The following is a birth Doula’s perspective on how to feel empowered in the birth experience. A Doula is not a doctor, nurse or a midwife. She is not trained to make any medical decisions. She is a committed support person there to whole-heartedly support women through childbirth, along with her partner and other support people. She does not replace a birthing mother’s partner, but ultimately helps the partner feel as much a part of the birthing experience as possible, in a calm and relaxed way. A Doula is present at all stages of labour, to reassure women and partner that all is normal and to assist in helping a couple realise the choices that are theirs to make and when it is imperative that medical support be accepted.
Giving birth, especially the first time, is extremely powerful emotionally and spiritually. In our society today, there is much to overcome surrounding birth, as we are constantly bombarded with negative and scary stories that impact pregnant women more deeply than we may truly appreciate. Understandably, this impacts how a mother feels or see things when she goes into labour. It can cause a lot of angst and unnecessary fear and such feelings can significantly inhibit the birthing process. When a mother feels overwhelmed and vulnerable during the birthing process, she can inadvertently be placed in a position of accepting the fears and concerns of others more readily rather than accepting her own instinct and intuition. And when she is labouring under the powerful experience that birth is, this can sometimes take away her own power leaving her feeling uncertain as to the procedures that maybe placed upon her.
It is unfair to expect partners to know all the necessary on the mother’s behalf during the labour, as they are mostly concerned with the mother’s safety and wellbeing. A Doula is there to reassure the birthing mother of any decisions that arise from medical staff or the caregiver, as to whether these are part of the mother’s wishes. Throughout pregnancy and birth, a Doula will help the mother to feel assured that she can make her own safe and informed decisions and choices for a positive birth experience. With this there starts a domino effect of positive birth stories which is really how it should be.
As a Doula, I would like to share how I feel Yoga is so valuable during Birth.
Yoga is definitely an integral part of birthing and the more a woman understands this deep within herself the better the birth experience, no matter how it ends up being. All the major techniques like Hypnobirthing and Calmbirth have many components within them that originate in Yoga. I am not saying one shouldn’t give these techniques a go, yet the more simple we keep the birthing process the easier it will be to have the ability to surrender, accept and acknowledge, as well as foster the ability to make one’s own choices about how we feel. It is how we feel that is imperative to an empowered birth experience.
The more regularly a mother practices Prenatal Yoga the more she integrates the essence of Yoga into her being. Prenatal yoga nurtures a deep connection between Body, Mind, Soul and the Baby. Prenatal yoga increases awareness about the importance of balance in and between all body-systems - hormonal, nervous, muscle and joint. And since the baby feels what mum feels, when she practices regular Yoga and Relaxation, she is able to reassure herself and her baby of its safety. The baby then is less likely to become distressed especially during the birthing process (a major cause of emergency Cesarean).
Deepening an awareness of what we feel and nurturing the capacity to relax and keep calm, are all components of the Yoga practice that may be applied during the birthing process. When a mother experiences and understands this for herself, she has the ability to make wise choices while birthing, for her baby and throughout her entire mothering experience.
Wishing you an optimum birthing experience.
Jen Schellhorn
