You Are The Designer Of Your Birth Story
Childbirth is an incredibly powerful, unforgettable, life-changing experience. Unfortunately, sometimes, this experience can be unlike what you expect or hope for. The childbirth experience is different for every birthing person. Unfortunately Moms often hear a lot of dysfunctional birth stories – that are normalized.
We at One Love feel you are the designer of your birth story and can narrate your labor and birth experience.
How to elevate your labor and birth experience:
Consider a Midwife as your provider
Your midwife will play a very important role in your delivery experience, so choosing the right person for the job is critical. We sat with Midwife Zul during episode five of The Motherhood Kit podcast and she advises pregnant people to interview and consult with a Midwife to get to know what they offer, and dispel any fears or assumptions (that may stem from misinformation). There are different types of midwives in the United States: certified nurse midwives (CNM) and certified professional midwives (CPM) or licensed midwives (LM). CNMs can work in hospitals, birth centers, and do home births. CPMs/LMs work outside of hospitals and primarily practice home births or in birth centers. Some Midwives like Zul provide a whole package for families interested in home birth or work with families who want a holistic model of care, but still want to deliver in a hospital.
The benefits of Midwifery care is that it is wholistic care, if you go the out of hospital route a Midwife is with you during your entire labor and birth and you are their primary patient. Regardless of in hospital or out of hospital the Midwife model lends itself for more in depth prenatal sessions and a personalized approach to your care which can help for an overall more positive experience.
Photo captured by One Love Doula Services Birth Photographer at a Lakeland Homebirth
The Importance of Having a Birth Plan
Going into a life-changing experience without knowing what to expect is not the best course of action! It’s important to understand the importance of, and have a birth plan. A birth plan is a way for you to communicate your wishes to your health care team for your upcoming labor and after the birth of your baby. Your Doula and or Midwife will ask you questions about what you imagine the experience to be, if you would prefer a homebirth or to be in a hospital for the delivery, what your thoughts and fears are about labor, and so on. Download your own birth plan template.
Midwife Zul makes it a point to talk to her clients about things such as: how they feel about being naked at the time of childbirth, about being touched – if there’s any trauma attached with that part of birth. Your Midwife also leans heavily into any past experiences, your family structure, and other demographics to advise you on the best birth plan. Because the experience with a Midwife is different from mainstream healthcare, it’s personalized to a much greater degree, and is designed to make the experience all about you. Whatever you may decide eventually, carefully consider every potential birthing choice, including both hospitals and home births.
How and with who you discuss childbirth matters
Zul emphasizes the value of transparency, and encourages initiating discussions with your OB provider - without any preconceived notions. She also highlights the significance of a well-informed choice, and acknowledges the importance of understanding personal biases – these may be from previous childbirth experiences, or oftentimes, even just hearsay. Educate your families as you educate yourself, so that they can play an active role in the labor and birth process – especially if you are unable to exercise your will, and need an advocate at any point. In conclusion, Zul stresses that by promoting transparency, collaboration, and education, birth workers can empower families to make informed decisions about their birthing plan.
At One Love we believe that you are an active participant in your birth experience and one of our primary recommendations is that you enroll in a Childbirth Preparation Course so that you step into your experience without fear of the Unknown. Our self-led course discusses everything from the stages of labor to comfort measures and pushing positions as well as standard medical interventions.
At the minimum we recommend creating a birth plan with out birth plan template so that you can use this tool to better communicate your birth wishes with your team.
You can tune in to the full episode with Midwife Zul as well as One Love’s founder Yamel, an RN, Doula and IBCLC and learn more about birthing today.
You may be thinking, “Where can I find a doula near me?” We provide Tampa doula support and Miami doula support, childbirth education, placenta encapsulation, postpartum doula care, specialized lactation support by our CLC’s and IBCLC’s and birth photography for:
Tampa, St Petersburg
Land O’ Lakes
Lakeland
Plant City
Downtown Tampa
… and more!
Virtual services also available, let’s plan for your amazing birth and postpartum journey.
All with,