The number one reason why you need to prepare your mindset for birth
The number one reason why mindset preparation is so important is the ‘pain’ of labour.
Let’s explore the concept of pain first, and then I’ll share what I have learnt through my own experience and practice about how to overcome it!
Even though birth is a completely normal and natural function of female body, childbirth has, for hundreds of years been associated with pain. But what exactly causes pain and how can we overcome pain in labour?
Pain is a physical sensation that has a biological purpose to protect the body from harm or a by-product of a muscle or internal organ doing its job in the normal course of health such as the uterus contracting in childbirth. Alongside the physical sensation of pain, there is also an emotional response interpreting its intensity and the type of emotional response will determine the degree of pain felt in the body.
With this physiology in mind, if we couple this with a belief that childbirth is painful and something to fear, then a labouring women’s mind will interpret the pain in this way and her nervous system will drive itself into protection mode, trying to fight or flee from her labouring experience. Unfortunately, this has a negative effect on the physiology of labour, and she ends up causing more tension in the uterus and pain in its contraction. This could lead to the all-too-common diagnosis of ‘Failure to Progress’, which during normal, healthy labour, ironically may just be the outcome of a woman stuck in the fear tension pain cycle.
What can you do about it?
The most empowering way to remove fear from childbirth is to educate yourself on how your ‘goods’ work in childbirth – get knowledge on the anatomy of birth and start to learn about how your body and baby are intelligently designed for childbirth. The next step is to redefine your belief system around childbirth from one of fear to one of joy. This can be achieved through the help of hypnobirthing & yoga, which can help provide you with the tools to create and maintain a positive mindset for birth.
Now it’s time to execute, just as an athlete would, you continue to learn and grow your knowledge about the ‘big day’ and most importantly implement a routine of preparation that prepares your mind and body for birth through practice, practice and practice.
Once you have the knowledge and tools, it is time to work on securing your support. Make sure your birth partner is as educated as you, knowing exactly what to do to keep you feeling safe and loved throughout your entire experience.
Be respectful but clear with your caregivers in pregnancy on what your preferences and choices in childbirth are – making sure you feel that you have all the information you need to make an informed choice around your care in labour. This is particularly important if your birth takes a turn, and you need some medical assistance along the way – it is a very empowering position when you already have the knowledge about the types of things that could happen and all you need to do is calmly make a decision together that you know in your heart is the right one to make.
How to do it?
Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Birth Program is Australia’s leading childbirth education course, and I am proud to be one of the 200 plus educators across Australia changing the face of birth in Australia.
Our program works! We have the clinical outcomes to prove it that has been collected from a large public hospital in Australia to prove it – women who attended our program vs. those who hadn’t showed a:
52% reduction in non-elective caesareans
40% reduction in morphine use
32% reduction in epidurals
15% in inductions
If you want to learn more about this amazing program, I am offering a free session on the 20 July to provide a very special seek preview, in addition to my top ten tips for improving your chances of a positive birth experience. I’d love to see you there.