5 Tips to Set Yourself Up for an Empowered Birth

1. Select your Pregnancy & Childbirth Healthcare Provider Carefully

In Canada, when you become pregnant and are experiencing a ‘normal’ pregnancy, you will have an important choice to make. You can either choose to work with an Obstetrician or a Midwife throughout your pregnancy, during your labour, birth, and for immediate care after your child is born.

Obstetricians are experts in childbirth and wonderful at mitigating high-risk issues and complications in pregnancy.  Midwives are also pregnancy and childbirth experts, trained to work with women who are experiencing non-complicated pregnancies.

Depending on your health history, you may be automatically referred to an Obstetrician or a High-Risk Pregnancy clinic. But, if not, you should carefully consider who you want to guide you along your pregnancy and childbirth journey. Seek to find the care provider that feels the safest to you.

My experience with childbirth:

In spite of my health issues, I was committed to working with midwives for the birth of my child. I was drawn to their natural, holistic approach to childbirth and I wanted to avoid an overly clinical experience. We learned quickly that midwives are in high demand and were fortunate that the midwifery practice in our area (Niagara Midwives) had space to accommodate us. We met with four different midwives regularly throughout my pregnancy, building a relationship with each of them, knowing one of them would be there for the birth of our child.

We spent at least an hour at each appointment. They completed all the diagnostic testing and medical monitoring of the pregnancy. I felt seen and heard as a new mom and my birth preferences were discussed openly at each appointment. I was given the option to select my birthing place (home, birthing centre or hospital). We planned for a hospital birth, although that’s not what actually transpired.

Fast forward to our daughter’s birth day; when I began experiencing active labour and consistent contractions, my midwife on-duty (Heidi) came to our home to check on me. She assured me that she personally would be with me until my baby was born. This was very comforting! Because I was only 3cm dilated when she checked, we opted to wait to head to the hospital until I was further along in my labour. Our daughter had other plans. After a 40-minute shower, and 7 cm of fast dilation, I was fighting the urge to push, and we realized this was going to be an unplanned homebirth.

Heidi sprang into action, working with my husband to turn my bedroom into a safe birthing space in a matter of minutes. A second midwife (to care for baby) arrived in the nick of time and after 20 minutes of pushing, our healthy daughter was born. They weighed Olive, completed the APGAR testing, administered erythromycin eye ointment and the Vitamin K injection, right there in my bedroom. They cleaned up everything (it was as if a birth had never occurred) and stayed until we were comfortable and had established breastfeeding.

Our midwife care over the next 6-weeks was incredible. I was in constant communication with my midwives and for the first 10 days post-birth they visited us at home, so we didn’t have to leave the house with a newborn. It was bliss.

Overall, I’m very grateful for my experience and will be seeking Midwife care for any future pregnancies.

Note: Don’t be afraid of the quick labour! Only ~ 7% of people experience a precipitous labour like what I experienced. Most people have ample time to make it to the hospital.

2. Get your Mind Around the Idea

Staying calm and relaxed during your pregnancy and labour are essential elements to a healthy pregnancy and birth. There are many ways to go about this, but some of my favourites are as follows:

• Infant Care & Infant Feeding Classes:
  Bringing a brand-new baby home when you know little about how to care for a newborn can be daunting. Attending an infant care or breastfeeding class by yourself or with a support person can help you to feel more ‘ready’ for when baby arrives, while reducing stress and fear of the unknown. There are many classes available for free through Public Health! Check them out in your area.
• Childbirth Education Classes:
  As above, it can also be very helpful to attend a childbirth education class to understand exactly what to expect when giving birth (whether it’s the first time or the fifth time). Childbirth education classes are offered (usually at a reasonable fee) for birthing persons and their support people in most areas around the country. Preparation and education can be transformative if you are someone who fears childbirth.
• Hypnobirthing Classes:
  Hypnobirthing classes teach expectant parents relaxation techniques and self-hypnosis strategies to use during labour. Hypnobirthing requires daily practice ahead of the delivery day to ensure you can easily get into your relaxed state and connect to your visualization when it really counts. There are many offerings of Hypnobirthing classes across the country and you can even take online classes.
• Meditation & Affirmation: Meditation is an easy way to slow down and connect with your body and baby during pregnancy. There are many wonderful pregnancy meditations available for free YouTube. Schedule some time each day to sit in a quiet space and put your hands on your belly and meditate. In addition to this, you can write and recite birth affirmations, like “I am experiencing an easy birth” or “I love my birth story” daily to help empower yourself to get excited about the birth.

3. Avoid the Horror Stories

Sadly, even in this day and age, many people experience traumatic births. Births often don’t go as planned, but some births are extremely difficult, and parents are left feeling deep disappointment about the way their children came into the world. Some parents are even diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following the births of their children. On the other hand, many people are also thrilled with their birth experiences. But it’s often that the more difficult stories get more ‘airtime’.

We definitely need to honour parents who have had negative birthing experiences as it can be very cathartic for them to speak openly about their births. But oftentimes these stories are shared with pregnant people who they feel they can closely relate to. It’s important to remember that it’s not your responsibility to take their stories on and allow them to cause you stress in your own pregnancy.

If you are in a situation where someone is sharing their difficult birthing story, gently telling them that you’re trying to avoid discussing others’ birthing stories while pregnant, but you would love to discuss their births after your child has been born, is a wonderful boundary to set. While it may be difficult in the moment, you will thank yourself later when you aren’t up in the middle of the night worrying about the information they shared with you.

This also goes for Google- try to avoid Googling! If you have concerns, talk to your healthcare provider! Google is often full of worst-case scenarios in regards to pregnancy and birth.

4. Eat Dates & Drink Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

There are a few low-risk foods and supplements that may help you prepare your body for labour. As always, talk to your health care provider before introducing any of them into your diet.

Dates:

A 2017 study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology showed that women who ate 7 pieces of date (~80 grams) per day from 37 weeks of pregnancy to their delivery date, were less likely to require synthetic oxytocin (Pitocin) during labour. This can be beneficial as many women feel oxytocin intervention makes contractions stronger and more painful and, therefore, can lead to increased pain-relief interventions such as an Epidural. Try 6-8 eating dates daily starting at 37 weeks! If you’re not a fan of dates, you can try putting them in a smoothie.

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea:

Red Raspberry Leaf tea is extracted from the Red Raspberry plant native to Europe and parts of Asia. It’s full of wonderful nutrients and may actually shorten the first or second phases of labour. In addition to this, it may actually lessen the incidence of complications during labour. It’s been recommended that women begin drinking 1-3 cups of the tea starting at 32 weeks pregnant.

5. Consider hiring a Doula

A doula is a non-medical support person for parents in pregnancy, labour and the postpartum period. Doulas provide emotional, physical and informational support during labour and can help to empower the birthing person to advocate for themselves during their labour and birth.

Here’s what “Evidence-Based Birth” says about Doula support during birth:

"Overall, people who received continuous support were more likely to have spontaneous vaginal births and less likely to have any pain medication, epidurals, negative feelings about childbirth, vacuum or forceps-assisted births, and Cesareans. In addition, their labors were shorter by about 40 minutes and their babies were less likely to have low Apgar scores at birth. There is a smaller amount of evidence that doula support in labor can lower postpartum depression in mothers. There is no evidence for negative consequences to continuous labor support."