How To Prepare For Childbirth. 5 Actionable Steps.

Learning how to prepare for childbirth is crucial for any Mama to be! Pregnancy is such a beautiful and special time for every Mama to be. There is so much change going on inside your body, and everyday that goes by, you get closer to your birth. It’s common to wonder “how do I prepare for childbirth”. There are so many things you can be doing now to prepare your body. Thinking extra hard about the ingredients you put in and on your body, preparing your mind, and educating yourself are just a few ways to be one step ahead on your big day.

When I was pregnant with my son, I started to look into all the ingredients in my products to make sure I was only using the best ingredients. Check out the must have products of pregnancy here. What I really want to focus on, is how you can start to prepare your body now for childbirth. I had an all natural birth, and if that is something you envision as well, these 5 tips will certainly help prepare you for childbirth.

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1. Prepare for childbirth with pregnancy safe products

Have you looked in the ingredients in your skincare products? Simple things like retinol and salicylic acid, are major no nos! However, outside of those basic ingredients, what else should you be avoiding? The first way to prepare for childbirth is looking at this list of ingredients to avoid:

Retin-A, Retinol and Retinyl Palmitate
Tazorac and Accutane
Benzoyl Peroxide and Salicylic acids
Essential Oils
Hydroquinone
Aluminum chloride
Formaldehyde
Chemical Sunscreens
Tetracycline
Dihydroxyacetone

If these big words scare you, they should! I use a great app called Think Dirty to double check all my ingredients and to prepare for childbirth (even after pregnancy), to make sure they are organic and clean. I decided to focus on a few products I use everyday, and look for the cleanest choice.

Deodorant. Most deodorants contain 5 harmful ingredients that you should be mindful of pre and post pregnancy. Parabens, aluminum, triclosan, phtalates, and fragrance are all things to avoid. Take a look at this deodorant that is formulated for sensitive skin, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. It was also rated ONE on the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, the lowest hazard rating a product can achieve. That’s a really big deal! This was the first thing I did when I asked myself “how to prepare for childbirth”.
Say no to stretch marks. You are putting on about 30 pounds during pregnancy. Stretch marks appear when your body is growing faster than it can keep up with! If you moisturize, and properly take care of your skin, you can avoid stretch marks completely! This Belly Oil and Belly Butter combo are made with the safest ingredients, and will make you literally glow! My one tip, use this all over! Hips, back, thighs, butt, breasts! You would be surprised with where you can get stretch marks.
Sunscreen. This is one of the most toxic skin care products you can use. Sunscreen does not just live on the top layer of your skin. It soaks deep into your skin, and eventually ends up in your bloodstream. Your liver does not detoxify it, and ends up in blood, urine, and breast milk two days after it’s applied! That is totally insane! I only feel comfortable using these sunscreen products because it is made with only minerals, like zinc oxide. If I am thinking about how to prepare for childbirth, I am only using mineral sunscreens.

2. Prepare for childbirth by drinking tea and hydrating

Drink lots of water! If you want to prepare your body for childbirth, the first step is hydrate! You should be drinking ten, 8 ounce cups of water a day. A few benefits of hydration are:

Deliver essential substances to your baby
Prevent UTIs,
Prevent Hemorrhoids
Prevent constipation
Prevent fatigue
Prevent headaches
Prevent swelling
Prevent overheating

However, water isn’t the only way to hydrate. Tea is an enjoyable treat with lots of benefits! Tea contains polyphenols which protects your heart. Tea also contains antioxidants that may lower your risk of cancer and other nutrients that boost your immune system. A comforting cup may also ease morning sickness, and even make for a shorter labor. These Non GMO teas are the best to choose from, made especially for pregnancy. This one is my favorite that helped me prepare for childbirth in my last month. This Organic Third Trimester tea is a hearty blend of stinging nettles, chamomile, rosehips, oatstraw and red raspberry leaf, traditionally used to nurture your third trimester self and to prepare for labor. Yum!!

3. Get moving and walk, walk, walk!

Besides the obvious facts of maintaining a healthy weight during pregnancy, there are a lot of other benefits that help prepare you for childbirth. I made sure I walked a few times a week, especially during my last trimester. I went for a 30 minute walk the day I went into labor! Take a look at a few other benefits:

Reduces the risk of complications during pregnancy and delivery
Lower risk of gestational diabetes
Lower risk of c-section
Keeps your weight in check
Improves blood flow
Improves sleep
Relieves discomfort
Increases energy
Reduces stress

4. What is your mindset are you prepare for childbirth? Meditate!

If you have followed my pregnancy and birth experience, you know that my mindset is my number one tool. You have to envision your journey and experience, literally put yourself in the moment and see the outcome you want. Feel the contractions, and create the experience you wish. Practice your breathing, practice relaxing your entire body. These exercises will help prepare your body for childbirth more than you can imagine. Here are a few benefits of mediating during pregnancy:

Connect in a deeper way to your changing body
Peace of mind and less tension/stress relief
Positive labor preparation
Lower risk of postpartum depression
Better sleep
Can prevent premature birth
Promotes healthy development

5. Prepare for childbirth by educating yourself

The best way to prepare for childbirth is to prepare yourself. I once heard the analogy “childbirth is like climbing Mt. Everest for the first time”. And you have no idea what you are getting into! There are so many great courses available, but for me GivingBirthNaturally.com offers the most in depth, and beautiful way of looking at childbirth (the natural way). GivingBirthNaturally, aims to provide online childbirth classes that actively teach the skills and techniques needed to ensure a comfortable, safe birth experience and smooth recovery, without the hassle or expense of traditional childbirth classes. Natural childbirth education classes also outline the body’s innate design to give birth and respect the emotional needs of laboring women so mothers receive peace-of-mind by gaining the knowledge and skills needed to relieve their fears so they can enjoy their pregnancies and actually look forward to giving birth.

This is something so important for you to prepare. Educating yourself, and preparing not only your body but your mind on what to expect is crucial! If you implement these 5 steps to prepare for childbirth, you are far ahead of many soon to be Mamas!

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