first trimester prep?

Minipenguin · June 2012

I'm still really early in my pregnancy, which is a good thing because I want as much time to prepare as possible since I have very little to no confidence in my ability to have an unmedicated birth. I want to, and a lot of people seem to have much more confidence in me than I do, but everyone just talks about the pain being so awful that I just don't think I'll be able to do it. So, onto the preparation question.

Is there anything I can do that will help prepare me for it? Some people say prenatal yoga is the best thing to condition your body. I've also heard those swimming aerobics classes help... is there anything that is "best" or anything that isn't as good? For example, is something like yoga better than something like biking?

I will take a natural birth class when DH and I decide which one to try. He was pushing the Bradley method for awhile but I wanted to try hypnobirthing... I don't know, maybe we'll do them all.

TIA.

theladyjess · June 2012

My husband and I did Bradley and we really liked it. Our classes didn't start until I was in my late 2nd tri. Bradley incourages squatting and tailor sitting (sitting Indian style) to help open the pelivs. You could start this now to help increase your felxibility and stamina (esp w/ the squatting!).

You may also want to start thinking about why you have little to no confidence in your ability to go med free. Is it because of past tramua? Fear of pain? Something else? Examine those feelings to see what the root cause is and then work on that.

I had no idea what to expect when I went into labor. I knew contractions would hurt but no one ever said what I'd feel. For me contrax were all below my belly button and felt like really intense menstural cramps that wrapped around to my lower back. I thought my whole belly would hurt but I swear I never felt any pain above my belly button. The pain wasn't fun but it was bareable and it went away between contrax. As the pain increases so does your body's ability to deal with it. Being able to move around and change positions really helped me. I spent most of my labor on the yoga ball rocking back into my husband during contrax while he applied pressure to my lower back. I also found vocalizing to help a lot. My mom even joked about when I'd move onto another letter because I kept saying "Ooooh" over and over again.

vintagejjane · June 2012

While preparing your body is important by staying healthy and such, I would say its just as important to prepare yourself mentally. Do a lot of reading and research. Read positive birth stories, articles, watch documentaries. It's scary at first especially if you've never been through it, but researching helped so much.

KateLouise · June 2012

I agree that it would be good to examine why you doubt yourself.

I also think it's important to really explore why a natural birth is important to you. If you know why it's important to you, then that will help you push through when you're in labour.

FWIW I've had 2 fabulous natural births. I can honestly say I enjoy giving birth, I liken it to people climbing a mountain, yes t's hard work and yes it's exhausting, and yet everyday people choose to climb mountains.

I remember a woman telling me she enjoyed giving birth when I was pregnant with DD1 and thinking she was absolutely insane. Now I see what she means.

I didn't do any special exercise to prepare.

Congratulations on your pregnancy.

wifeofadam · June 2012

I think the best things you can do are to read up on natural birth to learn what choices you want to make with yours. Decide on your birth team, whether or not you'll want a doula, etc. - and book them.

I think diet is the most important thing to focus on early on. I do the Brewer pregnancy diet. A healthy diet is going to keep your body healthy and limit the amount of complications that could get in the way of the kind of birth you want.

nosoup4u · June 2012

I wouldn't do multiple birth methods, as that could get expensive. Check out the Ricki Lake "Your Best Birth" book, it's supposedly a good place to start if you're learning about med-free birth.

It's also a good idea to talk to your provider and see if they truly support med-free birth. This is a good post to read: https://birthsen.tmdhosting930.com/?p=769

I never used a specific method, but I did take a prenatal yoga class during my first pregnancy, and took a general childbirth class from an independent provider (it wasn't sponsored by a hospital). The yoga was great in teaching me how to truly relax and control my breathing, which definitely came in handy during labor.

hth and good luck!

Minipenguin · June 2012

Thanks for all the responses.

My confidence is so shaky because I'm terrified of the pain. And I know that epidurals take away the pain and even though I believe that natural birth is healthier, safer, and I like the "standard procedures" done in the birthing center (no pacifiers or formula, no separation of the family, etc) when I'm in the middle of labor I think it might be too easy to just agree to get an epidural and stop the pain. Even if I regret it later. Which, obviously, I want to avoid. And it doesn't help that my MIL had a natural birth with DH and an epidural with BIL and talks about how much better BIL's birth was and how much she hated DH's birth.

And then there's the fact that this is my first pregnancy so I don't know how it will feel, etc.... I guess it's just a lot of panic.

But my friends with kids went to the same birth center I am looking into and they all rave about how great it is. So I don't know. I'll just have to start picking up books to read through.

Thanks for the responses!!

marshmallows · June 2012

Have you thought about having a doula? I did with my son and I'm SO glad I had her with me. She really helped make me more comfortable during labor. I read Ina mays book also which helped get me psyched for it. And trust me- if I can do it, anyone can!! You'll be fine.

Try not to pay attention to your MIL. They often don't know the right things to say...

Good luck whatever you decide. I'm a feb 13 mom too!

Sawyerplus1 · June 2012

vintagejjane:
While preparing your body is important by staying healthy and such, I would say its just as important to prepare yourself mentally. Do a lot of reading and research. Read positive birth stories, articles, watch documentaries. It's scary at first especially if you've never been through it, but researching helped so much.

Agreed. Preparing your body is important, but it was preparing my mind that was the biggest part for me. You can do all the prenatal yoga you want, but if you're still scared of labor and delivery when the time comes, nothing will change that.

I was very eager to have a natural birth when I got pregnant with #1 and I started researching and reading right away. I read informative stuff, but also a lot of positive stuff (like great positive birth stories). I worked hard to change my (often fearful) mindset about childbirth, as I knew I couldn't fear it for 9 months and then suddenly be mentally prepared once labor started. Good for you for thinking about this sooner than later! It's an exciting journey you're on; good luck with everything!

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