Pregnant: don't get to your third trimester without knowing this!
IF YOU’RE rapidly approaching week 27 or beyond you’re probably beginning to focus a lot more on the birth of your baby and what that might be like.
Here are a handful of things you really need to know:
1) You can’t guarantee the type of birth you’ll have but you have a massive influence
No-one can 100% predict what your baby’s birth is going to be like or how you will feel about it but the only thing you cannot do is NOT be involved or NOT influence it. Whether you are silent and quiet or loud and boisterous or straight down the middle YOU are continuously influencing your baby’s birth. You can influence it in a really helpful or unhelpful way. What’s unhelpful? Freaking out, stressing, worrying, lying flat on your back, becoming frantic. What’s helpful? ⬇️
2) The breath is the bridge between your body and mind - use it.
Hypnobirthing and prenatal yoga aren’t things that have been plucked out of the sky. They’re based on science, physiology, and evidence shows that they support labour and birth. Most people will describe hypnobirthing as a series of breathing techniques and creating a calm environment in which to birth. I take it one further - it’s a proven system whereby YOU accept full responsibility for all the factors that you can control, and let go of the rest so that you stack the odds in your favour of the best possible birth. Yes it involves breathing and setting the right environment and retraining your subconscious mind to root out all the fearful thoughts it’s absorbed about birth - and doing all of that comes from you choosing to influence as much of your baby’s birth as you possible can. I teach all of this in The Prenatal Snug. When you learn to interrupt the cycle of fear-tension-pain you’ll feel more comfortable and calm which leads to a better birth.
3) An active birth can reduce labour time, reduce the risk of tearing and lead to a more comfortable birth.
If giving birth in a hospital the best thing you can do with the bed is push it to one side, lean against it or kneel on it whenever you need to. An active birth involves staying upright and forward as much as possible: don’t get visions of Reebok or Nike adverts! An active birth means:
You increase the space in your pelvis for your baby to move by up to 30%
Your surges, contractions, are more effective
You are 23% less likely to need medical assistance (that’s not saying no out of principle, that’s less likely to NEED it)
You set yourself up for a shorter labour
You reduce the chances of your unborn baby becoming distressed by more than half
I teach hypnobirthing, prenatal yoga and active birth positions in The Prenatal Snug.
4) You have choices about how you birth your baby
Feeling that you are ‘not allowed’, ‘the midwife wouldn’t let me’ or I was told ‘I had to have x y z’ can lead to you feeling afraid and disempowered. No adult likes to feel powerless least of all when they are in the middle of birthing a tiny human being. You do not have to have vaginal examinations if you don’t want them. You have the right to change your mind about giving birth at home, or the birth centre or the hospital or anywhere in between at any time - even when you’re mid-labour. You can say no to a c-section or an assisted birth (ventouse or forceps) if you want to, and of course there will be occasions where they can be life-saving and you will make the decision that’s right for you and your baby. It’s important that you know your rights (we talk about these in The Snug too).
First time mum Romilly birthed her baby daughter, Fern, at home.
5 ) From 28+ weeks it’s recommended you sleep on your left hand side.
You’ve probably heard lots about this one already and I know it causes a lot of worry. The advice to sleep on your left exists because evidence shows that sleeping on your back can constrict the blood flow through the vena cava which in turn can cut off or diminish the blood supply to your baby. This increases the chances of stillbirth. Many of us are natural left-hand side sleepers but there may well be times in the night where you waken up on your back and then panic. If that’s you then do your best to fall asleep lying on your left (research shows the position you fall asleep on is the one you will stay in for the longest), and if you wake up on your back simply turn back to your left. You can pop a hairbrush or spikey massage ball behind you so that if you do roll over you’ll waken up. If you notice a change or are concerned about your baby’s movements or their rhythm you can ask for a scan asap to check all is well. Any midwife will tell you you are not ‘bothering anyone’ by asking for reassurance. Check out Is it ok to sleep on your back when pregnant.
6) A positive birth, a good birth, whatever you want to call it isn’t based on whether you had a c-section or a vaginal birth…It’s based on how you feel about the whole experience.
How you feel about your baby’s birth is the single most important factor in whether you consider it positive or traumatic. I know women who rave about their c-sections and sob about their vaginal births; the method by which their baby was born wasn’t the deciding factor. What matters is how they feel about the birth, how much they feel they were listened to, treated with kindness and compassion, and involved in the decision making process.
If you’re committed to having the right birth for you and your baby (whatever that looks like for you) check out The Prenatal Snug. It’s an online sanctuary where I teach you everything you need to know to give birth feeling as calm and confident as possible.
