Contact Vicki
If you have any questions or would just like more information please don't hesitate to get in touch by clicking the button below and filling out the contact form.
Contact VickiThe best advice I can give you for your labour and birth is to enjoy it.
You are only going to get the opportunity to birth this baby once.
How you prepare and educate yourself and practice your knowledge will make a world of difference to the way you birth – regardless of how your baby is born.
If you are confident and calm and you have special circumstances that lead to medical intervention or caesarean, you will cope through fear and deal with your emotions so much better afterwards and your healing will be so much faster.
There is no right or wrong way – there is only your way.
During the early stages of labour you may like to be up and about and talking.
Allow yourself to be excited – very soon you will be meeting your baby and that is something to get excited about.
The more you laugh and feel excited the more you are releasing stress and tension through the body and the mind.
Surrender to all the sensations you are feeling.
When I talk about “surrendering” I mean that on all levels. Surrendering and letting go of all stress, tension, doubt, and anything that might inhibit your birth.
Keep in mind that you may have worked through your fears that you had during pregnancy, but in labour other fears may creep in from time to time, so it is how you manage to work through that fear in the moment that will be important.
Remember that you are the most important person in that birth room or space. In that moment you are the one that is working hard, labouring away to bring your baby into the world.
Remember that you have a voice.
If you don’t like something, then say so.
If you want something, then say so.
Do not worry what anyone else is doing, saying or feeling.
Stay positive and be positive – keep going over your positive affirmations or watch some positive birth videos.
Acknowledge what you are feeling, but then “let go” of all stress, tension and fear.
This is a time when women also need to feel supported and encouraged.
Reassurance is crucial when it comes to birth.
When a birthing woman feels like she is being watched she can creep back into the neocortex part of the brain – the thinking and questioning part of the brain – and start asking herself “why are they watching me?”
When this happens you may start to stress or become anxious, releasing adrenaline and catecholamines, which may slow down or stall your labour.
Women need to feel they are in a quiet, secluded and safe spot – just like a mother cat looking to birth her kittens.
If the cat feels interfered with or threatened, then she will stop labouring and either move to another location or will wait sometimes days for the threat to go away and then start again. This analogy is often discussed in childbirth education, because it is a great example of what a woman needs to do to have a quiet, calm birth.
This analogy was originally written by Tricia Anderson, who was a midwife and author who passed away in 2007. Her article written in 2002 titled “Out of the laboratory: Back to the Darkened Room” is now included in midwifery text books and shared in childbirth education classes today.
Here is a link to read this article:
Having the right people there can really make a difference with the outcome of your birth.
If your support team doesn’t like to see you in pain, they may suggest or encourage you to have pain relief, and this can be a real disappointment for you if you have been preparing for a natural birth.
It is important to discuss your feelings and your wants and needs with your partner and birth support people before you go into labour, so they understand that if you want pain relief or interventions that you will ask for it.
You can also have a “cooling off” period where your partner even waits a period of time to see if you ask for the pain relief again.
Many of my clients work out an agreement where the labouring mum has to ask for pain relief three times before it is administered.
This gives her time to “cool off” after an intense moment and my role as her doula and also her partners role is to help with comfort measures so that she doesn’t need the medical pain relief.
When you ask for pain relief it is your choice, but when you are offered pain relief this can also be a form of coercion by your health care providers.
It is important that you make it clear in your birth plan that you are not to be offered pain relief, but you will ask for it when you want it once you have utilised all the options in your birthing backpack.
For more information on preparing for your labour, birth and postpartum period you can book into my group Hypnobirthing classes or I also offer private classes as well.
CLICK HERE FOR CLASS TIMETABLE
If you can’t get to my in-person classes you can also do my Back to Basics Birthing Online Course, which is jam packed full of everything you need for a positive, calm birth. This course is designed so you can educate yourself in the comfort of your own home at your own pace. You also have the opportunity to join my private Facebook support group where you will receive ongoing information, articles and research along with videos, MP3 downloads and workbook to follow along.
CLICK HERE FOR BACK TO BASICS BIRTHING ONLINE COURSE
Let me be your birth coach and guide you through the different stages of your labour and birth.
If you have any questions or would just like more information please don't hesitate to get in touch by clicking the button below and filling out the contact form.
Contact Vicki