I have done quite a bit of research over the years on how to birth naturally. In this article, I am compiling and condensing all of my information for you. I have not seen a comprehensive birthing plan quite like this anywhere else. It is a good read, and I would implore you to do so. If you're thinking about natural birth, but cannot wrap your head around it, there are many tips to help you get started. It is all about preparing your body for easy labor. There are also many techniques that can be utilized during labor that will give you comfort and, potentially, significantly decrease the labor time and risk of tearing. It is very possible ladies!
Some things to consider before we get started...
In this day and age, you need to learn to be your own advocate. Partner up with your husband and let him know your wishes. If anyone tries to trample on your plan unnecessarily, he needs to be able to step in and speak up on your behalf. Don't misconstrue my words here. If there is a serious problem, it needs to be handled. But if you are being pressured to induce or labor a certain way that feels uncomfortable, then stand your ground.
This leads me to my first point. Consider looking into the Bradley Method. This is a husband-coached approach to labor. My husband and I used this method during the birth of our daughter and it was wonderfully intimate. There is a serious bond that grows between spouses when sharing a truly personal experience such as childbirth. Honestly, some hospitals can make husbands feel as if they're just there to watch. The Bradley Method promotes the husband being there every step of the way, coaching the wife, easing her tension, and catering to her every need. Tell me that doesn't sound like a wonderful experience. You can find many articles on this method and even purchase the book online.
I suggest you also read my previous article on tips for a healthier pregnancy in order to prepare yourself throughout each trimester.
One last thing to help prepare mentally. Watch videos and listen to testimonials of women that went through pain-free labor to find out exactly what techniques they used. It is very possible and gets you into a better mindset.
This plan is broken down into three sections: Early Labor, Active Labor, and Immediately After Birth.
Early Labor
Get Up And Move
Especially during the early stages of labor, you need to be moving around as much as possible. Go for a walk. Clean the house. Get on your birthing ball and bounce around. These movements will help baby get into position and descend downwards. The birthing ball is also great for helping your cervix to dilate.
If you can, sleeping is also great. It will allow you to restore your energy for the potentially long road ahead.
Eat Some Food!
One of the things I cannot stand about hospitals. You absolutely need to be eating in order to keep your strength up. If you're exhausted, dehydrated, and malnourished, your body will not be able to function well. Hospitals do not allow mothers to eat in case they want an epidural. Many women choose to labor at home and then go into the hospital when contractions are much closer together. If you are laboring at home, this would be the time to eat before going into the hospital. Those that are planning for a home birth, eat away!...but keep it healthy.
I've found several articles that purport the very real benefits of drinking raspberry leaf tea, not only throughout pregnancy but DURING labor. This will help to strengthen your uterus, thus making contractions more effective. Postpartum, it may also help to reduce bleeding.
Environment
Environment matters. If you are having a home birth, you can get away with doing exactly what you want. If in a hospital, they will be willing to work with you on some things, but not all.
I preferred lights to be turned low and had candles lit. For the earlier stages of labor, I had the television on as a distraction, but you can use soothing music. I requested no constant fetal monitoring. I also requested my Midwife to be more hands-off while my husband took the lead.
Breathing During Early Labor
Your breathing should be in and out through your nose during this stage. Always remember to keep breathing long and consistent when needed. If breathing speeds up, it can slow down oxygen to baby and trigger stress signals to the body.
Minimal Vaginal Checks
Whether you are at home or in a hospital, you can request this. Not only are vaginal checks incredibly uncomfortable, but they can expose you and baby to infection. There is even a chance prodding fingers could compromise the membrane and disrupt the natural hormone process.
Rebozo Sifting
This is an incredible technique that originated in South America and has been used for hundreds of years. It promotes the correct positioning of your baby and greatly helps to relieve discomfort during contractions. Some women also swear that it cuts down labor time by HOURS as it encourages baby to move down the birthing canal. There are specific knitted rebozo scarves you can purchase, but honestly a strong-knitted scarf or folded blanket can work as well.
The technique starts with you on all fours. Your husband will wrap the rebozo around your entire belly while holding each end up above you, vertically. He will then gently lift your belly and slowly rock it back and forth. This is so soothing for your back and especially for a low-sitting baby cutting into your sciatic nerve. After sifting, you can even have hubby leave the rebozo wrapped around the belly and tie it in the back for added comfort. I've also read this can be great for postpartum instead of using the elastic postpartum band.
It is recommended to use a rebozo about once a week during the last weeks of pregnancy. Once it gets closer to your due date, it can be used daily to alleviate discomfort and ensure baby stays where he needs to. Once you are in labor, you can use the rebozo during contractions. I can personally attest that this technique greatly helps to alleviate the intensity of some of those waves. I also had a low-sitting baby with great sciatic nerve pain. This was one of the only things that helped to ease the pressure. Do more research on this technique, and thank me later!
No Induction Or Epidural
If you do the research, you will find that these drugs are absolutely unnecessary and can cause harm to you and your baby. I've already gone into the dangers of inducing with drugs such as Pitocin in my previous article.
Epidurals will not only expose you and your baby to unneeded toxins but will hinder the birthing process. Side effects include low blood pressure, nausea and vomiting, fever, and interference with your body's natural hormones that progress labor. Baby can also become lethargic and cease to descend down into the birthing canal. Not to mention you are numbing your natural sensations to push. Many women end up pushing when they shouldn't. This leads to prolonged pushing, which can cause stress to the baby. The mother is also much more likely to tear. All of these side effects greatly increase the need for an emergency c-section.
Natural Pain Management
There are several things you can do to help manage discomfort. Don't let anyone fool you. If you spend time preparing your body before labor, discomfort tends to be less of an issue. You also need to think about mental preparation. Laboring is 10% physical and 90% mental. If you put in the work to envision your birth and grow comfortable with your plan, then you will be 100% on top of things once they kick-off. Feeling in control in a situation like this is a very powerful thing.
Consider a water birth. There is such a stigma placed on this, but it can be a wonderful experience. The warmth of the water is great for pain management. This technique can also cut down your likelihood of tearing. The buoyancy created from the water helps to relieve tension in your joints and slightly lifts the belly, easing pressure.
Hot showers are absolutely amazing for back labor. This definitely got me through those intense waves.
Tennis balls are great for back labor as well. You can have your husband roll a tennis ball over your area of discomfort, firmly if needed.
An oil that should be considered is CBD oil. While the FDA does not recommend its usage during pregnancy, many other doctors, as well as cultures, purport usage with great success. It is up to you here to decide if this might be something that is right for you.
Magnesium spray is another great pain reliever during labor. It can be sprayed directly on the area to alleviate discomfort. Check out my TikTok for how I make mine.
Active Labor
Breathing During Active Labor
This is the time when your body is progressing quickly and making its way to the pushing stage. You should be at 6cm dilated at this point. During contractions, you should be taking long breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth while expanding the abdomen. This will continue to allow baby to descend downward as you expand your abdominal cavity. Baby needs a lot of oxygen through this stage. Remember, again, to keep breathing relaxed and as steady as possible. The more you focus on keeping your body relaxed, the quicker things will progress. If you tense your body and hold your breath, you will enact your fight or flight hormone, cortisol. This is not labor's friend. This will segway into my next point.
Moaning And NOT Screaming
Employ deep moans from your abdomen. When you scream, your body tenses up and enacts that stress hormone, cortisol, as just discussed. This WILL slow down labor because oxytocin (the hormone that strengthens uterine contractions) gets pushed to the wayside.
Movement And Positions
You can always keep moving around during this stage if able to. It will continue to allow your cervix to open and baby to descend downwards. You can also continue to use your birthing ball. At one point, I was on all fours and pushing my head up against the bed frame for comfort. Really, do whatever you need to here.
Another technique, as stated in the Bradley Method, is to lie in bed on your side with a pillow between your knees and one supporting your belly. It helps to keep your eyes closed during contractions and focus on slow breathing in order to allow the cervix to open further.
Some women have even swayed back and forth for comfort. I did this quite a bit during the early stages. You can also have hubby embrace you while you sway.
If you need to switch back and forth between lying down, swaying, being on your birthing ball, getting in the shower, or whatever, feel free to do so. It's all about being as comfortable as possible and keeping your body relaxed.
Time To Push
Alright, when you're body is at about 9 to 10 cm, this will be the time to start drawing the water if planning for a water birth. If not, then you will simply be getting into position at 10 cm in order to start pushing. You should feel a natural urge to push here. I do not believe in coached pushing. It exponentially increases tearing and does not allow for pushing when you are supposed to. It also encourages you to hold your breath, which cuts off oxygen to baby and prolonges labor.
The positions I prefer are on your knees, squatting, or standing. Allow downward force to help you out here. Something else they don't tell you in the hospital is that lying on your back greatly closes off your cervix, thus making it harder to push baby out.
The technique I prefer instead of pushing is breathing baby out. Think of it this way. You will not push like you are going to the bathroom. You will utilize your abdominal muscles by flexing them and breathing downward. You will only do this during contractions. Remember to keep moaning here and allow your cervix to stay as relaxed as possible.
When crowning, this is when you will slow down and allow for a numbing sensation to take effect. This happens as your nerve endings get stretched thin along the vaginal opening. This technique will help you to avoid the "ring of fire", as well as tearing. Once you feel numb, this will be the time to continue breathing baby downward.
Immediately After Birth
Delayed Cord Clamping
This is another thing that hospitals get wrong. There is so much blood still in the cord and placenta that baby truly needs. Even in a hospital setting, this can be requested. You'll want to wait until the cord ceases pulsing and turns white. There are some cultures that leave the cord on for days, carrying around their placenta, until it falls off naturally. This is seemingly how important it is.
Immediate Skin To Skin Contact
Many hospitals will take the baby right after birth to be checked out. Unless there is an immediate problem, this is not necessary. Bonding between mother and child should happen immediately. Not to mention, skin to skin is actually used to regulate baby's body temperature. Your body temperature is set to exactly what baby needs. This also promotes strong bonding between mother and child.
Immediate Breastfeeding And Uterine Massage
Utilizing these two things will greatly decrease the risk of hemorrhage. Your husband, midwife, or doctor needs to begin gently, yet with firm movements, massaging the uterus once the placenta has been delivered. This can cut down on blood loss drastically.
Breastfeeding, or even nipple stimulation, will enable more oxytocin to be produced, thus promoting continued uterine contraction and enabling the uterus to stay firm. This can lead to a reduction in postpartum bleeding.
Tips
Feel free to print this birth plan out for yourself. You can even rewrite it in a more concise format to fit your needs. I actually wrote a separate birth plan for my husband, going over a few pointers that I expected, and needed, from him on the big day. This greatly helped to keep us on the same page, as well as keep him calm because he was familiar with the stages.
Whether doing this at home, or in a hospital, you need to make sure that you sit down with your doctor or midwife and go over your plan ahead of time. You may not be able to stick to everything, but it is best for them to know your wishes in order for them to be more accommodating. Remember, they work for you!
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