10 Tips For a Natural Birth: How to stack the odds in your favour
What is my best advice if you really want to have a physiological birth? By which I mean a birth that starts spontaneously and is not medically managed or interfered with.
I know that many women enter into birth wanting a simple and straightforward delivery, but that sometimes, things they feel are out of their control come into the picture and change this path.
We are, of course, all different and a physiological birth is not for everyone and there are many nuances to birth and changes that can happen along the way. But are there things that we can actually be doing to stack the odds in our favour for this?
Yes, yes there are… they’re not guarantees, birth can be unpredictable, but they will certainly help you on your way. So here are my top ten.
One. If you have the money then hire an independent midwife. They have the time to get to know you and work with you well. When you have hired them directly, then you have them irrespective of what is happening within your local hospital or hospital trust. So, for example you will not suddenly find that your homebirth is not happening because of a shortage of NHS homebirth midwives the night you go into labour.
Two. If a private midwife is out of the budget then hire a birth doula. Doulas are women that support women through their labour and birth. They are not medical professionals but skilled birth supporters who are familiar with labour, techniques to feel comfortable and calm, can support with food and drink, help your birth partner, work with you so that you fully understand any options being offered to you and be by your side as a comforting presence throughout.
Doulas have been evidentially proven to reduce unnecessary interventions and improve outcomes. And of course it isn’t just physical…having a kind, generous and caring person who you know and knows you by your side during your birth is priceless. Doulas look after both the birthing woman and her birth partner, they are not there to replace the birth partner.
Three. Look into home birth. Studies have shown that home is the safest place for a woman to give birth and just as safe for the baby in countries with a well integrated home birth system. They have also shown that home births have less complications than hospital births. So if this is an option for you then go for it. Remember, even if your birth is seemingly more complex, it is still worth looking into more closely and speaking to your local hospital home birth team about your situation and your options.
Four. Ask ALL the questions ALL the time. Before you accept anything that is being offered to you, ask all about it. Ask of the risk/benefit profile of induction or growth scans or monitoring or internal examinations. If you are only being shown one study for you to accept something that may well change your options for labour or the birth itself, ask if there are any more that you can look at. This isn’t aggressive or pushy, you’d do this for a house build or a new job and you’d do it for minor or major surgery. So ensure that you really are getting under the hood of what is being offered to you as it might not always be for your best benefit. Many studies into birth are based upon the general population and this can include people who are health-wise nothing like you. Studies are also created in vacuums, so one big study, such as The Arrive Trial, may give results that are not then replicated in any hospitals anywhere near where that study took place. So get that info.
Five. Plan for your environment, Yes, this really does matter. Dim lights, no observation, comfortable surroundings where you can be uninhibited to let birth unfold in a way that works well for you. Birth relies upon a delicate cascade of hormones. It is your mammal brain in action. I find that two good questions will help you figure out if this is the right space and vibe for you. 1. Could I have sex in this space? 2. Could I have a poo right now in this space? If not? Change it. We are mammals and the birth environment will either support or undermine a comfortable, supported physiological labour.
Six. Prepare to not have an epidural (I know! I know!). That’s not to say you won’t have one.. It just means that you’ll put things into place such as comfort measures or water birth that you can use instead of an epidural. It means that you won’t just sit back and expect an epidural to be there. You will instead work on your skills and drills and invest your time in ensuring that you have mental and physical resilience for this birth.
Seven. Be active, stay fit and take an advance look at the techniques on the Spinning Babies website. Many births that go a bit sideways do so because your birth team may well not have the skills for optimal birth positioning and babies can get themselves into all manner of positions. Get knowledgeable and be prepared to try some some moves and techniques during your labour. Also, be mindful of how you move during pregnancy - this is not the time for spending much of your day sitting or lying back, crossing your legs or carrying bags always on one side. Think of really evening out your posture and releasing any tension around your pelvis.
Eight. During labour keep eating, keep drinking and keep going for a pee. If anyone is telling you not to eat, ask them to explain why. Asking you not to eat generally means that they are expecting you to go into surgery. So, if you have arrived for a straight-forward birth and there are no issues with either you or your baby and you are being told not to eat or drink and just given ice-chips then that is a bit of an alarm bell. So, hand that over to your birth partner to explore, and do what is working best for you. You need fuel for those uterine muscles to work, so eat and drink when it feels right for you.
Nine. Don’t watch paint dry! It’s exhausting. If you were asleep when labour started then go back to sleep or at least rest. If you had planned coffee and cake with friends then go along to it. Just keep on keeping on for as long as you are comfortably able.
Ten. You probably do not need to follow a ‘contraction counter’ in the same way that you do not need to watch your clothes going round and around the washing machine. Labour starts, it continues and it ends with the birth of your baby. You are not a machine so don’t feel that you have to use one. If your doula or birth partner would like to use one then that’s fine - but you, just do you.
And bonus number 11. Do not have an induced labour unless there is a medical requirement for you to end your pregnancy sooner than it would otherwise have ended. The minute you move toward induction and yes, I include a stretch and sweep in that, you move away from physiological labour. This isn’t judgmentally said. Clearly your decisions and choices are yours and yours alone. But induction changes your pathway from physiological to medical and this is a giant leap away from the 'natural' birth that you may have been hoping for. Want to learn hypnobirthing with me?
📚 Online Hypnobirthing Course (94 lessons, £39): https://www.betterbirthstories.com/hypnobirthing-online-course
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