We’ve all seen them. Those movie scenes of women giving birth, screaming in pain and shouting in their partner’s faces “what have you done to me?!”
It doesn’t exactly fill you with excitement at the thought of labour starting. We know it’s coming, and we want the end result of that brand new baby snuggled up in our arms, but the screaming and shouting bit….not so much.
I’m here to tell you that it really doesn’t need to be like that. The Hollywood version of giving birth is, as with most things, over-exaggerated and there for dramatic effect.
One of the best things you can do in preparation for labour is to learn more about what your body does to support the birth. Also understanding the different options and techniques to reduce pain, so that you go into the delivery confident and ready.
How you choose to prepare for labour is totally personal. Here are some ideas on giving birth, so see which resonate with you and then give them a try.
Attending antenatal classes
The content of antenatal classes varies hugely, and babycentre.co.uk has a useful article explaining the different types.
From a birth preparation point of view, attending a class to learn about the ins and outs of labour can be very helpful. When you learn what physically happens to the body and the different stages of labour, it removes some of the mystery.
It also helps to know that Mother Nature does try to help you out: all the adaptations that the body goes through during pregnancy in preparation for birth, and the hormones you release during labour are all there to help you bring your baby into the world.
There are other things you learn too. Breathing techniques (for more on this, see below); birthing positions; what your birthing partner can do to help; and also the types of pain relief available where you live.
Visit the place you’d like to give birth
Visiting the place where you plan to give birth can be helpful, so that you are not seeing it all for the first time when you go into labour.
Keeping things familiar allows you to concentrate on the important stuff. Like getting through the next contraction and then pushing the baby out, rather than focusing on the unfamiliar environment.
Every country and birthing establishment will deal with this differently. For example, health care in Switzerland is pretty awesome, so my experience with this was excellent.
Where I gave birth, I first of all went to an information evening, where they gave a talk and then a tour of both the birthing rooms, and the maternity ward. Later, I also had a meeting with the midwives to go through my birth plan and they made detailed notes on my preferences. By the time I went into labour, I felt very comfortable in the surroundings, as I already knew my way around.
Read books or listen to audio
If you’re not into the idea of going to a course, you can also educate yourself about labour by reading books, blog posts, forums or listening to audio books on the topic.
Try reading books or articles written by different people in order to get different views on the subject. This is a good way to pick up different tips and perspectives.
Watch a real birthing video
When the only birth movie you have ever seen is the Hollywood version with screaming and drama, it can make you feel unnecessarily petrified of the impending doom.
When I did a Hypnobirthing course (read the full story of my Hypnobirthing course experience here), one aspect that I found really helpful was watching birthing videos from other women.
I was amazed and RELIEVED to see how calm they were. There was no screaming. There was no swearing. They just appeared very focused and intent.
This blew me away and totally changed my perspective on labour. If these women could do it without screaming blue murder, then so could I!
Practice breathing techniques
This useful article from Evidence Based Birth explains the importance of breath work during labour. In her conclusion, Rebecca Dekka explains that in the research she reviewed they “found benefits from the combination of non-drug comfort measures that included breathing”.
Essentially this means that you need to combine breathing techniques with other methods such as hypnosis, relaxation or guided imagery, and your breathing needs to be conscious.
Just taking slightly deeper breaths isn’t going to cut it: if you want breath work to have an impact on your labour, you need to focus on it and be totally aware.
When I was in labour I used hypnobirthing breathing techniques, which include guided imagery and I can’t stress enough the positive impact it had on my experience.
Talk to other women to hear their experiences of giving birth
There are pros and cons of talking to other women about their birthing stories.
On the one hand it helps to hear all the different experiences that people go through and that every birth is totally different.
On the other hand you need to be very aware of who you are talking to: are you talking to “Negative Nancy”, who could make a beautiful, sunny, flower-filled meadow sound like hell with her bleak outlook on life?
Or are you talking to “Positive Polly”, who bounces through life and doesn’t let even the biggest dramas get her down?
Just be aware and listen to every story on its own merits. In the end every birth is individual and unique, so what worked for your best mate might not work so well for you.
Use others’ experiences as a way to gather different perspectives and tips, but I wouldn’t put too much emphasis onto it.
If you are interested in my real life hypnobirthing story, you can read it here.
Conclusion
Giving birth can be a daunting prospect, especially when most people’s only experience of it is the over-dramatised Hollywood version of a delivery room.
Knowledge is power, as they say, so an important part of preparing for labour is to get yourself educated. Understand the changes your body makes to support birth. Gather information about the different birthing positions and breathing techniques. Attend an antenatal class or a hypnobirthing course. Visit the place you plan to deliver. Find out what pain relief is allowed where you live.
In the end, nothing can fully prepare you for labour, as there really is nothing to compare it to. But having more knowledge can reduce some of the unknowns around birth and help you to feel ready for the delivery.
What are you doing to prepare for labour? Do you find expanding your knowledge a help or a hindrance?