5 Tips for Having a Positive Birth Experience
A positive birth experience has little to do with medications or going unmedicated, birthing in a hospital or at home, and has everything to do with birthing in a way that aligns with who you are. Check out these five tips that will help you prepare for your positive birth experience.
#1: Make the decision to play an active role in your medical care.
Deciding to play an active role in your medical care is the first step towards having a positive birth experience. It’s crucial to how your birth experience plays out because if you play an active role, you are the one making the decisions and taking charge of your birth, your care, and your experience. If you sit back and let the medical providers decide for you and you choose to be a passive participant then it will feel like your birth and the experience just happened to you. Additionally, other people won’t safeguard your positive birth experience, your medical providers only care that you and baby are alive. Their next priorities are concerned with not getting sued, being efficient, and being profitable. So if you want a positive birth experience, you have to decide to play an active role and take charge of your care.
#2: Have a solid support team.
Labor and birth is a demanding event. You’ll need a solid support system that you trust to help you manage pain, encourage movement, support and advocate for your birth preferences, and encourage you when you are losing steam. Your support system needs to consist of people you trust and respect. This team can consist of your midwife or other medical provider, your partner/husband, a birth doula, or a friend. Whoever is on the team, they need to be supportive of your positive birth experience.
#3: Take a good childbirth education class that sets you up for the birth experience you desire.
While birth is natural and our bodies know what to do, that doesn’t mean we do. There are definitely aspects in labor and delivery that can support our birth or negatively impact our birth. Medical care is also very advanced and the interventions and options available to women can be overwhelming and are full of risks and benefits to your birth experience. Taking a class not affiliated with your birth location is more likely to set you up for the birth experience you desire. Your hospital’s birth class is more often than not going to set you up to be a lucrative patient because they have a lot to gain financially from how your birth plays out.
Birth Your Way: Your Journey to a Positive Birth Experience is now available as a self-paced course!
#4: Be prepared for labor and birth.
Prepare your birth plan and prepare your body for birth. Exercise, eat your dates, drink your raspberry leaf tea, meditate, visit your chiropractor, practice labor breathing techniques and labor positions, go to your prenatal yoga class, get a massage- do the things that fill your cup and prepare your body for an amazing and demanding event! Your support person should also be knowledgeable and ready for labor and birth. Have your space ready for your baby well in advance so that you can spend the final weeks resting and conserving energy for labor.
#5: Reframe your mindset.
A positive birth experience is a subjective experience. There is no definition that spells out exactly what a positive birth experience entails. You can have a positive birth experience fully medicated in your hospital or with your midwives at home. It’s YOUR experience. Regardless of how you want your birth to unfold, your mindset is such a vital piece to keeping your experience positive.
