03 Oct Positive Birth Experience Tips

Close to due date? Feeling anxious and nervous? Reading horror stories from the birth table? Giving birth can be a positive experience! Especially if you mentally prepare…

While you can’t control everything with your birth experience, you can minimize stress and fear… But how? We have learned top tips from midwife and hypnobirthing teacher Anthonissa Moger …

1. From the moment you learn of your pregnancy, start immersing yourself in positive birth vibes. That means avoiding the birthing horror stories, and surrounding yourself with the positive ones.
2. Your birth partner, whoever they may be (Adoption Choices counselor, friend, parent, spouse, etc) can be your biggest champion and greatest support on the day. They can literally pull you through the toughest moments. But in order to be confident, they may need a little training themselves. Get them involved at every step, give them some books to read and write a plan together of what they will do for you at each and every stage of labor on the day.
3. Getting your body strong for birth is just as important as getting your mind strong. Giving birth is a big job and takes physical strength and energy. Exercising regularly will give you the power to labor AND push your baby out. Some of the best ways are yoga, pilates, and swimming.
4. Start focusing on getting excited for your adoption journey. Meeting with the adoptive family, establishing a birth plan and your level of contact with the family is very important. Think long and hard about your birth plan. Try not to make rash decisions; work with your Adoption Choices counselor and your adoptive family to determine what is best for you and your relationship with your baby and the adoptive family.
5. The way your baby is lying inside your pelvis can have a big impact on your birth too. Seeing a good osteopath before 34 weeks of pregnancy can make the difference between having a straightforward birth and needing assistance with forceps or even caesarean. A skilled osteopath can work wonders to align your ligaments, muscles, pelvis AND baby.
6. Perineal massage! There is much debate raging in the birth world as to whether this works or not. In my opinion getting familiar with your intimate areas can certainly do no harm, and may reduce the chance of tearing. Start your perineal massage three times a week for ten minutes from thirty four weeks of pregnancy.
7. Think about and plan for the ambiance in your birth room. The environment that you birth in can have a mega impact on the hormones which control the birth process. So you want to make this a ‘home from home’ vibe, which will make you feel as relaxed and comfortable as you possibly can. Things to consider are smells, sounds/ music, lights, laughter, mobile phones and communication. As well as who will be in the delivery room with you.

Original article retrieved from here or here (altered for adoption related births)

Anthonissa is a midwife working at a busy central London hospital, a Hypnobirthing specialist and mum to one. You can enjoy her free relaxation MP3 at www.thehypnobirthingmidwife.co