Preparing for a Happy, Healthy Natural Home Birth
I got my first positive pregnancy test the morning before leaving for a quick little girls vacay to Texas wine country.
My husband and I had been trying for about a year without a positive result..
I “gave it up to Jesus” after getting too wound up over the monitoring and trying to make it happen.
So I thought I’d better check before I indulged in juicy girl talk over multiple glasses of delicious local wine.
I could hardly believe it when I saw the 2nd blue line.
I was in disbelief for a while and had to, of course, take a couple more tests just to make darn sure.
After I surprised my husband with the news and we went to the OBGYN to check on our little jelly bean, it was go time.
I wasn’t thinking about much other than how I was going to birth this baby, and in the best way possible.
I did NOT want one of those movie scene labor scenarios where the lady was screaming and people in the waiting room were terrified, imagining a murder scene.
I wanted the complete opposite for me and my baby..
I wanted to be calm, relaxed, and excited for when labor was going to start.
And of course.. I didn’t want to be in excruciating pain.
I decided that a natural home birth is what resonated most with me and I took preparing for my labor pretty darn seriously.
I knew that it wouldn’t just help me through the most intense physical feat of my life, but also help my baby have a better birth.
I wanted him to avoid him being lethargic from drugs, be as stress-free as possible, and in the calm, peaceful environment of our home when he entered the world.
So.. I started diving into as many books, videos, articles, and even infographics that I could to educate myself and find out how I wanted to birth our baby.
When it came down to the big day that our beautiful baby boy arrived, my husband and I still marvel at how fast it seemed to go, getting through the 1st stage of labor as calmly as we did, my speedy recovery, and how happy and healthy I felt during pregnancy, and now after.
(My intention with this blog is to not to brag or “rub it in,” but to be one more little light for a natural home birth and a positive birth experience. Us ladies are more powerful and capable that we might think. We can absolutely do this!)
I really attest my happy, healthy home birth to all the prep work - mentally and physically - that went in beforehand.
Here’s what I did to prepare 😊
Positive vibes only
It is crucial for me to keep a positive mental attitude in life, but it was an especially good time to stay positive during my pregnancy and in thinking about my labor.
I was first inspired by Ellen Fisher - a mother of 5 on YouTube who’s had multiple natural home births, has nothing but good to say, and has been a total light and inspiration.
She recommended the book, Orgasmic Birth, which of course is the best-case scenario, high vibe thought and north star you could have for giving birth.
(For the record, I did not have an orgasmic birth.. maybe next time! 😋)
Learning about other women’s experiences with labor that were that good, was again, inspiring.
It raised my level of thinking how good the experience could go, which was a lot better than thinking about the opposite.
After finding my north star and deciding to go down the path of natural home birth, I had to keep any naysay at bay.
Other people will have their own fears and ask all sorts of questions, especially you if you’re sure you want to do it this way.
The fact is, we women have been doing it “this way” for a very long time.
It was incredibly important for me to block out other people’s fears and stay the course with what I knew I wanted to do and could do.
(And the 2nd point below absolutely helps to navigate conversation with any naysayers.)
Another way I stayed positive and happy in my little pregnant lady bubble was by avoiding negative social media (especially Facebook groups for moms which I imagine to be pretty overwhelming.)
I did, however, use Pinterest a lot for blogs about natural home birth and preparation, and found most all info and experiences to be encouraging 🙂
I also have a friend who recently had a natural home birth and had only good things to say about it.
It was so nice and reassuring to know an actual person that had done this!
The main thing here was to get positive and keep it flowing!
Educating myself
Learning as much as I could taught me what to do so I could become totally confident in having a happy, healthy, natural home birth.
I read.
A LOT.
Other than reading Orgasmic Birth right from the beginning, the best books I read were Mama Natural & The Bradley Method.
After reading so much, I felt like I knew pretty much everything I could possibly know about how to take care of myself during pregnancy and how to labor.
Reading a lot also helped me to ask more specific and educated questions to my midwife, and I felt good that we were on the same page with everything.
When I wasn’t reading for information, I would watch some informational videos on YouTube.
(YouTube is my television 📺)
While I was eating or stretching in the living room, I’d be listening to or watching my favorite pregnancy related videos, especially from Bridget Teyler.
Because I felt like I was taking in so much, I would notice the overlap in things that seemed to be more tried and true and that would make me even more confident about what I wanted and needed to do, so I welcomed the repetition.
At the same time, I never got the feeling of being too overwhelmed by all the info.
I was taking it one bite at a time, whenever I wanted it.
(But honestly, I was hungry for it, so I kept on going!)
Some of the best of what I learned about laboring was…
relaxing - as much as possible, letting your uterus (muscle) do the work for you and not resisting it
breathing - techniques and importance for relaxing for easier, smoother labor
visualizing - your body opening up for your baby and your baby working with you to enter the world
relaxing your jaw - since it also mimics the cervix relaxing and opening
riding the waves - of contractions as they build and release, imagine floating on top of them with your steady breath and then breathing over the peaks as they wind down
contraction breaks - remembering there are breaks in the wave of contractions where your body can relax; take advantage, relax your muscles, melt into the water, pillows, or your partner’s arms, drink water, have a snack if you need; your body is your friend working with you!
positions - that work best with your baby and gravity, like squatting on a birth stool, or getting on all fours, not laying on your back!
water birth - to help soften you up and relax you
redefining pain - as power; your body is working on it’s own, your uterus muscle is contracting automatically, it’s powerful, you are powerful, you were made to birth, you are capable, you can do this!
Taking care of my body
Taking care of my physical health during pregnancy was oh so rewarding.
It was the physical manifestation of doing what was best for me and my baby, and I kept reinforcing that day after day with my actions.
Doing what was best for my body also did a lot for my mental health too.
It all goes hand in hand 😊
Here’s what I did to take care of my body during pregnancy:
sleeping - sleeping in and taking naps when I needed it and sleeping on my side (mainly left side); changing hormones are going to make you more tired, listen to your body! - less stress; good mood; helps to reduce complications like pre-eclampsia
meditating - I usually try to do this every morning, but during pregnancy, I really found it to help me stay connected to my spirit as well as be able to really listen to my body - mental health, relaxation, tuning in
water - staying super hydrated, giving baby plenty of amniotic fluid and room to move around in the womb (while he was still tiny!)
tea - drinking raspberry leaf tea towards the end of pregnancy - strengthening the uterine muscles (by boosting blood flow to the uterus and strengthening the uterine muscle fibers); shortening labor, and easing labor pain
dates - especially in the 3rd trimester, trying for about 4-6 a day; making date recipes so I wouldn’t get too tired of them (like bars, nice cream, and snickers) - ripening of the cervix, which may reduce the duration of labor; source of folate, which helps reduce the likelihood of birth defects; has an oxytocin-like effect on the body, leading to increased sensitivity of the uterus
walking - a lot, everyday; striving for 10k steps (but resting when I needed) - help with optimal positioning of baby (head down); good mood for mama; fitness and endurance for mama to stay strong during labor & after; healthy weight gain
outdoors - getting sunshine and being close to nature during my walks - vitamin D, good mood (preventing depression), better sleep
exercise ball - sitting, stretching, bouncing and doing hip circles - positioning for baby; improved posture for mama; counter-pressure to the perineum (stretching to avoid tearing); open up the pelvic floor muscles
chiro - getting my pelvis in alignment - relieve discomfort from sleeping on my side; help with pelvic positioning so baby can come out more smoothly and avoid getting stuck
massage - every once in a while I got a prenatal massage by laying on my sides, but even just rubbing my own legs and belly with natural oils at home was great - preventing stretch marks, relaxation, feeling better overall, better rest, keeping good blood flow
intimacy - and orgasms; what gets baby in, gets baby out 😉 - pelvic muscle contraction helps to ease labor pains, improves bladder control, and potentially leads to a quicker recovery after giving birth; good mood, exercise, intimacy with partner
stretching - this was huge; getting on the ball, doing squat holds, lunges, and everything and anything else that kept me limber - stretching the perineum to help prevent tearing and open up the pelvis, feel good overall, good range of motion and comfort for daily activities
vitamins: prenatals + probiotics (+ ACV) + evening primrose oil + vitamin C shots -
prenatals: getting all the required vitamins your body needs (I used mykind) probiotics - good gut microbiome & preventative measure to help reduce vaginal and rectal colonization of GBS (along with yogurt, kombucha, garlic, vitamin c); I also used apple cider vinegar (ACV) shots for this 🥃, diluted with water and chased with vitamin C shot evening primrose - cervical ripening in an effort to shorten labor and decrease the incidence of postdate pregnancy vitamin C: strengthening the amniotic sac (possibly preventing premature rupture) and nourishing baby’s placenta (I used Emergen-C powder as a chaser for the ACV shot!)clove - adding ground clove to recipes in the later part of the 3rd trimester (like in my coffee grounds, date bars, and oatmeal) - contain flavonoids that have anti-inflammatory properties that act as a natural pain reliever
kegels - I feel like I was late to the party on this one, but once I read why to do it, I would practice whenever I could - strengthen the birth canal (vaginal barrel) to prevent damage to the vaginal tissues, strengthening the pelvic floor, shortening the second phase of labor (pushing stage), minimize needing episiotomy; prevent uterine prolapse; support more sensational and pleasurable intimacy!
eating enough - eating healthy, but not restricting myself with how much, and indulging every once in a while (like with “bad” ice cream, hehe) - making sure I’m happy and satisfied, giving my body enough energy and nutrients to support me and my growing baby
working with gravity - a few times a day, I would get on all fours and let my belly hang low so that gravity could bring my baby in the anterior position (head down, facing mama’s spine) getting baby in the optimal position for birth.
Finding a good midwife
Educating myself, staying positive and being healthy made me feel more confident and in control of how I wanted my labor to go, but another important thing to consider is who will be helping you deliver your baby.
For us, it was just me and my husband and our midwife, Leena, here in Austin (along with her 2nd midwife for help).
I learned that what gets baby in, is also what helps baby get out (mainly from Orgasmic Birth).
That means that intercourse and the hormones that got baby in there will get them out smoother too.
When you’re intimate, you don’t usually have your mother in the room, or anyone else other than your partner..
Therefore, it made sense to me to have as little people in the room with me as possible, and that also meant finding a midwife that I liked and resonated with.
For me, that also meant someone that didn’t make me feel like I had to worry about things unnecessarily.
It was, and is, a priority for me to keep my peace! ✌🏼
Our midwife made me feel reassured about everything, every step of the way.
In the beginning, I was worried about our baby’s size, thinking he was going to be 11 pounds..
She reassured me that my body will produce the right size baby for my body.
I was worried about tearing during labor..
She reassured me that she will help prevent that with me during the birth by using oils and “holding me together.”
She reassured me every step of the way of the power and capability of our mind and body and that birth is a hard, but natural, beautiful process.
And with my own preparation, I was feeling confident and prepared for everything else.
And all in all, our baby’s birth was amazing.
I woke up early in the morning of May 1st feeling contractions go in and out, getting much stronger as the day went on, and then really ramping up in the late afternoon.
At around 11:00 at night, I got into the bathtub to relax and an hour later my husband called the midwife.
Right after we called the midwife, I felt the urge to start pushing.
Then after about 3 hours of 2nd stage labor, our beautiful son was born in our guest bathroom and we were all snuggling in bed together soon after. 👶🏼
Besides going through pretty difficult back labor, I only had a mild abrasion to my vaginal wall, no tears, and felt like I had an easy and gradual recovery.
Looking back now, I’m amazed that we did this natural birth together as a family and am so happy we did.
I hope my natural birth preparation story and info gives someone out there just a little more encouragement and light for their own pregnancy journey, and adds just one more positive birth story to the mix 😇
Stay fli!
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