Women’s Health - underfunded, under staffed and un-discussed. #Butnotmaternity highlights how far we still have to go when it comes to women’s health services. MPs have admitted that the current Covid-19 guidelines are confusing, and because of this there is an inconsistency across hospital trusts as to where and when the partners can be present, leaving women frustrated and anxious.
Birth professionals have been left aghast that the public are allowed to visit pubs, but women are still unable have their partners accompany them in hospital during early labour, or to their scans. It just makes no sense, and once again feels like another way that women’s health is being completely overlooked.
So how do you take matters in to your own hands and support yourself? We're Alexis, a midwife, and Beccy, a doula, and want to share our top tips for preparing for birth during these unprecedented times.
Prepare
It’s always a good idea to prepare for birth and arm yourself with as many relaxation tools as possible, maybe now more so than ever.
If this is your first rodeo, make sure you are fully aware of the stages of birth so that you know what to expect and can fully lean into them.
We are huge fans of hypnobirthing - for teaching women not only some amazing relaxation techniques to allow them to fully give their body over to birth, but also for creating an understanding of the physiology of labour and how the hormones work to make birth flow, what we can do to work with this, but also how we can get in its way.
READ MORE: Hypnobirthing: Does It Actually Work?
There are many online hypnobirthing courses, and our number one recommendation would be to book yourself on one, and practice practice practice!
Birth has so many variables. It is impossible to plan it, but you CAN arm yourself with the tools you need to go with all it’s wonderful twists and turns.
Listen to your Hypnobirthing tracks (general relaxation tracks if you haven’t done hypnobirthing) at home, and perhaps ask your partner to give you a lovey gentle massage whilst you are listening to them. If you ask for a massage every time you listen (sorry partners!), you will anchor the wonderful feelings of touch, relaxation, and connection to the audio track and after a while, each time you listen, your brain will remember the association to the feeling of being massaged without you even trying! Win win!
If you are feeling wobbly and want to talk through birth with somebody, but don’t have access to your midwife you could book an online session or telephone call with a doula who will be able to talk through all of your worries and help you hatch a game plan, or just lend a supportive virtual shoulder to lean on. As always, talking through our worries often disempowers them so it’s so important to keep sharing how you are feeling.
Get Your Tech Sorted
Make sure you have working devices that you can take with you to stay connected to loved ones or additional birth partners who can’t be with you under current restrictions. One is fine, but two is even better, just in case! Maybe a phone and an ipad or light laptop.
If you don’t already have one, buy the longest length charger you can find to take with you so that you can be plugged in and move around freely at the same time. This is also very handy for the postnatal ward, enabling you to keep your phone plugged in, but beside you so that you don’t have to dislocate your shoulder trying to reach for it during a night feed!
Have A Back-Up Birth Partner
Due to Covid restrictions, if your birth partner becomes unwell and displays any of the possible Covid symptoms they will not be allowed to accompany you to the hospital. So it’s a great idea to have a back up birth partner in the wings just in case you need to call on them. If this should happen – remember you can always FaceTime your partner from the labour room and have them with you virtually.
Don't Rush In
In most cases, early labour happens best when we are at home and relaxed in our own surroundings, especially if we are planning to go in on our own. Rushing in too soon, can interrupt our birthing hormone (oxytocin) which is a shy hormone and very easily disturbed.
Do check in with labour ward by giving them a call to let them know you are in labour once things are progressing a little. And remember, during your time at home if you are unsure whether you should be making your way in to hospital yet, just give labour ward a call and a midwife will assess you over the phone and let you know if they think you should make your way in or wait it out at home a little longer.
Get Recording
If you are having to go in alone for an induction or your partner is symptomatic and unable to join you - ask them to record their voice for you.
Maybe they could read a relaxation track, your hypnobirthing affirmations, or maybe just some pages from your favourite book or a favourite poem. You can then store these to your phone and listen to them when you are at the hospital so that you can hear their voice and feel their connection.
Pack A Pong
Smell is one of our most powerful senses, and can instantly evoke physical sensations in us. Remember the smell of sun cream on a summers day and how it instantly makes you feel happy!
In labour we want that oxytocin as high as possible, and so taking something with you to hospital that smells of your loved ones is a brilliant idea. Maybe your partners soft t-shirt (especially one they’ve slept in) or maybe your other children’s clothes, or teddy that they sleep with. Sniffing these whilst you are away from them will help to keep you nice and calm, feeling close to them and get that oxytocin soaring.
Whilst we’re on the subjects of perfect pongs, we couldn’t not mention our absolute favourite smell for labour - lavender. Lavender is a natural analgesic. It is a sedative and muscle relaxant, so does exactly what we need it to in labour and relaxes muscles and calms the mind. Soak a flannel in some cold water (hot water if you are feeling chilly) and add a few drops to the centre of the flannel, fold in half and place over the nose and mouth and take in some lovely deep breaths. Each time you experience a contraction, place the flannel to the nose and breathe into it until the contraction has gone. When the lavender wears off, rinse the flannel again, add some more drops of lavender and keep breathing it in.
Other favourite oils are:
Black Pepper – for pain relief
Sweet Orange – for energy and lifting your mood.
Frankincense - for grounding and focus – especially good during transition.
Get Creative
Another strong and helpful sense during labour is sight. That’s why being at home and seeing all our own stuff surrounding us can help us to stay calm. If we want to recreate a little taste of home in hospital how about make yourself a little mood book, that you can take with you to flick through during labour?
Fill it with family photos, funny pics of you and the kids, your partner, old holidays, extended family – anything that will feel familiar and loving. This can feel super soothing and is another great way to keep that adrenalin low and our oxytocin high.
Don't Forget Hormones Are Magic
If for any reason you do find yourself without your birth partner during birth please try and remember that once those hormones reach their peak and you are in established labour, women often tend to go inward. It is not uncommon to walk into a birth room where a woman is cracking on beautifully to find her head down and not communicating. Many women say they feel almost transported away. With this in mind, as long as you feel safe and supported, which your midwives will help you with, you may find that you start looking inward for strength and focus as your labour progresses – and with the sound of your partners voice recording in your ears, a whiff of their t-shirt and a flick through your photo book, you will find that all you need is right there within you.
Consider A Home Birth
If you are low risk in your pregnancy then you might want to consider having a homebirth – this is especially helpful if you are anxious about not having your partner with you, or finding childcare for other children, and especially great if you know that you feel more relaxed at home than at hospital. Of course, you will need a back-up plan – just in case you do have to transfer in to hospital. This can be a list of neighbours local friends or family who could come round and sit with your little ones should you need to transfer in.
Have A Plan A, B And C
This leads us on to our final point – always have a plan A, B and C!
Birth is wonderful and amazing, but it is also very unpredictable – and so it’s so important to have a plan for all eventualities. This is not to say that we want you to spend ages thinking about all the negative stuff that could happen, but just to have at least had a little think about what each eventuality might look like. We find when women have a Plan A, B and C they are much more able to flow with births twists and turns and more able to stay calm as birth unfolds. If you are planning a home birth, also have a plan for transferring in and another for in case of C-section. That way, even though hopefully you won’t need to use the other plans, you’ll be prepared for anything that comes up.
We hope that helps a little and rest assured that in the meantime we are all doing all that we can to make sure that parliament revisits the restrictions placed on maternity care with a more sensible women centred approach!
The Little Book of Self-Care for Mums-To-Be by Beccy Hands and Alexis Stickland is out now (Vermilion, £12.99).
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