How I Prepared for a Natural Birth
1 | Know your goal // The number one thing I did throughout my pregnancy was making sure I knew this was my goal. I told myself it was 'my goal' instead of 'my plan' because I'm fully aware birth plans can go 100% the opposite way and sometimes you have no control over that. It was my goal to birth this baby naturally, but ultimately what mattered to me was 1) a healthy baby and 2) a healthy mama. Personally, the drugs that are involved in induction and epidurals freak me out. I also did not want to deal with the side effects of those. I wanted to do it without drugs, but I also told myself if I needed medication it didn't mean I wasn't strong, it didn't make me less of a woman, and I wasn't going to feel guilty about it. It really doesn't matter how your baby is brought into this world, just that it happens!2. Prepare your body // There is plenty of research out there for you that shows pregnant ladies who workout during their pregnancy have an easier time giving birth and getting back into things after the baby is born. I didn't go crazy over working out every single day. Instead, I listened to my body and I worked out when I was able to. Sometimes, I would skip a week at a time, but I told myself, "Hey mama that's ok! You're doing incredible things and every workout your do do is beneficial for you and baby!" I didn't beat myself up over not working out every day, I encouraged myself. I followed my regular workout videos as well as some pregnancy workout videos that gave different different workouts every trimester. Research also shows having a healthy core, and doing squats makes pushing easier so towards the end of my pregnancy I focused more on squats and planks. On the day I went into labor I did 100 squats, and I'm positive these moves helped me push!
3 | Write down birth affirmations // I had a stack of about 20 different motivational phrases and verses written down on little notecards that I had my mom and husband read to me throughout labor. They would read me them during or after a particularly difficult contraction or when I was just so exhausted and wanted to be done. Each one was a reminder of my strength, God's promises, or encouragement. They were so helpful to me that I'm going to create a little printable for you all to have! Come back next week for that!
4 | Communicate your goals with your support team // My husband and my mom we both in the room for our delivery. They both knew it was my goal to birth this baby without drugs. I told them ahead of time everything I wrote in #1 and that I would let them know if I needed pain relief. I also communicated this with the nurse who worked with us when we were admitted. While we were being admitted I made sure to tell her I was not planning on using any pain medication and that if I needed it I would ask for it. She wonderfully communicated this to the next nurses at the shift change that occurred during our labor. The nurses didn't ask me a single time if I needed an epidural and I am SO SO SO thankful they respected my wishes!
There you have it! Those are my top tips to you pregnant mama friends!
Do you have a tip for birth? Share below!
Kayty
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