Are you fit to labor and recover well?

In the movies, a woman lies on her back, and the doctor says to push. She squints her eyes and screams through gritted teeth. Then you hear a little cry, and the fairly clean baby is handed to a beaming mother. However, anyone who has ever had a baby will mostly likely tell you a different story because every birth is unique.

Labor will be the longest, most arduous workout of your entire life! If you’re planning a medicated birth, you still have reach a certain point in your labor before painkillers are administered, and you still have work to do after that. Your uterus is a big muscle, and contractions involve your whole core.

What will you do if your epidural doesn’t take, or what if it only numbs one side? 

The reality is that you need to be prepared to go natural even if you’re planning a medicated or surgical birth because birth plans often evaporate when babies arrive differently (or sooner or later) than expected.

You need to be ready to walk, sway, squat, pull on a rope, stand up and sit down over and over again.

You need to practice lots of birth positions and perhaps hire a personal trainer who can develop your strength around those positions.

Being in good shape and ready to squat, walk, bounce on the birthing ball, and slow-dance with your partner for hours on end is crucial endurance work that needs to be in place prior to the day baby arrives. If you become exhausted and unable to be actively involved in your labor, your risk of a C-section immediately increases.

Click HERE to see our Prenatal Fitness Program

You can enter labor with a sense of fear or a sense of empowerment. You can avoid your labor or you can engage in it. Do everything possible to bring your baby into this world with strength and confidence, so that when you look into your baby’s eyes for the first time, you not only feel your universe suddenly shrink, but you also feel like roaring with accomplishment, amazement and pride–not just for the new life you hold, but also for yourself.

Leave us a comment!

What would you tell other women about preparing for their births? Anything to add?