Almost every pregnant woman will admit that the idea of labor can be terrifying. If you’re carrying a baby for the first time, you may be wondering if you can make the labor experience as easy and stress-free as possible. Well, there are ways you can help yourself. So, are you worried about the prospects of childbirth? Relax. Hopefully, these tips should help make your experience a bit easy.
- Get your body ready
As early as possible, it would help if you started getting your body ready for the task ahead. Labor requires a lot of stamina as mental strength. You can make things a lot easier for yourself by preparing your body. Ensure that you eat healthily and exercise the right way. Also, find ways to master your breathing technique, especially when you start feeling stressed out or anxious about what’s ahead. You can also find support from local groups or classes dedicated to helping pregnant women get through their experiences as quickly as possible. You might also want to avoid reading all that scary stuff online.
- Get your baby ready
While working on your body, you also need to prepare your baby as the time draws closer. Starting from around the 34th week, you can start encouraging your baby to get into the proper position for delivery. A practical method you can use is kneeling over a birthing ball as regularly as possible. If you don’t have a birthing ball, you can try kneeling over a chair instead. You should avoid lying flat on your back, as that can make it difficult for your baby to get in the proper position. And if you have the time, go swimming once every week.
- Get your mind ready
This is not the time to start listening to or reading about other people’s horrific experiences (as if there ever is a right time). You want to keep your thinking as positive as possible to drive the nervous feeling away. If it helps, remember that for every painful childbirth story or experience, there is a mother out there with a positive and easier story, so it’s not always gloom and doom. If you’ve had a bad experience already, it can be difficult not to worry, especially when old memories come flooding back. But your previous experience doesn’t have to repeat itself, not when you remain positive.
- Learn to cope or deal with labor pain
Even on an easy day, the contractions that your body makes to push the baby out can feel pretty uncomfortable. You need to find ways to deal with the pain or discomfort. Here are a few things you can try:
- Get in a soothing and comfy position
- Have supporting people around you
- Learn the breathing techniques to manage contractions discomfort
- Use cool and warm compresses
- Try mild oil massages to relax your muscles during contractions
You may not be in control of certain unexpected events like birth injuries. But you can ensure that you get the financial compensation you deserve with the help of a birth injury law firm in case something like that happens.