Are you looking for simple things to do during pregnancy to positively influence your birth and postpartum season?
Here I offer a few key things to incorporate NOW to potentially have a big impact later
Tips I share with all of my clients!
Decision fatigue in pregnancy is a REAL thing. You are doing your absolute best, combing through books and sites and blogs to be sure you aren't missing a single detail. Look at you, you are even here reading this blog!
Before diving into these tips, take a second and recognize how much effort and time you have already put into preparing for the meeting of your little one(s). I hope you can see how marvelous you are and how much you already love them.
Easy Mobility Work: Helping Baby Work With You
Birth is a process that involves BOTH of you.
Incorporating a few simple mobility movements could help provide more space for baby and make their job in birth easier.
Encouraging movement and space in your mid-back and rib cage is a dynamite way to do this.
By allowing as much space as possible in this region of your body, baby has more opportunities to find the best place for themselves in your uterus. When it comes time for labor, this is one of the ways you can support them navigate their descent into your pelvis with more ease.
Prioritize movements like these:
* Thread the needle
* Side body opener
* Supported child's pose
* Puppy dog
If you aren't already, I encourage you to connect with a pelvic floor physical therapist or perinatal fitness specialist to have a program tailored specifically for you.
Birth Stories: Learning Your Preferences and What Birth Can Be Like
I encourage all of my clients to watch birth videos, listen to birth stories, and read about experiences. The more you learn about different types of births, the better. This process can help you see what birth can be like.
You will hear sounds, listen to how people felt, see how their birth team worked together. You will see different pain relieving strategies, how the pregnant person navigated contractions, hear affirmations, see various environments.
This process is often necessary to develop your own preferences for your birth.
I hope this is something you can do with your support person/partner. It is so important for them go through this process too. They can better support you when they understand what birth can be like and why you have the preferences you do.
Moving into labor with confidence is possible, in part, through this process.
Prepare for Postpartum: No One Regrets Being Overprepared
Birth is an event in time and incredibly important to prepare for. And, postpartum is a season.
Spending time preparing for this season is arguably the best way to support yourself and your family.
I send my clients a list of conversation topics to work through during pregnancy surrounding roles, expectations, concerns, and general life stuff. The idea is to discuss how these things are now AND how they might shift after baby. The feedback from clients is overwhelmingly positive and something they were so happy to have done.
These conversations are much more challenging to have when sleep deprived, resentful, and stuck in roles that are now very challenging to shift.
Conversation topics include things like:
* Visitors
* Household roles
* The non-negotiables related to your health and mental wellbeing
* What helpful help looks like for you
* Your people to call when shit hits the fan (because it probably will and that is OKAY)
Preparing for the postpartum season can also include building a support network, learning about your local community resources, meal prepping, and so much more.
If you find yourself with some spare time, I encourage you to spend it here because the return on investment is huge.