Can your mindset really affect your pregnancy and birth?

The Buddhist principle "what you think you become" teaches us that whatever we think impacts us to the extent that it changes our physiology. This is even more important in pregnancy and birth when there are so many changes happening minute by minute. In pregnancy and birth the power of thought is so profound and this is why it's so important to nurture ourselves and protect ourselves from what we experience in pregnancy and birth.

Think about the conversations you have in your pregnancy, the people you surround yourself with. Do they instil fear, lack of trust or support? And then think about having these same people in your birth space. Would you feel comfortable and safe enough to be naked in front of them, to be free to release your inhibitions? Ina May Gaskin likens birth to needing to poo. Imagine you were doing a really big poo, you would need privacy, to feel supported and to trust the people in your birth space.

The mindset shifts can be incredibly subtle that you may not even notice. In my first pregnancy I wanted a home birth. My midwife wasn't on my side, we hadn't gone through what that would look like, she didn't help me prepare my mindset to birth at home, there was no home birth assessment. Then because my platelets were low, I assume she was trying to book me in for an induction and she set a date before my 40 week appointment. This small act then set off a chain of events unbeknown to me. Although I seemed quite happy and relaxed at home, in the back of my mind I was anxious that my midwife had set a deadline for my baby to be born. People around me were saying how long and painful inductions were. I felt like I should hurry birth along and started to drink more raspberry leaf tea, I ate more dates in the hope it would help dilate my cervix and shorten labour, I went on long hilly walks and spent the afternoons bouncing on my birth ball hoping it would get things going instead of resting. All this was doing was creating a sense of urgency which brought with it anxiety and the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline, the fight or flight hormones which then changed my physiology. Although my body was showing signs of being ready for birth - I lost my mucus plug and had a bloody show, there were no contractions. This went on for a week until one night I felt a heavy gush of blood and at this point I admitted defeat and when ahead with an induction. I had a positive induction (you can ready more about that here) but the aftermath of that experience greatly impacted my ability to bond with my baby and feed her. It also took my a while to process what had happened. On the one hand I have a lovely labour and birth but on the other hand, I had a postpartum hemorrahge PPH and a retained placenta and didn't get the lovely initial cuddle with my baby which is so important for bonding and feeding.

What can we do more of in pregnancy and labour to help reduce adrenaline and noradrenaline?

We need to increase oxytocin, the love hormone which is produced when we feel safe, loved, warm, supported and protected. You need to have people around you who will help you feel all of this. Things like massage, making love, laughing, feeling wholly supported - someone to clarify information and be a sounding board will all help release oxytocin and this is what is needed to bring on labour. Contractions will not start until we have enough oxytocin.

Hypnobirthing can be incredibly useful to help prepare your mind for birth by positively fine tuning the thoughts and creating a calm, informative and empowered pregnancy and birth. Usually this involves listening to calming audio tracks with affirmations, learning about breathing for birth, reading positive birth stories and providing antenatal education to help equip you with the tools to make an informed consent about a situation. If you want to learn more about hypnobirthing you can find Molly here who runs hypnobirthing groups and 1-2-1's https://confidentbirths.co.uk/

The key thing is to prepare your mind for birth as much as you would prepare your body. Connect with your body and baby, work through fears, find someone who will listen and offer you information and evidence to support your choices, boost your confidence and support you in whichever birth you choose. If you are looking for a birth doula you can find out more about my services here.

What if I have done all the hypnobirthing stuff and nothing is working?

Pregnancy and birth is a primitive experience. One of the oldest centres in the brain called the limbic system, perceives the environment around us and reacts to what we see, hear, feel, touch and taste. This forms part of our basic survival instinct. If it perceives anxiety, fear or lack of support then it communicates with the fight or flight system in the amygdala to release adrenaline and noradrenaline to either prepare the body to protect itself or flee a situation. The body's physiology changes - heart rate increases, blood flow is redirected away from the organs including the uterine muscles needed for contractions and inhibits the release of oxytocin. When there is deeply rooted fear, anxiety or trauma this may not be surface level enough for it to have made much is any physiological changes. In the moments just before a baby is born there may be a stall in labour because of a deeply rooted fear, anxiety or trauma which needs to be addressed in the moment by talking it through. There have been situations where a mother's birth has stalled because she will miss being pregnant and doesn't want the experience to be over. I could be something much deeper such as an unwanted sexual experience bringing emotions and sensations to the surface. Whatever it may be it's important to have someone who you can trust in your birth space to talk things through, whether that's a birth partner, a friend, family or even a doula.

If you have any questions feel free to leave them below :)