5 steps to encourage pregnant women for a physiological birth

As a mother who has chosen to experience a physiological birth, I felt the calling to write this text as an answer to a woman who was seeking advise and support in her choice to have a physiological birth. Many women are discouraged by their surrounding due to fear or there is a medically imposed system that is suppressing or distorting their choice simply because they see and perceive birth as a pathological condition. Therefore my offering for this month is to point out 5 steps where mothers can make in order to support themselves in their choice:

Dear mothers,

In order to assist you in your journey, I wrote 5 points to encourage and empower you in your decision:

LISTEN TO POSITIVE WOMEN'S STORIES: Find women who experienced a natural birth through a positive, respectful and empowered experience and listen to their stories. This is how I started my journey and how I stayed focused on what I wanted: to have a positive natural birth experience with no medical interventions. The women who talked to me stayed with me along the way, their voices were enlightening for my journey. I truly believe that a voice of authentic experience can be crucial for your own birth journey. This is a way that women support and empower women. By forming a community of mothers and by connecting with them on a frequent basis can support your choice, and will keep reminding you that it is possible, you can do this!

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE to be with you during your child's birth. Statistically women who had a health provider of their choice were able to avoid cesarians, avoid the use of epidural, and other medical interventions just because the presence of these people helped them to stay calm, focused and feel safer especially in an environment that is not familiar to them (hospital, clinic). In addition to that it is important to hire someone who is compatible to you and you have a good chemistry together. It is also important to choose someone who is also compatible with your partner, because your child's birth involves the father as well as the mother. Choose well and choose someone you feel 100% comfortable and safe with. This is your birth, therefore you choose who you want to have with you.

INFORM YOURSELF, train your awareness on this subject and make an informed decision - this is crucial, to know all the pros and cons of every possible incident that may arise and every possible choice you may make during your child's birth. You can choose different sources to inform and assist you in this journey such as books, websites, professionals who will support your decision and investigate your options with you. Every single choice will impact you and your baby in a specific way, therefore you need to know what is ahead your choice. Please also be informed of the reasons why you might need (or Not) specific medical interventions, the options you have or you don't have in the place you will choose to give birth. Know your health providers, the routines and protocols they use. It is always good to know that you have options as long as you know all the parameters, even if you won't use them. If you want to have a natural birth then check which doctors, clinics or hospital can offer that, make a visit and ask questions regarding the protocols and routines they follow, or consider choosing the midwife system instead. Decide whether you want to have a medical-based health care (doctor) or a more natural health-care approach (midwife) with you in the birth room and ask questions of how they take care of specific incidents that may arise in birth. Make your choice accordingly in order to get closer to what you want. Nothing should be taken for granted.

KNOW YOUR BODY, study the female anatomy, enroll yourself in a prenatal yoga class in order to build up confidence into your body, learn how birth takes place in order to understand that the female body is 100% capable of giving birth in the most natural way with no medical interventions. Know that this natural process can have complications only if the mind intervenes and only if you are experiencing a high risk pregnancy which you will know beforehand. Oxytocin hormone is important for natural birth and you can help it with keeping the lights off, have some soft music in the background, candle lights, essential oils, massage and anything else that helps you relax and feel SAFE. It is really important to listen to your body during childbirth, nobody can tell you in which position you should be or when to push your baby out. The body knows the way, just listen to it.

BEFRIEND CHILDBIRTH PAIN. Finally, you might find so many different kinds of natural methods and techniques for pain relief to use, I personally did a huge research and found many, but you won't know what will definitely help you relief pain unless the time of birth comes. What is important is to know that you can take all the tools you have with you just to feel secure (believe me it makes huge difference) but you might end up using 1 or 2 when you discover that you may have preferences. My realization is that the only way to coop with this pain is to allow it TO TAKE YOU OVER, do not resist, focus on it instead of trying to think of something else, be WITH IT. Surrendering to the vastness of this experience it's truly transformative and you deserve to have the best out of it.

I hope that these 5 points have helped you to set your intention and begin your journey for a physiological birth. I hope you understand that you actually can have what you want as long as you are prepared…not by knowing everything around birth, but by knowing that your body is created to give birth to a child.

Heart to Heart,

Christina

  © Christina Georgiou