Anxiety

[SG13]

Hi there
I am pregnant with my first baby (19 weeks) and I have always been anxious about giving birth. Now with Coronavirus and my due date being Nov 25th (fear of winter making things worse for hospitals again). I am wondering if anyone has any tips on what to try/look into? I was considering Hypnobirthing but wasn't sure if this was the right option
Thanks!

If you are looking a natural birth then hypnobirthing is lovely and you can find lots of resources/courses online. A friend of mine found it very helpful during birth and was given a much nicer birthing room because she was hypnobirthing so said it was worth it just for that! Moral support is important to so try to connect with local mums IRL on Facebook or apps like mush and peanut

Hi there, I’m due same day as you! I’m a little nervous about there being a winter surge in cases, but if this happens, we will just lockdown (whether government advice is to do so or not). Hospitals are super cautious and you’ll be well taken care of. I’m sure you’ll have seen the precautionary measures at scans and I went to maternity assessment the other week and it was dead! Because you have to phone and give a time you’ll be in (not like this with my other 2).

I was always lucky, my mum was a retired midwife and my sisters, aunties and grannies all told positive birth stories. I think this helped alleviate any fear I had around childbirth (though don’t get me wrong I was still nervous being induced with my first). Please don’t let anyone tell you horror stories, my mum would tell you these are so few and far between! (Some) people just love to dramatise.

I’m having a home birth with this baby because I had such a beautiful birth with my second and did most of my labour at home (after doing lots of reading on hypno birthing). I promise you, however baby comes, you’ll be amazed at the power and capacity if your body - you’ll feel like a super hero!

I would definitely recommend finding a hypno birthing practitioner near where you live if you’re feeling nervous and are interested.

I hope this helps, try not to worry too much winter and birth are still a little way off (ironically by one of the most anxious people you could ever meet) xx

I think your first port of call is definitely to stay off Google for 'stories' as that can lead you down a dark path!

The best thing you can do though is arm yourself with as much factual info on birth as possible from midwives/the Internet. What your body needs to go through, what's 'normal' and what might happen as well as all the choices you have. My trust had their own maternity webpage. It's easier to remain calm I found, if you know what's happening to you and why and also that you do have a say.

Give yourself time to visualise what your 'ideal' birth scenario would be and aim as much as possible for that but make sure you have some contingencies in mind and don't rigidly stick to that plan. This can help you feel more in control, even if things don't go as well; it helped me even though last minute we had meconium so there was no water birth for me!

Try and make peace if you can, with the idea of labour too, research pain relief if it's the pain that scares you, no one gets medals for going without, but in the end, I didn't have any and just kind of let my body get on with it, no shouting or screaming, very calm. It wasn't the most pleasant of sensations you'd want every day, but if you go with it, rather than fight it, your body will cope better.

There will be as much care given to you under the circumstances as can be, I've only heard praise for how midwives are working in the current situation so please try not to worry about that but don't be afraid to ask what the procedures might be - all knowledge is good for you.
Wishing you all the best for a lovely labour when the time comes