26: Control Your Birth Experience
Birth is a common source of anxiety. Well giving birth is. When someone else is pregnant and birthing the baby it’s more of a source of excitement and joy haha. Personally I love when other people are pregnant.
If you are pregnant and haven’t given birth before, or your first delivery was not as smooth as you’d hoped. Then the idea of giving birth can create a lot of stress, tension, inner resistance, and downright anxiety. But there’s good news! Now this may sound a little woo-woo to some so brace yourself, but breathing techniques and visualization prior to birth can actually impact birth outcomes.
The use of visualization for desired outcomes is well studied and think about it, it works for athletes all the time. Michael Jordan? Michael Phelps? Apparently I only know athletes named Michael. But they both used visualizing the outcome they wanted during high pressure situations built into their routine for preparation.
When your mind and body are in a fear state, tension and resistance take over. When you give birth, your body is meant to open, not clam up. This is part of why I am such an advocate for following your birth preferences and not making birth plan decisions based on fear.
In a study by Mary and associates on the “Effectiveness of selected mind body interventions on anxiety related to childbirth and labour outcomes”: Anxiety and fear actually increase the muscle tension which inhibits effective contractions, increases discomfort and causes more fear and anxiety. And what does fear and anxiety do? Well it perpetuates this cycle of increased muscle tension, less effective contractions, and more discomfort…
So this study asked pregnant women who were between 32 and 33 weeks gestation to practice “mental silence meditation techniques” which included affirmations, breathing techniques, and attention focusing exercises twice a day at home for 10–20 min for 4 weeks. That’s it. I know what you’re thinking, and I know you are super busy and it’s hard to steal 10 minutes away. But I challenge you on this. Because I know you are spending more than 10 minutes twice a day stressing over labor and scrolling to find something to soothe your anxiety. I know this because I too am human.
So back to the study. One group did this practice twice daily for 4 weeks, and another group of women, the control group, was not asked to add this on to their routine. They just went along their usual day with their typical routine and pregnancy appointments.
Not only did the group who practiced the simple routine report significantly less anxiety than those in the control group, but they also had actual better birth outcomes. They had higher percentages of spontaneous labor, a shorter duration of labor, better likelihood of a vaginal delivery, and their babies had lower distress and better APGAR scores (which is a score based on a quick health check on your baby right after birth).
Does anyone else find this to be amazingly insane? That we have the tools and control to significantly improve the outcome of the thing we are so worried about? There are other studies that demonstrate the impact of these types of tools and you can create your own routine on this. It’s so easy. The important thing is to pair relaxation, visualization, and positive emotions.
Now obviously, I am not a professional birth expert. I know you know that but it’s worth repeating. So if this is something you are super intrigued by, I encourage you to find a local expert on the matter. But since I find this so remarkably amazing, I felt the need to share.
Now based on my research, it’s a great third trimester activity. And it’s really pretty simple
Start with a relaxing breathing technique to get in the zone and prepare.
Visualize your ideal birth. What room are you in, who is in the room, what do you hear, what do you smell, how are you feeling? (e.g. empowered, open, like a superhero, calm, surrendered to the experience, in full trust and partnership with your body, etc.). Some women find the use of birth mantras or affirmations are helpful to assist in the visualization. Really try to paint the picture and feel the powerful positive emotions you can attach to it.
Now for those of us who lean higher anxiety toward birth and read those affirmations and are like, “okay what is this woo woo B.S. I have a cousin who had an emergency c-section, and every time I think about birth my body goes on lockdown.” Try this. First do your breathing techniques (this part is really important to start in a calm, relaxed state), then in a comfortable position ask yourself this simple question, “What if it all worked out smoothly?” and let your mind consider this as a possibility. When you find yourself going down a fear based rabbit hole, re-ask yourself that simple question, “but what if it all went smoothly?”.
And that’s it!
If you prefer a guide, Google pregnancy friendly relaxation breathwork and birth mantras, you’ll automatically have lots of options. Remember that generally speaking, long periods of breath holding, rapid breathing, and lying on your back is not recommended during pregnancy.
I’ve included a link to a breathing technique video (alternate nostril breathing, just ignore when she says you can lay on your back) and then a link to some example birth affirmations. Choose your favorite few, jot them down if you like, ignore the ones you roll your eyes at and boom now you have your routine!
Even if you choose to skip this practice or intend to do it but somehow that last trimester slips by, remember, it’s kind of amazing your body can do this. And you can do this!
Links mentioned in this show:
Relaxing breathwork video here (5 min)
Here are some great mantra cards for purchase if you prefer