Learn 10 ways you can overcome the fear of childbirth!
Ready for the big day, mama?!
Enduring weight gain, swollen feet, constant fatigue, and nausea is a lot to bear during a pregnancy.
Just knowing there’s an end keeps us hopeful as we approach the day we finally get to meet our little baby.
But hang on… are you wondering how to make it past (dare I say it?) labor and delivery?
Truthfully, many expecting mothers are afraid of the actual process of giving birth to a child.
Has your fear been eating away at you each day?
Although it may seem like it, a gripping fear of childbirth is not inevitable. You don’t have to be a victim anymore, mama!
Learn these 10 ways you can overcome your fears and become excited about your own childbirth experience.
Common Childbirth Fears
First, let’s have a look at some of the most common fears surrounding childbirth:
- Pain (how bad is it going to hurt?)
- Tearing
- Constipation during delivery
- Epidural not given in time
- Compilations (breech baby, placenta previa, health of mom and baby, what if the doctors make a mistake?)
- Not making it to the hospital in time
- What if I’m not a good mother
Any of these sound familiar?
I’ll bet you can identify with at least one of them. It’s time to tackle them now and reclaim your freedom to prepare for, and expect, only the best childbirth experience.
Ways to Overcome Your Childbirth Fears
1. Take a Childbirth Class
Child birthing classes are absolutely amazing. I highly recommend taking a class – the Kopa Essential Birth class is very comprehensive – even if this is not your first child because all pregnancies are different.
One thing I’ve learned since having my twins is that women can feel empowered during labor and delivery! We don’t have to be helpless victims from pregnancy all the way until we give birth.
We’re not in control of everything, but we do have control over many factors surrounding our baby’s birth.
There are so many invaluable takeaways that will help you during your pregnancy, labor and delivery, and even after you give birth.
Like anything, if there’s something you want to learn about, you must become a student.
Here are some topics that are covered in childbirth classes:
- How to tell if you’re in labor
- Medicated vs. unmedicated births
- Breastfeeding tips (and what to expect)
- Nutrition for you and baby
- And so much more!
Check out my post on 7 Reasons Why You Should Take a Birthing Class.
Also, find out the 6 Best Online Childbirth Classes for Pregnant Moms.
2. Become Informed
Knowledge is powerful!
You can’t make wise decisions if you don’t have the facts or have a general basis of understanding to begin with.
So…learn as much as you can. Instead of running away from the specific fears you have, make a decision to learn more about those topics.
What is your greatest fear?
Explore as much information as you can about childbirth. Digging in and facing it from a knowledge standpoint will diminish the anxiety and worries you have.
3. Learn About Others’ Testimonies
No, I don’t mean the horror stories. You can dismiss those and skip reading articles where other mothers are happy to give you a breakdown of everything that went wrong for them.
What you hear through your ears affects you.
I mean, you already know women exist who have not had the best experiences with labor and delivery (for various reasons). But there are also women out there who have had outstanding experiences.
I’m not saying you can’t learn from the good and the bad.
My point is, you can’t dwell on the experiences you don’t want to have. Learning from other women – this Labor Day book gives you true birth stories you NEED to read – who hold a positive attitude about childbirth will help you and “rub off” on you too.
4. Ask Questions
There are no dumb questions. The majority of your questions about pregnancy and birth will have an answer.
So ask! I mean, why not?
A lot of women seem to fear that something will either go terribly wrong during childbirth, or that they just won’t be able to handle the pain altogether.
We have to ask ourselves where these fears are stemming from.
Asking questions and getting answers leads to becoming informed more and more.
Childbirth is something every mother has to face. And from the billions of women on the planet, you’re not the only one who has your questions.
5. Identify Your Fears
What exactly are you afraid of, mama? Can you pinpoint it?
Our fears often stem from something specific. We just have to become aware of what it is. After examining each of your fears (one by one), ask yourself what you believe and why.
Also, look into ways that you can help produce the outcome you want.
For example, if you’re afraid of tearing during a vaginal delivery, ask yourself why you’re nurturing that fear. Do you believe there is nothing that can be done to prevent that?
After doing a bit of research, you’ll discover there are actually several ways to help prevent vaginal tears.
Funny thing…a woman I know who had four children became pregnant with her fifth.
She had all vaginal births with no medications for all four deliveries. She also had vaginal tears for all four children.
So naturally, fear of tearing (yet again) set in for her. Maybe even a little more than with her other children.
But guess what happend! Despite baby number 5 weighing the most, and it being her fastest labor, she didn’t tear at all! Her excessive worrying turned out to be for nothing.
You just never know!
6. Stay Positive
Study after study reinforces one powerful truth. There is massive power in what we say and what we think!
Doubting your baby’s birth will be free of complications could actually mean you increase the risk of having complications.
Stay positive no matter what! I mean, your mind has to think something, right? Why not make yourself think about the things you want to happen, despite the odds and how you feel.
Consider journaling about all the things you enjoy about your pregnancy and what you look forward to after you have your baby. You’ll be happy to go back later to read each journal entry.
Positivity can go a long way. And so can gratitude, mama.
7. Select Quality Care
Where you choose to have your baby will have a huge impact on your child birthing experience as a whole.
Your doctor, midwife, nurses, doula, or any other support person needs to be passionate about helping to create the best birthing environment.
You don’t need stress, tension, arguing, and you definitely don’t need anyone in the room who will belittle you for the choices you make.
It’s a good idea to have in mind the role you want each support person to play. Just make sure to express any expectations you may have for them prior to going into labor.
Having a strong supportive team of people to assist you will put your mind to ease because you’ll have confidence they’re looking out for you.
8. Focus On the Facts
Many pregnant women have been nervous to give birth. And the majority of them made it to the other side just fine.
Rather than focus on what you feel or think, put all the facts on the table. In other words, focus on nothing but the truth.
For instance, are you afraid you won’t be able to get an epidural in time? Let’s examine the truth for just a moment:
- In some cases, epidurals can be given at any time during labor. However, each hospital and doctor is different.
- You may experience a slower labor.
- Epidurals given too soon may cause the effects to wear off and your pain to increase.
- You need to talk with your doctor ahead of time if you plan to get an epidural.
- Find out the policies at your hospital for patients who will be getting an epidural. For example, labor may need to progress to a certain point before you can get it.
9. Lean on Your Support System
Be open with your support people about the way that you’re feeling.
There’s a lot to work through as you prepare your mind and body for one of the most life changing transitions you can imagine.
Talking about your fears with your support system is a good release if they can help you find ways to tackle those fears. They may have unique experiences to share or research-based articles to pass along.
Sheer encouragement is enough to keep you going on the harder says.
But how will you receive these things if you don’t talk with them, right? 🙂
10. Control Your Thoughts
You have to make the decision to overcome your fears. You have to decide if you’re going to think negative or positive thoughts about what you expect your childbirth experience will be like.
Keep your mind in check every chance you get. Don’t let your worst nightmare run wild in your mind. It will only feed your fears, or worse- multiply them!
Even if you or baby are facing health issues or concerns right now, I still encourage you to fight the fear that’s always posted at your door waiting to get in.
Harboring anxiety will only cause you to tense up and make the situation worse.
Becoming tense, or holding your breath will increase your pain levels during delivery, mama. Remember that your mind and body are connected on so many levels.
Overcome Every Fear About Childbirth
Even if you’ve experienced fear after fear, you don’t have to be a victim any longer.
Fear is a choice just like faith is!
You can do this. Outcomes tend to follow what we believe and claim, whether good or bad! So don’t give place to any fear. Use these tips to overcome every fear you have about giving birth.
Don’t forget you are a fearless mama! You’ve got this all the way.
Over to you, now. What fears about childbirth are you looking to overcome? Share with me in the comments.
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