How to prepare for birth?

How do you prepare for birth? How much is to much? Should you have a birth plan? Let’s dive into this taboo topic all about preparing for birth.

Three Camps for preparing for Birth

When talking about the upcoming birth of your next little one, it is often found that women sit in three camps when it comes to how to prepare for birth.

The first camp is the extremely prepared, birth plan written and hospital bag packed and ready at 30 weeks just in case group. Now I am exaggerating to some degree for theatrical admission, but the reality here is, these mothers have worked hard figuring out just what they hope will happen during the labour, birth and delivery of their child. They are trying to mitigate any change to plan as much as possible and hope to control the experience in order to have the best possible outcome.

The second camp is the ignorance is bliss camp. Maybe they know they would prefer not to have a c-section. Maybe they attended a hospital run birth class and read the general labour steps. But their idea of birth is the less I know the less disappointed I will be. It’s all natural anyways right? The midwives and doctors will tell me what to do. She’ll be right (Aussie Slang).

The last camp sit somewhere in the middle. They are prepared, they may have read a few books, attended birth classes, they have priorities for birth and they also know what may or may not happen in birth (best and worst case scenario attitude). Their birth plan may be typed but it is more a dot point list of requests for their husband or birth partner to remember so she doesn’t have to during labour.

None of these camps are wrong in themselves and many have successful positive births regardless of the preparation. However, the issue is finding balance.

The unexpected Birth

Currently, I am 23 weeks pregnant with our second baby. My first son Jack was born via Cesarean section at just 37 weeks and 2 days gestation. Both a surprise and definitely unexpected. Read our birth story here. Although it was unexpected I did feel fairly prepared for labour and birth. By nature I like to research and plan as much as possible. Given we waited for a few years to fall pregnant with our son I wanted to have the best birth experience for both him and me. Read about our journey with infertility here.

In reflection of the birth of Jack I do believe preparation, prayer and planning made this unexpected c-section birth a beautiful experience. I don’t think any first time mother or even mother’s in general can every fully predict how the labour and birth of their children will go. Being prepared in both spiritual way and physical knowledge can turn an unexpected birth from trauma or chaos into something more beautiful and positive.

We all have something to learn from birth and labour in view of our Christian ethos. The privilege and amazing experience we have as women to join with God in bringing new life into the world is incredible. The Verity Podcast by Phylicia Masonheimer outlined and challenged me to reframe and appreciate the nature and expectations surrounding birth and pregnancy from a biblical perspective. Have a listen to the episode here.

In light of these truth’s let’s chat about some practical actions to take in preparation for birth!

Choosing your HealthCare Provider for Birth

Many first time mother’s will ask their friends or family members which health care provider they saw. Other’s, especially when still keeping the pregnancy a secret in the first trimester will opt for a local provider or hospital. They will be allocated the next available obstetrician, GP or midwife for their appointments. Even if they feel like their health care provider isn’t always on the same page down the track it can feel uncomfortable, or even disloyal to switch providers.

However, here in Australia you do have a choice even in the public health care setting. In fact having a positive relationship with your doctor or midwife should be a priority for you. It is more than just getting along with your provider. It is about someone who understands your priorities, shares all the information including risks and benefits of each procedure and doesn’t push their own agenda but instead comes alongside you to help you as the parents make informed decisions for the birth of your baby.

Types of Healthcare options for birth and pregnancy

• Obstetrician/midwife led care – Hospital Birth – This is the most common form of care here in Australia. It is a combination of midwifery and obstetrician based support. Often the midwives from a local clinic to your hospital may also do shifts in the hospital and will have close connections with them. These providers are not guaranteed to be at your birth.
• Midwife led care – Hospital or Home Birth – This is completely midwifery led care. In some cases the midwives will work in teams of 2 or 3 and will be able to attend the birth with you at your chosen location. They often offer community appointments and will come to your home after the birth of your child.
• Birth Centre – Midway point between homebirth and hospital birth. These centres also have midwives who work in teams to support you through your pregnancy and birth at the centre and often offer home appointments after birth.
• Private Midwife/ Doctor service – In Australia having a private doctor does not always mean they attend the birth of your child. However private midwives often are able to attend your birth if you choose to. Private midwives also have a wider scope of practice such as vaginal home births after cesarean. Your are looking to pay around $5000.00 to access this level of care and select private health care funds may rebate some of this dependent on your cover.

Questions to ask when choosing a health care provider

1. Does this provider have a good track record? E.g. How often do they perform cesareans, are they open to supporting natural birth, do I know of any cases where things went significantly wrong under the care of this provider?
2. Do I feel like I can have an open honest conversation with my provider, do I feel like they provide balanced, evidence based information for all the intervention or decisions I need to make? Are they pushing an agenda or do I feel unheard after my appointments?
3. Does this health care provider have a good relationship or even work at the centre I am hoping to birth at? Although not essential continuation of care promotes best outcomes for birth. They know you and your medical history, they know you birth wishes and they are in a team with you for birth!

Know the intervention spiral

When preparing for birth it is important to be aware of the intervention spiral. For example if you are hooked up to a fetal monitor from the moment you are in hospital you are 3x more likely to need a forceps, suction or C-section delivery. I bet you didn’t expect that one! But let’s look at that in context. Fetal monitoring is seen as ‘best’ practice or standardised practice. The justification is to detect heart rate abnormalities and track the overall wellbeing of the baby during labour and delivery. However, the accuracy of these monitors is not always true to the results. Continuous fetal monitoring restricts the mother lying on their backs in the birth bed which is the worst possible position for helping your baby to move down into the birth canal. Additionally, back lying restricts blood flow which will automatically trigger heart rate drops etc.

What do I mean to say here. Well each time you choose an intervention of any kind you are opening yourself up to the intervention spiral. Induction, epidural, pelvic exams, gas and more. No you don’t need to say no to everything just for fear that something might happen. C-section is a fantastic medical intervention that has saved the lives of so many babies and mothers. Induction is ideal for mother’s who experience pre-eclampsia. However, unnecessary intervention can lead to a birth full of intervention and can create a traumatic experience that wouldn’t have happened for better understanding of its impact.

I would highly recommend the book Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way which discussing each intervention in detail and backing up with peer reviewed, RCT evidence for the information she shares.

Other questions to ask during labour might be:

• Is this completely necessary?
• What are the risks and benefits of the procedure?
• Can I have more time? – Time is often the biggest factor as to why intervention happens in the first place. Be patient, just because you might be slower in progressing than other women does not mean things are going wrong.
• Is there an alternative such as changing position that may help instead?

Understand the labour process

I believe at the heart of preparing for birth is understanding the process of labouring for and delivering a baby. Why? Well if you understand the in’s and outs of labour and deliver you are better equipped to make accurate decisions regarding things like when to go to hospital, impact of birth/labour position on progression of labour.

When does the labour process matter?

Knowing, for example, that your dilation is not always a good indicator of how far you are progressed in your labour. Instead knowing that your contraction are becoming stronger, longer, and closer together. You have passed several of the emotional milestones may indicate that you are closer to the finish line than you think. Looking at dilation alone can be very discouraging is you seem to be slow in progressing in this area. Knowing about the labour process as more than just dilation and contractions will be very beneficial in labour.

Another example is the classic case of going to the hospital to early. As soon as you go to hospital the clock starts. You have opened yourself up to intervention and you are no longer in a familiar calm environment of your home. Instead, understanding that labouring at home not only is much more relaxing it also allows you to progress naturally for as long and as short as you need to. Do you know the right time to go? Can you talk directly to your midwife about when to go?

Thirdly, there are some who despite all indications will have a speedster labour – you progress through all the sign post rapidly, maybe you are handling it very well. Knowing for yourself how you are progressing will allow you to advocate that you should stay at the hospital. To often women can be sent home if they look ‘to relaxed’ and end up rushing back, or having a car or home birth.

Lastly, knowing the phases and stages of labour can help you to persist and knuckle down into the natural process of labour. Having a labour that lasts 12-20 hours or more is not bad. We need to allow our bodies to work at their natural rhythm. If we know about the phases and stages of labour we can accurately track our progress. We remain focused that although we are slower than average we are indeed progressing and there is no need for alarm or intervention if the baby is doing well.

How to learn about the phases and stages of labour

1. Attend an active birthing class or course – often your hospital run classes alone are not enough to truly understand labour
2. Watch You Tube or documentary style videos. One born every minute doesn’t count =) There are several online courses that offer more sufficient information.
3. Read evidence based books such as Natural Birth the Bradley Way or Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Prepare your Body for labour

Not only will an active birthing class offer you information about the indepth physical and emotional stages of labour. They will also discuss tools for promoting good positioning in labour, exercises to ‘create space’ for your baby, pelvic floor exercises and strength based exercises such as squats and lunges in preparation for labour. Knowing the biomechanics of your pelvis for example is extremely helpful in helping to allow the head to travel down into the vaginal smoothly. Also understanding that positions such as all fours can help with easing pain during a posterior birth. Furthermore, might be something like the Miles Circuit a techniques which is proven to help bring the baby into optimal positioning and enables smoother progression in labour.

Secondarily, boosting your nutrition and understanding what is best for your body will promote better outcomes for labour and postpartum. You will have the energy and mental stamina required to go through labour. Plus you are boosting your babies nutrition and kickstarting your body’s resolve for milk production. Something as simple as ensuring you stay hydrated in labour can have a huge impact on your stamina, mental wellbeing and even physical softening of the cervix or stretching of the perineum.

Knowing what and when to pack for labour and delivery

Remembering to pack things like a water bottle, an exercise mat or heat pack can be fantastic additions for your labour. Through some sound research you will learn some helpful tips and tricks for handy items to pack with you in your hospital bag. Other items like a TENS machine or even diffuser can be lovely additions to add comfort and pain relief during your labour.

Getting prepared on time is also helpful as it saves the mad dash and the stress or trying to remember what to take when you are focusing on relaxing through contractions and keeping your mind and body calm. Including things like your list of birth priorities, a spare water bottle with straw and your own music if you need something extra can be great to prepare earlier.

Packing your bag at least 3 weeks before your due date is a great start. Speaking from experience here, Jack arrived at just after 37 weeks. We went camping at 36 weeks and took the bag with us just in case. This gave me peace of mind that no matter where we were we were ready to go and I wouldn’t feel completely out of control on the day. Well long story short we did get home from camping but went into labour just a day later.

Preparing SPIRITUALLY for Labour and Delivery

Ultimately, we can plan all we want but we have to know that God is in control. Praying, meditating on God’s word and consulting a Godly women with experience in labour and delivery such as your mum are some practical ways to help prepare for labour. Coming into labour with fear and anxiety suggests we are not trusting in our creator. He knows what will happen and we can lay all our anxieties on him. Do I think/know it will be easy and straight forward…. no.

However, God is amazing, He created women to bring forth children into the world. He designed our bodies to nurture and eventually deliver babies. In some cases things don’t go according to plan. Your baby may be breech, your baby may be in distress, you may have a condition that requires intervention such as induction or cesarean. But God still created all this. Our father designed humans with incredible brains and skillful hands. Over time technology and science has progressed to allow more and more babies and mothers to survive birth. We can look to him in these times of uncertainty!

Preparing for the unexpected Birth

A little personal note here. In my experience of birth, I planned and prepared for the most natural, least intervention route possible. I tried my best to nourish my body, exercise and learn all I could about natural birth. However, when the time came and I went into labour our son was breech and jammed right up under my ribs. Not only had I not prepared for a breech delivery I definitely did not expect a C-section birth.

I thank God that in that moment He gave me peace in the decision, He prepared me for change in my ideal birth scenario by giving me my Mother who encouraged me to prepare that things may not turn out how I want them to. He also gave me the opportunity to have a beautiful birth that honoured many of the wishes that we had for first meeting our son. Immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding, delayed cord clamping and receiving the epidural only when absolutely necessary so as not to affect the baby. God is so good even when things don’t work out how we wanted them to.

Birthing as a team

Gone are the days where the husband was locked out of the delivery room. Instead, we can be thankful they are right there with us. Believe it or not your husband is much more than a hand to squeeze. He is there to ensure you stay hydrated, discuss progress, intervention and your birth wishes with the health team. He is there to watch both the physical and emotional signposts and help you to stay mentally focused on the work you are doing. Your husband is praying with and for you and this experience is an incredible opportunity to unite as a team in complete dependence on each other! Make sure you share the knowledge about birth with him. Have some practice runs, massages need to be practiced right. Learn about the risks and benefits together. Share the excitement of your the imminent arrival of your new baby as a couple!

Quick list of preparing for birth

• Understand types of intervention and know your options
• Learn both the physical stages and the emotional stages of labour
• Practice birth positions
• Learn about your doctor, midwife and birth centre and their practices.
• Be your own advocate, just because it’s commonly done doesn’t mean it’s necessary or must be done.
• Communicate with your husband regularly in the lead up to labour and delivery. He will be your best spokesperson and knows you and your wishes best.
• Nourish you body
• Do your exercises! Kegels, squats, lunges and more!
• Read, Research and learn ! Ignorance is not bliss.
• Dwell in God’s rich promises, meditate on His word and spend time in prayer before, during and after labour.

What are your go to things to pack in your hospital bag? What resources do you use in preparation for labour? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below!