I want to talk about what you can do if you’re having doubts about whether your body is up for the job of birth.
It came up as question in The Calm Birth School community and I know if one person posts about it, there will be a whole other bunch of women wondering about it, and not posting.
First things first, it is really, really normal to have doubts. When I gave birth for the THIRD time even I had doubts. I worried about whether I could possibly be lucky enough to have another wonderful home birth, and from about 40 weeks onwards I have to tell you I got anxious about whether or not I could have the birth I desired.
Here’s what you can do, if you’re feeling this anxiety (more of a reader? The full post is below):
1. Fire up the MP3s
One of the best things that you have on your side if you are a hypnobirthing student is that you have a lot of tools and resources at your disposal.
So the first thing I Invite you to do if you are feeling that anxiety is to listen to your Fear Realease MP3, that is exactly what it’s there for and not only will your breathing start to slow down your body will immediately start to release oxytocin and start to reduce adrenaline and cortisol which will immediately make you feel better.
2. Write your feelings down
If you are at all in to writing, journal out your feelings. I think often particularly when we are doing hypnobirthing we feel like it is wrong to acknowledge those fears and when we suppress them they pop up at the most inconvenient time, usually when we’re giving birth.
Then look at them and decide whether they are true or not. Ask yourself “Is that really true?”
Or is it your subconscious picking up on things you’ve been exposed to. You can even burn what you have written to release these fears. But please do it carefully 😉
3. Look at the evidence
Your body has been carrying your baby, nourishing it, nurturing, feeding, supporting your baby. You have been growing another human being – without any help from the conscious mind at all!
Really take the time, when you get that niggle about whether you trust your body, to think about the fact that while you go about your normal life, your body has been busily growing your baby. Without you telling it A THING.
4. Do your practice
Please.
🙂 5 minutes in the morning
🙂 When you’re faced with stressful
🙂 Wave breathing in the evening
You will be be so much better prepared. And more confident.
All you need to do, when you are in labour is let go of tension and go with your body. That really is your only job.
5. Remember this
We are about positive, rather than perfect births.
The stress and tension comes from when we try to dictate exactly how things are going to play out for us. The reality is we don’t even have that control when we cross the road every day.
Al we can do is lay a really solid foundation for good things happening by looking each way and listening for traffic.
And that is what you are doing with your practice. You are laying the foundation for a positive experience knowing that birth can be unpredictable and sometimes will take us down unexpected paths. And that is ok if you stay feeling calm and in control.
Even if the world is chaotic around you, if you can tune in to your breathing and know that you can release any tension in your body and stay focussed on making decisions that are going to be right for you and your baby.
You really don’t have to hold on to the fact that is HAS to be a water birth or a home birth. When we do that, we create tension. And if we or our baby need assistance we need to be able to accept that this is the best thing for us.
Use your affirmations
A really powerful one for you if the trust is not there right now is
“I navigate my birth calmly and confidently making decisions that are right for my baby and I”
Just keep repeating it. Breathe in deeply and repeat.
You have really really got this. If you have a question, there are load of us out there to help you. Please post in the The Calm Birth School Group, we are dying to help you!
