How To Have A Natural Hospital Birth Secret #2
Lets continuing breaking down my secrets to natural hospital birth! We broke down secret #1, Gathering Your Dream Team, and now you need to arm yourself with education. The choices that you will make in pregnancy and in birth are yours to live with. If a natural, low intervention birth is what you desire, you must know your options and have the information to back it up.
Natural Hospital Birth Secret #2: Get informed
If you've been following me, you know I throw the term ‘evidence-based care’ around a ton. But what exactly do I mean?
I’m talking about applying relevant research to a care provider’s day to day experience while also taking into account the patient’s wishes and values (Dekker, 2018). In other words, evidence-based care means collaborating with your practitioner to review the information and make decisions that feel right for you as an individual and for your baby.
I recognize that not everyone is a birth nerd like myself and I am also aware that wading through countless research articles can feel overwhelming. This is why we spend ample time in our first trimester coaching sessions helping parents-to-be navigate reputable resources such as articles from the Cochrane Collaboration.
Clients always tell me that learning the ins and outs of observational research, randomized controlled trials, and systematic reviews has drastically increased their confidence in advocating for themselves within the medical model.
How do I get informed?
I’ve participated in plenty of birth book clubs throughout the years - and I always see many of the same publications pop up on the must-read list. Do yourself a favor and read whatever natural childbirth books you can get your hands on. Visit your local library, listen to audiobooks in the car, ask friends and family to give you full access to their bookshelves. Some of my all-time favorites are listed on the Trusted EBC Catalog.
Take a NON-BIASED Childbirth course.
Beware the hospital-sponsored childbirth education classes and know how to spot the biases. Pay special attention to where the focus is. The focus should be on how to allow physiological birth to unfold, not how to be an easy patient.
I often joke that I turn clients into difficult patients. Keep in mind that declining interventions is not the norm in a hospital and you may need to reiterate your wishes, especially during a shift change. Together in sessions we will practice speaking up and holding boundaries in a hospital setting.
Know what you don’t know.
We know that fear hinders birth. Not only will fear create mental and emotional barriers, but your body will physically react and labor can stall. The best defense against this is to eliminate the unknowns.
There was a time when a cesarean section stood between myself and the natural process. I was afraid of surgical birth because I didn’t know much about it. So I dove headfirst into understanding when a C-section becomes medically necessary. I talked to other parents about their surgical birth experience. I learned about what interventions accompany a cesarean.
I had a playlist ready for the operating room. I planned for postpartum as if I would be recovering from abdominal surgery. Eventually, I armed myself with enough knowledge that my fear dissipated. I was confident that if my birth ended in a C-section, I had given informed consent and helped to make each decision along the way that led to bringing my baby into the world safely.
Get your support people on board.
It’s common for birthing people to consume all of the literature, listen to all of the podcasts, and watch the birth videos. Make sure you are on the same page as your partner. If they are not already aware of the myriad of benefits to both the birthing person and baby that natural childbirth has to offer, help them get there. Go a step further and make sure they realize why achieving a natural birth is almost always harder in a hospital.
Community pregnancy coaching offers a place to offload your fears and lean on the shoulders of fellow birthing parents. Feeling supported is integral as you build a village with like minded people who understand what you’re going through; is truly powerful!
-Coach Lisa
Interested in learning more? Let's chat!
References
Dekker, R. (2018). What is Evidence Based Care? Evidence Based Birth®.