It can be so overwhelming diving into research and trying to make decisions about birth…. let me help guide you with the tools & resources that helped me to gain confidence in having a natural birth! I truly took that time to educate myself & partner
It helped my overall mood to have routine! I did this daily – I aimed for the morning, but if I had a busy day I would do in the evening:
- Wake up in gratitude
- Affirmations
- Walk: Gentle Movement
- Prenatal Vitamins
- Journal / Read about Natural Birth
- Talk to your baby!!!
Take your diet & exercise seriously! Every day you have a chance to help fuel your body with nutrients & movement to help you baby grow. Be diligent in this self care practice
Watch:
- Business of Being Born Documentary:
- Why not home documentary
Read this Blog: Mama Natural you can search anything from natural birth to nontoxic products in your home during pregnancy! – she also has a great pregnancy guide book)
Educate yourself on natural birth:
- Midwife
- Doula (provides emotional support)
- Webster Certified Chiroprator
- Home Birth
- Birth Center
- Natural Birth Options in hospital
- Informed Consent: Hospital policies example pitcoin / epidural / etc
- We took a Bradley Method Course (Husband Coached Childbirth)
- Didn’t do it but there’s something called: hypnobirthing
Books to Read:
Have you heard of Ina May? She is the midwife of all midwives – please check out her work! There’s also a documentary with the Business of Being Born Bundle to learn more about her:
- Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth
- Spiritual Midwifery
- Mama Natural Weekly Guide to Pregnancy
Preparation:
- I drank Red Raspberry Leaf Tea as well as Nettle Leaf. You can find helpful tips at my favorite natural birth blog from Mama Natural regarding the benefits of Red Raspberry Leaf Tea for labor! I started drinking 3-4 times a week in the 2nd trimester and then bumped it up to daily in 3rd trimester with other herbs my midwife recommended! I started with tea bags, and then became confident using loose leaf tea that I steeped it in mason jar!
- Dates! That sweet fruit – why would that help me during labor? Read more about the benefits of dates during labor.
Exercise:
Super gentle workouts I didn’t use weights very often but did walk 1+ mile a day. If I was really tired even getting outside for 10 minutes of sunshine was my goal. I also enjoyed doing yoga & pilates occasionally.
I found @melissawoodhealth on instagram and I really liked her workouts!
And also the last 2 months of pregnancy i was tired and only did the gentle pregnancy exercises from the article below:
- Deep Squats
- Pelvic rocks
- Kegels
- Walking
Checkout this blog post that helped me:
Mama Natural Pregnancy Exercises to support labor
I made pregnancy a consistent routine – this brought me joy & confidence as I prepared for natural birth:
- Walk Every Day! Gentle movement.
- Read pregnancy affirmations every morning ✨ I can share some of mine!
- Birth Preparation Exercises
- Take your prenatal vitamins!!
- Find time weekly to education yourself: Read about natural birth, watch documentaries, follow midwifery & birth instagram accounts
- Be mindful of everything you’re putting in your body! of course I had some cheat days & nights but overall was very conscious of the food I was putting in my body and how it impacted by growing baby!
Please consider taking a natural birth course – and NOT the one offered by the hospital. Help yourself to feel empowered and confident in your decisions.
We took a Bradley Method Course (husband coached child birth) this is great regardless if you want to have a baby at home or in a hospital to know your rights and prepare you for what’s happening to your body with your partner. And what is truly optional in the hospital, that might be their standard procedures! If you do take this online course with Lia – make sure tell her Bre & Robb sent you 🙂
Additional Courses you could consider taking:
- Lamaze: Built to birth
- Mama Natural Birth Course
- Evidence Based Birth Course
- Hypobirthing
I know it’s easy to get caught up in the baby registry! But pleeeeease take the time to prepare for the birth you desire as well as mentally preparing for the baby to arrive! How will you & your partner support one another through the lack of sleep. Will you be breastfeeding have you found a lactation consultant in your area?
more coming soon…
