17 Tips to Prepare Your Mind, Body, and Soul for Natural Childbirth

When my husband and I decided we were going to have a natural childbirth at home, we were met with a lot of resistance, fear, and doubt from friends, family and even strangers. After a while, we decided to keep this information to ourselves because we got too used to hearing…

“Aren’t you afraid something could go wrong?”

“Don’t you, or doesn’t your wife know how painful childbirth is?”

“That seems dangerous, do you not believe in modern medicine?”

“That seems messy, won’t everything get ruined?”

“Are you one of those hippy families that aren’t going to vaccinate your child?”

“Are you crazy? I would just schedule a c-section if I could!”

In addition to these not-so-loving and disempowering responses, we also heard horror story after horror story about their birth, or someone else’s birth in an attempt to make us reconsider. I know these responses came from a place of care and concern, but unintentionally, fear-based stories and responses like this are taking away the innate abilities and powerful strength that the female body has been given to bring life into this world; naturally.

The female body was DESIGNED to do this.

The female body KNOWS what to do.

Just as our bodies know how to grow the baby inside the womb, it also knows how to birth the baby.

Before I share how I prepared myself for natural birth; I want to make one thing clear; I FULLY support any woman who chooses to have an epidural, c-section, or vaginal birth, whether it is at home, in the hospital or a birthing centre. I am VERY grateful for the advancements that we have made in the medical world. It has led to more live births and fewer fatalities during delivery and the fact that mothers can go through this experience with less pain and discomfort is so amazing!

Having said that, I also feel as though we have moved so far into this world of medicine that we’ve forgotten that the human body is a truly remarkable thing and that childbirth is a normal and natural part of life. The responses my husband and I received regarding our choice to have a medication-free birth at home is proof of that. Childbirth is one of the most empowering events a woman can experience in her life, and we should be supporting and encouraging one another for bringing life into the world, rather than spreading fear, no matter how it’s done.

I’m happy to share with you the self-care, and loving actions I took to holistically prepare my mind body and soul for a safe and speedy delivery. I went into active labour around 11 pm on December 30th, 2018, called the midwife to our house around 12:30 am and my daughter Evangeline, entered the world just before 5 am on December 31, 2018. We call her our little New Years’ “Eva” baby.

First things first; get your mind right.

Read: Protect your mind against the fear-based stories about labour and delivery by counteracting them with positive natural birth stories. I recommend Ina May Gaskins – Guide to Childbirth, HypnoBirthing – Marie Mongan, and Childbirth without Fear – Grantly Dick-Read and Ina May Gaskin.

Meditate: Practice calming and focusing your mind by paying attention to your breath. This will be tremendously helpful during contractions. There are many free options on youtube, including hypnobirthing meditations. Alternatively, you can practice on your own. Get cozy with a blanket, put on some soft music or practice in silence. Essential oils, crystals and candles are a nice touch to help you feel nurtured and calm. This is also something you can include in your “birthing toolkit” to support you during the earlier stages of labour.

Educate Yourself: Learn about the phases of labour, and educate yourself on all your options as much as you can. My husband and I attended local birthing classes run by a midwife who had been in the field for over 30 years. This was extremely helpful in helping us feel prepared. There are often birthing classes offered at the hospital as well, but I do suggest you look for classes outside of a hospital as they will provide more educational support for all birthing options, including medication-free birth.

Empowering Affirmations: Create and repeat empowering affirmations to program into your subconscious mind. Recite or record and listen to them in the weeks leading up to your due date, and during labour. If you’d like to access a recording of the affirmations I created for my natural birth you’re welcome to do so here. You can use these for yourself or have a listen to inspire the creation of your own affirmations.

Practice Mindfulness: Notice and observe any fear; then do some breath work release it. Heavy exhales out, nurturing calm inhales in. Notice any attachment you may have to particular outcomes for your natural birth labour and delivery, write them down.

Keep it moving; preparing your body.

I often thought of my third trimester as a time of preparation for the “marathon” of labour. I don’t say “marathon” as in length of labour, but as in a major milestone and accomplishment in your life! Just as you would take time to prepare your body for a marathon, you want to make sure you are taking extra good care of your body to prepare for childbirth.

Stretch: Prenatal yoga is great for this, but even just taking 10-15 minutes to stretch yourself out every morning, and every night before bed is great. Just move in whatever way feels good for you, but be sure to include some movement to open your hips. One of my favourite stretches, when I was pregnant, was to take a deep seat on the bottom of the stairs with my feet on the floor and stretch my upper body towards my knees.

Walk: This is a great way to stay in shape, keep your energy up, and help progress labour in the early stages.

Bounce: Bouncing or rocking on an exercise/birthing ball is great for opening up your hips, helping the baby get into proper position, and for releasing tension in your back during pregnancy and labour. Bouncing is also said to help induce and progress labour. For more tips on inducing and progressing labour click here.

Relax: Be sure to take time throughout your pregnancy to relax, as it will be very important for labour to know how to relax. It’s so easy to get caught up in all the “to-do”s” before the baby comes, but make sure you are taking some time just for YOU. If you have other children already, even taking 20 minutes after they go to bed to consciously unwind will be supportive. This can look different for everyone, it might be having hot tea, taking a hot bath or shower, or laying on the couch and reading a book. Try to make the relaxation mindful, making sure you take some time to include your mind and body together for conscious relaxation time.

Hydrate: Of course you want to make sure you’re always drinking lots of water throughout pregnancy, but including electrolytes and red raspberry leaf tea will also support your body in preparation for labour and delivery. Electrolytes help to move the fluids in your body around to all the areas that need hydration. Red raspberry leaf tea contains many natural vitamins and minerals that support the uterus and pelvic muscles, making it a wonderful addition to include in your daily prenatal (and postnatal) journey.

Nourish:  Don’t deny yourself of those pregnancy cravings baby mama, but make sure you’re giving your body what it needs to keep those muscles properly fueled. Protein, whole grains, fruits and veggies!

Finding your inner strength; connecting with your soul.

Pray: You don’t have to be religious to pray. You can call on your Higher-Self, Future-Self, Divine Feminine, Universe, God, Source, whatever aligns with your soul. All of the suggestions to connect within can be done mentally, verbally, or in a journal. Ask for guidance, protection, strength and love through this transition of bringing new life into the world.

Connect: Take some time to connect with your baby, and remember that you are on this journey together. Send your baby love and strength as they prepare to enter the world. Connect with your inner self, the divine feminine energy within that has known exactly what to do to create and grow your beautiful baby.

Visualize: Visualize a happy, healthy, speedy natural birth, labour and delivery. Visualize what actions (mindfulness, prayer, affirmations etc) you’ll take to manage your breathing and pain during your natural birth delivery.

Surrender: Set your intentions, but trust that there are many ways your baby may choose to enter the world. Don’t get too attached to any one specific outcome, be open and be flexible in your plans. I had the most beautiful home birth mapped out in my mind, but I knew that if the midwives told me I needed to go to the hospital for any reason, I needed to listen to their guidance and trust in the direction I was being given. You are the co-creator on this journey, focus on what you can control; and let go of what you cannot.

Reflect: Reframe pain and discomfort as a catalyst for expansion and growth. Facing your fears is a big part of life, and moving through the challenges and pain we experience as humans are what make us evolve and become stronger, as long as we’re willing to see the strength in the struggle. Reflect on the challenges you’ve overcome in your life, what have you learned because of them? How have you have become stronger? What good came from the challenges? Birth is a challenge you will overcome to bring your little one into the world. Managing fear is a big part of labour and delivery and can impact how quickly your labour progresses.

Give Thanks: Practice gratitude for the blessing of being a channel to birth new life, and give thanks for your miraculous body to have provided such a nurturing safe home for your baby to grow.

Remember, childbirth is a NATURAL, normal and beautiful part of life. Your body was designed to do this. It has known exactly what to do since conception without any instruction on your part. Surrender to the Universal Knowledge that lives within you, it will help lead the way to a healthy happy natural birth. It was through connecting with my true SELF, that I tapped into the knowledge that helped me prepare for delivery, induce labour, and have a successful home birth. If you want to read more about my home birth story, you can check it out here.

You GOT THIS mama!

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To learn more about empowered childbirth, and healing through motherhood check out

Empowering Affirmations for Childbirth (Free Download and Script)

Opening Your Heart to Motherhood

How to Mindfully and Spiritually Induce Labour

My Home Birth Story

Preparing Yourself and Your House for a Home Birth