Tips To Manage Labor And Delivery Fears
From pooping to tearing, there are plenty of worries and fears you might have surrounding birth. But the more you know, the less scared you’ll be.
It’s normal to be afraid of giving birth. Here’s how to calm your mind. It’s completely normal to have labor fears around delivering a baby – many women fear the prospect of pain, while others worry about undignified behavior (yes, pooping on the table does happen!) or needing to have interventions. Others are simply scared of becoming a parent. It’s not surprising to be afraid of labor and delivery.
Tips To Manage Labor And Delivery Fears
The good news is there are steps you can take to help manage your labor fears. Every woman has unique prior birth experience, pain tolerance, and coping capabilities so let’s look into some ways to overcome these common labor fears.
Pray
If you’re a believer of God like I am, then pray your heart mama. There’s nothing better than allowing yourself to completely surrender all of your fears to God so he can be in charge. I truly bеlіеvе іn thе роwеr оf рrауеrѕ and wіll always recommend аnуоnе to рrау bесаuѕе іt wіll mаkе you feel content and fearless.
You can also read the bible, read one of your favorite passages or listen to your favorite gospel song.
Talk to someone
Anytime that you’re feeling uneasy and nervous about the process of giving birth, simply pick up your phone and call someone. Talking to someone that you trust will make you feel calm and will ease your fears.
You can also, talk to your doctor about what you’re feeling and any medical concern that you may have. This will reassure you that your doctor will be there for you, you will be well taken care of and you can sleep better now.
It’s always smart to talk about your feeling instead of having it bottled up inside eating you alive.
I used to talk to my mother, aunts, friends, and hubby about how nervous I was about giving birth. They would always make me feel so much better.
Be prepared
It’s always a great idea to be prepared before giving birth because this will give you peace of mind. Make sure you have your hospital bag all set and ready to go. Have you checked off everything on your third trimester to do list? Being prepared is another smart little way to overcome the fear of giving birth.
Don’t forget to breathe
Another smart way to overcome the fear of giving birth is to breathe. Yes, so simple and yet so powerful, I promise. Breathing relaxes you and will automatically put you in a more calm and positive mood.
You can practice your breathing by going to a quiet room in your house, sitting down comfortably, closing your eyes and just breathing in and out slowly.
Go out
If your fears about giving birth are taking a toll on you, go out and breathe in fresh air. Go on a date with your partner and forget about the fact that birth is looming. Relax and enjoy your date.
It’s important to also treat yourself here and there to occupy your mind and to let go a bit.
Have fun and enjoy your last few weeks of pregnancy and don’t let the fear of giving birth for what’s really important.
Stay Positive
Do not think about the negativity surrounding your birth experience, think about all the positive things that is going to happen. Have a positive mind and positive things will happen. Hey! You will certainly overcome your fear of giving birth if you stay positive, don’t you think?
I know that there are so many things that go through your mind concerning labor, but don’t think about the epidural wearing off while you’re still pushing your baby out. Instead, think about holding your baby and everything going as you have planned.
Educate yourself
Educate yourself about everything that has to do with childbirth. You can read books, blogs, magazines and even watch YouTube. There are so many outlets that will give you the information that you need in order to educate yourself.
Knowing a little more about labor and childbirth will help you tremendously in overcoming your fear of giving birth. Do not watch things that could go wrong during labor or anything of that nature because you will then be feeding into your fears.
These tips above have helped me ease my labor fear and made me focus on the bigger picture. Being able to hold my newborn baby was reason enough to overcome my fears and beam with excitement and joy!
