Tips for a Natural Birth
Most expectant mom's I meet want to strive for a natural birth, but they are not always sure how to have that happen. Unfortunately I am too young into my doula role to have perfectly definitive answers for them. However, I do know whats worked in my own labours and also in other natural births that I have been apart of. I thought I would go through some tips that I have picked up along my birth and doula journey. Also, most of these are just my personal opinions and don't necessarily reflect those of the all powerful Doula's of North America.
My favourite tip for getting though early labour is: Go back to sleep. When you first start to feel a few aches and pains, maybe some mucus is coming out, or you just feel like you have some semi regular cramping, try to take a nap. This could be a sign that labour will start soon and the more rested you are the more energy you will have later on when you really need it. If you are able to, sleeping even through early mild contractions is a great thing to do. I know in movies most births happen within 5 minutes of a woman's water breaking but in real life labour is usually a lot longer so you really don't need to rush off anywhere or do anything unless you really want to.
Another tip I try to encourage is: Labour at home as long as you can. Obviously if you are having a home birth this tip doesn't apply, but luckily for you most home births have a high percentage of zero interventions, so your probably good anyway. Staying at home for a good chunk of labour is really helpful when trying to have a natural birth. If for no other reason than there are no epidurals or other drugs (I hope) to have in your home so you will obviously not be getting one. My own doula joked that she liked to have her clients give birth in triage! I'm too chicken to hold off as long as that with my clients but hey it sure works (also it's not actually my decision to make, this was quite a few years ago so doula rules were a bit more chill, or maybe she was just a bad ass rouge doula, probably that). I couldn't have gotten an epidural even if I wanted to (barring an emergency) with most of my labours. I had my babies like 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital, thanks in part to said rouge Doula. The other good thing about staying at home longer is that you are on your own timeline. Once you arrive at the hospital you are on their time, and as anyone who has been in any sort of hospital wing, time is not something they have a lot of.
Breath in and out slowly and don't tense up. This is my most favourite tool to use personally and with anyone I help. If you can relax your breathing and loosen your body up, contractions will be shorter and hurt less. Hurting less is awesome so if you can really force yourself to loosen your muscles as you feel a contraction coming on it will really really help.
Drink water and go pee. This is a multi benefit tip. If you drink water after almost every contraction it will not only keep you hydrated during a pretty physical experience but it will also force you to go to the bathroom a lot (which is great for labour). Getting up to pee can be annoying but good because you usually will be up and walking from somewhere to the bathroom, another plus for getting baby out. Moving positions, walking, peeing and swaying are all great ways to get baby out in a timely manner.
Have your guards up especially in hospital settings. Go into the hospital with an extreme determination to avoid any unnecessary interventions. Notice I have highlighted unnecessary. If you have a more "lets see how far I get with this natural things" you will likely be talked into some things, or a lot of things that you may not necessarily have wanted. Hospital staff are generally quite happy to push drugs and all kinds of other crap on you if they feel like they have a willing candidate, actually, even if they don't have a willing candidate. If you don't feel comfortable defending yourself from well intentioned nurses and anaesthesiologists, try asking someone on your birth team who is comfortable in that role. What happens in the birthing room says in the birthing room, so politely or sometimes more forcefully telling a staff what your wishes are is warranted. I have a family member who had her husband politely ask the shift manager at a hospital to get another nurse asap as the current one continually asked "how's your pain level, want some help with pain"? The nurse was replaced and everything went on just fine from there.
Feel proud about your birth story. No matter what happens. Your birth is miraculous no matter what happens. Set high goals but know that sometimes it just turns out differently then you expected, and that's ok.
My favourite tip for getting though early labour is: Go back to sleep. When you first start to feel a few aches and pains, maybe some mucus is coming out, or you just feel like you have some semi regular cramping, try to take a nap. This could be a sign that labour will start soon and the more rested you are the more energy you will have later on when you really need it. If you are able to, sleeping even through early mild contractions is a great thing to do. I know in movies most births happen within 5 minutes of a woman's water breaking but in real life labour is usually a lot longer so you really don't need to rush off anywhere or do anything unless you really want to.
Another tip I try to encourage is: Labour at home as long as you can. Obviously if you are having a home birth this tip doesn't apply, but luckily for you most home births have a high percentage of zero interventions, so your probably good anyway. Staying at home for a good chunk of labour is really helpful when trying to have a natural birth. If for no other reason than there are no epidurals or other drugs (I hope) to have in your home so you will obviously not be getting one. My own doula joked that she liked to have her clients give birth in triage! I'm too chicken to hold off as long as that with my clients but hey it sure works (also it's not actually my decision to make, this was quite a few years ago so doula rules were a bit more chill, or maybe she was just a bad ass rouge doula, probably that). I couldn't have gotten an epidural even if I wanted to (barring an emergency) with most of my labours. I had my babies like 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital, thanks in part to said rouge Doula. The other good thing about staying at home longer is that you are on your own timeline. Once you arrive at the hospital you are on their time, and as anyone who has been in any sort of hospital wing, time is not something they have a lot of.
Breath in and out slowly and don't tense up. This is my most favourite tool to use personally and with anyone I help. If you can relax your breathing and loosen your body up, contractions will be shorter and hurt less. Hurting less is awesome so if you can really force yourself to loosen your muscles as you feel a contraction coming on it will really really help.
Drink water and go pee. This is a multi benefit tip. If you drink water after almost every contraction it will not only keep you hydrated during a pretty physical experience but it will also force you to go to the bathroom a lot (which is great for labour). Getting up to pee can be annoying but good because you usually will be up and walking from somewhere to the bathroom, another plus for getting baby out. Moving positions, walking, peeing and swaying are all great ways to get baby out in a timely manner.
Have your guards up especially in hospital settings. Go into the hospital with an extreme determination to avoid any unnecessary interventions. Notice I have highlighted unnecessary. If you have a more "lets see how far I get with this natural things" you will likely be talked into some things, or a lot of things that you may not necessarily have wanted. Hospital staff are generally quite happy to push drugs and all kinds of other crap on you if they feel like they have a willing candidate, actually, even if they don't have a willing candidate. If you don't feel comfortable defending yourself from well intentioned nurses and anaesthesiologists, try asking someone on your birth team who is comfortable in that role. What happens in the birthing room says in the birthing room, so politely or sometimes more forcefully telling a staff what your wishes are is warranted. I have a family member who had her husband politely ask the shift manager at a hospital to get another nurse asap as the current one continually asked "how's your pain level, want some help with pain"? The nurse was replaced and everything went on just fine from there.
Feel proud about your birth story. No matter what happens. Your birth is miraculous no matter what happens. Set high goals but know that sometimes it just turns out differently then you expected, and that's ok.
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