You have made the decision to deliver your child without any epidurals and are now looking for some help on how to prepare. Lucky for you, here you can get advice on how to stay away from the spine injection. Underneath we have compiled a small list of advice you can follow to ease the strain on your body and mind.

Your body knows best

Whenever you get doubts if you can go through on giving birth the natural way, an important thing to remember is; your body was designed for this. Your body is designed to carry and delivering children. Your vaginal tissue and pelvis are built for this sole purpose and on top of that, your brain will release a large amount of endorphins to help manage the pains of going through labor. It can help to create yourself a small mantra to deal with the anxiety, it could go like this “birth is natural. My body knows”. Try to repeat that to yourself when you get scared of what is ahead.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

It is important to realize that going through labor is an act of endurance and stamina, and just like other disciplines which require the same marathon stamina, physical preparation will be helpful. Doctors recommend that you start exercising as soon as possible, generally 30 minutes per day will be all you need. In those 30 minutes try to focus on cardio, which means use a stairmaster or a stationary bike and aim to make your heart rate hit 150 bpm and then make it stay there. A little flexibility training is also advised, especially flexibility in your hip, which will help you when the time to push is upon you.

Letting go

Learning to correctly relax your muscles will be a great help for you in the delivery room. You can use a technique called progressive relaxation for this. Progressive relaxation tries to teach you how to isolate muscle groups, to gain control over them and ultimately make sure they are loose and comfortable when you go into labor. A 15 minute session a day should help you to stay focused and to keep a mellower mood when you deliver.

Handling pain

This might be one of the tallest orders in here. You will have to learn to control your pain response, and relax when pain is starting to show. You see the normal bodily response to pain, and especially intense pain is to stiffen and tense up which is not ideal when giving birth. When you tense up some of the muscles in your pelvis will tighten in a way that holds on to the baby, which will prolong the process. There is an exercise called “the grip” which “mimics” contractions and let you breathe into your upper pain limit. Lie down on the side with a pillow tucked in between your knees and then have someone put pressure on your shoulders and neck for a single minute. Your task is to relax the muscles which are under pressure. This will help you to relax as a response to pain.

This was just a small list of advice to follow; you should of cause consult your doctor for further information and guidance.