Tips and tricks for an unmedicated birth
*Our website may contain affiliate links, which means we may get paid a commission on sales of those products at no additional cost to you.
First of all, before we dive into this topic I wanted to address the fact that this topic can lead to people feeling shame and judgment if they opt for a medicated birth. Whether you had a medicated birth, unmedicated birth, or c section all we want as the end result is a healthy baby, how you get there shouldn’t matter.
If you are interested in having some tools in your back pocket should you decide to go the unmedicated route, I got you. I get gnarly migraines, like I go numb, get the auras, nausea, the whole nine yards; so because of those migraines I decided that I didn’t want to get an epidural since I had no idea how my body would respond.
The most important aspects of being able to have a natural birth (in my opinion) is breathing, diet and exercise, and positions for when you are ready to push.
Breathing
Relax your face
My husband and I took a natural birthing class and in the class the nurse gave some wonderful tips which I have used in all of my deliveries. The first piece of advice is to relax your face. It sounds weird, but we hold a lot of tension in our faces. When we hold tension in our faces, our pelvic floor tightens up which is the last thing we want considering we are going to push a baby out. Multiple times my husband had to remind me to relax my face because when you are in pain it’s hard gto remember. If you have a partner, doula, or friend who is going into the delivery room with you, ask them to help remind you to relax your face during contractions and pushing.
Exhale the pain
When we are in pain, it is so easy to want to fight that sensation, but when it comes to labor, pain is bringing us closer to meeting our baby. Instead of fighting the contractions, breathe into them and mentally picture yourself holding your baby. If we look at pain as positive instead of negative it helps us to change our mindsets.
This too shall end
As you are breathing through each contraction, remind yourself that it will end and you will get a break. When your break does come, relax yourself as much as humanly possible. Have you significant other massage you or just relax into the bed and close your eyes.
Diet and Exercise
As I was researching natural birth I stumbled upon an article talking about the Louwen Diet. There is a doctor in Germany who has had great success in his practice with having quick labors and unmedicated births.
Basically the Louwen diet is eating a diet that has a low glycemic index. The typical American diet is highly processed and most of the food has had the nutrients stripped away from it. Things like white bread, white sugar, sweet drinks, and desserts are examples of foods that raise the blood sugar which triggers an increased insulin release.
In order to give your body adequate time to prepare for labor, it is recommended that you focus on a low glycemic diet at least 8 weeks prior to giving birth. Some recommend completely eliminating all carbohydrates, however, that would not have worked for me so I stuck with foods that have a low glycemic index.
Why does it work? The science behind it is fascinating because our bodies are amazing.
Leading up to delivery the baby releases a hormone called prostaglandin which then enters the mother’s bloodstream. The purpose of this hormone is to reduce sensitivity to pain and prepare the cervix for delivery. In order for this hormone to do its job, it needs to attach to receptors. Insulin uses those same receptors that prostaglandin needs to attach to. If you have a diet that is a high glycemic diet, the receptors will be taken up by insulin and the prostaglandin will attach themselves to pain receptors which leads to a more painful birth. By keeping your blood sugar stable, you avoid those insulin spikes therefore leaving more receptors open for the prostaglandin to attach to.
Examples foods with a high glycemic index: white bread, pasta, sugary treats, potatoes, soda,etc
Examples of foods with a low glycemic index: nuts, seeds, celery, cucumber, spinach, avocado, berries, apples, protein (chicken, beef etc have no carbs and help balance out the GI content of a meal), sprouted grains, unsweetened dairy,
Useful cookbook to take the stress out of planning meals
Birthing Positions
When I was in college, I think I fractured my tailbone. It was never confirmed however sitting for too long leaves me in a ton of pain. During labor, they had me sit in the bed to monitor the baby’s heart rate and that was more painful for me than the actual contractions, so I begged them to let me move around.
When it came time to push, the nurse automatically went to lower the bed into a lying down position, which makes no logical sense. We want to work with gravity, not against it. Lying down was far too painful for me with my tailbone, so we raised the bed to a seated position and from there I could use the handles and push down through my heels (like I was squatting).
You do not have to do what the doctor wants you to do, lying down might be easier for them to catch the baby but it is not a normal position to birth a baby. Be your own advocate or have someone in the room who is willing to stand up to the doctor and tell them no, she wants to try these things. If sitting up or squatting doesn’t work for you, you can try side lying or hands and knees. Do not be afraid to stand up for yourself, this is your birth and you deserve to do it your way. Unless there is a pressing medical reason for the doctor to want you to do something else.
When you are pushing, it is so helpful to have someone counting to ten for you. It is so easy to just want to give up because let’s be real, it’s hard, but if you have someone in the room cheering you on and encouraging you to push through that whole contraction, your life will be so much easier.
Tools in your back pocket
It is important to have tools in your back pocket, but don’t feel tied to using them if they don’t feel right. Things like music, a big bouncy ball, and essential oils are things I thought I would need. In my first delivery I forgot about the music and essential oils, the second delivery I used the ball to labor on which significantly decreased the pain of the contractions and music during delivery, and my third one I used music and the ball as well. I thought I would like essential oils to smell something nice, but I was so nauseous that I didn’t want to smell anything. Have several different playlists ready because you may think you want something, and then when it comes time to it you might want something totally different.
Good luck Mama! You got this!
References
Schulz, Ines. The Louwen Diet- Fit and Healthy During Pregnancy. https://www.supznutrition.com/en/blogs/nutrition/louwen-diet. 18 Dec. 2024.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
