. In most cases you will need to walk around, bounce on a birth ball, stand in odd positions, move from tub to shower and so on. In my case, laboring on my back in bed was the WORST. This is where comfort measures that you learn in class will come in handy! Read my birth stories here!
Find your fire. This is huge! There’s so many reasons why you may have that fire. It can be because you feel babies should be born without any traces of drugs; because women did it for centuries so why can’t you; because you may not like needles; because you don’t like the long term side effects from an epidural; because you don’t want to be at a hospital; because you just simply want to push your limits and test your strength and so on. My fire was about all of this, but when it came down to it I knew God designed our bodies to do this so why not try it without the side effects of drugs. Feeling your baby come out is the most amazing, rewarding and powerful thing. And side note, my fire also came from alllllll of the many people who didn’t think I could birth naturally and who basically laughed at me. Those people gave me more motivation than they know. You will come across lots of snickering along the way as people believe that natural birth isn’t “doable,” but really you can completely prove them wrong. #takethat
Birth is beautiful no matter how it happens, where it happens or if it was natural or not. EVERY birth should be equally celebrated and treasured. My mission is to make sure that women know that they DO have a voice and a choice. Birth does not have to be a standard procedure that looks the same for us all, it can vary for us all and test our limits. Natural birth is hard, but God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle. He wouldn’t have designed our womanly body to do this if we couldn’t bear it. YOU CAN DO THIS — it just takes a little prep work, the right mindset and a small village of love and support.
I’m cheering you on, Mama!