BIRTH PREP 101
While all of your planning may spin a cocoon of security, in actuality, the course of your labour is unknowable… your critical task is to prepare for a birth that has no script. – Pam England.
It’s a well accepted fact that the only thing predictable about birth is that it is unpredictable. I shy away from the term birth “plan” because it suggests that we always have total control over how things will go when it comes to labour and birth. And unfortunately that simply isn’t true.
What we do have control over, is who we invite into our space, our comfort level with the process, and our ability to enter the birth space calm, confident and flexible to what our body and our baby need. Understanding the options available to you, feeling knowledgeable about the mechanics of birth, and feeling empowered to make the best decisions for yourself gives you the best likelihood of having a positive birth experience - regardless of what twists and turns your story takes on the way. I don’t want you to go into labour with a rigid expectation about what your birth will look like. I want you to enter that space feeling empowered and knowing that you have the tools to create a satisfying birth experience.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Birth Prep is designed to make sure that you ‘know’ everything you never knew you wanted to know. While some people prefer a more go with the flow during pregnancy and birth (and that’s ok!), the following pages will give you a chance to dive in and see which topics are important to you, which you want to learn more about, and which you’re still not interested in. Don’t be pressured to focus on things that don’t resonate with you. This information is intended to bring encouragement and reduce fear. If something if not doing that, it’s ok to put it aside, or reach out and we can work through those questions and feelings together. Birth Prep is designed to be enjoyed independently, however I am ALWAYS here when you need.
I am so pumped to work together, and I can’t wait to hold space for you on your birth day. What follows is a mix of my own words, as well as handouts and video content that I have collected over my many years of supporting birthing families. The information been carefully gathered to support your empowering birth story, but please remember above all that this is YOUR story. The preferences that matter most here are yours, regardless of what you read or listen to.
Take a peek through and read anything that interests you. Some may not apply to your situation right now, but may later. Know that you can always come back to these resources.
If you have any questions or encounter any issues, just give me a shout!
Before we get into the nitty gritty, your Client Guide goes over what it will be like to work together, guidelines regarding contact, then reminders as well about when to reach out to me during labour and information about the photography side of things.
Why Birth Prep?
For the past several years I’ve had a chance to guest speak at a U of M Family Development course on the topic of Birth and the Family. I love diving into the importance of support during these crucial formative moments for a new family but mostly I’ve grown to love challenging the way that these students think about and approach birth. As I address in my presentation, for most of us, when we start our own families, the only birth that we’ve seen has been on tv or in movies. And the purpose of these scenes is most definitely NOT to help you feel positive about birth! It’s a highly dramatized version of most actual birth experiences, designed for shock or humour.
This means that as we approach our own births, we need to rewrite the narrative. Examine what birth CAN be like, and what we want it to be like. When those first few labour contractions start, you want to feel excited and ready – not scared and ready to run for the hills.
We do this by preparing, by removing the unknowns and surrounding ourselves with information, positive examples and encouragement.
Before you begin, I would love for you to take a few minutes to think about (even better if you write it down) what questions you already have, and what you’re hoping to get out of this course. Do you have specific fears or worries about your birth? Are you excited but want to soak up every bit of information you can? Are you feeling overwhelmed and maybe really aware of how little you know? We all come into birth with very different histories, knowledge and preferences, but my hope is that regardless of your ‘best case scenario’ for your own birth, at the end of this course you will feel confident and calm.
We all want that positive experience that follows us through into the postpartum period and beyond, so let’s dive in and work to reduce those fears and set you up for a wonderful birth.
Your Birth Prep Content
To start you off, we will review what your last trimester might look like, give you some things to work on to prepare for birth, and also start a third trimester checklist which includes packing your birth bag.
This page looks into exploring the ways that you will cope with the sensations of labour and explores methods such as movement, breathing techniques and partner support.
While still under construction, this portion of your course will include information for how to make decisions during labour, as well as an overview of what some of those decisions and interventions offered will be.
Your birth intro section will help you understand what a contraction is, the pros and cons of cervical exams and all the ways in which we measure labour progress.
Pain Medications
Under Construction
Cesarean Birth
Under Construction
Next we dive into the different parts that make up labour, tackling early and active labour as well as transition, what to expect during pushing and also the forgotten about third stage - placenta delivery.
Here we visit how to encourage labour and ensure that your labour moves from early to active with an understanding of oxytocin and supporting your body.
In your last section we will discuss what to expect during those early days and weeks both physically and emotionally in your own body, and also what to expect from your little one. We will also cover newborn feeding options and some of the common concerns.
While some sections are under construction, a small amount of previous content remains hosted at this temporary page. Feel free to visit, or wait until it’s updated on this main page.
“Imagine if our culture told us that birth was one of the greatest things a person might ever do. Imagine if the stories and images we were exposed to taught us that birth was an incredible and transformative experience - a rite of passage into parenthood.” — Leone Macdonald