How to Prepare for a Natural Birth

If you told me that I would have a natural birth, I would have thought that you were out of your mind! Like, do you even know me?  I’m a huge wuss and why in the world would anyone want to go through all that pain when you can have a drug to numb it all!

After reading about others who experienced a natural birth who claimed it was the best thing that happened to them, I was determined to have that experience myself.

Well, surprisingly enough, I ended up having two successful natural births with no pain meds at all.  I actually preferred it to my first birth where I was induced and had an epidural.  Well, it was worth it! Here are a few tips which really helped me accomplish a natural birth:

***This post may contain affiliate links to products I use and love.  Before implementing any health advice, please check with your doctor first as I am not a medical professional. Read my full policy for more information.

Research, Research, Oh, and Research Some More!

I wish I could give you a complete shortcut here! I heard someone say that they prepared to have a natural birth by buying a birthing ball! Boy, do I wish that were all it took! Unfortunately, their quest was unsuccessful.

Now birthing balls did help and they do have a lot of benefits, but if you only rely on your birthing ball, you may not be able to accomplish a natural birth.  It takes a little more work, unfortunately.

You must be prepared and know how to handle your contractions.  The more you research the more tools you’ll have so if one doesn’t work out, you can try something else.

There is no way to practice active labor and know what really works for you. What was successful for my first natural birth wasn’t the second time around but as I researched a ton, I knew what else I could try, and it worked.

There are also a bunch of natural birthing methods and guides you can use to help. There’s: The Bradley Method, Lamaze Technique, Birthing from Within, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, and my favorite HypnoBirthing, to name a few.  Everyone is different so by looking into them all, you’ll know what you prefer! Here is a summary of each of these methods to help you decide which one is right for you.

Start Preparing

So, you’ve done your research and looked over the different methods, now it’s time to prepare in a way that suits you.  Everyone is different here so what worked for me may not work for you.

Pick methods that you will enjoy doing.  Why?,…unfortunately you have no idea what will happen come birthing day.  Whether it be your first baby or fifth, every labor is completely different.  Imagine dedicating all your time to a method you completely hated and ended up needing an emergency C-section.  That would really suck!!

Personally, I chose the HypnoBirthing method as the prep work involved…relaxing!! Now that’s something I can do and enjoy!!  You may find that another method works better for you and hey, that’s ok because it’s your journey!

Drink Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Before drinking Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, check with your doctor to make sure it’s safe for you.  Every person and pregnancy is different so be sure to check first!

I would also wait until the second trimester before taking this as it does tone your uterus which is not advised during early pregnancy. I waited until midway through my second trimester and drank one cup a day.

All you have to do is let the teabag steep for 15 minutes before drinking it.  It honestly tastes like regular tea, so I didn’t mind drinking this.  If it tasted horrible, I would have skipped this for sure!

During the third trimester, I drank 2 cups a day.  At 39 weeks, I put 3 tea bags in one cup to help induce labor naturally.

Exercise Regularly

Again, double-check with your doctor to give you the ok before doing this!

Ok, let me be completely honest with you here, I am super lazy! Just looking at a Gym makes me cringe. Yea, not a workout fanatic at all.

I do love walking though, not running, just walking!  So, I walked every day!  If it were raining, I would walk around our family room in circles! Brisk walking is a great way to exercise and helps the baby get into the optimal position for birth!

Another good exercise is squatting.  Now, I read somewhere that if you do 300 squats a day you will have an easier birth.  Yea, nope…not doing that!! Anyway, I did a few every day here and there and that helped a lot!

Some people say prenatal yoga helps but I’m really not that flexible and my coordination is just terrible, so I didn’t do that! My advice, stick to exercises you enjoy that are safe for you and your baby!

Pick a Good Midwife or OB

So my OB was super encouraging with my wishes.  She was actually the only person who believed I could do it (my husband knows how much of a wuss I am so he thought it would be an impossible feat for me)!

Anyway, she knew my wishes and stuck by them.  The hospital also respected my wishes which really helped a lot! I was lucky to have a great OB who was very supportive.

Midwives are another great option for going down this route as they tend to have a lot more experience with natural births.

My OB had other midwives working at the same practice and I had some appointments with them which were great as they gave me some really helpful advice! They also gave me guidance on how to handle an induction with no pain meds in case I went to 42 weeks (inductions tend to be more painful than natural labor so it’s harder to accomplish this).

Memorize Some Good Birthing Affirmations

This was what got me through my second natural labor which was a lot more intense than the first. Memorize the ones that resonate with you. Write them down on a sticky note and put them on your mirror or wherever you’re likely to see them a lot.

My favorite one was, “I can do anything for 1 minute”. During my second natural birth, every time I had an intense contraction, I would say this over and over until it was finished. It really helped me focus on the affirmation and not the pain.

When we were heading to the hospital, I started saying this affirmation and my husband gave me this really weird look. I turned to him and asked what was wrong. He asked, “Are you saying: I can do anything for women?”. I laughed and said “NO! Why on earth would I say that?! I’m saying I can do anything for 1 minute” which he thought made more sense!

Use Essential Oils

Ok, so I love essential oils (EO’s) because they smell good and they really help me relax.  If I’m being honest, I’m a little skeptical about the healing powers these have and would never use them to replace any prescriptions and such.

Essential oils have many benefits and helped ease nausea and stress.  Before using EO’s, check with your doctor to make sure it’s safe for you to use.  Some EO’s are dangerous for your baby so check here to make sure they are safe to use during pregnancy.

Unfortunately, EO’s aren’t regulated so you’ll have companies use terms like “therapeutic” and “100% pure” when they are not.  These oils are cheap as they use fillers which can be harmful to your baby.

Legit brands will provide a gs/mc testing report that proves there are no fillers.  I use Plant Therapy as they are trusted and very reasonably priced but there are other brands just as good.

It is also recommended that you wait until your second trimester to start using this.  My favorite go-to’s when pregnant are:

Lavender (perfect for relaxing and distressing as well as a great sleep aid)

Lemon (great to boost energy and eases nausea)

Eucalyptus (perfect if you have a cold or are a little “stuffed up”!)

I diffused these oils as directed.  Some people digest this and yea, please don’t do this!

Diffusing is your safest bet and works just as well. You can also add them to a carrier oil which is another safe and effective option.

Practice Relaxation Techniques

This was by far my favorite prep. I mean, all you have to do is practice relaxing! I can definitely do that!!!

When you’re in labor, you need to relax the whole time! Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.  It’s actually pretty hard to relax or even remember to relax when you’re feeling like someone is pulling your insides apart!

So why do you need to relax? Especially during contractions? Well, think of it this way, if you had a Charlie Horse or pulled muscle, what do you do?  You try to relax and let loose.  You would never tense up as that would make the pain worse, right? Labor is doing the same thing but in your uterus.

For some reason though, we automatically tense up which makes the pain so much worse.  So, if you can train your body to relax at any given moment so the pain becomes a lot more bearable.

The HypnoBirthing Method

If you can train your body to relax at any given moment, the pain becomes a lot more bearable. This is where the HypnoBirthing method came into play.  I also downloaded the mp3 for Hypnobirthing and added it to my iTunes playlist.

Every day (starting at 28 weeks) I plugged in my headphones, found a quiet place, and listened to the “Rainbow Relaxation”.  For 20 minutes each day, I listened to this and I loved it.  I looked forward to it each day.

It basically prepares you to instantly relax without even thinking about it.  I believe this played a big role in having a successful natural birth.

Perineal Massage

So, I left this one out during my first birth as I thought it was super weird, but boy did I regret it.  I tore pretty badly with my first birth and was determined to try and avoid this.

At 34 weeks I put some coconut oil in the shower and did this every day.  I only did this for about a minute and by the second week, I could notice a huge difference.  My skin “down there” went from tight to stretchy and I didn’t tear with my other 2 births! This is a must for a smoother birth!!

The most important thing to remember is that the health of you and your baby needs to come first. If your delivery doesn’t go as planned, it is ok. It doesn’t matter how your baby is born, what matters more is the health of you and your baby!

So that’s pretty much it!! This is literally everything I did to prepare for a natural birth.  There are never any guarantees that this will work for everyone, but I always feel that the more you prepare, the more chances you have to succeed!!

You got this mama!! I know you can do it!!