8 years ago about a few weeks from now, I found out I was pregnant for the first time. My singular focus in my pregnancy was to have an unmedicated birth. I did a lot of reading about birth and consistently exercised throughout my pregnancy. I also spent a lot of time thinking about how I would cope with the unknowns of birth. It turned out that this time spent “wrapping my head around birth” would be the most pivotal to my achieving my goal of a natural, unmedicated birth. I recall starting immediately after my birth when asked by a friend, who has no children, “how was it”, replying “intense and amazing”.
Somehow, I was able to navigate without much guidance toward a beautiful birth experience for both of my births and I will forever be grateful for those experiences.
Unfortunately, for so many women this simply is not their experience. I think many women skip over a lot of essential mindset work during pregnancy and few birth prep classes dive deep into preparing your mind (mental and emotional) for birth.
Now, the work I do with clients is largely centered around supporting them through the process of wrapping their minds around birth. It is also the feedback from many of my clients that the mindset side of our work together was just as pivotal if not more so, as the physical components of our time together.
So what exactly is holistic birth preparation? It is when the mother engages in an individualized, multifaceted, whole person approach to preparing for the birth she desires.
The elements included in such a birth preparation are:
Physical: preparing the body (including the pelvis and pelvic floor) to support the labor process. This includes understanding the mechanics of birth, positions that support optimal positioning of the baby, and exercises to maintain strength, alignment and flexibility throughout the musculoskeletal system through pregnancy for an easier recovery postpartum.
Mental: learning about and finding personalized coping strategies to maintain peace, calm, and trust in your body during pregnancy and labor. These can include but are not limited to sensory strategies, breathing, mind shifts, meditation, emotional freedom technique, and the list goes on.
Emotional: Figuring out how you feel about all that is happening to your body and preparing for the emotional intensity of labor. This is very much the work of finding your path to wrapping your head around pregnancy and birth. When this is achieved you find yourself feeling neutral or even positive and confident about being pregnant and going into labor.
Social: Identifying, establishing and strengthening social supports for pregnancy, labor and beyond. This includes getting your birth team in order and on the same page as you, as well as, figuring out who will be able to provide support and in what form during postpartum.
Spiritual/Energetic: Having faith and trust in powers greater and beyond our conscious mind to support us through the most intense, unknown and often overwhelming experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum. This looks different for everyone but without it navigating pregnancy, birth and postpartum will be infinitely more challenging, confusing and scary.
Environmental: Women nest, and our environments are key to how calm, comfortable, peaceful and safe we feel which directly impacts our baby. Establishing an environment that can become your sanctuary is one of the most enjoyable parts of pregnancy when done intentionally and in a way that aligns with your true self.
If you are desiring a holistic approach to birth preparation I suggest beginning with my min-course “Aligned with Birth”. In this 90-min self-paced course you will learn key methods for breath, movement and mindset… starting you off on a fabulous path toward the birth of your dreams without breaking the bank!! CLICK HERE to enroll now!
If you prefer a more intensive and personalized approach and are interested in working with me privately, let’s connect over a free consult call. SCHEDULE HERE
In Health,
Hilary
