Birthing from Inside Out

by Donna Moritz

I want to ask you something, before you start reading this article. In the last few minutes, as you were settled in front of your computer, going about your work, checking your emails or just surfing around on the net, did you pay attention to what your body was doing? Did you pay any attention to making sure that your heart was beating, that your breathing was regular, your digestive juices were working appropriately, and your brain was accurately sending messages to your organs and systems via your nerves? No? Really? I didn’t think so.

You see, every second of every day we trust our bodies. We trust our bodies to beat our hearts, to fill our lungs, digest our food, grow new cells, replace our skin, clot our blood, and yes, for those of us lucky enough to experience it, we trust our bodies to grow our beautiful babies.

So, why is it that we are led to believe that we should stop trusting our bodies when it comes to birthing our babies? That having a trained, skilled midwife to assist us is not enough and we need to be in arms reach of a surgical team? Why do we hear more about birth going “wrong” than birth being natural, calm and beautiful? My theory is that we have replaced trust with fear.

You see, lately, in our society, when we become sick, or fight illness, or run a temperature, or…yes…birth our babies, we are conditioned to believe that we should stop trusting what is inside and start putting things in from outside – procedures, panadol, anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, antihistamines, and in the case of birth, interventions, inductions, epidurals, caesarean…the list goes on. Why have we forgotten that our body does have an innate intelligence that controls all of those wonderful things I mentioned earlier? Why does a large percentage of our society presume that this same intelligence (the one that controls every cell, tissue, organ and system in our body) will “call it a day”, and “shut up shop” as soon as it comes time for our baby to enter the world?

When it comes to birth, our bodies know. They have known for thousands of years. They know how to grow a baby and they know how to birth a baby (and our baby pretty much knows what to do too!). Yes there are times when intervention is necessary, and I am very grateful that we have those services available in my country, but it is disappointing to think that in many cases the intuition of the birthing mother is overridden, and intervention has unfortunately become more common than necessary.

So what can we do to help our bodies, and to support that amazing innate intelligence that controls us all? What can we do to help our babies come into this world as naturally as possible? We need to trust. To trust our bodies. To trust our babies. And we need to give our bodies every opportunity to do what they do best. To birth. I know that for me personally, there is some specific advice I would give myself if I could go back to before I birthed my two beautiful children, as follows

Trust your baby. Don’t worry about all those tips for encouraging your baby to come into the world. Instead, relax, rest and enjoy your time heading into full-term pregnancy. Your baby is coming when he or she is ready. The only person that knows your baby’s due date is your baby! Oh, and your body is in on the secret too, so just give up and let them do their thing. And besides, you have a big event coming up, so again, get some rest! 

Visualise. Fill your mind with positive birth stories and experiences. Avoid listening to the “war” stories of other mums who focus on the negative aspects of pregnancy, labour and birth. Even if you have a planned Caesar or you require intervention, the birth experience can be a positive one. Use affirmations daily to prepare for the birth that you want.

Trust your body. Trust that your body knows what to do, and also that it knows what not to do. Trust your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, or something stops or things stall, there may be a reason. Conversely, your body will guide you in the birthing process –I embraced the fact that my transition from active labour to the birthing process was all due to my body taking over. It was down to me to trust my body and let it guide me. Keep your lines of communication open with your midwife. If you can access continuity of care with your midwife, please do. Consider working with a private midwife, because when you really know your midwife it makes the world of difference. If you communicate with, trust and tap into the skills of the wonderful midwife by your side, you will be more comfortable, resulting in a calmer birth.

Breathe. I am a hypnobirther through and through (I highly recommend the Hypnobirthing Program), but even if you remember nothing else…remember to breathe! Your body needs to open , so breathe up with each contraction and work with your muscles in order to open your body for birth. Visualise your abdomen filling up and your body opening. Every contraction and every long breath brings you closer to meeting your baby. Holding your breath and feeling fear can lead to tension which works against your muscles… so use your breathing to achieve a calm, relaxed state.

Be comfortable. I don’t mean comfy in the traditional sense – I mean calm, comfortable and having complete trust in your birthing team and your birthing environment. For me, my team leading up to birth and during the birth included a mix of my midwife, husband, mum and a friend. Midwifery care and chiropractic care were paramount before, during and after birth for me and my baby. They were the people that I wanted to share labour with me and to help me bring my baby into the world. They were the ones I felt completely comfortable with. Comfort and trust go hand in hand. 

Remember the power of touch – no matter what sort of birth you have, remember to have as much skin to skin time as you possibly can with your baby. Keep your environment calm, and lighting low. Skin to skin touch helps your baby to regulate temperature and bodily functions. This is an amazing transitional period for you and your baby. Remember your baby has just been born, so try to transition gently between the environment of the womb and the bright, noisy, stark environment of the world outside. Take all the time you need.

When women trust their bodies to birth, it makes for calmer, more natural birthing and less need for intervention. We need to flip our thinking around…if we think about health in terms of trusting what is “inside” first, we can achieve much greater potential. Did you know that you have a “Dr inside” that knows your body better than anyone on the outside possibly could? It is called your nervous system. Trust it. And let’s collectively starting turning birth inside-out!

Donna Moritz, Mother, Passionate Advocate for Chiropractic, Practice Manager.