Debilitating Fear Of D-Day (Delivery Day): A different approach to labor/delivery that quiets the fear

NOTE this post has nothing to do with nutrition/paleo, BUT does have a lot to do with letting your body work naturally through labor/delivery.  And paleo is all about the natural right?!?!


DEBILITATING FEAR
Before I start let me give you a little background on me and my thoughts of pregnancy for the last 20 years:

Ever since I was a child I've had a deep, all consuming, full body fear of doctors/hospitals/etc.  If you've ever been so terrified about something in your life you will know what I mean when I say full body.  When I learned where babies came from I literally cried.  Balled my eyes out because one day I was going to have to give birth.  My thought at the time "F THAT!"!  The running family joke was "Cassandra won't have children until it doesn't hurt".

Of course I grew up (a little) and can now enter a hospital without feeling anxiety.  I can give blood without crying.  And of course, when you marry a man like my husband, eventually you really want to reproduce to see what kind of mixture of his crazy and your crazy gets put together by God.


With all that being said you would think that I was a shoe in for a fully medicated birth, yes?  Well yea.... at least up until I chatted with a girlfriend about her natural birth.  Initially the thought terrified me, but the more we talked the more it made sense.  What triggered my interest was her statement that she "used her body and different positions (rather than just laying flat on her back) to ease the pain, and actually aid the baby in coming out".  Hmm.  From a fitness professional perspective this appealed to me.  I love using my body and seeing what it can do.  If I can workout/prepare in a certain way to make the delivery easier I'm all for it!  So I began to read.....

Thus far I've only read two books (three more are already on their way from Amazon... love amazon).  I have learned so much about my body, what happens from a scientific point of view during pregnancy and each stage of labor, and how to practice for the "big day" that I no longer hold that horrible fear and anxiety about this upcoming event in my life.  Yes, the books advocate a natural birth, but whether I have a natural birth or not the education these books have given me have made something unknown and scary, turn into something beautiful and exciting.  I think going from "balling my eyes out scared" to "beautiful and exciting" is a pretty good indication of how great these books are.  And like I said, I may get into the working stage of labor and demand relief be given via a needle, but now I am armed with knowing exactly what my body is going through at each stage of the process.  I am armed with knowledge that my body was designed to do this.  My conscious brain may not have ever experienced this, but my body knows exactly what to do.  These books educate you on what is happening so the process is no longer unknown and scary, and allows you to work with your body rather than against it to make the process more enjoyable.  Yes... enjoyable!

PRACTICE BEFORE THE BIG DAY
To prepare for D-Day (Delivery Day) I am practicing contractions (yes, practicing them), and using certain yoga poses and stretches to prepare my body for the different positions during labor.  Giving birth is one of the most taxing physical and emotional trials I will ever experience.  It's like doing a CrossFit WOD for 14 hours straight!  There is no way in h**l I am not doing everything in my power to prepare for the big day.

THIS MAKES ME FEEL STUPID
When I first started reading the book the idea of different positions during labor/delivery kind of freaked me out.  We've been told our whole lives "feel a contraction, go to the hospital, lay on your back, and push".  The idea of squatting, or kneeling, or sitting on all fours made me cringe a little.  It just seemed weird.  And at a time when many strangers may be seeing my "funny business" I really didn't want to be considered weird!  Call me crazy, though, this makes sense...  The following is a mix of direct quotes and paraphrasing from "Active Birth" by Janet Balaskas:

"Common sense and recent studies suggest that the following are the advantages to the upright mother and her baby [during labor and delivery]:

1 - The pull of gravity assists uterine contractions and bearing-down efforts.  Since it is easier for an object to fall towards the earths surface than to slide parallel to it (according to Newton's Law of Gravity), it is mechanically more advantageous to expel an unborn baby towards the earth than to expel it along the horizon.  When the mother lies down, her involuntary efforts to expel the baby are inhibited; she must strain harder to push the baby "uphill".

2 - Drive angle of the uterus - The uterus tends to tilt forward when it contracts.  In an upright position the mother can lean forward, there by assisting her uterus to work without resistance, but if she is lying down or leaning back, the uterus has to work harder, since it is pulled back by gravity when it tries to tilt forward during a contraction.

3 - The direct application of the baby's head to the dilating cervix is also assisted when the mother is upright. With each contraction the unborn baby tends to sink downwards towards the cervix.  During rest between contractions the pressure on the cervix is sustained by the weight of the baby's body.

4 - Placental circulation is improved - it is common knowledge that lying on your back after a certain point during pregnancy can cause the weight of the baby to compress/close the descending aorta, decreasing the amount of oxygen supplied to the placenta (and in turn baby) as well as block the returning blood to the mothers heart.  Both parties are working with decreased blood flow (oxygen).

5 - Pelvic expansion - During pregnancy hormones soften the ligaments around the pelvic joints to make the joints more flexible.  As long as the mother is upright for the birth, the pelvic joints are free to expand, move, and adjust to the shape of the baby's descending head.  When the mother squats, the sacrum is free to move, allowing the anterior-interior diameter of the pelvic outlet to widen by AS MUCH AS 30% MORE than it would if the mother's weight were resting directly on it - that is, if she were semi-reclining or lying on her back.

SCREW IT! I DO WHAT A WANT!
All of that really makes sense to me!  Work WITH your body, rather than against it.  Screw being weird, or going against the norm.  Paleo people go against the norm everyday, and if squatting makes this baby get out faster, easier, and with less pain then by golly I'm gonna squat!  =P

 This is a scary event for a lot of women.  I fear a lack of control and pain.  These books have truly put me at peace and given me a sense of control over the process because it is no longer unknown.  I can do things now to make it more manageable come D-Day.  I recommend reading them and others even if you are not planning a natural birth.  The in-depth education about what your body does during labor/delivery will help no matter what you choose come D-Day.

RECOMMENDED READING
Below are the two books I've read, the few I've ordered, and some other ones that I've been recommended!

Active Birth: The New Approach To Giving Birth Naturally - Janet Balaskas

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way - Susan McCutcheon

Husband Coached Childbirth - Robert A. Bradley, MD

Gentle Birth Choices - Barbara Harper

Creating Your Birth Plan: The definitive Guide to a Safe and Empowering Birth - Marsden Wagner, MD, MS

Born In The USA: HOw a Broken Maternity System Must Be Changed To Put Women and Children First - Marsden Wagner, MD, MS

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth - Henci Goer