Preparing baby for birth

[lennymelons]

Hi all. 35 week FTM here. Is there anything you’d recommend doing to prepare your unborn baby for their upcoming birth? I’m aware she’ll be on quite the journey to meet us and I wondered if there was anything you’d done specifically that helped baby with the transition into the outside world. Thanks

I’m intrigued at the idea you could prepare a baby for being born! Following in case anyone actually has insight on this.

Hi there, I don’t know what antenatal classes you’ve done yet but we’ve just finished a hypnobirthing course and I would definitely recommend it if you’ve not already done anything like it. You don’t even need to go to a class, there are plenty of online videos etc to follow.
It’s all about creating the most peaceful relaxing environment for when your baby is born and you breath your baby out in whatever position is most comfortable (for me ideally in water) rather than on your back in a hospital bed, pushing and screaming.
So many videos we watched where people have had hypnobirths, the baby was born calm and peaceful and according to the mothers, stayed that way as well as the birth was less traumatic for them.
By practicing the breathing and relaxation techniques in the run up to the birth, the music will also soothe your baby and she will likely recognise it and be comforted by it once she’s born too.
The techniques also help the transition from home to hospital which apparently can pause labour due to an increase in adrenaline.
You can also use what you learn to help stay calm should anything go wrong during the birth and you need medical intervention.

You could send it a packed lunch for the perilous journey...

I second the packed lunch

I second the hypnobirthing! If you can't do a course, there are apparently materials online. It's all about using breathing and relaxation techniques to stay as calm as possible - and that helps the baby too because if you are relaxed then it helps the baby stay relaxed as well.

I haven't actually tested it out for real yet (one month to go!) but one of the hypnobirthing instructors at the course we did was saying how with her second baby she ended up having quite a few complications and had to have some emergency interventions - but the hypnobitrthing techniques meant that not only did she feel completely calm and in control, but the baby showed no signs of distress either.

"Breathing baby out" 🤣
Oh I remember well the naivety of the first pregnancy 😂
Baby is quite prepared for birth, and you can prepare all you like but it will happen as it happens and you have very little control over that. Be prepared for your birth plan to get thrown out the window, once you hold your baby it won't seem all that important anyway.

Currently I’m thinking about a little packet of Cheerios sat at the exit as a lure?

They’re prepared.. we aren’t . Don’t panic just try to be more patient than me and have your bag packed up with nice bits (induced in hospital last time so spent a few days looking at the same magazine)

@User12885663 feel free to laugh all you want but having spoken to a lot of women now who have done it, it’s the way forward. It does sound too good to be true but if you practice it beforehand and maintain it throughout, you can have a really positive experience.
I’m not naive, and I know full well that things can go wrong and birth plans go out the window (a close friend of mine nearly died because of complications and her birth was nothing like she wanted) I know that can happen but there’s no reason to go into it thinking the worst.

@Pineapplebaby I truly do hope you have the beautiful birth experience you're hoping for. Come back and talk to me when you've actually experienced it.

Skin to skin as soon as they are born is supposed to be good. I’m sure you know that already but worth a quick mention. It’s not preparation for the baby but it does relax them afterwards! My younger dd also enjoyed a warm bath (visibly relaxed) soon after birth as she’d pooed all over herself when we didn’t put a nappy on (oops) when transferring to hospital in an ambulance (unexpected home birth).

I did hypno birthing and can confirm my daughter entered the world very calmly but I would not agree with the post about hypno birthed babies remaining calm 😂😂😂😂😂 but hypno birthing was amazing and well worth trying/researching xx

Not sure there is much you can do to prepare a baby for being born, not sure I totally understand the question though.

As others have said, creating a calm environment for labour and birth will hopefully help you to feel more relaxed, and give the baby a less stressful environment to come into. Having said that, I did the whole dim lights and whale music thing but DD ended up being born in theatre surrounded by bright lights and about a dozen people. She’s fine. Babies are resilient.

Just remember, all they know before birth is their mum, you are their safe space. So keep baby close afterwards if you can, plenty of cuddles and skin to skin contact.

Breathe the baby out ha ha ha... That was my plan too, but instead I threw my headphones against the wall, begged for painkillers on my hands on knees in between uncontrolled screaming while I vomited and shat myself at the same time and wanted to die.

Anyways, that said, for the first hours of labour hypnobirthing techniques were great, but don't expect a miracle. If you're relaxed it helps your body release the right hormones etc which will help the birth progress and therefore make it less stressful for the baby, for that the hypnobirthing is great. Put on your birth plan that you'd like skin on skin straight after birth for an hour or so. Your hormones/milk will make your chest smell the same as the inside your womb so your baby is most comfortable on your chest as it seems familiar, plus your heartbeat and breathing rhythms are familiar too. It will regocnise your and your partners voice (if he was around during the pregnancy). Maybe ask about delayed cord clamping (supposed to give the baby better blood levels).

Best of luck!

I took two hypnobirthing courses with my second pregnancy. I fully embraced the idea and practiced my techniques daily.

My labour kicked in at 200%....no gradual build up. All hypnivrithing went out of the window and I arrived at hospital screaming expletives in between vomiting

Push when they tell you.

I wouldn't worry too much. DS is pretty chill and he was born very much to his surprise and in an operating theatre. Do what you can but don't get yourself in a spin.

You can’t really prepare the baby unless you mean encouraging them into a good position? For that I was advised lots of long walks and rotating on my ball but baby will have their own ideas!

Don’t get your heart too set on a kind of birth. Have ideas about what you might like but don’t set it in stone. You just don’t know how it will go. My first birth was going to be in a dimly lit room, in a pool, no pain relief, lovely music and it ended up as far away from that as it could possibly be. For my following two I didn’t bother with a plan!

@user1471548941 your replies are quite patronising.

I practised hypnobirthing and had a really positive experience - that's not to say that my birth was without its complications, but I managed a 24 hour labour on only gas and air, and when the going got tough I remained calm which means I can look back on it all now with no fear.

I did hypnobirthing and really did find it useful, it helped me to keep my anxiety at bay in the weeks leading up to the birth, and to stay calm throughout labour and birth, even in the face of being whisked into theatre to be prepped for a section (which I didn’t end up needing).

But agree with PPs, ‘breathing the baby out’ just isn’t reality. Just push. You will probably instinctively want to push when it comes to that point anyway. And trust the midwifes. They know what they are talking about.

You can do all the hyponobirthing, calm music and chakra chanting you want, but if your baby is like mine and wants to come out hurtling like an express train in less than an hour, there's nothing you can do to prepare baby or yourself for it!!!

Not so much for the birth itself, but more in prep for life on the outside. We talk to bump so baby would recognise our voices, and also put together a play list of soothing but not to annoying songs which I played to bump, and later to baby so it was familiar.

Don't think it really did much for DS, but it passed the time, and helped me feel I was doing something. With my second I didn't have the time, and she's also fine.

Scrubbing the floor (so get on all fours) is great to get baby into position.
Crawl everywhere

For transition to the outside world, I know it sounds cheesy but I recorded myself singing lullabies and then plugged my headphones in and popped them around my bump and played them regularly.

Then when my son was born he really calmed down when those songs were sung to him, they would sooth him to sleep so quickly when he was a newborn. May have been coincidence but worked for me!

Read up on your pain options. A baby is always better prepared for the birth when the mum is - sometimes that means using an epidural.

I think the best way you can do it is to remember to let baby take the lead.

She will know what she needs to do to 'get out' so go with what your body naturally wants to do.