It’s getting closer and closer to the moment where you meet the love of your life. Whether it’s your first time delivering a baby or your ninth, you can be sure that it will be an unpredictable event. Currently, I am preparing for the delivery of my fourth child. In this post I will share with you how I am preparing for labor and delivery. This is my 4th baby in a little over 6 years, so my labor experiences are all fresh in my mind. Check out the methods that helped decrease my labor time and pain in the past. I am hoping it will do the same for me very soon.
RASPBERRY LEAF TEA
Red raspberry leaf tea is known for its ability to shorten labor, with more effective contractions. Before my last delivery (about 2.5 years ago) I drank a lot of raspberry leaf tea, and had a natural birth. I entered the hospital, and 15 minutes later my baby was born. The contractions were so effective that I barely pushed; it really seemed as if the contractions were easing the baby out. It was incredible!
You can begin drinking raspberry leaf tea daily in the 2nd trimester and increase the amount in the 3rd trimester. I am currently 33 weeks, and I drink a highly concentrated cup of raspberry leaf tea twice a day. I will be increasing this to 3 times a day next week.
EVENING PRIMROSE OIL
The great thing about evening primrose oil is that it helps with vaginal deliveries by preventing tearing. Something that is very unpleasant to deal with after delivery is the soreness of having torn while pushing. This happened during the delivery of my first child. After that I used evening primrose oil and did not tear at all for my 2nd and 3rd delivery. So, I am using it again for my 4th delivery coming soon.
At night, I insert about 2 capsules down there and go to bed. That’s it. Next week I will begin taking 1 capsule orally as well. This is the method I used last time and it worked wonders for me.
Pelvic Floor and Transverse Abdominal (TVA) Training
The strength and effectiveness of your contractions is so important for a faster and easier labor. You can train your pelvic floor muscles as well as your TVA muscles so they are prepared for this big event.
To train my muscles I use techniques from The Bloom Method. Belly pumps are a great way to engage your core muscles during pregnancy. This is also helpful postpartum for reducing the chances of abdominal separation known as Diastasis Recti. When performing this technique engage the pelvic floor by using what is known as a kegel.
Pelvic floor muscles can be engaged with kegel exercises using weights as well. This really helps focus the exercise. I like to use the weight while in the shower for a quick exercise of my internal muscles. There are postpartum benefits to this as well to help with the recovery of these muscles after delivery, because they will be much stronger and ready to bounce back. You can perform these belly pumping exercises on an exercise ball as well, which will help with opening up tight hips.
Mindfulness Through Body Scans
I wrote about the amazing benefits of body scans during labor in a previous blog post. Definitely check out my blog as soon as you get a chance. Great stuff on there. Seriously!
I give mindfulness and body scans the credit for making my labor less painful, which led to a successful natural birth. I literally smiled through my last delivery. I’m not kidding. The nurses were in awe.
To achieve this awe worthy labor experience, practice breathing slowly, becoming aware of your body by starting at your feet. Feel all the sensations in your feet, just observe it. Do not scratch if you feel an itch anywhere on the body, just observe. Then move upward to the legs. Take about 20-30 seconds to observe each part of the body. Finally, feel the whole body and be fully present in your body.
This helps during labor because you are taking it 1 contraction at a time, being fully present in the body, and not getting anxious about how many contractions are left to go. Just one contraction and one moment at a time. Check out my video on pain management during labor and delivery for more details.
I hope you found value in this post and the complementing youtube videos. I am sharing advice from my experiences, but I am not a medical professional. Please seek approval by your personal medical advisor for any risks. Make sure you share this with your mom friends and Pin it on Pinterest. We all need as much labor and delivery support as we can get!
