Surround yourself with love and support
How do you feel when you are with people who affirm your strength and love you unconditionally? There is often a feeling of being able to relax and be yourself, and express your needs and emotions when you are surrounded by love and support. All good things for birth!
You can choose the information that you read and listen to in your pregnancy. If it doesn’t make you feel empowered and positive about your innate ability to birth your baby, maybe you don’t need it right now.
As much as possible, try to spend time and talk to people who are positive about pregnancy and your ability to birth your baby. You can even politely refuse when a friend – or sometimes a complete stranger – feels the need to tell you negative or ‘horror’ stories of ‘a woman I know who…’.
There is so much wonderful, empowering information and resources for pregnant women. Books such as Watson and Hyles’ ‘25 Ways to Awaken Your Birth Power’ (which has this theme as one of its affirmations), Ina May Gaskin’s ‘Spiritual Midwifery’, England and Horowitz’s ‘Birthing from Within’ are great places to start.
And think about what kind of environment and people most support you for birth. If you’re planning a birth in a hospital, are you confident your carers are supportive of your birth wishes? Many women choose to have a doula or another woman with experience in birthing to support them and their partner, to help keep the birth environment precious and emotionally safe. (See blog on doulas for more info and links to Canberra doulas.)
Rebecca Perry, Canberra Prenatal Yoga
