See this picture? She's got on a cap and gown, so she's obviously graduating.
But now what?
Now what?! Do you mean to say that just because you have an education, it doesn't mean you're prepared for real life? What??
Huh.
You see... there's a BIG difference between education and preparation. You can be thoroughly educated about any given subject, say... a natural disaster, and still not be prepared for the showdown.
Let's take a blizzard, for example. You live in Florida, and suddenly you hear about a never-before-seen blizzard coming your way--you research all about it. It's terrifyingly cold and temperatures will drop to -32 degrees Farenheit. Snow will reach heights of 5 feet deep, causing power lines to crumble, which naturally means a loss of all heat and electricity.
This bad boy is scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon.
What do you do?
Can you just read up on it and call it good?
Um, yeah, if you want to freeze your pants off!
No, any wise person would take action on their education and become prepared by preparing for the worst case senerio. You'd go get yourself some heavy-duty snow gear, figure out a sustainable source of heat that doesn't involve electricity, buy a radio so you can stay informed since the cell-phone towers might not work, have food storage on hand since you won't be able to get to the grocery store, and figure out how on earth you're going to cook.
Which is how this ties into the Lion King...
You've got to BE PREPARED, not just educated! But how do you do that? Can you really ever truly PREPARE for birth, since you have no idea how your birth is going to end up? Sicne every birth and every mom is totally unique?
Some think not, but we think yes.
You see, 95% of our thoughts and actions are stemming from our subconcious mind. When we experience fear--whether that fear is you being rolled into the operating room for an emergency c-section, you're afraid of an episiotomy, or terrified of giving birth on the side of the road because you couldn't make it to the hospital or birth center on time (that was almost me!) ...whatever your fear is, it's stemming from a lack of preparation!
True preparation eliminates fear.
That's powerful. So I'm going to say it again.
True preparation eliminates fear.
Now there are different elements of preparation, you need to be prepared on multiple levels. You need to be prepared:
1. intellectually
2. emotionally
3. physically
Intellectual:
Let's talk about intellectual preparation. My story... I took a natural birth class when I was pregnant with my first (which was great) but didn't touch on Cesareans at all. Consequently, when I had a scare that I was going to have a C-section (didn't happen, thankfully!) I was terrified out of my pants because I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know anything about the procedure, the process, the recovery, nothing. And as you likely know, fear of the unknown is real. So step one here is to familiarize yourself with a variety of the outcomes in birth on an intellectual level.
Now this can certainly be taken to the extreme. You don't need to know nearly as much as a midwife or Obstetrician to feel intellectually prepared for birth. In order to feel confident going into birth, however, you need to know about standard hospital procedures and interventions, their risks and benefits if any (yes, even out-of-hospital birthing mamas need to know this in case you have to transfer!), and what outcomes you could expect during your postpartum phase. By all means do not let Google become your best friend for all of your birth inquiries. You will only confuse and scare yourself.
Emotional:
Here's where the biggest challenge comes in. Emotional preparation is the hugest key. If you are intellectually prepared, but not emotionally, your birth will be traumatic. If you are emotionally prepared but not intellectually prepared, you may be a little lost, but you'll be okay!! Being emotionally prepared for postpartum is more difficult if you've never experienced it before, which is why it's so important to be educated and know your resources for help with breastfeeding, postpartum depression, etc.
So how do you emotionally prepare for birth? You train your mind to be calm under any circumstance. One of the most effective ways to do this is through hypnotherapy. There are a lot of myths and misperceptions about hypnosis and some people get weirded out by it, if that's you then please read this because you will have an entirely new perspective on this powerful tool!
Another effective tool is using positive affirmations and meditation throughout your birth. Use phrases that you're comfortable with in first person, present tense. For example, "I embrace every turn my birth takes."
A tool that many people are unfamiliar with is releasing fears and anxiety--even deep trauma--through energy. There are many different modalities and means of releasing fear. If any of these topics are intriguing to you, you might want to come to our conference this Saturday, Feb 22nd to see what that's all about!
Physical:
Physical preparation is perhaps the simplist form of preparation. It involves making sure you have all the necessary items ready for your hospital bag, that your postpartum gear is in place the moment you need it so you're not scrambling ...even having a clean house when baby comes is part of your physical preparation, because a clean house is subconciously settling at takes a huge weight off your back. That nesting instinct is there for a reason! When you have a clean, safe environment to birth or bring your baby home to, you will feel much more settled and may find that your labor progresses more quickly.
Another aspect of physically preparing for birth (and I know you don't want to hear this any more than I do...) is exercise. Excercise does so much for your body to strengthen those pelvic muscles for an easier birth. If you haven't read this preggercise article you should, it's a goodie.
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When you are intellectually, emotionally, and physically (and I would also add, spiritually) prepared for birth, you can experience an inner peace no matter what turn your birth takes. You may still experience grief but you will be able to bounce back and recover much more quickly. Don't forget to take time to process and reflect on your birth after baby is earthside.
Thankfully you don't have to be thrown out there on your own when it comes to preparation. Come join us at our 2nd childbirth conference in Sandy, Utah this Saturday, February 20th, where you can find over 20 evidence-based classes to help you prepare for a positive pregnancy, birth, and postpartum under any circumstance!
Classes target all 3 aspects of preparation. We cover everything from emotional fear release, to interventions, VBACs, essential oils, breastfeeding solutions, postpartum recovery and so much more.
Plus your admission includes access to the Empowering Fearless Birth expo/boutique and film festival! Our presenters are so excited to help you prepare for a positive experience!