How To Calm Your Anxiety About Labor And Delivery

Learning how to calm your anxiety about labor and delivery is an important part of pregnancy. Having a confident birth is something that parents really want.

No one wants to feel confused and out of control during one of the most important moments of their life. Today I want to talk to you about the benefits of a confident delivery and how you can get one.

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How To Calm Your Anxiety And Labor And Delivery

Let me start by saying that you are about to give birth in one of the best times in history. Statisically childbirth is safe and can be almost pain free if you choose.

If I tell you that back in the day, chainsaws were routinely used during labor, I’m sure even forceps will seem a bit less scary, should they be needed!

(It’s true, by the way, in fact, that is why chainsaws were originally invented!).

Now I have made you feel much better about your childbirth prospects, I’m going to hand over this post to a qualified labor and delivery nurse to give you lots of tips for feeling confident as you move into your final weeks of pregnancy.

Hi, I’m Hilary. I’m the curly head behind the website Pulling Curls, the nurse behind The Pregnancy Nurse, and the creator of The Online Prenatal Class for Couples.

I’ve been a nurse since 1997 and I have 20 years of labor and delivery nurse experience. I am an expert at helping families have a confident collaborative hospital delivery.

I’m excited to give you some ideas to use at your own birth. Read on for my tips for quelling your anxiety about labor and delivery.

Getting Your Confident Birth

Benefits of a Confident Delivery

Everyone likes to feel confident and at ease. It’s a lot like navigation.

When I have moved to a new town I have to give myself often even double the time to get to my destination.

However, with time I get more confident and I’m grateful that I don’t have that pit in my stomach finding the places I need to go.

Labor is very similar, except you don’t get to choose your timeline. If you’re spending the majority of your time lost and confused about what is coming next — you won’t be able to relax and enjoy the anticipation of meeting your new little person.

Staying calm has benefits to not just you, but also that sweet baby who also still shares your blood stream.

Elements of a Confident Delivery

Know what to expect

No one knows exactly how THIS labor will go for you. The most predictable thing about labor is how unpredictable it will be. It has both you and the baby and our good friend mother nature — so you’re navigating a lot of people and situations.

That being said, labor tends to follow a “map” — and you can have a pretty idea about the bumps and curves you might experience as well as what to expect along the way.

Know how to get the information you need

Sometimes it’s hard to get a map of your journey while you are ON your journey.

And, talking to your healthcare team can sometimes be more difficult than you’d prefer.

Learning the words and the information you can get from them is such a skill. Remember, they are setting their own boundaries and they also can’t tell the future — so you have to be thoughtful to know what they can tell you.

Make good choices

Once you have a basic idea of what to expect, and how to get information, now you need to know how to make choices. How do you combine all that to use it to make up your own mind as you confront decisions to make.

How to Get Your Confident Delivery

I think your confident delivery starts with three things:

Experience

You need someone with a LOT of experience to guide you through what to expect (because they have a broader view of what to expect).

Big Picture

Being aware of all the BIG things you be concerned about along the way, makes you realize the small things aren’t as important.

What is your end goal?

Is your end goal a vaginal delivery without an epidural, or is it a safe mom and baby.

Back to the driving analogy, yes — often our goal is to get to a place on time, but I think we’ve all had moments where we realized that our main goal was safety and no one getting hurt.

Being mindful of an attainable end goal is so important (and remembering that end goal may shift during the process.

Let Me Help You Get Over Your Anxiety About Labor And Delivery

Education is truly the key.

In 2014 I realized that Tuesday nights at 7 pm weren’t serving the pregnant people of the world — so I created my own online course to let couples get in the class when they had time (and weren’t starving and tired).

I love teaching, and have created an engaging course that allows you and your partner to get ready on your own timeline.

The course has had several updates and the current reviews are just phenomenal.

I love what Brittany & David had to say:

“Presented real information with a blend of humor that encourages memory and a feeling of realness many online classes fail to achieve.”

I’d love to see you in The Online Prenatal Class for Couples.

If you’re still not SURE if it’s right for you, you can test out the free class to see if we’re a good fit and then hopefully join me in the full one.

Either way, I hope you feel confident in your delivery as you begin your journey as a parent to your new little one.