on my mind: hypnobirthing

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I've pretty much known
that I want to aim for a natural birth. I completely understand that
there are certain things beyond my control that would keep me from
having a natural birth...ie, the baby could be in harm somehow which
would make me need c-section, or the labor could go on for a ridiculous
amount of time to the point where I just couldn't possibly bear the pain and
need an epidural. But the thought of being hooked up to a bunch
of things and not being able to feel/experience what is happening
isn't very appealing to me.

I know everyone who is a mom or is planning to be a mom has a pretty
strong opinion on medicated or un-medicated birthing. And I also
know that ultimately when it comes down to it, all that really matters
is being able to birth your baby and hold him in your arms.
I just thought I would share what I have been thinking about
and how I am personally approaching it all.

I've been really blessed to have some people around me that
have done home births, water births and hypnobirths. Maybe that's why
the more natural approach seems more normal to me than to most.

I don't think you can plan on going into a "natural" birth without doing
quite a bit of mental preparation. For most people (including myself) there is a lot of fear
about the actual pain, and on top of that, our culture makes it seem
totally normal and acceptable to jump at the chance for meds.

So, I've been reading a lot, trying to educate myself.
About all the negative stuff that can happen,
which I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on and don't need to
pay much more attention to...and about all things you can
do to prepare yourself for a natural birth. A friend of a friend bought the
hypnobabies materials and had her baby a few months ago pretty free
of pain due to the work she did beforehand. I know not everyone has that
experience that does the hypnobabies work, but she did and I've been
pretty encouraged by that! I am meeting with her this week to hear more
about her experience.

I just finished the book Hypnobirthing. It basically emphasizes
working through the fears you have in regards to giving birth
and replacing negative connotations with positive ones.
Some of it seems kind of cheesy, but if you can wade through
that stuff, there is some really valuable information. It
has made me evaluate my fears and help me to start working on
what I need to do to truly relax my body. It's not really about hynotizing
yourself, but about re-framing your thought patterns. And learning
how to breathe! I am starting to become more aware of when
my body is tense and when it is truly relaxed. I am learning to be
more in tune with my body and baby boy inside of me.

Anyway, I could go on, but maybe I'll do some blog posts in the
coming days about what else I have been doing to prepare.
Baby boy is set to arrive in early May. I've been doing lots of other
things as well to get ready for his arrival. God has been doing a lot
of work on my heart.

Here are some other books that I have read that have been helpful:
Your Best Birth, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, This Blog post