5 Ways to Mentally Prepare for Labor and Birth

I share a lot here at Vibrant Mama Wellness about how to PHYSICALLY prepare your body for labor and birth. But how can you mentally prepare?

Birth is 80% mental and 20% physical. So we can’t neglect the mental prep that goes into it. Remember - labor and birth is a marathon so we need the mental endurance to get through sometimes DAYS of contractions!

Now while I am an expert on the physical side of things, I’m not an expert on the mental side. But today I’m going to share the things I am doing personally to mentally prepare for labor and birth, especially since I will be trying for a VBAC!

If we are meeting for the first time - Hi! Welcome to Vibrant Mama Wellness! My name is Megan, and I am a pre and postnatal personal trainer. I am certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, with a specialization in pre+postnatal fitness through Pronatal fitness. I am a mom to a toddler, and pregnant with my second baby!

(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. This blog is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. This blog post is based on my own research and experience - please consult a medical professional before starting or making any changes to your exercise program).

Birth affirmations. There is a podcast I am listening to daily with positive birth affirmations that I will play in the background as I’m cleaning or working, but I’m also making sure to write down affirmations that resonate with me that I can bring into L&D with me.

Some of my favorites are:

“My contractions can’t be stronger than me, because they are part of me”

“Each contraction brings me closer to meeting my baby”

“I trust my body knows exactly what to do”

“My body was made to do this”

Breathing through the discomfort. I’m doing this in my workouts, but another way I’m doing it is by holding an ice cube in each hand for one minute. After a few seconds, this starts to sting and hurt, so I will practice moving my body and connecting to my breath to get through the discomfort. I also remind myself that I can do anything for one minute.

Daily meditations to connect with my baby. I like to use the Expectful App which has curated daily meditations based on where I’m at in my pregnancy! But you can also find some great free meditations on YouTube. This doesn’t have to be anything crazy either - even a 3-5 minute meditation makes a difference!

Listening to positive birth stories. It seems like whenever you’re pregnant, people want to share their horror stories/birth trauma with you. And while I understand that it can be important to prepare for any scenario, these stories create fear and tension which isn’t helpful as we approach birth! So I’ve been purposely seeking out positive birth stories on different podcasts and listening to those as my due date approaches!

Releasing expectations. Ultimately how my baby comes into the world is out of my control. Even though I desire a VBAC birth, I know that this may not happen, and I have accepted that. I feel at peace knowing I’ve done everything I can do to prepare, and I am surrendering to the process and trusting my body and my baby!

So there are the 5 things I'm doing to mentally prepare for labor and birth with my second baby! Do you have other things to add to this list that worked for you? Share them in the comments below!

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Disclaimer: This blog does not serve as medical advice. Please consult your medical provider before starting a new fitness routine. This blog is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition.