“Giving birth should be your greatest achievement not your greatest fear” – Jane Weideman
We talk a lot about positive birth experiences. It’s the foundation of our company, and we strongly believe it’s attainable for every mum-to-be!
There are many misconceptions about what a positive birth experience is. A lot of people think that it means they had a birth plan, they stuck to it, everything went according to plan, and the birth was simple, easy and quick. Some people may think it means that it was a relaxed birth where mum and baby stayed calm and there were no complications.
Whilst these are factors that may help towards having a positive birth experience, it doesn’t mean that this is what defines one.
A positive birth experience simply means that you feel positively about the birth that you had. Your birth can have been a straightforward natural home birth, or a planned caesarean section. It doesn’t matter what happened, where it happened, who was there. It’s all about how you feel about the birth of your child.
Do you feel proud, happy, pleased, glad, relieved? Or do you feel like you failed?
There can be enormous pressure on women to have a natural, medicine-free birth. But this type of birth doesn’t guarantee a positive birth experience. The real achievement is having carried your child until birth, and then birthed your baby into this world, by whatever means necessary.
Whilst we truly believe that every mother should feel immensely proud of the incredible achievement they have accomplished in bringing a life into this world, we understand that it can be hard to acknowledge that sometimes. If you feel negatively about your birth, we have a drop-in birth trauma and postnatal depression support group every other Friday at The Real Birth Studio, and you would be very welcome to join us.
No two mothers have ever had the exact same birth experience. Even mums who have had more than one child will tell you how different the births were from one to the other. Just like there are no two birth experiences the same, there is no right and wrong when it comes to a positive birth.
How you feel about your birth is the only defining feature of a positive or negative birth experience. There are many ways that you can help yourself towards a positive experience. Attending a good antenatal class and birth preparation is something that you can do to feel confident about labour and birth. This confidence will help you to feel more settled when your baby comes. It will also empower you with the knowledge to make the right decisions for you at the time. These right choices can help towards a positive birth experience.
You can go to a class that practices methods for staying calm and controlled in labour. The yoga classes at The Real Birth Studio practice helpful positions for labour and birth. We also have a Breathe and Birth class that teaches breathing techniques to help you stay calm and focussed. The Real Birth Workshop not only goes through information but also guides you on massage for labour and other techniques that you can draw on when you need to.
During your pregnancy you can gather tools and resources that you can call upon during your labour and birth. When you practice them try to harness calm and confidence inside yourself. This will start your mind associating positivity with the techniques and will help you when your baby comes.
Pregnancy and birth is an incredible journey. We hope to guide and support you through this time. We have so many resources for you to choose, please get in touch if you have any questions about what we offer.
And remember…every pregnancy and birth is incredible!
