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Birth Affirmations
The below affirmations can be said during pregnancy, as a way to prepare for labor. Read through and pick ones that really resonate with you. Go back to this list as pregnancy advances, your likes may change. Say a few of these every day. It may feel weird at first, but continue saying them. Your body will remember these words as your labor your baby into this world. These affirmations have been gathered from many resources – I choose the ones I felt strongest about.
My baby is strong and healthy.
I trust my body.
My belly is full of light and love.
I am a strong and capable woman.
I have patience.
I have an open heart.
My body knows exactly what to do.
My baby feels my joy.
I trust my labor.
I am open to the energy of birth.
I embrace the wisdom of my body.
My body knows how to birth my baby.
I have everything I need.
I believe in birth.
Untapped sources of strength are available to me.
I trust my body to know what it is to do.
I welcome my coming labor as the perfect one for me and my baby.
I am an active and powerful laboring woman.
I feel confident; I feel safe; I feel secure.
I welcome this opportunity to grow and change.
My muscles work in complete harmony to make birthing easier.
My cervix opens outward and allows my baby to ease down.
I am a link in the endless chain of birthing women.
I fully relax and turn my birthing over to Nature.
I am willing to release my baby into the world.
I choose a gentle and natural birth.
I see my baby coming smoothly from my womb.
My breath is easy, deep, and full.
My baby will be born at the perfect moment.
I turn my birthing over to my baby and my body.
My body knows exactly what to do.
Each surge of my body brings my baby closer to me.
My body is wise and purposeful.
I am totally relaxed and at ease.
I can handle whatever comes up.
I trust my intuition.
I release my birthing over to my body and my baby.
My baby is safe.
I put all fear aside and welcome by baby with happiness and joy.
I love and trust my body.
I deserve and receive all the love and support I need.
I deserve a gentle, natural birth.
I claim my birthright for a wonderful birth.
I am a wonderful mother.
Hypnobirthing Language
One of the key components in Hypnobirthing is moving away from the medical language of pregnancy and birth and embracing words that invoke natural movement and transition. Below is a list of medical words with the Hypnobirthing alternative following.
Contraction – Surge or Wave
Coach – Birth companion or partner
Catch the baby – receive the baby
Deliver the baby – Birth the baby
Due Date – Birthing time
Water breaks – Release of membranes
Pain – Pressure / Sensation / tightening
Birth canal – Birth path
Pushing – Breathing baby down
Complications – Special circumstances
Mucous plug – Uterine seal
Bloody show – Birth show
Effacing / Dilating – Thinning / Opening
Transition – Near completion
Fetus – Preborn
Neonate – Newborn
Pateints – Parents
False labor – Practice labor
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 8
Placenta Birth
- Placenta separates from uterine wall
- This could take 5 – 90 minutes
- May experience painful contractions or none at all
Possible Emotional Responses to Placenta Birth
- Surprise that you still aren’t done
- Anger at contractions
- Engrossment for your baby
What You Can Do During the Birth of the Placenta
- Use your breathing during contractions
- Keep baby at breast to stimulate the release of the placenta
- Keep baby skin-to-skin
- Enjoy your new baby
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 7
Crowning and Birth
- Baby’s head no longer retreats between contractions
- Head is visible
- May feel burning and stretching – this is ok – it’s your tissues dilating and stretching so they don’t tear
Possible Emotional Responses During Crowning and Birth
- Confusion about the burning pain
- Fear of tearing
- Fear of the birth of the body
- Panic
- Trying to escape the pain
- Awe as the baby is born
- Relief
- Thankfulness
- Gratitude
- Exhaustion
What You Can Do During Crowning and Birth
- Touch baby as she emerges or catch her yourself
- View the birth in a mirror
- Enjoy skin to skin contact
- Celebrate a birth and labor day
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 6
Pushing
- The urge to push is uncontrollable and involuntary
- The same muscles you use to poop are the same muscles you use to push
- You will know when you need to push
Possible Emotional Response to Pushing
- Fear of tearing
- Anxiety
- Alarm at the sensations
- Thankfulness to be “doing” something
What You Can Do During Pushing
- Rest between contractions
- Listen to your body
- Voice any concerns or fears
- Ask for help
- Change positions
- Keep mouth open to allow your bottom to open
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 5
Rest and Be Thankful Phase
- May be able to rest for 5-30 minutes with no contractions
- Baby’s head has left the uterus, creating space inside the uterine cavity, leaving the uterus with more slack then ever before
- No urge to push
- Relief from pain
Possible Emotional Responses to the Rest and Be Thankful Phase
- Renewed energy, hope and trust
- More awareness of surroundings
- Ready to get on with it!
- Sense of humor may return temporarily
What You Can Do During the Rest and Be Thankful Phase
- REST
- Sleep – it’s money in the bank for when you start pushing
- Close your eyes
- Get in a comfortable position
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 4
Transition
- I’ve noticed that a lot of women really want to know when they are in transition. It’s important to keep in mind that you may not experience the outward signs of transition, so try to let your expectations go.
- Very intense and long contractions.
- Pain has usually peaked
- Starting to feel pressure on the vagina and rectum – feels like you are going to poop
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Urge to push
- Sensitivity to touch
- Cramping in legs
- Hot
- Cold
- Tired
- Anxiety
- Flushed face
- Hot flashes
Possible Emotional Responses to Transition
- Feel like you can never go on
- Loose control
- Crying and begging
- Can’t concentrate
- Overwhelmed
- Panicky
- Angry and afraid
What You Can Do During Transition
- Remind yourself how far you’ve come
- Change positions
- Employ comfort measures
- Breath
- Let go
- Surrender to the flow
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 3
Active Labor
- Contractions continue progressing and become stronger and longer. You are now unable to be distracted during a contraction.
- Contractions are now lasted 1 minute or longer and are coming every 4 or 5 minutes. This has been happening for over an hour.
- Peak of pain intensity is usually reached by 7-9 cm. That means if you’ve made it this far, you can do the rest!
- Water may release and you may see more bloody show
Possible Emotional Responses to Active Labor
- Fear that you can’t go on
- Serious and focused – no unnecessary conversation
- No small talk
- Letting go and giving in – this isn’t something you are in charge of
What You Can Do During Active Labor
- If leaving your home for your birth, this is when you would do it.
- Pee every hour
- Sip liquids between every contraction
- If you can, eat something light
- Focus on each contraction
- Relax your mouth and your bottom
- Be present
- Use comfort measures
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 2
Early Active Labor
- Contractions are becoming stronger, longer and more frequent
- May continue to see bloody show (mucus)
- Water may release
Possible Emotional Responses to Early Active Labor
- Almost certain that you’re in labor, but still unsure, which causes confusion
- Apprehensive or confident
- May focus on contractions too much. Save that energy girl!
What You Can Do During Early Active Labor
- REST
- If unable to be distracted during a contraction, take a cleansing breath at the start of a contraction and breath through each surge, using vocalization, movement or whatever feels good.
- Eat and drink
- SLEEP
- REST
- Brush teeth (you probably won’t be doing that again for awhile)
Labor & Birth Guide of What to Expect – Part 1
Early Labor
- Early labor may last a short amount of time (usually just for moms who have already given birth) or several days.
Possible Signs of Early Labor
- Diarrhea
- Backache
- Cramps – Menstrual like cramps
- Nonprogressing contractions – meaning they don’t increase in frequency/duration and may go away
- Mucus in your underware – this can be a small amount or a large amount and may or may not be tinged with blood
- Water breaks – this is a rare and unusual way of beginning labor. It’s really more of a Hollywood thing.
Common Emotional Responses of Early Labor
- Confusion about whether you are in labor or not
- Mixed feelings
- May overestimate labor progress
What You Can Do During Early Labor
- Distract yourself from your contractions
- Do not time or pay attention to your contraction pattern
- Watch a funny or romantic movie
- Call friends that are positive and happy
- Invite a friend over to keep you company who will be a positive influence
- REST
- SLEEP
- EAT
- DRINK
- REST – you have a lot of work ahead of you
- Bake or cook if you like doing this type of thing
- Work on a project you pre-selected that you enjoy – knitting, scrapbooking, coloring
The 4th Trimester
Compared to other mammals, humans are much more fragile at birth. That’s why parents need to be in physical contact and providing constant attention to their babies.
Experts believe humans are born 3-4 months earlier than we should be because when primitive women stood up, the shape of their pelvis became more narrow, which resulted in babies being born still needing serious protection from their parents.
Newborns don’t have the brain maturity to deal with the outside world. They depend on their parents for basic survival.
Babies don’t know how to soothe themselves until they are about 4 months old.
In the womb baby is constantly rocked, skin-to-skin, held and their is always noise. This is, to some degree, what a baby needs outside the womb – during the 4th trimester
5’ S’s – Not all babies need all 5 and you’ll find the perfect combo for your baby
Tight swaddling provides constant touch
Left side to help with digestion or on stomach to provide reassuring support. Turn on back for sleep
Make shushing sounds to calm a baby, which imitate the continual whooshing sound made by blood flow in mom
Rocking, swinging movements, car rides, infant swings
Sucking triggers the calming reflexes and releases natural chemicals in the brain
Moms also have their on version of 4th trimester with hormone changes, sleep depravation and stress. So take care of yourself! Your only job is to feed yourself and baby and to rest!
Continue reading »How to Use Comfort Breathing During Labor
During childbirth classes moms often ask if I will teach them how to breathe during labor. I find that most moms will instinctively find the breath pattern that works for them and there is no right or wrong way to do it. But below is what I teach in my class.
When a contraction begins:
1. Signal to your partner that a contraction is beginning by taking a deep breath in and then out. This cleansing breath is similar to a sigh and helps ready your body for what’s coming. Remember to release all your tension during this cleansing breath. For your partner: He or she will often notice that, even before your cleansing breath, your body involuntarily signals the start of a new contraction. This could take the form of a finger or foot twitch or a slight tow movement. Mom’s in labor have all sorts of subtle ways to alert their partner to what is about to happen.
2. Following the nice, slow cleansing breath you just took to begin your contraction, continue to focus your attention on whatever brings you the most peace – a focal point, an image, a place, the music, a shadow on the wall – whatever works for you. Continue breathing slowly through the contraction.
3. Combine your breathing with other comfort measures like moaning, whaling, making loud and low noises, swaying your hips, letting your body go, massage, hot or cold packs, shower – again, whatever works for you.
4. Your mouth is directly related to your vagina. If your mouth is tight and clenched, then so is your bottom. Try it – tighten and tense your mouth and try to relax your yoni – it’s just not going to happen. Now make a small “O” with your mouth and feel the difference in your vagina. So keep your mouth loose and relaxed during contractions and this will keep your bottom loose and relaxed as well.
When the contraction ends:
1. Take another cleansing breath to close out the contraction.
2. Move around, take a sip of water, fall asleep, give feedback to your partner – whatever you need to do in that moment. Try not to think about the next contraction coming, just focus on the present moment and believe that your body will be able to handle what’s next.
In these moments between contractions, don’t expect your body to fully relax. Don’t expect yourself to fully fall asleep. Hold no expectations for yourself.
Continue reading »Birth Inerventions
“The first intervention in birth that a healthy woman takes is when she walks out the front door of her home in labor. From that first intervention, all others will follow.” -Michael Rosenthal, OB/GYN
Continue reading »Maternal Deaths
Why are women dying during childbirth during labor? It’s from hospital interventions, which this story touches on. The author could have gone one step further and brought in midwifery care: http://californiawatch.org/health-and-welfare/more-women-dying-pregnancy-complications-state-holds-report
I’d like to highlight some interesting bits from this story:
So he (doctor) set a rule: no elective inductions before 41 weeks of pregnancy, with only a few exceptions. As a result, Lagrew said, the operating room schedules opened up, and the hospital saw fewer babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit, fewer hemorrhages and fewer hysterectomies.
All this, however, came at a cost: The hospital had to take a cut in revenue for reducing the procedures it performed. Lagrew doubts that any hospital has increased its C-section rate in pursuit of profit, but he does note that the first hospitals to adopt controls on early elective inductions have been nonprofits.
Choosing a Childbirth Class in Portland
Why is it important for moms to attend a childbirth class?
Most hospital care providers can only spend, at most, 15 minutes with you during your prenatal appointments. That is not enough time to ask your questions, receive informed care and choice and practice labor positions and comfort measures. Even if you are working with a midwife who spends a full hour with you at each prenatal, it’s still important to receive education from a different perspective.
What happens during most childbirth classes?
That all depends on the type of class you are taking. If it’s a hypnobirthing class, you’ll likely end each session with a realizing visualization / meditation to prepare you for birth. If you’re attending Birthing From Within, then you’ll have a more tactile experience with art supplies and crafts to discover your inner fears and concerns regarding the birthing process. If you’re a Lamaze type of girl, you’ll learn very practical comfort measures to use during birth. The Yoga Way to Birthing is a physical practice and the Bradley Method ensures your partner is involved. And then there are the more eclectic styles of childbirth classes, like those offered at Full Moon’s Daughter – where you get to experience a little bit of everything. So it really depends on what type of childbirth class is being offered.
When should I sign up for a childbirth class?
Most classes are 4-6 weeks long, with the exception of the Bradley Method which is 11 weeks. So around your 30th week is a good time to begin a class. Everything will still be fresh by the time your baby is ready to be born, but it won’t be so late that you’re stressing about missing the last 2 classes because you have a new baby to care for.
What questions should I ask of the instructor?
What is your childbirth philosophy?
Where were you trained?
How many couples per class?
Will there be homework?
Will there be physical activity during class?
Will community resources be provided?
May I see the agenda prior to signing up for the class?
What if the father of the baby isn’t in my life? Can I bring a friend?
Of course! There isn’t a childbirth class in Portland that wouldn’t welcome your birth support person. If you’re having a friend or family member support you because the father of the baby isn’t involved, you might want to consider working with a doula during your labor.
Does Sex During Pregnancy Spur Labor?
I’m really into these ABC news stories. It’s not that they are incredibly factual (they really aren’t), but I guess I’m just happy that some truths are seeping into mainstream media. In this older ABC news article, they ask if sex during pregnancy can actually spur labor. Well, let me tell you how that all works:
Semen contains prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are the lovely hormones that help ripen the cervix. If you have sex, dad deposits the semen next to the cervix which helps it ripen. By ripen I mean start to become soft and thin (effacing) and dilating. It’s also helpful if you also have an orgasms because the oxytocin that is produced during orgasm also helps get labor going.
Now mind you – this all won’t happen until you and baby are ready to go into labor. So don’t worry about having sex or orgasms during pregnancy. You won’t make yourself go into labor too soon. You also won’t make yourself go into labor after your due date if you and baby aren’t really ready. Labor is really best started when it’s baby’s idea.
But what if you don’t feel like having sex and the idea of torturing yourself at 40 weeks with sex is the last thing you ever want to do – EVER! Well, starting at 36 weeks you can use Evening Primrose Oil on your cervix at night. These contains the precursors to progesterone and can help soften your cervix. Take the oil from a few capsules and run your cervix. You can also just slip a few capsules into your cervix at night. During your sleep that will melt away along with your cervix (hopefully). You can do this up until labor.
Continue reading »Things That Can Suck About Being Pregnant
- No one ever says you have to be happy. In fact, a lot of women suffer from depression during pregnancy. Of course, this is talked about even less that Postpartum Depression, but it does exist. Yes, you are excited about having a baby and looking forward to being a mom and all that goes with it. But you might also be sad. And that’s okay. You don’t always have to be happy and glowing. Get rest, keep eating, talk to someone and try homeopathy.
- Being pregnant hurts. Your gums bleed. Your teeth feel loose. Your pelvis gets wonky and your back sore. Your feet swell and you can’t wear your rings anymore. This is all a normal part of being pregnant, but that doesn’t mean you just have to deal. Go see a chiropractor to help with your muscle and bone aches. Drink oatstraw tea to help with bleeding gums. Rest as much as possible. Take care of yourself and your baby. Get a massage and try Reiki.
- Sex may not be fun anymore. As pregnancy advances you may hate the idea of having sex. And that’s okay as well. You don’t have to have sex. The other option is to try to get creative with positions that accommodate your growing belly. Keep in mind that you probably won’t be having sex for the first 6 weeks postpartum and sex now may help you relax a little. But in the end, this is your body and you know best how you feel.
- We spend our whole adult lives trying not to pee in our pants and then we get pregnant and we sometimes pee in our pants. Relaxin is a hormone that helps get your body nice and stretchy and ready for labor. This hormone, along with the pressure of the baby and uterus and amniotic fluid sitting right on top of your bladder, may cause you to accidently pee a little. It’s okay, nothing is wrong with you. This may also happen postpartum. You can visit a practitioner who does pelvic floor work or a chiro to help you on with this one.
Taking Back Childbirth
OK – last ABC news article for this week – I promise. I love that they repeatedly call natural childbirth a medical anomaly. Really?!
And so here is another article about natural childbirth that made it to sheep media: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ReproductiveHealth/story?id=5462833&page=2
Continue reading »Private Childbirth Classes in Portland, Oregon
Looking for a custom, personal and interactive childbirth class that focuses on natural and normal childbirth? Well, Full Moon’s Daughter has just that.
The first step is to give us a call (503.737.8834). We’ll talk about when you’re due, where you’re giving birth and what you want to learn. I’ll then email you an agenda based on that information. You email me back and let me know if you agree to the topics. We then schedule dates for me to come to your house.
To your home I bring childbirth movies, large posters, model newborns, pelvises and placentas and art supplies (if you want that). We start the session with a small check in and end with a special closing activity. Each session is 60 – 90 minutes and there is a lot of information passed and always time for questions. At all the sessions you will receive handouts, activities, feedback, homework and community resources.
Private childbirth classes are a great option for busy folks, those that have specific needs and moms who just don’t feel like leaving home one more time.
If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to call or email.
Continue reading »
