Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:30 am Post subject: How do I have a great birth?
Please move this if it is in the wrong section, I couldn't find a general 'birth' section so thought I'd put it in the homebirth section.
This is just some rambling thoughts that I had last night. I hope it doesn't come across as pompous!! I really just want to share what has helped me & perhaps save another mum from having a journey as long as mine has been. :lol
I am hoping others will share what has helped them to have a great birth!
How do I have a great birth?
1. Good headspace
2. Baby in good position
3. Support people / safe birth environment
4. Good nutrition
5. Fitness / endurance
In that order. By which I do not mean than health & nutrition are not important but I believe that you can be really fit & have great nutrition & still have a traumatic birth due to not having one of the first three points whereas I know people who have not had the best nutrition nor been super fit but have had an empowering birth due to having the right support, great headspace & bub being in a good position for birth.
My doula says that a great birth is 80% headspace.
1. My 2nd bub is due in a month & I feel I have a great headspace. What helped me was being informed about birth & how varied it can be. There is no ‘normal’ birth in my opinion. I found the easiest way to ‘get informed’ was to read & listen to as many different birth stories as I could from as many situations as possible. ie hospital births, homebirths, induced births, C-Sections, births of mums from different generations etc etc Almost every birth story left me with questions such as ‘What does **** mean?”, “What would I do if that situation happened to me?”, “Would there have been other options in a situation like that?”. I would then have some direction when I went off to research birth & my birth options. I was also able to glean many positive ideas & suggestions as I listened to the birth journeys of many different women.
Keep asking questions! Don't feel that your questions are too basic or stupid. Most of our generation knows nothing about birth so we will all benefit from your questions.
2. Having had a posterior baby in my last labour it was very important for me to have my baby in an anterior position this time around. From my own experience & from many birth stories that I have heard I believe a posterior baby means a longer labour with back pain from bub pushing against nerves. From my research I believe that when posterior babies are trying to turn during labour & as their head hits the cervix at an angle, the mother will dilate slowly or not at all (until bub has turned & then things will speed up.) I know many women who have been labelled ‘failure to progress’ & then are given drugs to bring on labour or are C-Sectioned when this could have been avoided by getting bub into a better position before labour or if in labour, still trying to help bub get into a better postion & being patient as bub turns & mum dilates.
Personally a baby being in a breech position would not be of concern to me but that’s just my view.
3. I believe guarding you birth & pregnancy space is vital for a stress free mother & baby & for feeling safe enough to birth. I think it is really important to think & rethink who you have at your birth. Having people at your birth because ‘They want to be there’ or ‘They will be offended if they are not allowed to be there” is not a good idea. It is the mother who will live with her birth experience for ever & the mother needs to feel TOTALLY supported. The mother needs to be busy birthing so she needs people who just know her wants & needs. The mother should not be in a situation where she constantly has to ask for what she needs. She is giving birth!
The birth environment is so important; privacy, darkness, music, familiar smells, no tension or stress, right temperature. The more a mother-to-be explores these things during pregnancy & is able to set up her birth space in the way she needs, the safer she with feel when in labour.
4. Good nutrition is so broad. For me, finding a good homeopath helped & once again talking to many mums about nutrition ideas etc. I have had a much better pregnancy this time than I did for my first baby & I believe it has a lot to do with my body absorbing vitamins & minerals better due to better nutrition. I did not have a bad diet for my first pregnancy & I did more ‘pill popping’ but I still had worse heartburn, leg carmps, swollen legs, insomnia, achy legs & back. Due to just a few changes in my diet I believe my body is now absorbing vitamins from my food better & though I have taken less ‘pills’ this pregnancy, I have had a much better (& cheaper ) pregnancy.
5. Someone else can suggest something for this! Haha I don’t believe you have to be as fit as a top athlete or be able to run for10kms. I think the thing to remember is that endurance during labour can be a huge asset besides walking as much as you can during pregnancy is great for getting rid of toxins in the body & for making you feel better about yourself. _________________ DD Born March 2006 via unnecessary C-Section
Great post Rainbowmummy
With my last child, he was posterior and I had a long pre labour and didn't dilate till after my waters broke (12 minutes before he was in my arms).
He spun around in my vagina which caused his nose to be broken and my coccyx.
If we were at home, I'm sure the birth would have still been great.
As far as the rest goes, your best chance of a great birth is being at home, in a safe space with the supports you choose around you.
Wishing you the most ecstatic birth around
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