“Giving birth should be your greatest achievement not your greatest fear.” ~ Jane Weideman
When I found out I was pregnant with my first son Levi, one of my first thoughts was, “What can I do to ensure I don’t end up having a C-section?” I’ve heard so many scary and painful stories from friends and women online who had medically unnecessary C-sections that I knew I wanted to try and take a different route.
And the more I researched natural deliveries, the more excited I became to meet my son without drugs in my system, or his system, and to experience every ounce of what my body was made to do. (This was just my hope for my delivery, and it doesn’t mean that it’s the better way or the right way for every woman.)
Levi’s birth was the most empowering experience of my life, and I truly mean it. I was floating in complete euphoria, experiencing the most natural high of my life moments after his delivery and even many weeks later. (Read Levi’s birth story if you haven’t already!)
Aside from my mom who birthed her kids in the ’80s, I didn’t know anyone who had experienced an unmedicated delivery that I could turn to for guidance. So I instead researched everything I could and it made me feel so much more secure in my decision.
Here’s the breakdown of how I prepared my mind and body for an unmedicated delivery:
First trimester:
Purchased the “The Natural Mama Week-by-Week Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth.” This is the best natural-minded pregnancy book on the market and if you don’t follow @MamaNatural on IG, you should!
Continued my barre workout classes until birth. Barre and yoga are great exercises in pregnancy to stay strong and strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Keep up with your workouts, mama!
Watched “The Business of Being Born.” I had my husband join me for this one! It’s a VERY eye-opening documentary into the maternity care system in the U.S. And they’re offering it for free to stream online during COVID!
Researched what kind of delivery I wanted. It’s important to build a birth team that supports your plan. Don’t assume your current OB/GYN is the right person to deliver your baby (this was one mistake I made). Ask him or her the hard questions, like what their C-section rate is. ACOG suggests a C-section rate of 17-25% is standard and acceptable; really, you want the lower the better.
Also, ask your doctor how late they’re willing to let a healthy mom and baby go past their due date. Some doctors are quick to induce the minute you hit 40 weeks, or even 39. It’s very natural for a first-time mom to go past her due date, which is really just an estimate. Remember, you are hiring this person to deliver your baby; they work for you and should support your wishes.
Positive vibes only. Surround yourself with friends and family who support your birth choices. Stay away from the negative Nancy’s and judgy Judy’s; these people will make you feel like you have to defend your birth plan, and often love to share their birthing horror stories. I definitely had my fair share of women who would say, “I would never want to give birth without drugs.” Build a tribe of women who will cheer you on.
Increased my protein. Depending on what pregnancy book you read, it’s recommended that pregnant women eat 50-90 grams of protein daily. Because I’m a vegetarian, I started to eat seafood during pregnancy to ensure I achieved this requirement. I also try to drink a protein shake daily. This is my absolute favorite brand (I always blend with milk, water, and ice).
Increased my water intake. I try to drink 100 ounces of water daily. Buy a big water bottle to help you reach your goal. The standard is to divide your weight in half and drink that many ounces daily. I like to drink as much as possible.
Started my prenatal vitamins. There are so many different options out there, so I suggest asking your doctor or midwife for their suggestion. In addition to a healthy diet, prenatals are the best way to ensure your growing babe is getting the best nutrients possible.
Second trimester:
Researched and interviewed doulas in my area. A doula is a woman who physically and mentally supports a woman throughout her prenatal care, labor and delivery, AND postpartum recovery. My doula prepared me for birth like I was entering the Olympics. She had a checklist of things for me to do, including natural remedies for a shorter labor, and exercises to prepare my body for birth.
She coached me through the toughest parts of labor and advocated for my health and birth plan throughout the process. The best decision I made was hiring my doula. She was my rock, especially when I felt unsupported by some of my medical team. Remember, you don’t know who your nurses will be when you show up at the hospital. It’s not their job to stay and help you work naturally through your labor since they have other mamas to attend to.
I found my doulas for both of my pregnancies through Dallas Birth. If you’re not sure where to look, reach out to a midwife or birth center in your area for recommendations. *Good doulas book up fast!
Read “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth.” Such a calming book filled with beautiful birth stories and evidenced-based labor and delivery research by the nation’s leading midwife. Ina May is a boss in the natural birthing world.
Signed up for some classes. I’m not a huge fan of the hospital classes. They’re very short and I didn’t feel like mine prepared me for a natural delivery at all. Look into an Evidence Based Birthing (EBB) class in your area, or take the online class. Mama Natural also has a great online birth course.
Matt and I took a 7-hour Evidenced Based Birthing class and we left feeling so prepared. I also met one of my best mama friends there and our boys were born just 3 weeks a part. In-person classes are a great way to meet like-minded mamas in your same season of life!
Look into hypnobirthing. I didn’t do hypnobirthing with my first but I hear women rave about it. It’s a technique used to reduce your fear and anxiety during labor by using visualization, relaxation, and breathing methods. Here’s a highly rated online course.
Third trimester:
Started seeing a Webster-certified pregnancy chiropractor weekly. Benefits of prenatal chiropractic care include, greater comfort throughout pregnancy; reduces average labor time; encourages optimal fetal position through proper pelvic alignment; relieves neck, back, and pelvic pain; and supports a natural labor and delivery. Get you a Webster-certified chiro, boo! I see the phenomenal doctors at Uprise Chiropractic in Dallas.
Started drinking my NORA tea. NORA tea is an herbal tea that contains nettles, oatstraw, red raspberry leaf, and alfalfa (hence the name NORA). It’s highly recommended in pregnancy to prevent long labor and postpartum hemorrhage. I drink 2-3 cups a day on ice. I was given the tea through my midwife, but you can also make it yourself, buy it on Etsy, or buy a similar tea: Mama Earth’s Third Trimester Tea.
Do all the right exercises! (I started many of these around 32 weeks+): Rock on birth ball for 30 minutes daily. Rock side-to-side, front-to-back and hula-hoop circles. This helps baby get into optimal birth position.
- Spinning Babies videos: YouTube Spinning Babies videos or purchase the digital video package for $17. These exercises and yoga methods are incredibly helpful in getting baby into optimal birth position and even turning baby, if needed. *They teach so many important positions, like cat/cow stretches, and broad ligament exercise to stretch your broad ligament (helps baby descend in labor).
- Curb walk daily: Just a few minutes of walking on each side with one foot on the curb and one foot on the road, will shift baby down and helps if there is a malposition issue.
- SQUAT! Squat daily to open your pelvic floor and strengthen it. In my third trimester I’d do about 40-50 squats daily. In my final weeks, per my doula and midwife, I’d do 100 squats a day (over an hour while watching TV).
Prenatal massage! Sister, get yourself a massage (preferably a few). If you can, find a masseuse who specializes in prenatal massage. This will help reduce back and joint pain, leg cramps, headaches, improve circulation, and reduce your stress. Ahhh.
Acupuncture: I am a HUGE fan. I’ve used acupuncture to cure a hellish migraine in pregnancy, and I used it to naturally induce my labor after I went past 40 weeks. Women have reported these benefits from acupuncture while pregnant: relieves morning sickness, back and pelvic pain, headaches/migraine, depression, sleep problems, and helps induce labor naturally. Look for a licensed and certified acupuncturist and someone who has experience with pregnant women. Ask a doula for an acupuncturist referral! I see Bunzo Takamatsu (aka the “induction pro”) at Preston Royal Clinic in Dallas.
Eat 6 dates daily. Have you heard about the benefits of eating dates in pregnancy? Starting at 36 weeks, start consuming 6 dates per day. You can eat them whole, dip them in nut butter, add to a smoothie, make date muffins, search for some recipes! There are studies that have shown date consumption helps shorten labor time.
Ripen your cervix. Starting at 36 weeks, insert two Borage Oil capsules vaginally at night. You can increase to 3 capsules at 37 weeks, and then 4 at 39 weeks. After you insert them, go straight to bed and use a panty liner to collect any leaked oil. Borage oil prepares your cervix for labor, and helps women dilate easier.
Massage your perineum. I didn’t do this with my first birth and I wish I did! Perineal massage helps reduce your chance of tearing. Starting at 34-36 weeks, you or your partner can massage your perineum for 10 minutes nighty to prepare your lady muscles and skin for birth. Mama Natural has a helpful diagram to explain the process: https://www.mamanatural.com/perineal-massage
Have lots of sex. Yep, I said it. Sex helps soften your cervix and naturally induce labor.
Rest, mama! Listen to your body and relax when needed. Take advantage of naps and going to bed early. You want to be as rested as possible before labor kicks in.
Create your birth plan if you’re birthing at a hospital. My doula did this for me based on my preferences and I just hit print, but if you need to create one on your own, Mama Natural has a great PDF for you to fill out.
A birth plan includes your preferences on how you’d like your labor to go, including your wishes on intervention (i.e. Pitocin). Do you want to keep your placenta (to have it made into capsules)? Do you want limited monitoring or the use of a wireless monitor if needed? Do you want to be IV free or have a hep-lock/saline lock? There are so many things you need to know your options on and to feel supported in your decisions.
I hope this list was full of helpful information. And I want to emphasize that you absolutely don’t have to do all of these things to have your desired birth. For me, I felt more comfortable being as prepared as possible, and I truly think all of my prep work helped me have my best delivery. Again, read Levi’s birth story to see how it all turned out! 💗