10 Things I'm Doing in the Weeks Leading Up to Labor (Prepare Body and Mind for Your Ideal Birth)

Preparing for labor and birth can be stressful and there's a ton of things to do. I created a list of the 10 things I'm doing for the health of my baby, to keep my sanity, and prepare my body and mind for birth. Doing any or all of these things will help have a natural, unmedicated birth and as close to your ideal birth as possible). Planning will help achieve this. Check out the video to see what I'm doing to get in the right mindset and to get my body prepared for a natural labor.

1. Increase intake of healthy fats! Ditch the vegetable oils and increasing fatty fishes (especially omega 3), olive oil, avocados, sardines, salmon, Eggs (with the yolks), good saturated fats.Fetuses don’t store much fat until the third trimester when they begin storing fat rapidly (mostly saturated and monounsaturated.) They store the types that will continue to build their brains – making sure building blocks are available for him/her after birth. High omega-3 intake during third trimester boosts sensory cognitive and motor development in infants. The Brain greatly increase in size during last trimester and needs a lot of omega 3 to do it correctly. So much of mom's omega 3 is fed to the baby that if she doesn’t replace it, she’ll barely have any left for herself or future babies. So, make sure you're getting lots of omega 3 in the last few weeks.

2. Eat dates  - Dates helps thin the cervix and there's evidence that women are more likely to have spontaneous birth and easier labors because it helps thin the cervix. Eat 3-7 dates per day (depending on the size of the dates)
   • Will Eating DATES Prepare You for a Better...  

3. Drink raspberry leaf tea - Raspberry leaf tea tones the uterus and if you increase your intake, some people claim it can help induce labor. Start with 1 a day, can go up to 2 or 3, but would want to wait until the very end of your pregnancy to increase consumption.    • Raspberry Leaf Tea to Tone Your Uterus (Es...  

4. Give yourself a perineal massage, starting around 36 weeks. 3-5x per week stretch the area. It is very uncomfortable at first, but it's recommended as a way to prevent tearing. Kind of like any muscle - if you stretch it, it gets a little more pliable.

5. Practice breathing techniques

This one talks about first and second stages of labor and how to use hypnobirthing -    • How To Use Hypnobirthing Breathing - The U...  

Every time you have to take a bowel movement, practice your J breath where you relax pelvic floor and push out with contraction to push the baby out -    • "J" Breathing - HypnoBirthing Technique fo...  

6. Prep your birth kit (home or hospital birth)
Essential oils, Chapstick, straws, affirmations to hang on the wall, cheat sheet for husband/partner - what to say, where to touch you, cute clothes to have on hand for photos, plan your lighting. Postpartum list - herbal sitz bath, frozen witch hazel pads, nursing stuff.

7. Create a music playlist and organize the tracks you want to listen to. I recommend having both an upbeat labor playlist as well as something more chill and relaxing. Including Hynobirthing tracks or other guided visualizations or meditations can also be helpful. `

8. Stretching
1. Hip flexor stretch - also great to relax your psoas
2. Hamstring stretches
3. Adductor Stretches (kneeling or prone)
4. Butterfly
5. Hip stretches (seated or pigeon pose)

9. Plan your food for birth and postpartum
1. Snacks to have during labor
2. Early labor, bake yourself a birthday cake
3. Prep meals in advance or find a delivery service so you don't have cook for a few days.

10. Hire cleaning service to clean your house.