5 tips for a more positive birth experience

If you’ve been with me for a while you’ll know that my first labour wasn’t the most positive birth experience.  In fact I mostly came out feeling traumatised and a bit like… what just HAPPENED?!

I spent most of my second pregnancy preparing for birth because of this. I read everything I could on hypnobirthing and how the body worked during labour and birth. I took courses and drilled everyone I knew for information.

Rory’s birth was the most empowering experience.  So as I start to prepare again for birth I thought it would be a good time to share some of my tips for a more positive birth experience.

You can either watch the video below or read on below.

5 tips for a more positive birth experience

1. Choose your caregiver carefully.

While you may be tempted to go with the first person you see about your pregnancy, I really think it’s worth shopping around to find someone who holds the same values as you when it comes to your birth.  Don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations from friends, or to see a couple of midwives or doctors (even hospitals) before deciding which one is right for you.

2. Question everything.

I was SO naive first time round. I literally questioned nothing and went along with everything my doctor and midwives said.  In hindsight that turned out to be a bit of a mistake because I didn’t really understand the implications of some of the decisions that were being made for me. If you’re a first time Mum, or perhaps had a negative experience first time like me, feel free to question everything. No question is too silly and ‘Why?’ should be your best-friend when you’re preparing for labour and birth.

3. Educate yourself about how your body works and how to work with it.

If you want to feel empowered throughout your birth experience you need to understand what is happening and why.  And asking questions of your doctor and midwives during labour is probably not the best time (your brain is usually the first to check out so your body can take over). Take the time during your pregnancy to understand how your body works and what you can do to support it, so that you’ll be already prepared with the tools you need before you go into labour.

(I offer a Yoga Wisdom for Birth course inside my Online Yoga Circle Membership. It has everything you need to prepare yourself for a positive and empowering birth.  You can check it out on my free 30 day trial here.)

4. Tell your support person what you need.

Make sure you prepare your support person with all the info that they need to support you the way you want during labour and birth.  And yes, during (or between) contractions is probably not the best time for this.

5. Let go of strict expectations of what birth should look like.

It’s great to have a plan. It’s great to have an idea in your head about how you’d like birth to play out. It’s ESSENTIAL that you prepare yourself with the education and tools to work with your body for the ideal outcome.

BUT.

Birth will often also take unexpected turns and I think you need to be open to accepting it will unfold how it’s meant to, not necessarily how you imagine it will go.  If you hold too tight to how it MUST go, you might find yourself feeling a little disappointed despite having a good overall experience.  Perspective is everything, right?

So they’re my tips for a more positive birth experience. I’d love to hear yours in the comments or just share with me how birth went for you. Talking about our experiences (good and bad) can be immensely helpful for ourselves (to let it go) and for others to learn.

My first experience of birth wasn’t the greatest, but my second was the most empowering experience of my life. I share all the tools that helped me in my birth education course ‘Yoga Wisdom for birth’.   It includes everything you need to educate yourself on how your body works and know how to work with it and the medical system. You can access the whole course via my Online Yoga Circle with a free 30 day trial. The Online Yoga Circle is also full of yoga classes for all stages of pregnancy.