As we get closer to Month 5, a lot of us will begin thinking about the vision we have for the birth of our baby. Who do we want in the Delivery Room? Do we want a home birth? What interventions do we want? Though every birth is different and unpredictable, it is always good to have a plan.

Should you Doula?

I knew that with V, I wanted as natural of a birth as possible. And I know I want the same for Baby #2. My husband and I interviewed 5-6 Doulas before we chose K. The moment we met her, we knew that she’d provide the extra support we needed during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. The word Doula literally translates to handmaiden but the role of a Doula is much different today. When I decided to have a Doula at V’s birth, a lot of our family and friends had questions as they had never heard of such a thing.

So for those of you who are new to the concept of a Doula, this is literally a woman who nurtures, supports, and coaches you through pregnancy, birth, and even your postpartum period. She supports your vision of birth whether that’s a natural birth, medicated birth, or a C-section and advocates for your wants. So why do you need to consider a Doula? You don’t. Honestly, it’s a matter of personal choice. For me, mine was the first pregnancy in my family in over 25 years and all of the advice I was getting from our moms was a little dated, so I felt like I needed that extra support.

My Doula, who we are going to have during the birth of Baby #2 as well did our birthing series with us in the comfort of our home, she also went over infant CPR for all of the grandparents. Not only did she give me herbal remedies and teas throughout pregnancy but when I felt like I was in labor, she was at my house instantly and took over as my husband prepped our trip to the hospital. She used essential oils and massage techniques to make labor more comfortable until we were ready to go. Now, there are also many Ayurvedic trained Doulas who are great especially for Postpartum support.

Hypnobabies

I began using Hypnobabies around my 4^th into 5^th month of pregnancy. In retrospect, I probably could’ve waited maybe until my 7^th month or so but they say, practice makes perfect and so I wanted to make sure I was ready to experience birth as a peaceful process rather than a painful one as it is perceived to be. Everywhere we look whether it’s in the movies or in books or even in real life, women talk about the pain of labor. Naturally, this brings about fear in any pregnant woman about what labor must feel like. It’s the one question my newly pregnant friends ask me, what does labor actually feel like? Women have been birthing babies since the beginning of time and until recently, it used to happen at home with minimal interventions. It’s just that now we have this negative connotation surrounding labor and birth and the pain associated with it that we feel the need to be extra prepared when it’s really just a natural part of life.

So due to that fear, I chose to try Hypnobabies during my pregnancy with V. It is a 6 week series, I did it at my own pace with the notes and audio which are included in the package.  It is essentially childbirth hypnosis. You use the given audio tracks to re-train your subconscious mind to think that contractions in labor are perceived as pressure or normal baby movements rather than pain. It’s a great program and I plan on using it again 6-8 weeks before my due date this time around. I know that many women have the most peaceful birth using the techniques offered in the Hypnobabies series. For me, I had found more peace in using the series during my pregnancy as it was almost like a daily meditation but then when labor happened, I forgot all about it! Everything was just happening so fast! Which brings me to our Birth Story…

Birth Story

Despite being in the medical field, my husband and I have always been drawn to the natural and holistic side of medicine. We believe, it’s always good to know both sides of the story and then choose the one that makes more sense to us in our particular situation. For example, I don’t think I would ever consider a home birth, there are just too many risks. But a birth without medications where I’m not strapped to a bed, I’m all for it! I’m not saying we’re against Western Medicine but it has it’s pros and cons, and I feel like we’re on the same page when it comes to aspects of our health and now V and future Baby #2’s health. We’re not the type to refuse medical interventions but we believe that prevention is key to hopefully avoid the need for those medical interventions.

So my entire pregnancy with V was overall healthy – no issues, no processed food in my diet, daily walks outside, and lots of prenatal yoga and meditation. I was working full time throughout the pregnancy but I had a lot of time to myself so it didn’t bother me. This pregnancy with Baby #2 has been quite the opposite, constant burnout, but I guess that’s how it is when you have a toddler at home. My husband had just completed his ObGyn rotation and was super confident he could deliver V at home if he had too so we were prepared with a birthing kit and everything just in case. So when I hit 36 weeks, I began my maternity leave and I was super excited. I thought I would have a month to myself to relax and prepare but little did I know, V had other plans.

On my 37^th week, the week of March 27^th, my husband and I were both home and the weather was starting to get nicer. We decided to spend the week visiting Pier Village by the beach in Long Branch. We did daily walks on the beach and had a beautiful ocean view. On our 5^th day there, Friday, March 31^st, around 2am, I felt what felt like cramps in my lower abdomen. Obviously, I had no idea what labor would feel like so I went back to sleep pretty uncomfortably (which is the norm when you’re that pregnant) and we went about our normal day.  I had an ObGyn appointment that afternoon anyway and then dinner plans with our friends so I figured I’d mention it at my appointment. I continued to experience intermittent cramp-like sensations throughout the day but they weren’t debilitating so I thought they were Braxton-Hicks or false labor.

My Ob did an exam and was shocked I was comfortably sitting there 5cm dilated. He told us to go straight to the hospital after we picked up our bags from home. We were like “ok, whatever”, this is still going to take another 24 hours. So we left the doctor’s and went to get groceries, don’t ask…This is when the contractions began to worsen and become more frequent. This is when we were like “oh, boy, it’s really happening!” We put a call out to my Doula who said she was on her way. By now, it was probably 5:30pm.

Then things get a little hazy for me, but my husband still mentions when telling the story that I made him a veggie burger for dinner “to distract” myself. I know, aren’t I an awesome wife? I took a hot shower (which has been proven to speed up labor) and then we sat down to watch TV. Well, I was more like jumping up and down the entire time. By then, around 6pm, my Doula, K, arrived. She had me do some stretches, rubbed essential oil on my low back and used some awesome massage techniques that made me feel so much better. I will never forget – she told me that when I felt like I was about to have the biggest bowel movement of my life, it was time to go to the hospital. We lived right across the street from the hospital so that made it easier.

By 7pm, my water broke and then I felt that sensation K was talking about. We left for the hospital immediately, I really don’t remember much of this. My husband tells me I was literally just jumping up and down the entire walk to Labor & Delivery. I do remember the receptionist that checked me in. She told me to sit down so she could get some information and I was like “girl, you must be out of your mind, I am literally about to give birth!”. I almost felt like I was holding V in at this point. She FINALLY realized I was actually in deep into labor and got me into a room.

The resident came around to do an exam almost immediately, yelled that I was crowning and wheeled me out of there so fast.  It was like one of those movie scenes with a bunch of people yelling and running emergently with a hospital bed. By now it was probably 7:25pm. We got into the delivery room where everyone looked prepared, my ObGyn obviously didn’t make it in and at 7:34pm, Baby V entered the world and our lives changed forever. My Doula captured some awesome photos. Overall, everything was a little rushed but it was perfect.

My birth plan included being able to walk and move during labor, a natural birth, no medications, and minimal interventions and though no birth story goes exactly per birth plan, I would say mine was pretty close.

When developing your individual Birth Plan, some questions to ask yourself include:

1. Who do you want present during the birth?
2. Do you want a Doula?
3. Do you want a home birth, water birth, hospital birth, or something else?
4. Do you want immediate skin to skin contact?
5. Do you want to breastfeed immediately after birth?
6. Do you prefer a certain position to give birth?
7. Do you want to be in bed during labor or do you wish to walk around?
8. What would you like to use for pain relief (breathing, massage, essential oils, tub, medication)
9. Do you want to listen to music while in labor?
10. If you have a C-section, do you have any special requests?

Stay tuned for Month 5 of my Ayurvedic Pregnancy 🙂

Namaste