What makes a positive birth
During your 9-ish months of pregnancy, your upcoming birth takes up A LOT of your thoughts, especially if you’re a first time mum, but even if it’s your second, third or eighth baby!
Giving birth is an incredibly powerful and important event in a woman’s life. The experience that you have (first-time mamas in particular) during childbirth can play a big role in the development of positive feelings for your baby, an easier adjustment to motherhood, positive self-esteem and future childbirth experiences.
Women birth their babies all sorts of different ways; vaginally, via caesarean, at home, in hospital, in birth centres, with many support people, with one support person, under midwife care, under obstetric care and it goes on.
The research shows that HOW you birth your baby isn’t what makes the experience positive or traumatic.
It’s also what we see clinically.
We know women who have birthed at home with a private midwife, surrounded by their familiar environment and loved ones, and had an awful, scary experience.
We know women who were induced in hospital, had a very clinical experience and felt supported, respected and think that their labour went really well.
Then there are many stories in between.
So what makes a birth positive experience?
It is a birth where you feel that
You are in control
You are informed
You have choices
You have a trustful and respectful relationship with your midwife/doctor
You are respected and valued
You feel safe
You are supported by your support person (often the co-parent) as well as your birth team
While labor and childbirth can be intense, painful, and may follow a path that you didn’t anticipate, if you have trust and confidence in yourself and your team, and the decisions that are made, then you will often experience your birth in a positive way.
There will be some parts of your childbirth that are in your control and some that are out of your control. Preparation is key to shifting the scales in your favour for a positive outcome.
1. Get Informed
You’ll never know all there is to know about childbirth. That’s a fact. But it’s a good idea to put in some effort and learn about what happens during childbirth and how you can be active and engaged in your labour.
Look into:
Labor techniques including active labour (read Juju Sundin’s Birth Skills book) and breathing techniques (Join a pre-natal yoga class with birth preparation focus such as YogaNatal or YogaForBirthAndBeyond if you are in Canberra) and using water in the shower or bath.
Pain management options (such as TENS and what pain relief drugs may be offered once you are in hospital)
Birth preparation courses (such as Calm Birth or Transform Parenting if you’re in Canberra).
2. Create A Birth Plan
This can feel daunting. I often hear women saying they don’t know what to write in a birth plan. But it’s your opportunity to start thinking about what you would like and making sure your birth team is on the same page as you.
Some of the things you can include are:
Who you want at your birth
Your preferences for pain relief
Delivery preferences on cord clamping
Your preferences if you need a caesarean section delivery
The type of care you want your newborn to receive (such as immediate skin to skin contact)
Your preferences for postpartum care , including medication preferences
3. Choose Your Birthing Team
Who supports you during your labour can make a significant difference to your birth experience being a positive one. Make sure you are comfortable and confident with your midwife/obstetrician/birth team, as they will be the ones guiding you through your birth.
For many women, choosing their main support person is easy, as it is their significant other and/or co-parent. However, you may prefer to have a second birth support person, or a person other than your significant other.
— Consider Hiring a Doula
A doula is someone who will support you, who can help you understand the choices you have during your pregnancy, will help with your birth plan and will be present at your birth to advocate for you. Doulas form part of the birth team alongside medical team and other support people. Their focus is solely on your well-being, helping you make informed decisions and feel empowered and supported.
Research finds that women who have continuous support during childbirth experience a reduced risk of Ceasarean, increase in the likelihood of a spontaneous vaginal birth, decrease in the use of any medications for pain relief, shorter labours and a decrease in the risk of a person being dissatisfied with their birth experience. This support may come in the form of a family member or spouse, although some of the outcomes were better when the support person was a doula. Read on here for further information https://evidencebasedbirth.com/the-evidence-for-doulas/.
4.Keep Yourself Strong
One of the best things you can do to have a positive birth experience is to prepare your body. Research reports that women’s ability and strength during labour impacted their birth experience.
Staying active to keep your body strong and eating a balanced diet that fuels you helps you prepare for the marathon that is childbirth.
Join our Strong Mama prenatal program to be guided through your pregnancy, with weekly tailored exercise classes and information videos. We guide you each step of the way.
5. Massage Your Perineum
From around 34 weeks you can start gently massaging your perineum to help reduce tearing.
For more info on this scoot straight over to our blog Does Perineal Massage Work?
6. Help Get Your Baby Into Position
From around 34 weeks, you can encourage your baby to move into a good position to be birthed. Try spending regular time leaning forward such as kneeling on the floor over a birthing ball or a chair, or even just in four-point kneeling. Spend less time reclined back on the couch, and instead lie on the couch in sidelying (eg if you’re watching a movie). Check out the Spinning Babies website for more detailed explanations.
7. Find The Positives
Try to focus on the positive things during your pregnancy, even though you can often find plenty to complain about. Avoid people who share negative birthing stories and instead surround yourself with positive birth experiences.
And remember that soon you will get to meet your baby.
Love
PS. if you’re interested in knowing more about how to prevent tearing during labour, we have a whole blog on this topic.
Annika Karlström, Astrid Nystedt & Ingegerd Hildingsson, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 15, Article number: 251 (2015) , The meaning of a very positive birth experience: focus groups discussions with women
Lena Nilsson,1 Tina Thorsell,2 Elisabeth Hertfelt Wahn,1 and Anette Ekström1, Volume 2013 |Article ID 349124 , Factors Influencing Positive Birth Experiences of First-Time Mothers