Preparing for natural childbirth in the hospital
So you want to have a natural birth. Did you know that many interventions can be avoided by preparing your body, preparing your mind, and choosing a supportive birth team? Being prepared will give you the best chance of achieving an unmedicated hospital birth. These tips will get you started on the right track!
15 Tips for natural childbirth
- Know why you want a natural birth. If you are not confident in your desire to birth naturally, you are more likely to waver in your decision. Finding what motivates your hope for a natural birth can help keep you going once labor gets intense. Is it the benefits for your baby? Benefits for yourself? Do you live a natural lifestyle? Is it to feel empowered? Is it the recovery? Find your reason, and keep your focus on that.
- Trust your body's ability to birth your baby. Pregnancy and childbirth are natural biological processes that have been occurring since the beginning of mankind. Today's society has turned pregnancy into a medical condition, but unless you have known complications, pregnancy is a completely normal thing. Take it back to the basics and remember that your body was built for birth. You can do this.
- Educate yourself. Understand the process of labor and birth. Know the stages of labor so that you can prepare yourself mentally for coping through each one. Know what happens with your mucus plug, your amniotic sac, and your cervix. Know the potential complications so that you can be prepared for the interventions that may come with them. Don't go into it blindly.
- Build a supportive birth team. Make sure every person in your delivery room is 100% supportive of natural birth, that way if interventions do come up, you will feel confident that they are 100% necessary. If the people on your birth team want you to have a natural birth just as much as you do, they won't make suggestions that aren't needed. Consider hiring a doula who will help support and encourage you during labor and can assist in advocating for your birth plan. Choose a midwife or obstetrician who has low rates of intervention. If they aren't willing to share these stats with you, they probably are not natural birth friendly. Also, don't feel stuck with your provider- just because you have gone to the same GYN since you first got your period years ago does not mean you have to birth with their practice. Do your research and find someone who will encourage you in your birth plan.
- Research local hospitals. Did you know that you can search for hospital C-section rates, episiotomy rates, and elective early deliveries on Leapfrog? If your hospital declined to report, ask why they aren't willing to make their rates available to the public (are they hiding high rates?). Consider a hospital that may be a little further away but is more supportive of natural birth (and head to the hospital sooner if the drive is longer!)
- Prepare your partner. Make sure your support person is completely on board, is informed of the labor and birth process, and knows how to support you physically and mentally. Encourage them to read The Birth Partner and Husband Coached Childbirth.
- Create a simple birth plan. Your doctors and nurses are caring for multiple patients. They don't always have time to read a detailed birth plan. Make it short, sweet, and to the point. Try to keep it to one page so that it is easily scannable by your birth team. Download our free one-page birth plan worksheet and get more tips here.
- Practice your pain management plan. Whatever method you choose, practice it. Don't just read about it and think you'll be able to do it. You need to know your method so well that when a contraction comes, it is instinct to begin your coping method.
- Prepare your body for birth. Our bodies are made for birthing babies, but that doesn't mean they don't need any assistance. You can strengthen your muscles to make long labors and the pushing process easier. You can practice exercises for optimal fetal positioning to help your baby move into the birth canal and to potentially avoid a Caesarean. You can strengthen your uterus with red raspberry leaf tea. And you can help prepare your cervix with evening primrose oil.
- Stay informed throughout your pregnancy. This is your body after all. Do you know what position your baby is in? Do you know how many weeks your baby is measuring vs how many weeks they actually are? Do you know if you have the right amount of amniotic fluid? Is your placenta in the correct place? What is your baby's estimated weight? Does your care provider anticipate any complications? All of this information can potentially help you prepare for birth by either making adjustments ahead of time or by anticipating certain interventions.
- Stay home as long as possible during labor. The longer you stay home, the less chance of interventions. Once you are admitted to the hospital, you are on the clock. If labor isn't progressing as quickly as hoped, interventions will be encouraged to speed things up. Slow progress doesn't necessarily mean interventions are required at this point, just encouraged (unless your water is broken or you/baby have known complications). Ask your care provider's recommendation for how far apart contractions should be before coming to the hospital, and follow their advice. A doula can assist you in laboring at home!
- Eat and hydrate before heading to the hospital. Most hospitals do not allow you to eat or drink in case of emergent C-section. But labor and birth are hard work! You will need energy. When you realize that you are in true labor, eat a small, nutritious meal. High protein foods will keep you feeling full longer. Also drink plenty of water. Once at the hospital, if you are allowed to have clear liquids, continue drinking water or eating ice chips. You will lose a lot of blood, so hydration is very important.
- Stay moving during labor. This accomplishes two things- minimizing pain and moving the baby into the birth canal. Try different labor positions. Walk around. Be upright some of the time. Let gravity be your friend. Move your hips. Do whatever feels good to you- your body knows what is best. Go with it.
- Remember that you are the decision maker. Obviously, the health of you and your baby are the top priority. But if your practioner makes a suggestion for intervention, it is totally okay to ask for more time, with safety in mind. Are you overdue and they suggested it's time for an induction? Ask your doctor, "Is it safe for my baby if we give it two more days?" Is labor not progressing and they've suggested a C-section? Ask them, "Is it safe for my baby and I if we check my progress again in one more hour?"
- Don't try to birth on your back. This is SO important. The medical profession and society have made birthing on your back with your feet in stirrups the "classic" birthing position, but it is actually the most difficult way to push your baby out. Due to the shape of the uterus, your baby has to actually defy gravity to exit the birth canal in this position. And your uterine contractions need to be even stronger. This position actually closes the pelvis more which leads to baby "getting stuck." During pregnancy, it is recommended not to lay on your back because you compress the superior vena cava, reducing blood flow, depriving yourself and your baby of oxygen... this doesn't change during birth. This restriction of blood flow can lead to fetal bradycardia ("non-reassuring fetal heartrate") if in this position long enough. Plus, it's the most uncomfortable position to labor in!
We'll discuss these tips in more detail in upcoming posts. Do you have any tips to add? Any questions? Let us know in the comments below or send us a message!
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