5 Steps to Labor Ready!: Step 1 A Healthy Mind and Healthy Body
So mama, how are you feeling right now? Are you prepared? Are you afraid of the unknown?
We Believe in the power of Knowledge. When you know what to expect and understand how to best advocate for you and your baby, you go into pregnancy, labor, and beyond, EMPOWERED with a blueprint to guide you each step of the journey.
💛 Nurse’s Note
Written by a doctorate-prepared nurse with perinatal experience, this guidance blends clinical expertise with real-world support so you can feel confident, prepared, and empowered for your birth journey.
Step 1: A Healthy Mind and a Healthy Body
You may be early in your pregnancy and just found out the exciting news that you are expecting. Or you might be close to your due date. Either way, there are so many questions you may have and we hope to help you in whatever stage you are in and along the way answer some of these questions you may have.
Physically and Mentally Preparing for Labor and Birth
Often questions are asked by many moms how they can prepare for labor, birth, and recovery. Although there is probably no way fully to prepare for this experience, because of the unknowns and unpredictability of giving birth, there are some for sure things that can significantly help prepare you physically and emotionally to be fully equipped. Some of these things we recommend and that have been scientifically proven are:
Healthy nutrition
The American Academy of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend that eating well is one of the most important things that you can do during your pregnancy. The goal is to balance getting enough nutrients to support growth of your fetus and maintain a healthy weight.
You often hear the phrase “I am eating for two” this is a false way of thinking. In fact, eating “twice as healthy” is a more accurate phrase and is much more important.
ACOG recommends that you will need about an extra 340 calories per day starting in the second trimester and just a bit more once you hit the third trimester. To put that in perspective of how much 340 calories are a glass of skim milk and a half of sandwich. Of course, if you are carrying twins, you should consume 600 calories extra and if you are pregnant with triplets, you will need about 900 calories extra a day (ACOG).
Exercise
First always ask your doctor if exercise is okay, but generally exercise with some modification is safe and recommended throughout your entire pregnancy and even during labor.
Staying active can actually relieve back pain, help improve your mood and decrease your risk of having health-related complications like gestational diabetes and pregnancy-induced high blood pressure.
Exercise can help you keep a healthy weight during pregnancy and can also reduce your risk for a cesarean section.
There are a few safety tips to keep in mind:
Make sure you keep your heart rate at or below 150 bpm
Always stay well hydrated before, during and after exercise and never exercise outside when it is very hot or humid.
Eat a healthy snack 15-30 minutes before you begin exercising.
Stop exercising if you ever become dizzy, short of breath or experience any bleeding.
As your body begins to expand from your growing baby, here are a few good, safe exercises:
Stretching can strengthen your muscles in your back, thighs, and pelvis, which helps keep your pelvic joints flexible, improves blood flow to the lower body.
Kegel exercises is basically trying to stop the flow of urine without tightening your abdominal, buttock, or thigh muscles. You will feel the vaginal muscle contract, using your pelvic floor muscle.
Pelvic Tilt is another exercise that strengthens abdominal muscles and can help relieve backache during pregnancy and labor.
Squatting is extremely helpful during labor because it opens the pelvic outlet, allowing more room for the baby to descend. It is important to practice during pregnancy not just during labor because squatting can be very tiring. If you have a yoga ball, you can do some hip circles, which can relieve pain and tension as well as bring mobility to the pelvis.
Remember if you are new to exercise start slow and know that walking is easy to do, and it helps with blood flow and can help during the physically demanding process of labor and recovery.
First Trimester: Walking is a great exercise if you can overcome morning sickness. Even a 10-15 minute walk a day and gradually increasing to 30 minutes walking 3-5 times a week will greatly enhance your
Second Trimester: You may feel more energy during the second trimester as your morning sickness begins to lessen. However, keep in mind that your joints will begin to loosen and that can increase your risk for sprains and strains; so it is recommended to avoid activities like skiing, contact sports and other activities that increase your risk for falling. Walking, swimming and any pre-pregnancy exercise that isn’t high-impact or lifting weight over 25 pounds are great options.
Third Trimester: During the third trimester, it is very important to listen to your body and talk with your doctor. The best workouts are generally swimming, walking and biking on a stationary exercise bike. Weight training should be modified to a lighter load with 3-5 pounds.
At the end of your third trimester at 37 weeks, you can begin using a birthing ball to help position the baby’s head and induce labor.
Relaxation/Mindfulness:
There are many breathing exercises that can help calm you and help you stay focus and decrease some of your anxiety and fears.
If you are like most mamma’s, you probably have some anxiety and fear related to pregnancy and labor.
It is very important to deal with these feelings and become confident in your ability to have a happier and healthier birth.
We often see that the fear and anxiety are related to the unknowns surrounding birth. So learning about birth to eliminate the unknowns is so important. WE are all scared of something different. We all deal with fear and anxiety differently. I know for many of my patients, they have a hard time sleeping because they can’t turn off the worries in their mind at night.
This is a big moment, and we are so happy that you are preparing and thinking about all the changes ahead of you! Don’t’ stop thinking about it, just change the way you think about it by getting knowledge about it.
Now let's address the most common fears related to birth which will decrease your fears and help you to relax.
So anything you are feeling anxious or fearful about, take a moment right now to write it down and hopefully within the 5 Steps to Labor Ready Blogs you will learn about those fears and find answers.
Prenatal Depression and Anxiety:
During pregnancy there are many hormonal, physical, and emotional changes that can often alter your lifestyle. These changes can cause women to have a sense of loss of control, which can create anxiety and some depression.
It is not uncommon to hear about Postpartum depression, but it is often overlooked that over 10% of women have depression while pregnant and close to 10% suffer from anxiety while they are pregnant – this is called perinatal depression. It is easy to overlook depression during pregnancy because some of the same symptoms of loss of libido, loss of sleep, and decrease appetite can mimic the signs of pregnancy.
Prenatal depression manifests differently for every mom and you may even noticed it is different from one pregnancy to another. It is important to understand that anytime you feel overwhelmed by your emotions, unable to function in your day-to-day life, or just “off” you should reach out to discus your feelings with a trusted medical provider.
Click Picture for Medical Provider who specializes in Perinatal & Postpartum Support
It is important to seek help if you notice yourself having:
An increase in racing anxious thoughts and panic.
Constantly worried about yourself or your baby
A feeling of hopelessness
If you no longer find joy in things that use to bring you pleasure
If you are having trouble concentrating or sleeping
Feeling angry or frustrated
Pushing others away and wanting to disconnect from loved ones or not believing your friends or family when they try to reassure you.
Or if you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby.
First do not feel shame or guilt if you are experiencing this and know that you are not alone. Moms may experience perinatal depression regardless of history of depression, socioeconomic status, race or any other factor.
Reach out to your provider if you are feeling this way. The most important thing to know about prenatal depression is that treatment is available, and it is possible to feel better. Seek treatment and do not feel ashamed to ask for help.
One last thing we want to discuss in this Step 1 is:
SUPPORT PERSON
The first thing we want to talk about is a lot of people think that when someone is giving birth, they are just giving birth to the ACTUAL baby. But it’s important that we stop and remember that we are not just giving birth to a baby, but you are actually giving birth to PARENTS. Which most of us feel is the most important role of our entire lives.
Support from a partner is SO important. Whenever possible, a team effort with a support person is the BEST approach!
Studies have shown when moms have a consistent active support person while they are in labor it leads to fewer interventions and has a better overall labor experience.
Being the support person or partner is a wonderful opportunity to help the birthing person feel more empowered, comfortable and strong.
Support starts NOW during pregnancy and will continue on through birth and postpartum.
Giving birth is a moment that will live with the laboring mother forever. It’s not just the birth she will remember, but she will also always remember how she was made to feel and supported during the process before, during and after birth. There are many ways you can show your love and support to your laboring partner.
Here are a few actionable items as you embrace this new role, which starts now, way before the first contraction!
Discuss birthing plans and preferences
You want to make sure you have a good understanding of how your partner wants to be supported so that you can advocate for her priorities throughout the pregnancy, deliver and recovery process.
Engage in Learning!
You can find the 5-Steps to being ready for Birth and Beyond in these blog post that will give you a lot of helpful information with actionable items for you to complete in each of the 5 steps. Complete these steps and you will have an outline and plan in place that will give you a blueprint to effectively support the birthing person throughout from how to relax, breathe, and manage pain.
Birthing support stuff is not hard, it’s just hard if you are trying to do it for the VERY first time when your partner is in pain.
You may be doing your very best to support your partner and they are getting frustrated with you. As the nurse, we walk up and do something that appears very similar to what you have been doing and the mother completely relaxes and copes. This can be very frustrating and defeating for the support person and that leads to the support person not wanting to try anymore. Do not be discouraged. As we discuss each phase of labor, delivery and postpartum we will offer suggestions to discuss and actionable steps to practice to help you prepare!
YOU have the ability to support this first step of a HEALTHY MIND & HEALTHY BODY.
Mama and Support Person You've Got This!