There are many ways that you can prepare for having a baby. From the things that you buy to make sure that your home is equipped to the way in which you speak to your doctor about what happens when you go to the hospital, preparation makes a big difference to the way you birth your baby. Preparation is about more than just stuff but about preparing yourself mentally for this part of your life. You will never forget what happens in these moments and you will need to think about what you want carefully.
The first thing to know about giving birth is that you have a choice. No matter what anyone tells you or recommends to you, you are able to choose how you want your birth to go and what you want from it matters. Learning about stillbirth & neonatal death claims may not be something you want to know about in your quest for a happy labor and birth, but information is power in every medical situation – and this is one. Onesies are beautiful, but they don’t teach you anything about a safe and happy birth moment. You deserve the safest possible outcome for you and your baby and before you do that, you have to mentally prepare for what you’re about to go through. Let’s take a look at how you can do that.
- Learn a little more about the physical side of birth. A human being is going to exit your body and you need to know how that works. From the vaginal birth you might be planning to have, to the c-section that you might have if things don’t go to plan at the moment. Your body might be built for your baby to be born, but that doesn’t mean that it always goes to plan. Understand the way your body has grown and built your baby from scratch and then learn more about the process of birth so you can visualize things going well. Your body and your baby know what to do, it’s proof that you CAN birth a baby well.
- Make sure that you have a village around you. You will want time with your partner and your baby when they are born – no doubt about that. However, building a village of people around you who will bring food, give you help with other children and generally be supportive of you as you recover and bond together will be the best thing that you can do. Postpartum depression is real, and you have to consider that a triggering factor is the fact that you don’t have support. Building a village helps.
- Focus on positivity. Hiring a doula to be your voice while your partner is supporting you is so important if you want extra help in the delivery room. Minimizing negative voices around you will help you to birth into a positive environment, and you will be able to do that when you focus on positivity and not negativity.
