Active Birth Welwyn Hatfield
What is Active Birth?
How to do Active Birth preparation in Welwyn Hatfield
CubCare Hypnobirthing Antenatal classes postnatal reunion Welwyn Hatfield
CubCare Hypnobirthing Antenatal Classes Welwyn Hatfield
I'm guessing you're reading this because you're wondering what Active Birth is?
HUGE congratulations on your upcoming arrival!
What is Active Birth?
When you think about birth it is likely you imagine someone laying down in agony, writhing around on the bed and being pumped full of drugs. We have years of conditioning from what we’ve witnessed our whole lives through film and television. Images like that are not helpful and are damaging for expectant parents. That should not be what birth is about.
Humans are a product of our experiences.
If our only knowledge and experience of birth is from a dangerous fiction, then there is a danger of that becoming our own reality.
If our only knowledge of birth comes from people who view birth as dangerous, and medical, and risky, then there is a danger of that becoming our own reality.
It is time to change the narrative, work with our bodies and believe that our bodies are made to do this and therefore absolutely can do this!
The answer - mindset and active birth.
When thinking about birth it is important to remember that humans are mammals; and look to other mammals giving birth for an idea for how we can do it.
A calm, quiet space. Upright positions. And importantly, there is no doubt from the animal in their ability to birth. If it’s a farm animal then perhaps the farmer will be standing by in case of emergency to ensure that their business is protected, but otherwise it is hands off at a distance.
A human left to labour and birth alone, without medical interventions unless medically indicated, will exhibit similar mammal behaviours.
A person will rock, sway, rotate, move, squat, bend over, crouch, go on tip toes, rest, sleep and move again. They will dance and move in a quest to help baby to move down as they prepare to be born.
How do you have an active birth?
Active Birth is not a series of moves and positions that can be taught and repeated like a choreographed routine. But a series of instinctive behaviours that a birthing person, and the baby will go through to make space, to change position and to be born.
Whilst active birth should just happen, there is preparation that is required because of our modern day lives. Generally, we're tense and stiff and don't move very easily. But some
ACTIVE BIRTH is not new. It is simply a way of describing how women the world over
have always behaved during labour and birth throughout history”
Janet Balaskas
The four things we need to do to have an active birth are:
1) Prepare - preparing your body to be as ready as possible for birth. Working in pregnancy to balance your body, to make space, ease tension and give baby and your body room to do the work they need to do. Our lifestyles don't generally lend themselves well to birth - so we need to take steps every day to prepare our bodies (and minds) for the process.
2) Use gravity - helping this force to work with us, not against us, is a cornerstone of having an active birth. A forward-leaning position will help the uterus to work with gravity, using less energy and making contractions more efficient. An upright position will help baby to navigate their way easier than working against gravity.
3) Breathe - using oxygen to fuel the muscles that are working during birth will make everything more comfortable and more efficient. Breathing deeply, slowly and intentionally will help the muscles to work and will help your conscious brain to switch off - to not fight against the birth process.
4) Relax - by understanding the birth process, feeling confident and supported, and trusting in your body, you can relax into birth. Relaxing your body will help muscles relax, the ones that need to move out of the way to give space to baby and the uterus to do their thing. Tense stomach muscles, or a tense pelvic floor will give baby unnecessary obstacles. And relaxing your mind will allow the birth hormones to do their job and to help your conscious brain switch off in safety, with the knowledge that everything is working together perfectly.
Mammals are the masters of active birth
Mammals are the masters of Active Birth. Specifically animals, are master of active birth. They do what they need to do and they move about when they need to move about.
Humans are mammals...but humans are not animals.
The main issue and difference between humans and animals is our brain.
As such a highly developed thinking species our thoughts, worries and consciousness often cause issues in birth. An animal doesn’t have the ability to doubt their approach, it is instinct. Humans do.
Encouraging our thinking brain to switch off during birth is important (or rather, trusting your thinking brain to switch off and supporting it to stay that way), but it is something to work on alongside preparing your body for an active birth.
Basically, our human thinking brain instinctively wants to switch off during birth and allow our more animalistic parts of the brain to take over and release the hormones required for birth.
If we struggle to allow ourselves to relax, to feel comfortable enough to let our thinking brain switch off, then that can negatively impact labour.
By being active, listening to our bodies and moving around when needed. This can help release negative energy and adrenaline, making the body and brain more comfortable to facilitate birth better.
CubCare Antenatal Class graduates
CubCare Pregnancy Yoga and Hypnobirthing - to prepare your body and mind
What are the benefits of Active Birth?
We know that being able to move around freely in birth can:
Increase oxygen flow to the uterus and baby– making contractions more efficient and keeping baby happier
Utilise gravity – helping the uterine muscle contract and release more efficiently. But also helping baby descend through the pelvis.
Increase pelvic outlet size, changing the shape of the pelvis as baby moves through – therefore creating a better positioning for baby and making labour more efficient
This means that potentially, according to research being active during labour can:
Shorten the length of 1st (dilation) and 2nd stage (birth) of labour
Reduce the chance of needing a caesarean
Reduce the chance of needing instrumental support at birth
Improve discomfort and lowers the need for medical pain relief – moving releases endorphins, the body’s natural painkiller! But also positioning makes muscles work more efficiently (without restriction, more comfortably)
Reduce the need for episiotomy – moving around and instinctively changing positions throughout labour makes more space in the body
Make labour more satisfying – even if things do medically change, higher satisfactions rates are reported by those who have been able to move freely during their labour
When written down it is easy to see the benefits of being active during birth. But don't feel the need to just trust me, do you research (Evidence Based Birth is a great resource) - although you CAN trust me, I've spent hours doing the research for you.
Active Birth and Hypnobirthing tools for every birth
- A CubCare technique
Pregnancy yoga and movement is the best way to prepare, and get movements that work to make space in the body, in the same way for labour too; and yes, absolutely I teach active birth techniques across my Pregnancy Yoga, my Active Hypnobirthing Antenatal Course and Refresher Antenatal Courses.
But oh so much more too.
In our Active Antenatal Hypnobirthing classes and even in our Pregnancy Yoga classes we focus on the physical process of birth and what we can do to help it ahead of time because we know that the less your conscious, thinking brain can activate and get involved in birth, the better.
Hypnobirthing through movement is a lovely term to describe our classes in a short, succinct phrase.
We teach you the theory, and work through a series of movements connected to our breathing techniques to help your body and mind feel connected. This helps everything come together easier on your birthing day. By practicing the techniques in our classes, and with our online course at home, you will find that calmness, confidence and control you feel in pregnancy is more easily replicated in the birthing environment.
At CubCare, I give you the tools to be able to make informed choices and the confidence to enact those choices.
I commit to giving you the risks and the benefits of everything, helping you to understand your choices, and give you the tools during pregnancy for the best birth possible. Then you can make the best decisions for your body and baby in the moment without having to engage your conscious brain too much.
You can trust that you will know the right decision that needs to be made. Ideally no decisions would need to be made in the spur of the moment, but we know that birth is a dynamic process and when things change it is best to be prepared.
A CubCare birth
All our CubCare antenatal classes, whether hypnobirthing, active birth or pregnancy yoga in Welwyn Hatfield provide a toolkit of techniques and ideas for labour; the power always comes from the birthing person. Our antenatal class and antenatal course do not rely on any one method or technique, it gives the control and confidence to the birthing family.
The power and beauty of CubCare is that it does not matter how you birth, you can use the techniques, movements and breathing throughout pregnancy, labour and beyond.
Some special client words about CubCare Antenatal Classes
“This labour was SO much better than the first. Your CubCare refresher antenatal course helped so much for the labour, it was much calmer than the first and much more controlled. The breathing techniques were so helpful – I breathed her out!”
“I felt completely in control for the entire 26 hour labour – I just felt so calm, the breaths were incredible and the consultant commented on how she couldn’t believe I’d refused an epidural. I felt confident enough to question and on occasion challenge recommendations of the midwives so that the birth ended up being as natural as possible! A very positive experience to look back on. Thank you!!”
"Jilly has a talent for creating a really welcoming, friendly and safe space which is great for mums and babies alike. The CubCare Antenatal classes are informative and fun, yet relaxed."
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