The mind is capable of anything--

because everything is in it, all the past,

as well as the future.

--Joseph Conrad

I knew, before becoming pregnant with my daughter Sophia, that I wanted to give birth naturally. I knew my body was capable. I'm not sure where exactly that confidence came from, perhaps from pushing myself to train for and run a marathon, perhaps from a strong belief that a woman's body was designed to give birth. Whatever it was, I knew that with the right preparation (and God willing, healthy conditions) I could do it.

I started my first pregnancy at a traditional OB because the pregnancy was a total surprise and we had just moved across the country. It became clear, over the course of the first few months that my desire to give birth naturally was contradictory to the philosophy of the doctors and the hospital they were associated with. So I started to look for an alternative, I found it in a local birthing center.

A birthing center birth is not for everyone, but from the moment I walked in the door I knew it was for me. I loved the serenity of the environment, the freedom of choice the midwives allowed me and my husband and their philosophy towards birth: that it is a beautiful, natural miracle. The prenatal care and birth I experienced with Sophia was amazing: the midwives are knowledgable and experienced. It was a natural choice to return there for this pregnancy.

As strong as my belief is that a natural birth is...well, natural and that I was completely capable of it, a natural birth doesn't just "happen." And in this way giving birth and running a marathon are similar: you can't just wake up one day and decide to do it, both require preparation.

There's a lot of physical and mental training that goes into running a marathon, months out you start planning and logging miles, you begin to visualize the race, your pace and finish. The outcome of your race depends completely on the preparation you put in mentally and physically, if you do the work the results will most likely be favorable, if you don't do the work it will show. The outcome of birth is affected by many variables that you can't control, but there are a few variables that you can control: your physical fitness and mental preparation. Being physically fit positively influenced my first pregnancy: I was prepared for the test of strength and endurance. I believe it will help me the second time around too. But more importantly I was mentally prepared. I believed that I was capable of a natural birth, I made a conscious effort to block out negative or fearful thoughts (including the ones of naysayers who believed it wasn't possible or would be "too hard"). My husband and I also took a Hypnobirthing class (based on the book by Marie Mongan), which gave me valuable tools for approaching birth in a positive way.

The name Hypnobirthing is rather misleading (the author has toyed with the idea of changing it). It is not about being "hypnotized" through birth, as the name might imply, rather it is about learning self-directed meditative, relaxation techniques that allow you to enter into a state of deep relaxation and heightened awareness of your body. The class requires consistent practice with several scripted meditations that are about 30-40 minutes in length. The meditations teach you how to relax your body through a series of breathing techniques and visualizations. I started practicing the meditation and relaxation techniques around the five month mark in my first pregnancy.

During my labor and delivery with Sophia I never thought: OK, now it's time to do the Hypnobirthing breathing. In fact, the repetitive practice of the meditations meant that when labor started my mind and body automatically responded with the proper breathing technique and I was able to relax through some of the most difficult parts of labor. As a result I had a relatively easy and quick delivery, without complication.

This time around I waited much longer to start the meditation practices (I can procrastinate with the best of them!). Finally about a month ago, I reminded myself that "you can't run a marathon without training" and got myself into a daily practice of relaxing and visualizing the birth. The more I take my body through the motions of relaxing and breathing, the more confident I feel about the impending birth of my baby. It's true that there are still fears and doubts that creep in, but I keep reminding myself that I have done this before and that my mind and body are ready to carry me and my baby through to the other side of labor and delivery: that precious moment when you first get to hold your child in your arms.

Have you ever used visualization or meditation/relaxation techniques to complete a difficult task (like running a marathon or giving birth)?

--Sarah

Giving Birth at a Birthing Center

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