How to Prepare Your Body for Natural Birth

Pregnancy is such a sacred time. I love taking extra care of my body as I watch my belly grow. Here are some intentional ways I prepare my body for a natural/unmedicated birth…

Herbal Pregnancy Tea

Organic loose leaf tea that includes red raspberry leaf is great for your uterus! Recommendations may vary depending on your midwife. Personally, I follow my midwife’s recommendation to have as much as I want (as long as I’m not experiencing excessive Braxton hicks- then she’s instructed me to decrease it). Ask your own trusted professional for specific advice.

Below is a link to one of the loose leaf teas I enjoy, available on Amazon!

Herbal Pregnancy Support Tea

Spinning Babies

If you’ve never heard of it, spinning babies is a program of several body balancing exercises, stretches, and movements used to get your precious babe in the optimal position for birth. These strategies can also be used during labor for comfort and progressing your birth.

My husband & I have a nightly routine of doing some spinning babies stretches/exercises. It’s something I look forward to all day and brings so much relief to my back & pelvis. We always do the forward leaning inversions, belly sifting, “shake the apple tree”, and practice counter pressure as well. I have no affiliation with spinning babies, but here is a link to their website to learn more if you’d like to check it out! Spinning Babies – Comfort in Pregnancy and Easier Birth

Webster Certified Prenatal Chiropractic Care

You guys this is an absolute game changer! If you take nothing else away from this post this is the tip to implement!

A skilled and ethical chiropractor can be a crucial part of your prenatal care routine. Personally, I get such relief from every adjustment. Muscle releases, massage, and alignment feel so good as I progress through pregnancy. Especially with all the aches, pains, and discomforts that emerge as your body changes so drastically week by week.

Bonus – research shows women who had regular chiropractic care during pregnancy have faster labors!

Birth Ball Exercises

Many women wait until the end of their pregnancy or even until they are in labor to utilize this tool. I encourage you to get started right away on the birth ball!

Whenever you have some downtime, take a seat on your birth ball and do some pelvic exercises (cat/cow, figure 8s, circles, etc). It’s easy to look up a 10 min YouTube video for ideas too. Doing this consistently can prepare your body for birth, relieve discomfort, and can give you a routine to turn too during actual labor. You will already know what feels comforting for your body as you progress through your pregnancy and carry these skills into your birth.

High Quality Prenatal Supplements

Quality is everything when it comes to prenatal supplements. Ensuring what you’re taking is whole food based and bioavailable is critical. Making sure every ingredient are vitamins in their natural form (rather than synthetic man-made ones), can make all the difference as to if your prenatal is actually being used properly by your body.

I could do an entire post on this. I think I will! Lol. For now I’ll just say that I opt for mostly whole food based capsules. I get regular bloodwork done with my Integrative Medicine Family Doctor who gives me very specific recommendations tailored to my needs.

Here are a couple links to my favorite prenatal supplements. As always, do your own research and consult your own trusted professionals for personal recommendations. This is not medical advice, this is simply what I take!

Whole food Prenatal Capsules

Beef Liver Capsules

Women's Probiotics

Trace Mineral Drops

Nourishing Foods

Nourishing your body with organic, grass fed, pasture raised, local, high quality food is so important during pregnancy. Following the body’s cues, eating seasonally, and avoiding highly processed foods filled with preservatives, artificial colors/flavors, and preservatives are some key takeaways to prenatal nutrition.

Personally, I’ve found I feel so much better when we are cooking at home with high quality ingredients.

Midwives are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to what you should eat during pregnancy. Talk to yours for individualized advice!

Key Takeaways

Being mindful and intentional as to how you care for your body during and after pregnancy is so important! Even small steps in the right direction can make a major difference. Start implementing daily habits and rituals that promote health and wellness, and see how day by day your mood and energy levels can improve.

And don’t forget! – Do your research, consult with professionals for medical/health advice, and be confident in your choices by empowering yourself with information and advocating for informed consent every step of the way.

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