Prepare for your birth like you would prepare for your wedding

Written by Liz Wilkes, Managing Director, My Midwives

The investment into elements of your life – buying a house, car, major holiday or wedding – is said to reflect the value you place on the event. And, of course, if this is the case your birth preparation will trump most other life experiences. If you are reading this, it probably means that you have engaged a midwife which is in our opinion the best thing you can do. However, there are a few other things that are also important to make your transition to parenting as smooth as possible:

• Start your education early – there are a range of ways to get informed. Almost none are better than participating in face-to-face antenatal classes. The hands-on activity and support from the midwives in these classes will provide an opportunity to demonstrate and experience some of the tips and tricks you will use during labour and birth. If you have not enrolled in a face-to-face class talk to the admin team about what is available and what you need to do to get involved.
• Look up the different tools your midwives use and potentially invest in some of the easy to use and inexpensive options available (balls, combs, rebozo). Whilst a TENS machine might seem out of reach at around $200, consider hire or whether you will use it for other reasons after birth (it is great for period pain or soft tissue injuries).
• Read, read, read! We have Birth with Confidence and Beyond the Birth Plan by Rhea Dempsey in the clinics for sale and we also have a range of books and resources available. Our client face book pages also provide a range of opportunities for book swaps and gathering resources.
• Develop a series of questions that you can ask your midwife at your visits. Don’t hesitate to explore all your options in labour and birth. Get the evidence clear as to what ‘leads to’ what in terms of labour care.
• Consider both the physical and mental preparation. For women who have tight muscles, consider chiropractors, physiotherapists and osteopaths to do internal work to ensure your pelvic floor relaxes and relaxes evenly. The position of the baby can often be directly linked to muscle imbalance and mums stress levels. Ask your midwife for good sites on social media to help you to ensure your body gets into balance for birth. From a mental perspective speak to your midwife about any fears, values and beliefs about birth and what steps you can take to address these.
• Explore ALL the options with My Midwives – we have lots of resources available in online classes and groups for mums to be so jump onto our classes section and see what is already included in your package of care. Regardless of what number baby this is there is always something to learn.