baby : birth

Read a variety of material on childbirth, especially natural childbirth. Reading about how your body is equipped to handle birth is invaluable because this knowledge and trust in your body will serve you regardless of where you choose to birth (whether your chosen birth location is a hospital, birth center, or home).

If I could fund the project, I'd give every pregnant woman a copy of Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin.

Hire a doula. As supportive, involved and loving as your partner may be, he (if your life partner is a he) has never given birth and will never give birth. He, in all likelihood, has not even witnessed a birth. It's unfair to ask him to be your one and only support mechanism in labor and birth.

Doulas do not take away from your partner's experience, quite the contrary. Doulas support the woman, the partner and the baby. While doulas provide personal and intimate support, they also serve as objective observers and participants in the process. Doulas remind you of your wishes (because it can be easy to forget them in the throes of labor), and they are well-versed in communicating with hospital staff.

To find a doula in San Francisco, attend one of the monthly Meet the Doulas gatherings and interview prospective doulas from the SF Doula Group, a peer-reviewed group of doulas. Also check the DONA (Doulas of North America) International website for list of DONA certified doulas in your area.

Labor at home as long as possible. When you feel safe and are emotionally comfortable, your labor will progress more smoothly and quickly.

It's pure animal nature. When female animals give birth in the wild, they only do so when they feel completely safe (e.g. not threatened by predators) and can actually physically stall labor if danger is near.

We may forget sometimes, but we're animals too. Entering and then laboring in an unfamiliar setting (like a hospital) can stall and even regress labor.

If you're comfortable with the idea, hire a midwife and birth at home. There's no place like home, especially when the latest study shows that planning a birth at home (for a healthy mother and baby) is just as safe as birthing in a hospital. When you also consider the likelihood of medical intervention in hospitals, it is actually safer to birth at home.

Visit the Bay Area Homebirth Collective website for more information on participating midwives and upcoming events. Join the BAHC Yahoo!Group to connect with families who have experienced homebirths or are planning homebirths.

Keep moving. Labor progresses more quickly if you're moving and upright. Lying down during active labor can slow the process. Therefore, being hooked up continuously to an electronic fetal monitor and/or an I.V. hinders this possibility. If you absolutely must wear an E.F.M. unit during labor, request a wireless unit to increase your mobility. Work with gravity and your baby to get him or her closer to the birth canal. Movement facilitates optimal positioning of your baby as you enter the pushing phase of birth.

Keep eating and drinking. Labor and birth are physically demanding, so be sure to nourish your body to keep yourself energized.

Make noise. Would you push a grand piano up a flight of stairs without so much as a peep? I don't think so. Get primal and make noise.

Be sure to make low, gutteral noises (think mama whale kinda sounds) because high pitched noises are less conducive to calming yourself and progressing labor.

Keep your face relaxed. Tension or relaxation in your face can directly translate to the opening of your cervix. What are you working towards afterall? Dilation, the ultimate exercise in opening you'll probably ever experience.

Welcome contractions. Instead of fighting the waves and gripping with all your strength, let go and relax. One at a time, these contractions are bringing you closer to meeting your baby. Remember that your body needs to physically open to allow the passage of your baby. Remain soft and yielding.

Push only when you feel the urge. It is best to push only when you feel the urge, not when someone else is coaching you through the process. Following your natural urge to push ensures that your skin stretches adequately to allow the passage of baby's head and body and optimizes oxygen flow to you and your baby.

It's common hospital practice to "coach" a woman through the pushing phase of delivery. This is usually necessary after an epidural because the woman is paralyzed from the waist down, and she has lost sensation of this region as well. Coached pushing does put a woman at greater risk for tearing her perenial tissue (the tissue between her vagina and anus).

Push in a standing, squatting, side-lying or all-fours position. Lying in a semi-reclined position with your legs pinned back toward your body is the least conducive position for pushing. This position has become common practice because this is the most convenient position for your doctor or midwife to catch the baby. Be sure to discuss labor and birthing positions with your care provider before you meet him or her in the delivery room.

If you haven't already, read about ways to nourish and empower yourself during pregnancy.

updated 09.30.08