Feel totally unprepared for labour

[TrixieLox]

Hey girls,

I'm 30 weeks pregnant and feel like I'm not doing enough to prepare for labour. My friend swore by yoga and had a decent labour cos of it. But I really struggle to do yoga, it HURTS now I'm pregnant and local classes booked up! I still haven't heard from the NHS about my antenatal classes (chasing on Friday with a number my midwife gave me). I just feel like I need to do something to tool myself up for the big day/s.

Anyone else feel like this? Will the antenatal classes be enough (don't want to do NCT ones as pricey and seem like they cover same stuff at NHS)? Anything you're doing that you'd recommend (eg, books, DVDs, CDs?).

Thanks!

Don't panic! I felt exactly the same at around this time in my pregnancy and I was absolutely fine. I would definitely make sure you chase up about those classes cause I found the antenatal classes really useful. My best tips are just to research pain relief and have a rough idea of what you would like in your birthplan. But be open minded as you may change your mind on some things during labour and things always go a slightly different way to how we all planned in labour. I found just doing pelvic floor excersizes helped a lot and my favourite thing during my labour was one of those gym balls to sit on to keep mobile. I wouldnt worry too much about doing the yoga if you dont feel up to it, pregnancy is the time to listen to your body and do what feels best for you. Good luck!!

After 3 kids I don't think anything really prepares you for labour, even when you have done it before

Luck and good care are the key components of a good labour. Not necessarily yoga, macrobiotics or hypnosis.

Being relaxed, being open minded and prepared to go with the flow is probably the best you can do. Try to stop work with enough time to get bored before the baby comes. Accepting that it will be painful and going with the pain, and accepting that it probably won't be perfect also help.

I was recommended a book by a friend who recently gave birth, one of those 2 hour, hardly any pain births that I dream of! There's a section in the book on yoga, with pictures of what to do so you can just do it on your own at home without joining a class. book It's also got a lot of other info on birth preparation and step by step what to expect stages of birth, which I've found very helpful.

I'm also having my first and am just using this book and a hypnobirthing one, along with a CD to get prepared.

There will always be the huge element of the unknown that will cause a degree of worry and panic, but doing some reading has made me feel informed and in control to some degree.

Ante natal classes will tell you all you need to know and give you some potential good friends. Mine was very similar to NCT class. If for whatever reason you can't get on one, your midwife can give you the basics of the different types of pain relief, tips on good positions, and when to go into hospital.

I went to the nhs antenatal classes with DH and that was my preparation for labour. My coping mechanism was to refuse to think about the whole thing and it worked out pretty well ;)

It's a good idea to learn about the different pain relief options, on your antenatal classes they'll tell you this, plus ways to relax, show you round your local maternity ward at the hospital and tell you what to pack in your hospital bag.

You can also write up a birth plan in your maternity notebook that you take to your midwife appointments, e.g. Any pain relief, who you want with you during labour.

Good luck