15 Ways To Mentally Prepare Yourself For Labour

Childbirth is both amazing and scary. Nothing brings joy to a mother than the thought of holding her newborn in due time.

As you’re near the final weeks of the last trimester, you will notice and feel the signs that your baby is ready to be born. This, for most women, especially first time mums, is when labour and delivery anxiety sets in.

Many pregnant women are aware of how to take care of themselves physically such as what foods to eat, what to wear, how to exercise and so on. But often, they forget that their mental state will also play a great role in how well labour and delivery goes. Every birth is different and unique to each individual.

There are several methods that you can use to mentally prepare yourself for labour.

1. Be Aware Of The Stages Of Labour And What To Expect

Having the right information regarding labour will help you understand the process better. Understanding what to expect at every stage helps you prepare and put your mind at ease. There are three main stages of labour :

Early Labour:

This is the first labour stage and the major sign that it’s time for birth. You will feel some contractions and it is important at this stage to head to the hospital. This is the stage when your uterus muscles begin to contract and relax within intervals. This helps to make the cervix thin so that it can open up in readiness of the baby’s movement from the womb to the birth canal.

The contractions during this stage of labour are normally irregular, lasting for less than a minute. The early labour stage can last anywhere between a few hours to days depending on each individual.

Second Stage of Labour:

This is the stage where the cervix opens up completely, meaning you are ready for delivery of your baby. This stage will last through the actual birth. Your cervix dilates fully allowing your baby to travel down to the birth canal and is then delivered soon after.

Third Stage of Labour:

You will continue to experience contractions even after the baby is born. Contractions will stop when the placenta is released from your birth canal.

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2. Take Care Of Your Emotions

The biggest mental challenge that most soon-to-be mums face is the fear associated with the birthing process. It is very normal to be scared and emotional in the weeks before you give birth. It is however, important that you take care of your emotional state before you go to the hospital. Being emotionally stable during labour will help you handle the pain better and hopefully make the whole process less traumatic. You can take care of your emotions by picking a birthing support person. This support person should be someone you are comfortable with and you can easily talk to them about the fears you have – it can be your own partner, a friend or close family member, or a doula. Another great way of dealing with labour anxiety is to keep a journal and record your feelings. This will help you overcome all fears and anxiety before you go to labour. By expressing your thoughts, you will get to learn that giving birth is doable and make you less afraid.

3. Research On Childbirth

Other than just understanding the labour stages, it is important that you understand what it means to have a safe birth. If you do some research, you will get a chance to read other people’s experiences and this will make the process seem natural especially if it is your first time. One word of caution though – stick to positive birth stories because negative ones will just increase your anxiety! Research will also help you to understand all types of birth practices, and help you choose one that you feel most comfortable with. Reading up and also attending ante-natal classes can really help to alleviate any anxieties or concerns you have about giving birth.

4. Be Aware Of Possible Complications

As part of being mentally prepared, it is important that you get to learn about any possible complications that may arise during labour and birth. You don’t want to dwell on the negatives and frighten yourself, but it is good to be prepared so that you are not caught unaware if something does happen to go wrong. Being prepared also increases your chances of staying calm, should an issue arise making it easy for the doctors and caregivers to deal with it.

5. Fight Anxiety By Reading Positive Birth Stories

Even though delivery is unique to each individual, some experiences will be the same. Surrounding yourself with positive birth stories will ease your anxiety. Reading other people’s experiences will help you understand how the body is naturally designed for birth and therefore, you should not have anything to worry about. It gives you the comfort of knowing that you are not the only one who will experience it and that many others have succeeded in bringing beautiful babies into the world.

6. Don’t Watch Horrific Birth Videos

It’s not a good idea to watch traumatic birth videos right before having your baby. While it may be helpful to watch videos of women giving birth so as to know what to expect, some of these videos are just too horrifying and will leave you with nightmares instead of calming down your fears, so be careful what you choose to watch!

7. Reaffirm Yourself Over and Over

Staying positive is a powerful way of being mentally prepared for labour. Talk to yourself everyday and tell yourself that you are wonderful, strong and you can do this. Avoid beating yourself down. Instead, keep reaffirming yourself that you can handle safe labour and delivery. If possible, print out positive birth messages and stick them places where you’ll be able to read them all day (like on the back of the toilet door!)

8. Talk To Your Baby

All through your pregnancy, make it a habit to talk to your baby especially when you’re alone. When you are feeling anxious, place your hand on your belly and let your baby’s movements soothe you. Connecting with your baby will calm you down, will take away fear of labour and delivery and replace it with the joy of looking forward to holding your baby in your arms. When you talk to the baby, say positive things about the coming birth process.

9. Let Go Of The Fear

During the last days before labour, practice how to let go of fear and allow your mind to envision your body doing what it was designed to do. Trust that you will be well and let that be the only thing in your mind. Remember to be your number one cheerleader! Go team!

10. Relaxation Exercises

Relaxing is a very effective way for gaining mental strength. As you allow your mind to think about labour, let your body relax. There are several ways to relax such as making time to simply sit, listen and be one with your body. Relaxation will greatly help you deal with what is coming. Maybe even try some yoga (if your doctor allows it) and some meditation.

11. Choose A Pain Management Strategy

As you prepare for labour, being aware of the extent of pain and how to deal with it could be helpful in preparing you mentally for labour. Talk to your doctor about the available pain management methods, their advantages and disadvantages as well as what each means for you. For most women, giving birth naturally without suppressing the pain is seen as an important achievement. However, medicine has greatly evolved and today there’s no shame associated with using labour pain management drugs. Just make sure you choose the one that is the safest for you. Some of the drugs that you can use include:

Epidural:

This is a common anaesthetic that is injected directly into your spine for your baby’s safety. Injecting directly into your spine also ensures you experience pain relief very fast. The advantage of epidural is that it can be given at any stage of labour even if you have not dilated fully. The epidural numbs your body from the waist down including your uterus nerves leading to painless contractions.

Pudendal Block:

This is a pain management drug that is used during the second stage of labour during vaginal birth. It is especially used if there is a need for vacuum vaginal extraction or use of forceps.

Opioids:

Usually administered via IV or IM injection in the early stages of labour contractions for pain relief.

Drug-Free Methods:

If you are sceptical using pain relief medicine, you can try natural methods. One of the things you can try is relaxation through meditation. This will take your mind away from the pain your feeling and focus on something else. Another great natural method of reducing pain is simple and gentle movement.

Walking and changing your positions as often as possible will decrease the pressure caused by pain. You can ask your spouse or birth partner to massage your legs, thighs, face, shoulders and scalp or anywhere else that feels tense. Massages are great for relaxing your body and reducing pain. Finally, you could consider having a water birth. Water makes you very comfortable, leaves your body relaxed and greatly reduces pain.

12. Be Active And Stay Healthy

Do not stop exercising even as the end approaches (unless your doctor has recommended that you stop exercising). The endorphins released by your body during exercise help to calm down your nerves. So, go on doing the exercises that are recommended by your doctor and are safe for you.

Do not be tempted to over do it. Simply do what your body can handle. A healthy diet is also important for a healthy mind, so continue eating healthy foods.

13. Practice Coping Strategies Before Hand

There are several strategies that you can employ to fight anxiety before you go into labour, such as breathing exercises. Breathing correctly during labour is greatly advised as it helps you to cope with pain better. Yoga breathing and deep breathing are some of the most fantastic breathing techniques that will do good for you.

Don’t wait until you go into labour before you to start the breathing techniques. Remember that this is not your everyday mode of breathing so you have to practice often to get it right.

14. Birth Preparation / Antenatal Classes

Preparation for birth can be overwhelming for you and so antenatal classes (usually run by midwives) will be of great help. In such classes, you will be taught on how to tell the early signs of labour, how to breathe, which is important as mentioned.

You will also learn how to manage pain. Most importantly, you and your birth partner get a chance to ask questions about the birthing process and have a tour of the delivery suite. At these classes, you will also get a chance to interact with other expectant women and share your experiences.

15. Get Some Rest

During the last days before delivery, it is important that you allow yourself to catch a break. Rest as much as you can because labour is indeed tiresome and you need all the strength you can manage. So, ensure that you get a lot of rest and sleep as much as you can. Let your family or the people you are living with to know about your rest plan so that they can avoid disturbing you when you should be resting. Rest is also good for your mind.

In conclusion, getting ready mentally for labour makes you more ready for the process. This is something that soon-to-be mothers should not take lightly because the more prepared you are, the less anxious you will be and the process will be smooth and over in no time. Even if you are not a first-time mum, do not assume that just because the first time was smooth, the next will be so. Every pregnancy is different and it is better to be safe than sorry.

So, go on, try these tips and make your birthing experience an awesome one!