1. Start Practicing your Breathing
One of the best things you can do even if you aren't pregnant now is practice your breathing and meditation. Honestly, the earlier you can do this the easier it is going to be to slip into that mindset during labor. Practice breathing in for 3 or 4 beats and out for 6 or 8 beats. You want the breath out to be double the amount of time that you breathed in. While you breathe out, practice relaxing all your muscles from your jaw to your calves. Some people practice by holding ice in their hands and trying to focus on their breathing and relaxing their whole body while they are holding the ice. However, you choose to practice it's so important that you take the time to practice as early as possible no matter what type of birth you are planning on having.
2. Find your birth team
Finding your birth team is the SECOND thing that you should do to ensure a smooth process through pregnancy and delivery. Make sure your doctor is someone you trust and look forward to seeing! You have all the power in a doctor/patient relationship. If you don't like your doctor or don't resonate with something they say or do you are well within your rights to fire them and hire a new one. You don't even have to tell them, just find a new doctor and set up an appointment! Ask questions, tell them what you want and don't want during your pregnancy, labor, and delivery. If they are not okay or supportive of any of your choices, you have the option to find someone that does. There are a lot of doctors that accept it is your body and your choice how you handle the journey of becoming a parent. If you find that an OBGYN doesn't align with your choices, you might be someone who would align more with a midwife. A midwife can do everything an OBGYN can do except surgery.
Aside from your doctor, your birth team is also any support persons (doula, parent, spouse, friend, family member, etc) that you chose to have in the delivery room with you. Before you invite someone into your birth space, talk with them about the things that you are going to need or want AND the things you don't want. Have an honest conversation about your dream birth and make sure that they are comfortable and able to handle you telling them to leave you alone. Sometimes that happens in birth, and you need to have someone with you that understands that you aren't being mean or hurting feelings. Most importantly make sure that YOU are going to be the center of your birth space! Have a 'bouncer' or someone responsible for removing negative people or energy. You need to be focused on labor not drama or what is happening around you.
3. Enroll in a Childbirth Class!
The next thing I would recommend to a newly pregnant person is enrolling in a birth class. Whether it is your first pregnancy or your tenth you should investigate a birth class, even if it is just a refresher course. There are new things coming out every day about labor and delivery, and how we manage them. Taking a birth class is going to teach you about your options with induction, pain management, the process of labor and more. It is an invaluable resource for a pregnant mom and one I HIGHLY recommend. If you find a doula, many of them will offer birth classes built into their packages. Check out my childbirth class here.
4. Listen to your Body!
You are in your body and know your body best! Always advocate for yourself! Listen to what your body is telling you it needs. You already have everything you need to grow and give birth to a baby so trust your body and listen to it. If your body is telling you in early pregnancy that you need more sleep, take a nap. If you are craving something (within reason and if it is safe to eat) eat it. If you feel like you need to stand up or sit down in labor, do it. You are in complete control and your body knows exactly how to give birth to a baby. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
5. Acknowledge your Badassery!
You will NEVER be THIS pregnant with this baby again. Pregnancy is HARD and it's EXHAUSTING! There are so many things that can go wrong or make pregnancy more complicated, exhausting, or frustrating than it already is. You are valid in loving or hating your pregnancy but take a few minutes to recognize how amazing your body is! How absolutely incredible it is to grow a baby from a zygote all the way to this tiny human you will hold. That is amazing and totally badass. Take a few pictures (even if you hate the way your body looks), spoil yourself, and tell everyone that you are a badass.
BONUS!
6. Check out Lila Birth Gowns! If you are a bigger girl like me, you know the STRUGGLE of a hospital gown! They never fit right, your butt always hangs out, they choke you... it's HORRIBLE. A hospital gown was NOT something that I wanted to labor in, I wanted to be COMFORTABLE! I was going to wear comfortable clothes, but I knew that I would have to wear a gown if I got an epidural, had an emergency C-Section and that the hospital I was delivering at was not very excited by the idea of me laboring in my oversized t-shirt and stretchy shorts. I did some research and for Lila gowns! It was AMAZING I knew I had to have one. Ill insert a picture below of me in my gown, I waited for about a month for the color I wanted to come back in stock and ordered the day it did.
Created by a labor and delivery nurse, low back for easy epidural access, open on the bottom for easy monitoring and cervical checks and the top snaps open for skin to skin. Check out these AMAZING gowns (that also have matching baby swaddles)!
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