Hi Ladies,
For everyone who has gone natural, no matter the method, what is the one thing you are glad you practiced before hand? I have 2 months left and want to really focus everyday on practicing - be it meditation, kegels, squats, pelvic tilts, positive affirmations, breathing, whatever. Thanks so much!
Re: #1 Thing to Practice Beforehand?
This. Prenatal yoga helped me a lot.
There's nothing I practiced that really made a difference. I just did what felt right in the moment.
I had a fast labor though (1st stage was only around 2 hours) so that helped a lot!
Keeping your vocalizations low! When I started to raise the pitch of my voice, I felt more out of control...like a spiraling feeling and more pain. Sounds crazy but true.
When I could feel a contraction coming I would start at the top of my body and work my way down making sure every muscle was relaxed. Then I would start slow breathing and visualization. During transition I would hum as I was breathing out. So I guess the number one thing that helped me was practicing relaxing my body and slow breathing/visualization.
I also did a lot of research on different forms of natural pain relief (warm bath, birthing ball, tennis balls on back for counter pressure, rice sock, etc). You won't know what will help until you are in labor, so make sure that you and your birth partner have a lot of tricks up your sleeve for when the day comes.
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I agree! During labor I kept telling myself to keep a low pitch and it helped me stay relaxed.
I'll see "stubbornness" and raise "self-confidence". I did a lot of reading and just generally really thought I could birth this baby. If you don't believe that, it probably won't work well.
Yoga was also great, both for the birth and for feeling better while pregnant. I spent a lot of time in a modified child's pose and on all fours, and being in good shape helped me have the endurance to hang out where I was most comfortable.
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