There’s no doubt about it – the prospect of giving birth can be utterly terrifying! It doesn’t help that the only real things you hear and read about giving birth are typically horror stories either.
The excruciating pain, the potential to soil yourself, and the prospect of having lots of nurses and doctors staring down below, can prove to be more than a little daunting. However, in the majority of cases, nothing does go wrong. It’s over before you know it and the outcome is worth every single minute of the birthing process. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily make it easier to deal with the fears over labor. So, if you are experiencing fears over giving birth, below you’ll discover some great ways to overcome them.
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Seek Support
One of the best ways to overcome your labor fears, is to seek support. This could be from friends and family, or it could be professional support via a counselor or doctor. You could also look for support groups you could join to talk to those who are in a similar position. Most pregnant women have fears over giving birth, so you may just be surprised by how many support groups there are out there.
Bottling up how you feel isn’t going to help. In fact, it’s only likely to make the fears worse. So, talking about how you feel is crucial if you want to overcome the fear. It’s also worth being aware that if you try to ignore the fear, it can actually lead to anxiety and depression. So, the sooner you address it, the less it will affect your mental health.
Understand Your Pain Management Options
By far one of the main fear’s women have about giving birth, is the pain they’re going to go through. You hear all the time from women who have gone through it, that the pain was like nothing they’ve ever experienced.
There’s even a meme that’s been circulating the internet for years now, claiming that the human body can withstand 45 del of pain, whereas when they give birth, women experience 57 del of pain. Apparently, this is the equivalent of having 20 bones fractured at the same time! That’s just the kind of thing you want to read about when you’re due to give birth right? It’s terrifying! However, while pain is unavoidable, there are so many ways to control it these days.
It can really help to understand your pain management options. Knowing how the pain will be handled once you’re giving birth can make you feel much more in control and reassured. It can also help to remind yourself that trillions of women have given birth over the years and many of them do it more than once. So, the pain isn’t going to be so bad that it puts you off doing it again.
Ensure You’re Prepared
It’s often the fear of uncertainty which gets to many women in the lead up to the birth. So, it can really help to make sure you’re well prepared. This means, having your hospital bag packed and ready, making sure your birthing partner knows exactly what you want, and figuring out what’s going to happen on the actual day.
It can also help to keep an open mind. While it’s likely the labor will go as planned, it’s important to be prepared in case it doesn’t. Plan for both a vaginal and a C-Section birth. That way, if something does go wrong, you won’t be totally freaked out at the prospect.
Look For Positive Stories
A lot of time, birthing stories you hear are mostly about things that have gone wrong. Friends, family and colleagues seem to be full of horror stories. However, if you look hard enough, you’ll soon find there’s also plenty of positive stories out there. Taking the time to research and read through as many positive stories as possible is a great way to eliminate those fears.
Try Out Breathing Techniques
If your fears are quite strong, you may find breathing techniques can help. They can slow down the heart rate, keeping the mind calm. Just a few deep breaths can help you to snap out of fear and focus on the positives.
Of course, breathing techniques can also help you in the delivery room. When you attend prenatal classes, you’ll usually learn numerous breathing techniques you can utilize during the labor. These can also help to minimize the pain you experience too, so if you haven’t learnt any breathing techniques yet, now is definitely the time to give them a go.
Give Yoga A Try
Another thing you’ll want to try out to ease your fears is yoga. Not only is yoga known to be relaxing, but it can also help prepare your body for the birth too. It makes the body more flexible, which can help to reduce pain during delivery. It’s also one of the few types of exercise you can do which is safe during pregnancy.
So, you’ll help to keep yourself in shape, relax the mind and body and potentially make labor less painful. Just be sure to look for a class specifically designed for pregnant women if you want to get the most benefits.
Conclusion
Overall, it’s common to have fears over giving birth. Whether it’s the fear of how much it will hurt, or fear over something going wrong – they are completely natural. However, as you can see, there are ways to overcome those fears, or at least minimize them. The more prepared you are and the more research you do, the more reassured you’ll feel. Don’t forget, if you’re really struggling, it’s a good idea to talk to a professional.
Did you have fears about giving birth? Let us know how you dealt with them in the comments below. If you have a positive birthing experience, it would also be great to share that with our pregnant readers.
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