How To Have a Successful Natural Birth

I honestly thought that the women who were able to give birth naturally had some kind of superpower or something! I thought natural births were for the women who were strong and had some crazy high threshold for pain! This was not me by a long shot!!

I’m a complete wimp! I cry when I stub my toe or hit my funny bone! So when I told my husband that I decided to have a natural birth, he didn’t really have a lot of faith in me! He did support me through the whole endeavor, but I knew deep down inside, he was concerned and didn’t think I could do it!

Well, I researched and prepared (find out how I prepared here) and I was able to have 2 successful natural births.

If you didn’t already know, labor is broken up into 3 stages (early, active, and transitional). Each stage involved different techniques I used to get me through.

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Early Labor

Early labor is usually the longest part of your labor which isn’t so bad as the contractions are not as strong and they are bearable. I was in early labor for 7 hours with my second baby and 13 hours for my third!

You are in early labor when your cervix is 0-3cm and you are starting to thin out!

Every labor and every woman is different, so yours may be longer or shorter!

Here is how I got through the early stages of labor:

Continue With Your Day as Normal as Possible

I remember feeling the first twinge with both of my natural births! I just knew “today was the big day!!”. I finally get to meet my bundle of joy!! I also knew that this wasn’t going to be one of those crazy 2 hour labors people have either!

Although it’s very tempting to do nothing and relax, it doesn’t really help! Time would feel like it’s coming to a halt and you’ll get bored!

I always continued with my day as much as possible. Now, if traveling around the world is your norm, it’s probably not a good idea if you are going into labor! Stay close to home or the place you are planning to give birth!

For me, I got the kids ready for the day, packed my daughter’s backpack, even drove her to school (the contractions were very very very mild at the time!). I did as much as I could to get everything ready.

I then started cleaning the house and making sure it was ready for the new arrival!

Carrying on with my day was a really good distraction for me and made the time fly by!!

Drink Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

To help speed up the process, I steeped 3 red raspberry leaf tea bags for 15 minutes. I started sipping it slowly as it can help speed things along! I didn’t do this with my first natural birth and I seemed to have a long steady labor.

When I drank red raspberry leaf tea during my second natural birth, the active and transitional phase blurred together as one, and I had my baby 1 hour after I was 4cm dilated! Not sure if this was the culprit for the speedy labor but I’ve heard many others claim they had a fast labor when drinking this tea!

Definitely worth a shot if you’re aiming for a fast and effective labor!

Give Your Birthing Ball Some Love!!

My birthing ball was awesome in the first stage of labor! I pretty much sat on my ball for the longest time! I did some gentle exercises to help my baby get in the optimal (which is the least painful) position!!

I will be honest with you though, the birthing ball was not my friend when I was in active and transitional labor. Just looking at it made me feel uncomfortable! Now, it could work for you and be your most comfortable position, so it really depends on the person!

Birthing balls have a ton of benefits and I just loved using them in the early stages and throughout my pregnancy!

Go For a Walk

I love walking! I’d walk every day and it would make me feel amazing, so this one was easy for me!

I stayed close to home (just in case!) and walked around my neighborhood several times (I’m sure they probably thought I was losing my mind!!). Walking is a great distraction and also helps keep your labor progressing which is what you want!

If you can’t go outside, take a walk around your house!

Active Labor

You know when you’re in active labor when your contractions start to get longer and more intense! Your contractions will typically last a minute and they will be more than a twinge!

I knew I was in active labor when I wasn’t able to walk through a contraction. I had to stop, focus, and breathe through it! During the early stages, I could feel the contractions but I could walk through them. Active labor, forget it! My body froze and I turned to concentration!

Here is what got me through active labor:

Listen to Rainbow Relaxation and Birthing Affirmations

I used the HypnoBirthing method to prepare for my labor and I downloaded the rainbow relaxation to my phone.

When my contractions were starting to get worse, I laid on my bed, closed my eyes, and listened to it. It helped me relax and get through this part of labor.

I really recommend reading the HypnoBirthing book as it guides you through labor and shows you how to handle a natural birth!

Take a Warm Shower or Bath

The warm shower was honestly my best friend during labor! It felt so good! Taking a warm shower also helped me ease away my tension! It was awesome!

For me, standing felt more comfortable so the shower was a perfect option. I did take a bath which also felt good so if you have both, try them both out and see which one you prefer!

“Sniffing” Those Essential Oils!

Look, I know this sounds crazy, but essential oils (EO’s) really helped me relax during this stage of labor. At times I felt overwhelmed and scared. I turned to my essential oils, took a long, deep “sniff” and it kept me calm right away!

I mainly used lavender and clary sage during labor (only take clary sage once you are full term as it helps you contract!).

These inhalers were a hit as I was able to take my oils on the go!

Use Birthing Affirmations

So I didn’t use any birthing affirmations for my first natural birth. Instead, I screamed, “I can’t do this, I can’t do this, I can’t do this…..(contraction starts to ease away…) I can do this, I can do this, I can do this!”.

I honestly thought that by saying I couldn’t do it, God would hear me and I wouldn’t feel an ounce of pain! Well, I was still in pain, but I knew God was with me and it helped me through!

The second time around, I used the affirmation, “I can do anything for 1 minute!”. I repeated this over and over until the contraction was done! This affirmation was more positive and resonated with me a lot more!

Learn some birthing affirmations as this may help you!

Enjoy Your Breaks

Labor pain is different from any other kind of pain. You get breaks! You’ll be in pain for a minute to 90 seconds, then you’ll get a few minutes where you feel completely normal! No pain!!

It’s the weirdest thing!! The best way to describe the feeling is like a wave…it starts, builds up and up, and up, then starts to slow…and come back down! Relief!!

The problem is, many fear the next contraction during their breaks so it’s not much of a break. Instead, there’s tension and anxiety for the next one to hit, making labor a lot more painful and harder to accomplish!

Enjoy each break!!

Transitional Stage

When you go into transition, things get a little blurry and a little crazy! This stage should be the shortest stage but it is the toughest! This phase starts when you are 8cm. I knew when I was in transition, as I started to shake uncontrollably!!

Unfortunately, I was stuck at 9cm for 3 hours during my first natural labor and it sucked! My nurse kept telling me to lay on my side and it will all be over…but I was scared! I then laid on my side and I remember just clinging onto the bed as I was ready to push!

It was all over in the blink of an eye and I was beyond excited!! I finally met my son and I actually accomplished a natural birth! I couldn’t believe it! I was riding the “high wave” for days after that! It was all worth it!

With my second natural birth, I was in transition for 10 minutes, then my baby was out! It happened so fast, it was a bit of a blur!

Here is what got me through transition:

Focus on Every Contraction

When you’re in transition, you start to change and you really don’t feel like doing much. You just want the whole thing to be over!

Keep relaxed, and stay focused on getting through each contraction. Know that this is temporary and you are safe! You are so close to meeting your baby!!

Hum Through Your Contractions

I loved doing this! Humming helped me stay relaxed and focused! I don’t really know what tune I was humming to, but who cares at this point!! It’s not like you’re performing on stage with Justin Bieber in front of millions! Let go and hum like you mean it!!

If you don’t like to hum, low groans are best. High-pitched screams will make you tense and it will become more painful!! Low groans work for you, not against you!!

Don’t Give Up

When you are so close to birth, you just want to give up. The only problem is, you can’t because it’s probably too late for the epidural!

If you feel like giving up, know that your baby is so close to being born! The pain will turn into joy and you won’t be in pain for much longer! It goes away after you’ve had the baby!

So there you have it! This is what got me through the big day… or days!!

Just as a reminder though, I was prepared for this moment! I did everything I could to make it a success! If I wasn’t prepared, I would have begged for the epidural straight away!

It’s like running a marathon (no, I have never run a marathon, and I never intend to!). You can’t just show up and hope to run the whole distance. It takes time and preparation!

Good luck! You got this mama to be!!