You already know my love for the Bradley Method. I also believe, however, that one specific childbirth class isn’t the end-all to being prepared for natural birth.
Preparing for a Natural Birth should ideally begin as soon as you know you’re expecting… or even sooner! Exercising your body in anticipation of labor, eating a diet rich in real food, reading books about unmedicated birth and chatting with friends who have been there, done that are all beneficial.
A few other posts I’ve run across about preparing for natural birth:
- Michele and her husband had great success with an online birthing class: Comfortable and Frugal Natural Birth Class
- Lowering toxins during pregnancy. Sage advice for any season of life!
- Natural Bonding with Baby During Pregnancy doesn’t necessarily “teach” natural childbirth, but embraces the mindset of birth being a natural event.
- Excellent advice here! I’m all about the kegels and the squatting. Exercises for Pregnancy and Beyond
- And here’s a beautiful, natural, real-life birth story just for inspiration. I’ll be sharing my birth stories soon, too, and heads up — on Labor Day (appropriate, right?!) I’ll put up a linky for you to share your birth story(ies)! I can’t wait to read them all!
And now, a reader question.
This morning, Becky asked: My third baby is due in two weeks. I had epidurals with my first two, but I’d really like to try a natural birth. The problem is I started thinking about it way too late. Do you have any suggestions on how I can try to prepare in the next couple weeks to do a natural birth, or is it too late?
While it’s not ideal, I don’t think it’s too late at all! In fact, as much as I know what I should be doing throughout pregnancy, I tend to “cram for the final exam” in the last few weeks, too. 
Here are a few suggestions for things that can be done from now until birth:
Read Husband-Coached Childbirth and/or Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way
Avoid soft chairs. This sounds silly, but sitting back in a soft couch/chair allows the baby to sink back in a position that isn’t conducive to birth. Do lots of squatting, and sit on the floor “criss cross applesauce” style.
Pelvic rocks will ease back/hip discomfort and will also help baby get into a good birthing position.
Practice intentional relaxing and natural breathing. Some techniques for this are offered in the above resources.
Write out a birth plan. I’ll do a complete birth plan post later, but by simply putting your desires on paper they become more concrete. You, your husband, and your doctor/midwife will have an opportunity to discuss the plan and possible scenarios.
Try out different laboring positions. Will you have a whirlpool tub available? How about a birthing ball? For me, the most uncomfortable position is lying on my back. I like the tub, the ball, my hands and knees, and sometimes my side. With my third baby I just walked until I had to push.
Walk, walk, and walk some more. It’s great for endurance, great for your hips, and great for baby positioning.
Commit a few phrases or verses to memory. As my contractions get painful and intense I like to remind myself of a few things: “This is what your body is made to do.” “Temporary, productive pain.” “He endured the cross.” It helps me to have something to repeat over and over as the contractions ebb and flow.
Don’t take yourself (or any of your plans and preparations) too seriously. Birth can be done naturally in many circumstances, I’m convinced of that. But — it will rarely happen “just as you planned.” Sometimes intervention is needed. Be confident that whatever decisions you and your husband need to make are made in the best interests of you and the baby. If you’re holding a sweet newborn when it’s all said and done, it’s all good!
*** Okay, readers, your turn! Becky wants to be prepared for natural, unmedicated birth and she needs to do it in two weeks. What worked for you?***
I was able to cope well with the pain as long as I could be upright. I walked and swayed. When a contraction would come on, I’d lean on the bed, a dresser, my husband, etc but then resume walking and swaying. My son failed to progress and eventually I had to be transferred to a hospital for a c section and the contractions lessened but were more painful because I was stuck in a bed. Keep trying what feels right for you. I know others who loved a birthing stool or loved the tub or hot shower………I didn’t like them but will try again next birth. I think the main component to natural childbirth is believing you can do it and having good support. Consider a doula!
I walked my entire labor with our 3rd. Got too tired to walk with our first and paid the price… labor slowed big time.
I have had 6 unmedicated births and I wrote this 3 part series about how I prepare. http://www.smockityfrocks.com/2009/11/natural-unmedicated-childbirth-how-i.html
I did the Bradley method with my first and loved it. I’m pregnant with me second and planning the same. I was able to do a water birth and that helped me stay (more) relaxed pretty much the whole time. I know a lot of hospitals don’t allow to birth in the water, but if they allow you to labor in the water I’d highly recommend it. I even spent 2-3 hours the night before and night that my son was born in the tub at home before I ever went to the birth center. It helped me to deal with the contractions better.
This may sound kind of silly, but my mentor suggested doing this to learn how to relax through the contractions before labor. Have your husband pinch your inner thigh for 30 seconds or so and practice your breathing. It’s not the same as the pain of a contraction, but it made me learn to focus on my breathing when uncomfortable.
The best advice I received was from my mom (who had 3 natural labors): It’s painful, but it’s temporary.
And don’t fight the pain….the more you try to resist the pain the harder you’re making your body work.
Labor in the water and don’t fight the pain. Excellent advice!
I really love the book Birthing From Within. Very helpful for preparing for labor.
Also, good emotional support is really important – consider hiring a doula, for sure!
We passed on the doula, but ONLY because I was so confident in my hubby and we wanted to do it “all by ourselves.” I would, however, love to BE a doula someday.
My favorite books for birth prep were Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, A Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer, and Childbirth Without Fear by Grantly Dick-Reed. They all gave me pieces of information that I reflected on throughout labor (and even still now!)
Good luck – you CAN do it!
Thanks for the book suggestions!
You can do it! I have a couple of little pieces of advice…
1) As each contraction hits, keep thinking “This is what my body is supposed to do. Millions of women have done this before me. I can do this.”
2) As Jessica said above, don’t fight the pain. It’s there for a reason, work with it. Push when it’s pushing time, rub your belly and rest between contractions. I found humming to be helpful. Not really a song, just a hum. My husband could tell when things were getting more difficult because my tune would change.
3) Communicate with your labor and delivery team. Your nurse, whether she/he is kind or rude, will be your best friend and your best source of information. Every time they come in to check your progress, ask them where you are in the stages of labor. It’ll help you to hear how far you’ve come and to know how far you have to go.
4) Lastly, I know we’ve all been through health class a time or two and we’ve all seen the video of the screaming woman giving birth. The one I saw back then seemed like it was made to scare the liver out of us so that we’d make sure not to leap into the deep end of a relationship without really thinking about it first. My fourth piece of advice is to watch a good informational birth video (I liked this one at BabyCenter). During my first birth I really had no idea what was going on. I hadn’t prepared and it had been a long time since health class, I was emotional and got an epidural because I was really scared and didn’t think I could handle birth without meds. In preparing for my second birth, I watched that video a couple of times (and read a bunch of birthing tips) and I can say that it really helped me to stay calm during the most painful times because I could remember the video, I knew right where I was in the stages of labor (thanks to communicating with my L&D team), and I could picture in my mind exactly what was happening. It helped me to be able to “see” what was going on when clearly, due to that big ol’ baby belly, I couldn’t really see anything at all.
Best wishes to you! Having done both medicated and non, I can say without a doubt that my unmedicated birth was worth every painful contraction. It’s only temporary and you’ll feel so healthy and empowered once you’re through and your gorgeous hungry baby is in your arms.
Inspiring comments, Jen.
I still want your “tale of two different births.”
I read through Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way just a couple of weeks before giving birth to my first baby and was able to get through labor without an epidural. I practiced the breathing, relaxing and visualization techniques that were outlined in the book during those two weeks, and they served me very well.
Don’t give up now! And even if you do decide to go with the epidural, it’s nice to have some tools to help out in case the epidural doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. The female body CAN do incredible things. Good luck!
So true! I’ve heard of many an epidural that “didn’t work.” Don’t know exactly what that feels like, but it can’t be good if you were hoping for numb!
All along I had told my husband not to let me get an epidural, even if I asked for it. When we got to the hospital and were assigned a L&D nurse I told her the same thing (before the contractions got too intense). Just telling them that helped me mentally rule it out as an option when the pain intensified.
Knowing that I didn’t want an epidural, my nurse also was able to help me find other positions and methods to deal with the pain.
Yes. I never even wanted one with my first and third, but that second… in the heat of back labor and transition… I remember saying ONCE “I don’t know if I can do this.” My husband knew I could, and I’m glad he didn’t cave!
I agree with all the book suggestions so far (Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, Birthing From Within, and Childbirth Without Fear were particularly good for me.) But I’m also a visual person. Watching “The Business of Being Born” really helped me see that if other typical, non-Superwomen women could handle natural childbirth, I could too!
I’ve never seen that. Should look it up online!
I think talking to other women who’ve had a natural birth and reading natural birth stories is KEY! It reinforces that natural birthing is a real possibility for real women in today’s world. It also helps you mentally prepare for what your labor may be like. There are as many different natural birth stories as there are babies born with no drugs!
So many people automatically think everyone should ‘take the drugs’ that you have to be proactive to protect your thoughts and mentally prepare for the fact that YOU CAN DO IT! I’ve got my recent all natural birth story up on my blog and you can find many by just doing a search for unmedicated birth stories or natural birth stories!
GOOD LUCK!
Heather
Yes, power in numbers. I know I’ve been getting more and more excited about our September delivery just reading the comments in the last two weeks!
I had one (relatively) easy unmedicated birth, one emergency c-section and one medicated (non-epidural – after too many hours) VBAC. My advice? While you are planning and preparing for an unmedicated delivery, don’t forget to at least read over the chapters on c-sections in all those pregnancy books you will no doubt read. I skipped them. And I regretted it when surgery became necessary for DS#2′s well being.
Smart advice. Although we can’t be prepared for every possible scenario, we can try!
I found pain-tolerance practice really helpful. My doula had me squeeze an ice cube; you can also have someone pinch you, as already suggested, or clip a clothespin to your ear. Most contractions last for 30-60 seconds, so try to tolerate the pain that long, and experiment with different ways to manage it (breathing, self-talk, visualization, walking around, etc.). And, if you’re not having them already, you’ll probably start getting fake or irregular contractions soon. Anytime one comes around, take it as an opportunity to practice your pain management.
We did the ice cube thing during our Bradley classes. I think I prefer contractions.
I had a natural birth this time and did nothing to prepare for it other than to tell myself I was going to try for it. I had a very quick labor with my middle child and got the epidural too late to help with anything. So this time I was prepared that I was going to try not to have the epidural. I was not able to move or walk due to the monitoring that was required becuase of my gestational diabetes, and I wish I had fought more to walk around because it would have been much easier on me and probably progressed even quicker. Before I was bed bound I found counter pressure on my back provided by my husband was very helpful. I did get through without an epidural and it was a very rewarding birth. I will also be honest and say that my labor was 3 hours from first contraction to final push and that is part of the reason I was able to have an unmedicated birth, although I did have plenty of time to get an epidural. If you had asked me four years ago if I would have a baby without an epidural I would have said NEVER! But after my second child was born I began to think I could. And this time I did. I would say that you are better than me for preparing but you can do it without a lot of preperation as well.
That’s one I forgot! Counter pressure. I like for my husband to roll tennis balls on my back.
@Melinda, Counter-pressure is awesome! It was the only thing that took the edge off the pain once I went into transition. I was bed-bound my entire labor because of complications, but I just rolled over on my left side and let DH push away. He had to push as hard as he possibly could, but it worked!
I did Bradley with my son, and I thought the course was really helpful for my husband. It taught him more than he ever probably wanted to know about pregnancy and birth! It also gave us some good suggestions for how to manage it all.
But with this pregnancy, I’m seeking something a little different. I found that when my waves (contractions) were really close and intense, that my mind was going bonkers but I wasn’t able to communicate what I needed. I needed to hear reassurance, encouragement, and that sort of thing.
I am doing the Hypnobabies home study course and though it’s a little too eearly for me to start (I’m not quite 19 weeks), I’ve been listening to the pregnancy affirmations track and the peaceful sleep now track, and I really think this will work well for me.
The course seems pretty complete, too! It was written by a former Bradley instructor and seems to include lots of the Bradley things I loved. I’m excited and optimistic!
I’m also putting together a songlist of my favorite hymns to listen to while in labor. I listen to secular music, too, but when I’m preparing for birth, I just want to be as focused on God as I can possibly be. Ya know?
Someone else mentioned Hypnobabies in another post. I hadn’t heard of that before. Sounds interesting!
All great ideas here. I’ve got another to add:
Talk to your doctor about it an advance and let her know that YES you REALLY want to do this. Then listen to her.
My OB gave me names of nurses to request when I checked into the hospital. She explained that the L&D nurses really don’t want to see you in pain, so they tend to go the meds route. If you ask for one who supports natural, un-medicated deliveries she can help coach you through much better than others.
I was delighted to get fantastic nurses who were a tremendous help… and I became bit of a celeb in the hospital, too.
We also postered the walls of my delivery room with Bible verses to think about when I needed them.
My first two babies were delivered with epidurals. My last without any pain meds. It was a remarkable, incredible experience I wish I would have had all three times. In most cases, you CAN do this.
Oh, how nice of your OB to give you names of supportive nurses! I’ve never had “nurse issues” but will be delivering at a different hospital this time. I should ask about that!
Someday I want to know what made you do your third w/o meds after doing the first two with.
Waterbirth is fabulous. I’ve had three completely natural waterbirths and I recommend it highly. You can get into positions that you just can’t do anywhere else, letting the water support your body. I recommend the book Choosing Waterbirth.
It sounds fabulous! I know I feel wonderful laboring in the whirlpool… kind of wish I didn’t have to get out.
DECIDE to have an unmedicated childbirth. Tell others your choices, and when you enter the hospital, tell the nurses you plan to deliver naturally.
Though I can only say this in hindsight (four unmedicated births), I can tell you that the following things are true:
The point when I feel I “can’t take it” is as bad as it gets…it does not get worse. At that point, it is just about endurance.
The GORGEOUS, HEAVENLY BABY is an added plus.
a) when you think the pain can’t get any worse, it doesn’t
b) when the baby is out, the pain is OVER. Gone. Done. Immediately. AND THEN, you get the superwoman endorphins that make the whole thing gloriously worth it.
“DECIDE” — Yes, that is amazingly important. No way was I going back on my word to myself.
I agree with your other points 100% also.
I am the mother of four beautiful girls ages 3,4,5,7. They were all natural births. The first one was frank breach and I delivered natural witout a c-section (not the plan but God decides). I did not plan to go “natural” before my delivery. So, there was not a thing in place in my happy little mind as I had “planned.” It was without a doubt the hardest most rewarding thing in my life. I let my body take control and prayed the Lord would give me strength. They call it natural for a reason, you can do it! One additional bonus, I was able to shower and eat within two hours of each delivery. You get such a burst of energy and feel fantastic almost immediately after delivery when you do not take meds. Good luck!
Oh, wow. Bless you for delivering breech naturally. I think that would have scared me!
Read The Birth Book by Dr. Sears. It was the best resource to read right before I went into labor. It really encouraged me and gave me a lot of tips for what I could do to truly make it through a birth naturally.
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is drinking Red Raspberry Leaf tea. This tea is wonderful for preparing the uterus. I only drank it with my 4th and my contractions were noticeably different. Much more concentrated around the lower part of my uterus – near the cervix which is where you want them. I have to say that I never felt these contractions to be painful like with my previous 3 children. Very manageable. I could literally feel them working. If you regularly drink red raspberry leaf tea the average labor is 4-8 hours. Mine was 4 hours and 1 minute. The only time it hurt was when I pushed my daughter out. Much different than my other very painful labors.
@Jennifer, I’ve never tried that tea. Hmmm… might order some today. Any particular brand?
The biggest help for me was not preparing my body before hand…it was preparing my mind. I had a birth plan and KNEW what I wanted.
So for me I labored at home most of the time. I knew if I got to the hospital and they told me to sit down I’d do it. Even if it wasn’t comfortable. I was able to move however I wanted–stand, sit, dance, scream-whatever! if I wanted.
When I got to the hospital and was 8cm it was so encouraging. If I had gone early and had nurses and doctors and other patients around, I would have chickened out and done whatever they told me.
You can do it!!
@oh amanda, Labor is definitely a “mind over matter” situation. AMAZING what we can do!
I wish my hospital were more flexible with their labor & delivery policies. With both of my kids, I had to stay in the bed the whole time, not allowed to walk or do anything to ease the discomfort (except I could ask for medication or an epidural). Rolling over was an ordeal because the nurses would rush into my room in a panic because the monitors would lose the baby’s heartbeat. Frustrating, to say the least, because you’re forced to lay in one position the WHOLE time!
Maybe the hospital rules will have lighten up by the time baby #3 is born…
@DeAna, Oh, yuck. How frustrating. I say stay home as long as you can.
I won’t go into the entire thing now, but I gave birth naturally at home with a midwife. And I made it. If I had it to do over again, I would still do it the same way. I struggled with hypertension, and we won’t talk about how high it went during the birth, and the rest of the placenta came out in two waves a few days and then a week after the birth. My daughter lost weight since I didn’t have enough breast milk. But all in all, it went well!!
This is a super helpful post, Amy! I also found that lying on my back was the most painful position – by far! I delivered my second baby on my hands and knees.
A few tips I would add to your already-wonderful list:
* Choose to deliver in a “natural birth friendly place.” Birth centers and home births come to mind, but a few hospitals also fall into this category.
* Try the water for pain management. I labored and delivered my second daughter in the tub – and it really did take the edge off.
* Although I didn’t actually use the method, I do recommend the book “Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method.” Very empowering.
Finally, I want to emphasize that natural childbirth is wonderful. Is it Painful? Yes. But is it worth it? Oh, yes! A hundred times over! And I have to agree with a previous commenter: Once the baby is out, the pain is gone. I felt immediately euphoric.
Thanks! I’ve been working on these, so hopefully they’ll help.