Remaining in the trance is essential for natural birth. You need to create a bulk around you and stay there. However, a birth bulk is fragile - many factors can weaken or break it.
It is not easy to remain in the trance while a midwife is handing out a form to fill, speaks to you during a contraction, let alone performs a vaginal examination. This all can be avoided if you prepare your birth plan and instruct your birth partner on how important it is to be undisturbed. Also, vaginal checks are not necessary in a healthy pregnancy and natural birth - read a bit about it and consider whether you really want to agree for them.
Do not plan on communicating too much - remember that speaking in this stage will require significant effort and you will need to spend your energy carefully. Avoid waking up your left brain - you need your instincts, not logical thinking right now.
Ironically, or rather sadly, countless doctors and midwives do not know about the trance. Some of them probably never saw a truly natural birth. You cannot count on their cooperation on them in this matter - this is why a part of your preparation should be spent on planning how to create a calm and undisturbed atmosphere.
References
Undisturbed birth: http://chriskresser.com/why-undisturbed-birth
Vaginal exams during birth: http://mamabirth.blogspot.com/2010/12/obstetric-lie-100-failure-to-progress.html
Dangers of vaginal exams: http://www.natural-pregnancy-mentor.com/vaginal-exams.html
Thursday 22 September 2011
Thursday 8 September 2011
Avoid adrenaline
Adrenaline is a hormone secreted when we are in danger, when we feel fear or anxiety. It blocks the secretion of endorphines. It sharpens all your senses and makes all your perceptions more intense. It is the last thing you wish for while in labour.
Elliminating fear and anxiety is essential. If you anticipate pain and you are afraid of it, this is very likely that you will indeed feel it. If your previous birth was painful and you do not believe it could be otherwise, you might consider hypnobirthing, which helps you to forget about fear. Hypnobirthing training can help a woman get into the birthing trance if she cannot reach it naturally, having lost confidence in her body.
It is important to avoid whatever triggers adrenaline secretion: sharp lights, noises, stress. Adrenaline secretion is contagious - if someone in the same room is being nervous, this will interfere with your labour hormones. A husband who is deadly scared, even if he manages to hide this feeling, can actually slow your labour down.
Elliminating fear and anxiety is essential. If you anticipate pain and you are afraid of it, this is very likely that you will indeed feel it. If your previous birth was painful and you do not believe it could be otherwise, you might consider hypnobirthing, which helps you to forget about fear. Hypnobirthing training can help a woman get into the birthing trance if she cannot reach it naturally, having lost confidence in her body.
It is important to avoid whatever triggers adrenaline secretion: sharp lights, noises, stress. Adrenaline secretion is contagious - if someone in the same room is being nervous, this will interfere with your labour hormones. A husband who is deadly scared, even if he manages to hide this feeling, can actually slow your labour down.
Tuesday 6 September 2011
The trance
Natural childbirth involves a very special state of mind. It is a kind of trance, often called zone or bulk. In an early stage of labour, you can keep yourself distracted and almost forget about the contractions. When this stage ends, you suddenly start to focus on yourself and your body. You withdraw into yourself. You enter the zone.
In the trance, your body starts to produce oxytocin and endorphins - hormones of happiness and euphoria. Also, the right hemisphere of your brain takes over It is responsible for dreams, intuition and instincts. Without much thinking, you follow the needs of your body, adapting your position and breathing, vocalising.
During this time, the left hemisphere is in a low activity state. It is responsible for communication, especially verbal, so it should become increasingly difficult to speak and listen. Just as if you were half-asleep.
The secret of the pain-free birth is to remain in the trance. For this, you need to feel safe - have dimmed lights, be with someone you trust, feel warm, maybe stay in the tub. Have your birth partner prepare your preferred music, objects, smells - whatever makes you comfortable. Your birth partner should know your wishes, handle all conversations and negotiations with the medical staff and make sure you do not hear much of it. Your zone needs to be protected.
In the trance, your body starts to produce oxytocin and endorphins - hormones of happiness and euphoria. Also, the right hemisphere of your brain takes over It is responsible for dreams, intuition and instincts. Without much thinking, you follow the needs of your body, adapting your position and breathing, vocalising.
During this time, the left hemisphere is in a low activity state. It is responsible for communication, especially verbal, so it should become increasingly difficult to speak and listen. Just as if you were half-asleep.
The secret of the pain-free birth is to remain in the trance. For this, you need to feel safe - have dimmed lights, be with someone you trust, feel warm, maybe stay in the tub. Have your birth partner prepare your preferred music, objects, smells - whatever makes you comfortable. Your birth partner should know your wishes, handle all conversations and negotiations with the medical staff and make sure you do not hear much of it. Your zone needs to be protected.
Sunday 4 September 2011
The second best
For some women giving birth at home is not an option. They might have a genuine reason to prefer a hospital or they might be misinformed about the safety of homebirth. A part of these women will still want to have a natural birth and most of them will end up not having one. An even smaller group will however have a natural birth they hope for.
It is very difficult to have a natural birth in a hospital setting - this requires a sound preparation or lots of luck. You need to organise a support team around you - partner, doula, understanding OB or midwife. You should to read birth stories, get to know medical terms and decide what is acceptable for you and what is not. If you are lucky, you will be allowed to have the things your way without fight. If you are less lucky, you will have to fight for respecting your rights and preferences. If you and your team are well prepared, most of those fights can be handled by your partner.
Having an undisturbed childbirth in hospital not impossible. There are some basic guidelines:
Doctors are used to women wishing just to have the baby out - even patients desiring a "natural birth" usually just mean a vaginal birth or no-medication delivery. Natural birth is not about that - it involves listening and following the voice your body. It is challenging to create the necessary safe space around you in a hospital setting, but it is possible.
It is very difficult to have a natural birth in a hospital setting - this requires a sound preparation or lots of luck. You need to organise a support team around you - partner, doula, understanding OB or midwife. You should to read birth stories, get to know medical terms and decide what is acceptable for you and what is not. If you are lucky, you will be allowed to have the things your way without fight. If you are less lucky, you will have to fight for respecting your rights and preferences. If you and your team are well prepared, most of those fights can be handled by your partner.
Having an undisturbed childbirth in hospital not impossible. There are some basic guidelines:
- Labour at home as long as possible (you have some options even if your waters break).
- Bring to the birthing room a part of your home - whatever makes you feel comfortable (music, pictures, candles, birth bundle).
- Have a plan and a birth partner who will know your preferences and make sure they are respected.
- Stay away from that huge bed. It takes most of the room, but this not where natural labour should take place. Stand, walk, squat, do whatever feels good.
Doctors are used to women wishing just to have the baby out - even patients desiring a "natural birth" usually just mean a vaginal birth or no-medication delivery. Natural birth is not about that - it involves listening and following the voice your body. It is challenging to create the necessary safe space around you in a hospital setting, but it is possible.
Friday 2 September 2011
Your castle
Natural birth almost by definition cannot happen in a hospital. You need to feel safe, and how to feel safe in a building full of strange people, unknown voices and smells? You need to be in tune with your body and it is difficult to hear, let alone to follow that quiet internal voice of your instincts during frequent interruptions and instructions from the staff.
One of the greatest advantages of a home birth is that you are on your grounds. You feel stronger, your birth partner feels stronger, you both have a say. Your wishes are more likely to be respected. Even if you have a strong personality, while being in labour you feel rather like a fragile girl, not like a warrior.
Hospital is an unfamiliar ground and once you arrive, you automatically get into an outsider role, while the doctors or midwifes automatically get in the role of locals, the experts. Even with lots of good will on the staff side, it is automatic - they say, you obey. At home, you are the mistress and everybody can feel it. Home is your place, your strength is there. Your castle, your rules.
One of the greatest advantages of a home birth is that you are on your grounds. You feel stronger, your birth partner feels stronger, you both have a say. Your wishes are more likely to be respected. Even if you have a strong personality, while being in labour you feel rather like a fragile girl, not like a warrior.
Hospital is an unfamiliar ground and once you arrive, you automatically get into an outsider role, while the doctors or midwifes automatically get in the role of locals, the experts. Even with lots of good will on the staff side, it is automatic - they say, you obey. At home, you are the mistress and everybody can feel it. Home is your place, your strength is there. Your castle, your rules.
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Know your window
"Due date" is a very misleading name. Everybody knows that this is only an estimation, nevertheless everybody are still surprised if the labour starts earlier and everybody gets impatient and frustrated if the due date passes and nothing happens. It is very easy to put a given date it in the calendar and forget that it was only a rough estimation.
The thruth is that most of the healthy babies are born within two weeks of their due date. This gives you a four-week window. You can put a thick line on your calendar over those weeks, saying "birth any time now". Now remember that the preparation deadline is the beginning of the window, not the middle.
Fixing the due date may get in the way of a natural birth. The labour is most likely to start when the baby is ready and the mother feels prepared, safe and relaxed. Meanwhile, many of us decide that we still have time - it's well before the due date, so we feel neither prepared nor ready. We get nervous as the date approaches, as there are still some loose ends. Then we get confused once the due date passes and nothing happens, then we get annoyed with everybody asking where is the baby and if we plan to be pregnant forever. Finally we get more and more anxious because the doctors don't like if the baby takes more time than the statistics suggest and start to talk about induction. This is how we wasted the window: for four weeks we did not feel relaxed enough to give the baby a clear signal that it is safe to come out now.
Erase "due date" from your calendar and put a thick line with "birth any time" over those four weeks. If this helps, divide your list of things to do into two parts: less important and crucial. Have the crucial done before the window opens and leave the less important for later - so you will keep yourself moderately busy while waiting. Plan your activities for the whole four weeks, always building in cancelling option - if arranging a meeting with friends, agree that you will call each other just before setting off, to make sure you are not in labour. Once you are done with the essential preparations, you should get a green light in your head. Now, when you feel a slight contraction, instead of thinking: "Not today, I hope! I've still got some things to do!", you should feel anticipation and excitement, you should say "Maybe I'll meet my baby tonight?...".
Finally, I should precise that by saying "due date", I mean the "estimated birth date" as defined in the U.S. or U.K. Some nations, like France, like to define those differently. I have heard that in some countries the doctors believe that a pregnancy should take "nine months or so" and do not stress women with deadlines like due date and induction date. Wise move.
The thruth is that most of the healthy babies are born within two weeks of their due date. This gives you a four-week window. You can put a thick line on your calendar over those weeks, saying "birth any time now". Now remember that the preparation deadline is the beginning of the window, not the middle.
Fixing the due date may get in the way of a natural birth. The labour is most likely to start when the baby is ready and the mother feels prepared, safe and relaxed. Meanwhile, many of us decide that we still have time - it's well before the due date, so we feel neither prepared nor ready. We get nervous as the date approaches, as there are still some loose ends. Then we get confused once the due date passes and nothing happens, then we get annoyed with everybody asking where is the baby and if we plan to be pregnant forever. Finally we get more and more anxious because the doctors don't like if the baby takes more time than the statistics suggest and start to talk about induction. This is how we wasted the window: for four weeks we did not feel relaxed enough to give the baby a clear signal that it is safe to come out now.
Erase "due date" from your calendar and put a thick line with "birth any time" over those four weeks. If this helps, divide your list of things to do into two parts: less important and crucial. Have the crucial done before the window opens and leave the less important for later - so you will keep yourself moderately busy while waiting. Plan your activities for the whole four weeks, always building in cancelling option - if arranging a meeting with friends, agree that you will call each other just before setting off, to make sure you are not in labour. Once you are done with the essential preparations, you should get a green light in your head. Now, when you feel a slight contraction, instead of thinking: "Not today, I hope! I've still got some things to do!", you should feel anticipation and excitement, you should say "Maybe I'll meet my baby tonight?...".
Finally, I should precise that by saying "due date", I mean the "estimated birth date" as defined in the U.S. or U.K. Some nations, like France, like to define those differently. I have heard that in some countries the doctors believe that a pregnancy should take "nine months or so" and do not stress women with deadlines like due date and induction date. Wise move.
Friday 26 August 2011
Have a plan
It usually helps, to have a plan. Write down your wishes, make sure your birth companions will know what your preferences are. Do not restrict yourself to the best case. Things may go not as planned and you all will need to adapt then quickly and smoothly. You don't want to do too much thinking while you are in labour.
Write those dreaded words: "In case I need C-section...", "If forceps delivery seems necessary...", "If I need pain relief". Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. If you'll end up with a C-section, you will still want to have immediate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeed as soon as possible, right? Write it down then. Remember to be open-minded. Even if you want to go all-natural, you might at some point decide that you need "something", to get a short rest. This can be a trade-off - a bit of a drug can offer you enough rest so you can find the energy to push.
The optimistic version is that everything will be great and you will have the time of your life, but if the optimistic version is the only one you accept and if it does not work, you will be bitterly disappointed. The last thing you want is lying down next to your perfect healthy newborn and crying for the birth that did not go as planned. Remember that this is a game and nobody can guarantee you will win your first-choice prize - you can only prepare yourself as well as you can, to be able to say afterwards that you have given yourself a fair chance.
Write those dreaded words: "In case I need C-section...", "If forceps delivery seems necessary...", "If I need pain relief". Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. If you'll end up with a C-section, you will still want to have immediate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeed as soon as possible, right? Write it down then. Remember to be open-minded. Even if you want to go all-natural, you might at some point decide that you need "something", to get a short rest. This can be a trade-off - a bit of a drug can offer you enough rest so you can find the energy to push.
The optimistic version is that everything will be great and you will have the time of your life, but if the optimistic version is the only one you accept and if it does not work, you will be bitterly disappointed. The last thing you want is lying down next to your perfect healthy newborn and crying for the birth that did not go as planned. Remember that this is a game and nobody can guarantee you will win your first-choice prize - you can only prepare yourself as well as you can, to be able to say afterwards that you have given yourself a fair chance.
Thursday 25 August 2011
Have no fear
Fear can stop the labour, or at least can block the euphoria hormones and cause pain. Fear is not a natural part of birth. When an animal is in labour and something scary happens, the labour will stop and the animal will run away, looking for a better hide and for a better moment. Women are not very different in that matter.
Your body needs to know that this is a good moment to open and let the vulnerable baby out. When you are anxious, your body does not believe it is safe and resists - finally the baby will be taken away by force and this must hurt.
We fear of what we do not know. Read as much as you can, but stay away from scary stories of your cousins. Read about waterbirth, homebiths, pain-free births, unassisted births. Learn how clever our bodies are, how our instincts work when given a chance.
Your body needs to know that this is a good moment to open and let the vulnerable baby out. When you are anxious, your body does not believe it is safe and resists - finally the baby will be taken away by force and this must hurt.
We fear of what we do not know. Read as much as you can, but stay away from scary stories of your cousins. Read about waterbirth, homebiths, pain-free births, unassisted births. Learn how clever our bodies are, how our instincts work when given a chance.
Wednesday 24 August 2011
Why would it hurt?
I have friends who also believe in natural birth. Most of them claim that it does hurt, though. I believe them. There is a couple of reasons why you might feel the pain during labour.
The most usual and most natural cause of labour pain is the position. Your body is trying to tell you that this set-up is wrong. Sitting and lying seem worst - although some women claim they like to sit and bounce on a birthing ball. A natural birth is usually an active one - you keep searching for the right position, trying to understand the messages your body is sending you. And sometimes the answer is even not the position, but the very act of moving, walking, turning around, whichever works.
Then, there is tiredness. Lack of rest and sleep can ruin your natural birth. When you are extremely tired, everything seems painful. You just wish to close your eyes and sleep and it cannot happen. This is why it is so important to be well rested when the labour starts. And this is why you are supposed to keep fit - if you are not in shape, you might get tired too soon.
Your feelings have a huge impact on how you cope. You must feel ready. If instead of excitement and anticipation there is stress and fear, the contractions will be more painful and less productive. If there is something inside your head telling you that this is not the right moment, that this is going to hurt, then your body starts to resist. A nervous person next to you or a painful vaginal examination can make your body shut down and stop the labour progress. This is why there are dimmed lights, your preferred music, your friends around you, this is why homebirth is a great option. You want to be relaxed and feel safe.
Finally, pain might be due to bad luck. The baby can be in a posterior position or you might actually have a body that perceives labour as painful.
My point is not that you will have a painless birth if you satisfy the conditions above. It is not that easy. My point is that if you do not try to eliminate all the causes above (uncontrollable bad luck excepted), you will most likely have a painful one.
The most usual and most natural cause of labour pain is the position. Your body is trying to tell you that this set-up is wrong. Sitting and lying seem worst - although some women claim they like to sit and bounce on a birthing ball. A natural birth is usually an active one - you keep searching for the right position, trying to understand the messages your body is sending you. And sometimes the answer is even not the position, but the very act of moving, walking, turning around, whichever works.
Then, there is tiredness. Lack of rest and sleep can ruin your natural birth. When you are extremely tired, everything seems painful. You just wish to close your eyes and sleep and it cannot happen. This is why it is so important to be well rested when the labour starts. And this is why you are supposed to keep fit - if you are not in shape, you might get tired too soon.
Your feelings have a huge impact on how you cope. You must feel ready. If instead of excitement and anticipation there is stress and fear, the contractions will be more painful and less productive. If there is something inside your head telling you that this is not the right moment, that this is going to hurt, then your body starts to resist. A nervous person next to you or a painful vaginal examination can make your body shut down and stop the labour progress. This is why there are dimmed lights, your preferred music, your friends around you, this is why homebirth is a great option. You want to be relaxed and feel safe.
Finally, pain might be due to bad luck. The baby can be in a posterior position or you might actually have a body that perceives labour as painful.
My point is not that you will have a painless birth if you satisfy the conditions above. It is not that easy. My point is that if you do not try to eliminate all the causes above (uncontrollable bad luck excepted), you will most likely have a painful one.
Tuesday 23 August 2011
Birth can be pain-free
I have heard that the word "pain" is counterproductive during the labour. I cannot agree more. Pain means that someone is getting hurt. Pain can be a signal from your body that something is wrong. Pain is not what you should feel when your baby is being born.
Natural birth is often compared to climbing a steep mountain. It requires much effort, but it is beautiful. You start to feel tired at some point, but you go on. Your muscles might start to ache, but you do not feel it - you are on your way. Your body starts to secrete endorphins - hormones of euphoria and happiness. At some point you might get more tired than excited, but it is too late to turn away, you need to go. You might get a couple of bruises, you might trip now and then. And you get there, you sit down, look around and rest. Fulfilled, satisfied, happy. A part of you realises that your body is tired and aching, but it seems very irrelevant at the moment. You made it.
Now imagine that you hate mountains. You were taken here by your friends, but you don't like walking, let alone hiking. You are not really in shape, you got short of breath already after the first mile. You pant, your body screams, you are in agony and you know that it is still far away. Your friends literally drag you, you painfully feel every stone your shoes. You make some twenty yards crawling on hard rocks that leave you bruises. You don't care whether you get on the top or not, you don't care about anything, you just want the suffering to cease.
Climbing the same mountain can be pain-free or painful. It will depend on how you feel on a given day, on whom you meet on your way. However, it mainly depends on you - on how prepared you are. And it all starts in you mind.
Natural birth is often compared to climbing a steep mountain. It requires much effort, but it is beautiful. You start to feel tired at some point, but you go on. Your muscles might start to ache, but you do not feel it - you are on your way. Your body starts to secrete endorphins - hormones of euphoria and happiness. At some point you might get more tired than excited, but it is too late to turn away, you need to go. You might get a couple of bruises, you might trip now and then. And you get there, you sit down, look around and rest. Fulfilled, satisfied, happy. A part of you realises that your body is tired and aching, but it seems very irrelevant at the moment. You made it.
Now imagine that you hate mountains. You were taken here by your friends, but you don't like walking, let alone hiking. You are not really in shape, you got short of breath already after the first mile. You pant, your body screams, you are in agony and you know that it is still far away. Your friends literally drag you, you painfully feel every stone your shoes. You make some twenty yards crawling on hard rocks that leave you bruises. You don't care whether you get on the top or not, you don't care about anything, you just want the suffering to cease.
Climbing the same mountain can be pain-free or painful. It will depend on how you feel on a given day, on whom you meet on your way. However, it mainly depends on you - on how prepared you are. And it all starts in you mind.
Monday 22 August 2011
I want to share a secret
There is something most people do not know. A childbirth does not have to be painful. It can be beautiful and empowering. I know it because it happened for me. It was not sheer luck - I did my homework, I learned much about my body and it took me two pregnancies to get there.
I cannot promise you a painless birth, or even a natural birth. Every woman, every pregnancy and every outcome is different. I can help you, though. You have seen the movies with women screaming, sweating and swearing. You have heard horror stories from your friends. I want to help you to get rid of those images. They are not what you expect, they are not what you hope for, if you are reading these lines.
I had a beautiful natural birth. It was like climbing a mountain. It was like good sex. I made it. This page is being written because I believe I should share my story. I should share all I learned and experienced. I want to help you to create a more healthy and more true vision of birth. It all starts in the head.
I cannot promise you a painless birth, or even a natural birth. Every woman, every pregnancy and every outcome is different. I can help you, though. You have seen the movies with women screaming, sweating and swearing. You have heard horror stories from your friends. I want to help you to get rid of those images. They are not what you expect, they are not what you hope for, if you are reading these lines.
I had a beautiful natural birth. It was like climbing a mountain. It was like good sex. I made it. This page is being written because I believe I should share my story. I should share all I learned and experienced. I want to help you to create a more healthy and more true vision of birth. It all starts in the head.
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