Life and birth are interchangeable. What we do to “prepare for birth” is the same stuff we do to prepare for “life”. What kind of life do you want to have? Do you experience a high-tech, stressful daily lifestyle? Do you know that the life you live often equates to the birth you experience? In our efforts to prepare women for childbirth, we have set up some systems/techniques on how to get through the labor. Depending on the type of birth one chooses to have will depend on the type of system they choose to prepare for their birth. There is everything from hypnosis to fear tactics and everything in between. We can choose any of these types of classes and take a weekend or a series of classes before having a baby and then feel like we have done everything to prepare.
Over the years, I have had a lot of couples ask me just a few weeks or months before their baby’s arrival. What can we do to continue getting ready for our birth? I used to say, “practice your relaxation techniques” or “read your affirmation cards”. Now, I’m thinking some more about this. Not that either of those things are “wrong” in terms of preparing for birth but there is more to it than that. In your everyday life there are numerous opportunities to practice vulnerability and surrendering. What are your resisting in your life today? Or better yet, who are you resisting? What would happen if you faced this person or experience and melted into a surrender state? I know what would happen. You would realize that the fear was worse than the actual experience itself. Then, when you are “preparing” for birth and you wonder how will I ever surrender to something that scary, painful, horrible, etc, you can remember this experience you just had. Today when you surrendered to something in your life.
It’s all the same stuff we’re talking about. If you want to prepare for your birth, taking a childbirth class is still a good idea. Just remember, in order to truly have the experience you want to have, you need to first look at what’s currently going on in your life and if it reflects the birth experience you want to have. If it doesn’t, take a childbirth class that will help you change some of those lifestyles and belief systems to better match the birth experience you are choosing. Or consider what amount of change you are willing to go through in order to have the birth of your desires.
