When it comes to preparing for birth,
It's vital to examine your beliefs and your expectations.
You might not even realize that you have certain beliefs or assumptions about your birth,
But they can greatly impact your experience.
And one thing we want to be very aware of is limiting beliefs.
These are beliefs that hold you back or make you doubt your ability to give birth.
And I mean,
You really,
Really don't want that.
Some examples of limiting beliefs might be that birth is painful and traumatic.
Now,
There's a lot of evidence around on TV,
Online,
In books,
In movies to support that belief,
But it's a limiting belief.
You might have a limiting belief that you won't be able to handle the pain.
Very often the ladies that I work with will say to me,
I definitely won't be able to handle the pain because I don't even manage with normal period pain.
I really suffer badly from period pain.
And the immediate connection is that period pain and labor pain are very similar.
And while they are similar in that they both occur in the uterus,
They are very different in the way that your uterus is working.
The way that your uterus is working when you're in labor is that it is opening up and softening and guiding,
Pulling up the cervix and guiding the baby down.
It is very,
Very different.
And you have nine or almost 10 months to prepare for it.
It's also an indication that everything is right.
And unlike period pain,
The sensations of labor come and go.
And a contraction or surge never lasts more than a minute and a half.
Period pain goes on for hours and you can take medication.
At the end of your period,
All you have is the waste products or the lining of your uterus that comes out.
Whereas at the end of labor,
You've got your baby.
It's pretty different,
Similar but completely different.
Another limiting belief is that I'm not strong enough to give birth.
But how strong do you need to be?
You're stronger than you think you are.
You're stronger than you think you are and you have resources and deep and you may have to dig deep to find those resources.
But you're stronger than you think you are.
And once again,
You have nine,
Almost 10 months to prepare for the act of giving birth.
You know,
And it sounds so contrite and sounds such a cliche,
But women have been giving birth for millennia.
Women are powerful.
Women are warriors.
There is no doubt in my mind that you are strong enough to give birth.
Another limiting belief is my body isn't capable of giving birth naturally or giving birth vaginally.
I'm not sure where that belief comes from,
But there's no doubt that giving birth or having a baby that has to pass through your body,
That your vagina has to stretch to accommodate the passage of a baby is a scary thought.
But your body is capable of giving birth.
You are capable of giving birth.
And there's a whole process that goes into preparing.
And that's why pregnancy takes so long.
That's why labor takes so long.
And there are tools and techniques that you can learn to guide and assist you in the process of giving birth.
But these beliefs are very often so deeply ingrained that you might not even be aware that you hold them.
If you go into birth with these beliefs,
They can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
And you really,
Really don't want that.
For example,
If you believe that birth is painful and traumatic,
You might approach your birth with fear and anxiety.
And this causes your body to tense up,
Puts you into what we call the fear-tension-pain cycle.
The more afraid you are,
The more tense your body becomes.
The more tense your body is,
The more you experience true pain.
And the reason you're experiencing true pain is because you are so tense,
The muscles are unable to relax.
There is a buildup of waste products,
Which causes that true pain.
So you're in a cycle of fear-tension-pain.
The more afraid you are,
The more tense your body becomes.
The more you experience pain,
The more pain you experience,
The more afraid you become.
It's a really vicious and negative cycle you want to firstly not get into because you've managed and worked with your limiting beliefs and fears and anxieties before.
But even if you've worked with them and you still find yourself in the fear-tension-pain cycle when you're in labor,
That one,
You know how to recognize it.
Two,
Your partner knows how to recognize it.
And three,
And most important,
Both you and your partner have tools and techniques,
Practiced tools and techniques that you are able to use to get you out of the fear-tension-pain cycle and back into that state of deep calm,
Relaxation and focused attention.
Because the fear-tension-pain cycle is not a place you want to be in labor.
And it's way more likely that you are going to request pain medications or even interventions that might lead to a more medicalized birth experience or not the birth experience that you were hoping for.
If you believe that your body isn't capable of giving birth,
You might be more likely to schedule a cesarean section or even to use other interventions just in case,
Without actually exploring the other options that are available,
The implications of those options,
The risks,
The benefits,
The alternatives.
Now we know that hypnobirthing is one approach that can help you to do this,
Because in hypnobirthing you will learn techniques for relaxation and visualization that can help you release fear and anxiety and create a positive mindset for your birth.
You can create a birth plan that reflects your values and your preferences,
But ultimately the key is to approach birth with an open mind and a willingness to learn and adapt.
So it's really important to identify these limiting beliefs and to work on changing them.
Hypnobirthing is just one approach that can help you to do this,
Because in hypnobirthing you learn techniques for relaxation and visualization that can help you to release fear and anxiety and create a positive mindset for your birth.
And it doesn't happen overnight,
Because there may be a process of unlearning and it's almost like wiping your hard drive and reformatting your hard drive.
And what you'll be doing is you are wiping your brain clear of all of those limiting beliefs,
Reformatting and reframing those limiting beliefs,
And finding well-researched facts and understanding the physiology of labor and birth,
So that you can go into it with an open mind and prepare for a positive and empowering birth experience.
