Okay, if you're hoping for an unmedicated hospital birth, this one's for you. I'm pulling back the curtain and giving you my 11 insider tips - the real, practical stuff I've learned both as a labor nurse and from having four unmedicated hospital births myself. We're talking about everything from how to build the right care team before you even go into labor, to why knowledge really is power when it comes to navigating a system that isn't always designed with unmedicated birth in mind, to the mental game that I think matters more than almost anything else. I get into physical prep, staying home as long as you safely can, having someone who can speak up for you when you can't speak for yourself, and so much more. These tips are about giving you the confidence, the knowledge, and the team you need to go after the birth you're hoping for.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Listen to episode 10: The Emotional Signposts of Labor (an Episode for Every Birth Partner to Hear)
• Listen to my birth story’s:Episode 01,Episode 13, &Episode 40
• Listen to episode 37: Is it Real Labor: Braxton Hicks Contractions, False Labor & Prodromal Labor
• Listen to episode 38: You're Contracting! When Do You Go to the Hospital?
• Listen to episode 50: Birth Plans vs. Birth Vibes: Real-Life Tips for Hospital Birth That Feels Good with Jen Hamilton

Helpful Timestamps:

• 00:00 11 Tips for an Unmedicated Birth
• 07:24 Tip 1 Choosing Your Care Team
• 10:46 Tip 2 Know All the Paths
• 12:50 Tip 3 Get Physical
• 15:31 Tip 4 Mental Strength
• 17:59 Tip 5 Stay Home Longer
• 21:17 Tip 6 Choose Your Advocate
• 23:12 Tip 7 Expect Interruptions
• 26:00 Tip 8 Understand Labor Stages
• 28:04 Tip 9 Comfort Toolbox
• 30:50 Tip 10 Keep Moving
• 32:57 Tip 11 Know How to Chill

About your host:

Lo Mansfield, MSN, RNC-OB, CLC is a registered nurse, mama of 4, and a birth, baby, and motherhood enthusiast. She is both the host of the Lo & Behold podcast and the founder of The Labor Mama.

For more education, support and “me too” from Lo, please visit her website and check out her online courses and digital guides for birth, breastfeeding, and postpartum/newborns. You can also follow @thelabormama and @loandbehold_thepodcast on Instagram and join her email list here.

For more pregnancy, birth, postpartum and motherhood conversation each week, be sure to subscribe to The Lo & Behold podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to listen!

A request: If this episode meant something to you, would you consider a 5 star rating and leaving us a review? Yes, we read them, and yes, they help keep L & B going! ♥️

Connect with Lo more on: INSTAGRAM | TIK TOK | PINTEREST | FACEBOOK

Disclaimer

Opinions shared by guests of this show are their own, and do not always reflect those of The Labor Mama platform. Additionally, the information you hear on this podcast or that you receive via any linked resources should not be considered medical advice. Please see our full disclaimer here.

Additionally, we may make a small commission from some of the links shared with you. Please know, this comes at no additional cost to you, supports our small biz, and is a way for us to share brands and products with you that we genuinely love.

Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services

Mentioned in this episode:

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I have had four unmedicated hospital births, but I've also been the nurse for many.

I'm gonna give you 11, let's call them like insider tips for that unmedicated hospital birth

Motherhood is all-consuming.

Having babies, nursing, feeling the fear of loving someone that much.

Then there's this baby on your chest, and boom, your entire life has changed.

It's a privilege of being your child's safest space and watching your heart walk around outside of your body.

The truth is, I can be having the best time being a mom one minute, and then the next, I'm questioning all my life choices.

I'm Lo Mansfield, your host of the Lo and Behold podcast.

Mama of four littles, former labor and postpartum RN, CLC, and your new best friend in the messy middle space of all the choices you are making in pregnancy, birth, and motherhood.

If there is one thing I know after years of delivering babies at the bedside, and then having, and now raising those four of my own, it is that there is no such thing as a best way to do any of this, and we're leaning into that truth here.

With a mix of real life and what the textbook says, expert insights, and practical applications, each week we're making our way towards stories that we participate in, stories that we are honest about, and stories that are ours.

This is the Lo and Behold podcast.

Okay, if you wanna know what's really going on over here right now, I just bribed my kids with Annie's Cheeto Puffs and a television show and said, "Will you give me like 25, 30 minutes and let me bust out a podcast episode?" So I've been wanting to have this conversation with you.

I've been wanting to kind of bust this out because it's gonna be quick and short and to the point, but it is going to be so valuable for you, I promise.

I wanna talk to you about tips for an unmedicated hospital birth.

This is a big conversation, lots of buzzwords.

How do we do this?

Can we do this?

Is hospital births where all good births go to die?

You know, all of that can be part of it, but I have had four unmedicated hospital births.

My stories are sprinkled throughout here.

Actually, at this moment in time, I've recorded my first three.

I still need to record number four, but you can start with number one.

It is the very first podcast episode, so go to episode one and check that one out, and then they all just kind of build on each other.

So I'd encourage you to listen to those so you can kind of get Yeah, my personal story, not just these snippets of tips, right?

So start with episode one, and that will link you and send you to all the rest as well.

But essentially what I wanna give you is kind of an overview of some things that I think are really big for those of you who are focused on and hopeful for an unmedicated hospital birth, right?

And I know that you've probably heard things like, " No one gets a trophy for an unmedicated birth," or, "That's so weird.

Why would you wanna do that?" Or, "Why would you subjugate yourself to pain?" You know, all of these things.

I just wanna throw that stuff out right now.

There are different birth hopes, goals, and plans for all of this, all of us.

All of them have value, and if this is a hope for you, there's nothing weird about it.

You're not subjugating yourself to any sort of pain that you don't have to.

This is a, this is a very real desire, and there's nothing strange about it.

So first off, no validation necessary.

You don't need to kind of put yourself in spaces or allow people to speak to you with that kind of like, "Ha ha, call me when your first contraction hits."

We're not doing that here.

It's a cool goal.

It's a good goal.

I wanna help you achieve that goal if that is your goal, and these tips are gonna help you do it, okay?

So I really wanted you to hear that first because this conversation gets spicy and weird sometimes, and I just don't think it really should matter to us how you choose to birth versus how I choose to birth or what we're hoping for, you know?

You do you, I do me.

Let's encourage each other in all of it.

So that's basically my foundation and framework underneath all of this.

The other thing I wanna just point out really quickly is you're gonna hear me use the word unmedicated hospital birth, right?

And you probably know natural birth is another term that sometimes gets used.

I think a lot of people have kind of floated away from that natural term for this idea of vaginal, birth, particularly unmedicated vaginal birth, because what does natural even mean, right?

Or then are we saying other forms of birth are unnatural or if you add an epidural, suddenly you're unnatural?

I don't like that vocabulary.

I don't like that terminology.

I make that clarification inside of the Your Body Your Birth course as well that that's not the way we speak about this.

We call this unmedicated birth, and then I would say within that there is some nuance of even, what do you mean by unmedicated?

Do you mean no medications at all, right?

So no IV pain medications, no nitrous oxide.

Does that also mean if I have Pitocin because I need some sort of augmentation or induction, then I can't call this an unmedicated birth, right?

So people can get lost in these weeds.

I don't want you to get lost in the weeds.

I'm talking about unmedicated hospital birth.

Mostly what I'm really referring to is birth without an epidural.

So you will hear me mention a few other pain tools.

Some people will say, "That doesn't count if you use the nitrous or the IV." Whatever.

Get that out of here.

Overall, these tips are valuable for all of us with that goal largely of saying, " We're not gonna utilize that epidural.

We wanna do this unmedicated." That is, again, this kind of framework and foundation as well that we are gonna stand on When it comes to that overall question of can you have an unmedicated hospital birth, I know I talked about this a little bit when I first started, and I said, you know, there's a lot of people with that idea of like, "You can't do this at a hospital.

That's what home birth birth centers are for.

Too many interventions.

You can't have a physiological birth," right?

That's all that conversation.

I think it's really important to acknowledge that the hospital is not intimately, specifically designed to support unmedicated birth, okay?

We're not going to pretend like that's not true.

We're gonna acknowledge that it is true because then we're gonna lean into what makes the hospital different or how you can navigate that or what you need to know to prepare for some of that so that then if something pops up that is specific to laboring and birthing in the hospital, you're like, " Cool.

I have a tool.

I have a thing about this.

I knew this was coming," right?

So we're not berating hospital births, and I say this all the time on social media.

Inside the birth course, you hear me talk about this.

Like, I chose hospital births.

I wanted to be there, and then I wanted to do it like this.

And so you have to figure out what kind of, let's say, the issues are or the discrepancies between those two things and then figure out how you're gonna mitigate them or get around them, right?

So we're not ignoring that the hospital has some intricacies that could be challenging.

Okay?

100% true.

It's a place where interventions are done.

It's a place where nurses, midwives, doctors, they're trained to utilize these interventions and how do they work, and to consider how they're valuable to you, right?

And so there's a familiarity there that then means they're potentially going to think, "Hey, let's do this.

Let's add value to your story.

Let's add efficiency to your story.

This could be valuable for you." And so we have to say all of this is true, and then figure out how to kind of birth inside of that, right?

Okay, so let's get into it.

Like I said, I have maybe 20 minutes before the Cheetos run out and my kids come knocking on the door.

Let's do this.

I'm gonna give you 11, let's call them, like, insider tips, if you will, for that unmedicated hospital birth.

And I know I've mentioned before, yeah, I've had my own, but I've also been the nurse for many.

Okay?

So I've been the care provider who also supports these, and I want you to know there are many care providers in the hospital setting, whether that be an OB or midwife or the nurses on the floor, who support this, who love this, and who are ready to rock the hell out of it with you, okay?

I know that you can't always control that nurse, but I just want you to understand that so many love this for you and are gonna be supportive of it.

And I would say be hopeful and go into it hoping you get that nurse who does love this for you, and then we're gonna talk about how you also build what you need, you know, kind of almost regardless of that nurse as well.

So that gets us to the very first tip, which is choose your care team carefully.

So this is more pregnancy, right?

We're not talking about in labor, this is what you do, but this impacts everything you can or will do during labor, right?

So I want you to think about, yes, we say, you know, pick a really good provider, pick a good OBGYN, pick a midwife.

A lot of people say choose a midwife over an OBGYN if you want unmedicated birth, 'cause they're gonna

That's more the midwifery model of care is that type of birth.

So yes, those things are valuable.

That primary care provider is valuable, and we're gonna wanna ask them questions.

You know, like, I like saying just even simple things.

What's your favorite type of birth to care for?

Or why do you love vaginal birth?

What do you love about cesarean?

Like, really get their heart about birth and the different ways it can be done.

And then certainly asking questions like, " What do you feel like your role is," this is you to the provider, "in an unmedicated birth?" Right?

Or, what happens if I decline an epidural or something that I'm saying I'm not gonna choose?

You know, and we're kind of feeling them out, getting the, a vibe check, right?

for what, how it is that they respond to these questions that very clearly indicate, " I'm really gonna try and do this without medication." Right?

However, Let's just put that on a shelf, right?

Because you know the importance of them, and I'm not discrediting that or dismissing it, but what I really wanna talk to you is about some of those other people and how intentional we need to be about these people.

And so the first one, of course, is obviously the birth partner.

Now, people talk about this a lot.

Oh, you need support.

Oh, you need support.

And then kind of gloss over it, or you know that, or you say yeah, yeah, yeah.

But this person that, let's say one, sometimes it's more than that, but this person you choose to be in it with you, they need the education that you know you need.

They need to be able to ask questions.

They need to understand the normals, the intricacies, the abnormals of birth, the spectrums of birth.

They need to be this invested in it for you so that they can show up in it with you, okay?

So just do not pass over the absolute necessity of a really good, I would say really incredible birth partner.

This is why we have partner specific materials in Your Body Your Birth course.

The partner, we actually have a mini partner course and an entire partner guide that speaks to them and for them so they understand roles they can play, scripts they can use, questions they can ask, things that are happening in pregnancy, then in labor, then in postpartum, and their roles inside of that.

We speak to them because they need that type of education, okay?

The other thing I would tell you to consider, again specifically in this unmedicated birth conversation, is a doula.

Now, they can serve and support any type of birth.

They can support postpartum.

They are 99% of the time, right, such a blessing.

And in this space, I think they can be so valuable for helping you kind of navigate the hospital system or maybe some of the things that might come up And make good, you know, good choices or have the support you need to kind of move through the hospital system with ease, let's say.

So the doula if you can, really good birth partner also.

So yes, the doula could be that for you, but if you can have them plus that incredible birth partner, those two pieces of the care team, having that support aside from or also in addition to that incredible delivering provider, amazing.

You can't pick your nurse.

Hopefully, you get a good one.

You can fire them if you're not meshing with them, kind of that's a separate conversation, right?

But you can listen, Jen Hamilton and I talk about that a little bit in episode 50 of kind of navigating that nurse-patient relationship, what to look for, how they can advocate for you, all of that.

So listen to that episode as well.

It's great.

But you can't always specifically choose them, but man, you can cultivate this other, these, this other team that I've been talking about, okay?

Step two, learn every possible path.

Now, some people really balk at this, and I would say particularly in this unmedicated natural birth conversation because they're thinking, " No, eyes on the prize.

I'm focused on what I want, and that is the unmedicated birth, and I want it to look like this," and there's this idea of we're visualizing, visualizing victory, right, or success and what that looks like.

Visualization is an incredible birth tool, so I don't want to dismiss that.

But I just am a such a huge believer in knowledge is power.

I think one of the biggest mistakes we make preparing for birth and or, and an unmedicated birth is that we are only looking at the birth that we hope we'll have, and then this unpredictability of birth, even like let's say good, perfect births, they are still unpredictable.

Then that unpredictability catches us off guard, right?

Or maybe we thought, "I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna get in that tub when I'm seven centimeters, and then I'll do this, and then I'm gonna utilize the nitrous or whatever," and it doesn't work like that.

And maybe you still get the unmedicated birth, or you still get that vaginal birth, but along the way, there were these things that got thrown at you that you just hadn't planned for.

So I am someone who would say, "I want you to learn about contractions. I want you to learn about emotional signposts. I want you to learn about positions and breathing, C-section, Pitocin, augmentation and induction conversations." All of this could become relevant, and I don't want it to negate your ability to have this unmedicated birth.

I want you to know that that was a part of it, and then you're able to say, " Okay, we talked about this in the birth class.

I actually know exactly what they're talking about.

No, I didn't wanna have my waters broken, but they're suggesting it.

This is why.

I have things to think about.

I have questions to ask." Like, being able to have that conversation in your own head and then make choices in spite of or in regards to whatever might pop up Even again, on the way to this unmedicated birth, so, so valuable.

We make a lot of hasty choices based on, like, fear, anxiousness, feeling like we don't have time, just being uncertain.

So I really want you to remove that, particularly again because you want this unmedicated birth which requires this intention and this focus throughout.

And so I think removing kind of those opportunities to just feel so unsure, make a choice that later you're like, " God, I really wish I hadn't done that," we need to learn, right?

Knowledge is power because if you need to apply it, then I want that knowledge in your head.

Tip three, get physical, and I'm air quoting the word physical during pregnancy.

And in this I'm talking about exercise, flexibility, yoga, all of the things, right?

Labor is a marathon.

Unmedicated birth has to, you have to have this intention that I'm not going to get that physical break that an epidural would offer, right?

That's okay.

We can do labor without that, but you really gotta have a body that is ready for that.

So to the best of your abilities or to the best of your resources, I want you considering how can I get my body most prepared for labor, like for labor to start from a good place, and then for me to sustain, like for the body to sustain me during the actual labor process too.

So exercise is a huge part of this.

You probably know the standard guidelines, 30-ish minutes a day of moderate aerobic exercise, about 150-ish, they say, minutes total a week.

You know, so that could look a little different.

Keep doing what you're doing if you already have a routine that's approved by your doctor.

If you're starting from scratch, ask them how to start, but get moving.

Maybe that's walking, working your way up to that.

Have a body that moves, okay?

Be intentional with that.

Research shows us that good exercise programs, let's say, or those who exercise more or are physically ac- more physically active during pregnancy actually have shorter active phases of labor and birth.

So that's just cool too, right?

If you want an unmedicated birth, what a great little bonus to have even less time in labor that you are working through, right?

So get physical, use your body, exercise.

What does that look like for you?

Other things in this combo I throw in like optimal fetal positioning exercises, prenatal, perineal massage, pelvic floor PT, hydration and good nutrition just as a basic having a body that's pliable and healthy and ready and the tissues are ready to stretch, you know, things like that.

chiropractic alignment if you wanna consider that or you feel good about that, your OB says, "Hey, go for it." All of these things, essentially where we're asking this question, " How can I get my body ready to go into labor and then sustain it," right?

We already said that.

And so are there things you can do to support that process?

So You go into labor from the best place you can be.

My caveat here is that idea of grace.

No one will do all of this perfectly.

No one can.

Like I said, I've had four kids, done unmedicated, goal was the same each time, and I did not do all of this well all four times.

I did not even do all of this all four times.

I was doing the best I could, understanding that physically I was asking my body to do a lot to grow a baby, obviously, and then also to labor in the way that I was hoping to labor, which meant I gotta think about how to prepare this body as best as I can With, again, the time, the resources, the brain space that I have.

Some days that looked different than other days, but that was the overall goal is considering that physicalness of the body and how it can impact labor.

Okay, tip number four, all things flow from your mental strength, okay?

To me, this is the most important thing.

This is the root of the root, the foundation of the foundation for birth and then certainly for unmedicated birth, right?

You know birth is 90% mental.

You've heard the cliche.

It is so true.

Even if you are physically, let's say, perfect, right, whatever that would even mean.

So we just talked about, oh, physically get so ready.

You will not labor well, you will not labor efficiently if you are not mentally tough and you have the tools to stay locked into that place of mental strength.

Now, why would I say that?

Because your physical body responds to what is up in your head, right?

And so this is not just a physical game.

This is a mental game.

And the body, even if it's like perfectly, again, tuned up and ready to do this thing, it will not be able to do it if your brain gets in the way.

And when I say if your brain gets in the way, I'm talking about if you don't feel safe, if fears or anxieties or maybe some of those topics that we, you know, said, "Hey, you need to learn about them," maybe you chose not to and then they pop up, if those start to overwhelm you, if you start to panic in situations you weren't prepared for or, again, that you didn't learn about, lose control over your thoughts, your body, it will tense up.

Blood flow to the uterus can actually change.

Your hormone levels can change.

Labor can stall.

It can slow down.

It can become more painful.

We don't want any of these things in birth at all, right?

We certainly don't want them if we're trying to do this unmedicated.

And so you have to consider how are you going to address this mental toughness piece because it is the piece, in my opinion, from which all else flows.

If we are not okay in this space, we cannot be okay in the others.

So you just have to ask yourself questions and then we need to answer these questions, right?

What are you doing to address fears or anxieties that you have?

What are you gonna do when it gets hard, feels a little scary, when the pain starts to overwhelm?

Are you actually practicing right now in month seven how to breathe through discomfort, pain, anxiousness?

Do you have mantras that you are practicing, that you're considering, that you're saying out loud, that you're looking at yourself in the mirror and utilizing?

Does your team, that precious team that I just talked about, do they make you feel safe?

Can they step into this and remind you you're okay?

Where are you at mentally?

What's going on in your head?

Let's get you back to a good place.

All of this is the thing, right?

The pinnacle of pinnacles.

So do not gloss this over or put it in the woo-woo like, "Yeah, I feel ready." Really consider what it means and how you will respond in these moments where you have to think, "What's going on in my head?"

Because that is impacting what's going on in the rest of my body.

Okay?

Tip number five, stay home as long as you safely can or is appropriate.

Home is usually going to be where all of us feel the safest, and like we were just talking about, this idea of safety, that means then the body can do what it wants Because you feel so safe mentally and emotionally, right?

And so that means typically at home we're gonna labor more efficiently.

Certainly there's less interruptions, right?

There's not a suggestion of intervention or things that you could consider when the going gets tough, right?

And so because we remove ourselves from that or we're worth kind of almost withholding ourselves from that scenario, then we're typically just gonna labor more efficiently, right?

And again, if the goal is unmedicated birth, well then the more efficiently we do this or the more, let's say, typically our body is able to move through this, that just works out better for us, right?

We w- potentially gonna run into less of the stalls, the slowdowns, the interruptions that just can feel a little harder to navigate as labor progresses.

Certainly once you get to the hospital, you know there's a process to the admittance process, and even the best, most beautifully laid birth plan, the best team, still can't prevent all interruptions, right?

You have to get in the car.

You have to get out of the car.

Someone's gonna ask you a question at some point.

Your team can handle the questions, but there's still gonna be this juggling of the space you were in at home and adjusting to the space that you're in at the hospital.

So the suggestion is, of course, stay home as long as you're able.

If and when you do need to go in, and this would include if you're saying, " Well, that sucks because I can't stay home.

I'm being induced," and that's where you're at right now and you're listening to this, then you get to that hospital and you make that space feel like home, okay?

Stay home as long as you can, and then make it feel like home as soon as you get here.

Great job for the birth partner.

Again, we address this in that partner course and all the things they can do, how they can step into this.

Dim the lights.

Play your music.

Get your tools set up.

Pop on your headphones and let everybody else do their job around you.

Have that partner, you know, make it clear that this is the way you'd like it to be, that they can be the one to communicate.

Whatever that looks like, we're making that space feel like home once we are at the hospital.

So consider what that would mean for you.

Bring in the things that make that happen, and then give that job to someone else once you are there as well.

I do have in episode 38, I have a when to go to the hospital episode that just works through, episode 37 actually works through contractions, types of contractions, and then we're leading you to that episode 38 where we can talk about when to go to the hospital and how to actually make that choice, right?

Because ideally we're not getting there too early, and if you are there early or you're not that dilated and they check you, know that you can say, "Okay," like maybe, "Darn, I thought I was farther along," for sure, and we can deal with that.

And then you can also remove yourself and say, "We will come back," right?

it's not necessarily going to be the best choice for you, again, with this unmedicated birth goal to be in the hospital early ' cause that immediately kind of invites the possibilities of what could happen.

Interventions, "Hey, can we offer you this?" It just can feel a little bit tougher to achieve that goal if you really extend the time you're there potentially kind of unnecessarily.

So know you can leave if you get an OB triage and- The dilation is not what you're expecting or whatever.

And then also, if you listen to, again, those episodes 37 and 38, it can help you make the decision of when to go to the hospital.

And so ideally, you're really getting there at a good time in your flow, where you're, " Yes, I'm here.

I'm here to stay, and then we're gonna have this baby in a good way and kind of in a good timeframe." Not that we can control that, but in a good… You're i- you're there for a, a timeframe that makes sense and feels good for you after you're admitted.

Okay, number six, I just kind of alluded to this a little bit, but have someone who can speak up for you if that person's not gonna be you.

Now, I know some of you are really strong, right?

And, and you do such a great job of speaking up for yourself.

This is actually not me.

Although in labor, I think we kind of become a different version of ourselves than we are the version that needs to exist to kind of transition to motherhood and have this child.

However, I am not this huge vocal, outgoing person, right?

And so it was very much like, "Hey, Calvin," my husband, "I need you to be an advocate," right?

So I talked about how they can walk in the room and make that space what it needs to be.

And I talked about, in that first tip, like, this care team, just how much they need to know so they can support you, right?

This is so they can advocate for you, right?

Active labor gets hard.

Transition is rocking, and when you're moving through all of these without any sort of medication or epidural, it is very unlikely you are going to wanna speak for yourself.

So who is the person who is going to speak for you and that you trust with that responsibility and that knows you, knows the hopes, knows the desires so they can speak for you?

And then in that, in regards to that mental toughness, they can speak to you.

Okay, so I know we already said we find the team, and then we're gonna clarify on that team, is there one person speaking for me?

Is it, you know, maybe you and the doula?

What does that look like?

But be really clear about that, that they are gonna ask questions.

They're gonna s- create space.

They're gonna talk to the staff.

Do you want to put those headphones on, check out, and they run everything through them, and then they have a way to communicate with you?

What does that look like?

But get really clear about that advocacy, speaking up process, who's gonna do it, what some of those scripts are.

Inside of , the Your Body Your Birth course, we have kind of a full thing about, a full lesson about what it looks like to advocate, what are some of these questions to ask, scripts to ask.

That can be really valuable to just kind of, let's say, tuck in the rhetorical pocket, right?

And just have those in that pocket so you feel really comfortable saying, "Hey- I'm gonna utilize this brain tool that we learned about in the course.

That means I'm gonna ask these questions.

I'm gonna ask for more time.

I'm gonna let you keep laboring, and I'm gonna do this kind of advocacy work over here, and then we're gonna talk about this when everyone leaves the room.

Just thinking through what those situations can look like.

Tip number seven, I want you to know what the hospital's going to offer or what's gonna come up in front of you, and I want you to expect interruption.

Now, we're gonna try and mitigate those interruptions as much as possible from listening to this podcast, taking the birth course, listening to the episode about OB triage and what happens in there so that you expect them and you know and you can show up and already almost have a plan for some of them.

But like we mentioned when we talked about going to the hospital or staying home as long as possible, you have to recognize that you will be interrupted in some way, so you need to have a plan for that.

Hospitals are likely going to offer that cervical exam, right?

All of them want to put an IV in.

They're all gonna do continuous or intermittent monitoring.

They're all going to have pain options available, though we can make it very clear very early that we don't want those suggested or someone, you know, could take care of that for you.

Sometimes there are medications that are more medically necessary, or are you GBS positive and so they are gonna run an antibiotic every four hours or until your baby's born.

Just thinking through these, knowing that they're a reality of hospital birth.

Like I said when we started, there are some realities that are true, so don't ignore them, and we're not gonna berate the system.

We're gonna say, "Okay, this is true of the system. Here's what I'm gonna do about it to make sure I can stay in my groove."

Hey friend, quick pause for just a second.

If you are listening to this podcast because you wanna feel more prepared, more confident, and less freaked out about birth, that is exactly why I created the Your Body Your Birth course.

This birth course will not tell you what kind of birth you should want, and nobody has the right to do that.

It is about helping you understand what's happening in your body, what your options actually are, and how to walk into your birth feeling grounded, excited, ready, instead of overwhelmed and scared.

When you have education like this, everything changes: your mindset, your conversations with your care team, and the birth experience itself.

No more relying on random opinions, okay?

Stop scrolling.

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Okay, let's get you back to the episode

So again, the course is- does such a good job of laying out what… That's, like, my- one of my big goals inside of Your Ready Birth course, is laying out, here is literally what happens when you walk in the door.

Here are questions they're gonna ask.

Here's something someone else can do for you so you can sit on that birth ball, and giving you that clearer picture, almost like envisioning if you could watch a movie and watch someone move through the system, and you're like, "Oh, that might happen.

That might happen, and here's what we'll do.

Here's what we'll do.

Here's what we'll do so I can stay in my space." So I really want you to know what it looks like to walk in the doors of the hospital and move through that process and expect interruptions and then have a solution for them.

Number eight, I want you to understand the labor process, and this is where we're talking about the physical body.

So not that the mental doesn't matter, but if there's different components of birth, I'm talking straight physical.

Know the rhythms of labor.

Know the stages of labor.

Know the emotional signposts of labor.

episode 10 is all about those.

Those are so helpful for you and for your birth partner, so good for unmedicated birth.

So go listen to episode 10 as well, because that one lays out how you and your emotions and how you feel and the things you say and the things you're doing, how they change as your labor progresses.

So it's such a cool way to help you decide when to go to the hospital.

It's such a cool way to be encouraged when your emotions change in a way that indicates transition and that ability for the team to say, " Hey, hey, hey, we know what this is, transition.

You're so close.

You're okay." So that emotional signpost conversation, that part of the labor process, so good.

So zero in on that.

It's inside the birth course too, where we talk about it even more so you can utilize that knowledge as well.

But I do just really want you to understand what your body's doing, why it's doing what it's doing, and so that's where we get into dilation and effacement and those stages of labor like I mentioned.

Understanding what transition looks like, how your sounds might change, what those vocalizations look like, being kind of intimately acquainted with the process of labor, what's going on in the body.

Because when we understand that, I think it gives you the ability to think, "Oh, the way I'm moving is supporting XYZ right now.

I know that my baby is at negative two stations, so if I do XYZ movement, I'm going to help bring them down.

This has value." And again, that birth partner, if they learn this deeply with you, they too will know this, and so they can encourage you through that, right?

And so the more you know about just this physiology of labor and what this process looks like, the more you're gonna be able to recognize how you're moving through it and be encouraged by how you and that baby are working together and how things are moving along.

Okay?

So I really, really want you to do what I think is the fun stuff and just learn about the labor process, right?

Will that help you actually know how to move through it?

Though this, all this other stuff we're talking about, right?

But that knowledge is really foundational to feeling confident inside of it as you're moving through it Tip number nine, have lots of comfort tools.

Know what they are.

And I know what I said when we started, does this include, if we're having this unmedicated birth conversation, does this include nitrous oxide and IV pain medication, or have you, you know, totally eliminated those?

But do those- does it include a TENS unit?

Does it include sterile water injections?

Or are you truly saying, "I'm doing nothing except breathwork and affirmations and the people around me"?

I would say you can decide what that looks like for you, but still, going back to that point of know all the things, I still want you to know all the options available to you so that you can utilize what you want when you want.

You know labor gets harder and harder and harder as we move through early and active transition, pushing.

Things change, right?

And so we have different tools in the toolbox and different comfort measures, right?

So we can be talking about some of those more medical ones like IV pain med, or we can talk about comfort measures like hydrotherapy and water or birthing balls, and I want you to know the spectrum of those so you know how much is at your disposal.

One thing, you know, I already mentioned this, but the Jenna Hamilton episode, in episode 50, she mentions this idea of like don't blow your load early . And essentially what she's saying is don't pull out your big banger tools at one centimeter.

If your goal is to get to 10 centimeters and have this baby without any medications, then maybe we're saving that tub until you're seven centimeters, you're in active labor, labor is not slowing down because that's gonna be the thing that gets you over the finish line.

So maybe in early labor you're saying, "Let's try this TENS unit. Let's try the birth comb. Let's just do movement." Don't ever for your breathwork.

It's always valuable throughout, right?

And so we're figuring out how to put these puzzle pieces together with this idea of it's going to get harder, right?

Most of us would say that's gon- that was true for us, and so we're saving tools and considering when we can add them in.

You can certainly combine tools, but I, I think sometimes people, you know, if you're like, "Here, hold this comb and sit on the birthing ball, and make sure you're moaning," like that can feel like a lot of work.

So I really want you to just lean into what rituals feel good for you.

We call these contraction rituals.

Talk about these in the course as well.

But it might just be you sitting on a birth ball with your eyes closed, and then maybe you start walking around while you squeeze the comb, right?

And so your care team needs to recognize what that ritual is, let you be in that ritual, and then when you switch it up or if you need some help s- with a suggestion of how to switch it up, you know, they can come in and say, " Hey, do you wanna throw the TENS unit on, too?"

And just have some, some options for you.

So- Know the tools, even if there's some that maybe you're thinking, "Eh, not for me," I still want you to know them, and then recognize how you can just start putting them together, suggesting new things if you're the birth partner, or asking for new things if you're the one having this baby.

Okay, tip number 10, two more, you guys.

Stay mobile.

And so we kind of just talked about this with this idea of contraction rituals.

Mobility is going to be such a huge part of it, but motion is lotion, right?

I know you've heard that at some point, or you're going to.

I talked about hydrotherapy being a huge tool, right?

So that obviously is gonna require movement and mobility and all of that as well.

Another part of this movement conversation is this idea of intermittent monitoring.

If you need to be monitored, they want to monitor you, you want to be monitored, whatever that looks like, asking for intermittent monitoring, asking for the mobile monitoring that works more like via Bluetooth, right?

So that you can continue to move your body.

As you move, you are helping your baby navigate the pelvis, and when we go back to the tip about understand the labor process, that's where this comes to life, right?

Because your movement really can, implicate or impact what's going on in the labor process, right?

And so your movement makes… creates space, creates changes in the baby's environment that allow them to, to descend, to come down, to get past the point they're stuck in, all of that.

Movement also can give you something kind of productive to focus on, right?

Or going back to that idea of contraction rituals, you might find that you just keep settling into a movement, and you keep doing the same thing.

It's gorgeous.

When you find that thing that works for that moment or that series of five contractions or maybe for 30 minutes or so, you do it, and then know that you can switch that up as well.

The recommendation often for movement is that you do kind of switch things up every 30 minutes or so, just to support the labor process and that movement of the baby as they're making their descent.

My kind of caveat to that is, like, if it's working and you're feeling good and things are happening, I wouldn't necessarily, like, force you to do something new.

I hit a point in all my labors where I end up on hands and knees, and I am on the floor, and I stay there until the baby's born, and if someone said, "Hey, try something new," 'cause it's been 30 minutes, I probably would punch them.

So there's some, you know, some gray space to that tip or that idea, but certainly if something's not working, get up, try something new, or lay down or sit or whatever.

And if it is working- I think we can also allow, allow for some space to continue what's working if you're just crushing it in whatever kind of ritual and movement and space that you've figured out for yourself.

Last tip, number 11, I need you to know how to… I have this idea of like relax in my brain, but then with the strike through mark because I don't like the word relax.

I don't like when people tell you to relax when you're in labor, 'cause it just is like, okay, easy for you to say.

So I more like the idea of know how to chill, and this idea of practicing what it looks like to chill.

So in the mental conversation, that mental strength conversation, we talked about breathing and fears and anxieties.

So what are your patterns?

And are you practicing them again right now when you're six months pregnant or when you're eight months pregnant?

You know that ice trick or that ice kind of game where people say, "Hold the ice cubes in your hand," and then that's like what labor is, and that's like labor practice.

Now, I know people are always like, "Ugh, that's not labor. That's not real." You know, and they get all Let's say grumpy about ice not being the same as contractions.

It's not.

But the goal here is to recognize how does your body want to respond when you're in discomfort, right, when the ice starts to sting and burn like it does, and then what are those patterns of your response, and then are those going to be valuable in labor?

Can we change them?

Can you think about deep breathing?

I had a friend mention to me the other day that she had a client do this, and that client then told her that they couldn't focus on three different things when they were doing the ice.

They just needed to think about one thing, right?

And so we're just thinking about how do you relax?

How does your body respond in discomfort or when you're in pain?

And then do, do those responses need to be altered or tweaked, right?

And so this, this really plays into that, like the mind, like the jaw, the pelvic floor connection.

Do you know how to loosen the tension in your face and your shoulders?

Do you know how to loosen the tension throughout your body?

Do you know how to breathe in patterned and specific kind of intuitive ways that then help activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which can kick off, like, fight or flight responses?

I know I'm throwing out some words.

We cover all of this in the birth course, specifically breathing patterns and how they can impact what your body's actually doing.

But going back to that idea of the more tension you carry, the harder labor is going to feel.

So we do need to have patterns for relaxation.

We do need to practice those things.

There's some printables inside of the birth course where there's progressive relaxation practices, and you can go through those right now and think about how does it feel to breathe this intentionally, to be this thoughtful about my breath, to practice these skills now in situations that are not as hard as labor, but to then be able to have a body that's like, "I know how to do this.

I know how to ground myself and root myself." So know how to relax, know how to chill.

Tell people not to tell you to relax.

Tell them to help you s- in some other way.

And at the root of this really is going to be breathwork, okay?

So if we had to, like, tuck in a specific skill for, "Oh, how do I practice relaxing?"

if that's what the question becomes, I want you to practice, consider, lean into, listen to the lesson on breathwork, what those patterns look like, and just how much they are going to impact your ability to get through all of this.

Okay, so those are the 11 tips I have for you.

Those are the things that I utilize in all four of my births.

I actually did not end up using IV pain meds, nitrous, sterile water injections, those things, but those are available to you as well.

And in my opinion, they don't, like, take you out of the unmedicated birth conversation, right?

But I wanted you to hear these 11 that really anyone can utilize, right?

This is true in an induction or VBAC.

Whatever this is, we can all be thinking about these things and consider these tools.

in addition to this conversation, and I went back and forth on should I address this?

Should I say this?

Is this like popping the balloon we've just blown up of you can do this, you can do this, you can do this.

Your goals are so important, and I love the goal of unmedicated birth for you.

I also want you to hear that birth is not some sort of test you pass or fail, right?

The tools that you do or don't utilize in this birth do not speak to who you are, to the type of mother you are.

If unmedicated birth is the goal and you go to nine centimeters and you are doing this gorgeously and then you say, "Give me that epidural, I'm taking a nap," and you push your baby out in 20 minutes, gorgeous.

You get the trophy, right?

Everybody gets the trophy when they get to hold that baby in their arms.

I believe in this unmedicated hospital birth for you.

I believe, I know that these 11 things are going to help you do it, and I also know that you have done an incredible job post-birth whether or not you utilize one tool or three tools or four or all seven of them or the epidural in the parking lot.

Whatever that looks like, you deserve to walk out of that experience and hold that baby and think, " Yeah, yeah, I just got a trophy.

I am so, so proud of what I've done." So I am super excited for you to go utilize these. I think if I've ever done an episode where I'm like, "Please give your feedback.

Go use these and let me know how it goes," it would be this one.

These things are going to help you rock that unmedicated hospital birth, and I cannot wait to hear how it goes.

Thank you so much for listening to the Lo and Behold podcast.

I hope there was something for you in today's episode that made you think, made you laugh, or made you feel seen.

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