Preparing For Birth: Beyond the Hospital Bag

We talk physical birth preparation that works for medicated and unmedicated labor: everyday movement that meets your body where it is, yoga ball posture habits, hip mobility, and why we love Spinning Babies for balance and space rather than “moving” baby. We also get specific about hydration and electrolytes, especially for dry climates like Denver, and why rest is not laziness but part of training for the marathon of labor. Then we talk how pelvic floor work can help with pushing, breathing, and even back and hip pain.

Mental and emotional birth preparation matters just as much. We unpack the fear tension pain cycle, how to protect your headspace from horror stories, and how to choose the right people in your birth room so you feel safe being vulnerable. Finally, we compare coping tools for unmedicated birth like counterpressure, hydrotherapy, TENS units, and labor combs with pain management options like epidurals and nitrous, plus the truth that positioning and movement still matter either way.

If this helped you feel more grounded, subscribe, share it with a pregnant friend, and leave a quick review so more families can find practical birth education that doesn’t trade on fear.

Spinning Babies Daily Essentials

Mamaste Fit Birth Prep

Briget Teyler YouTube

Misty's PT (located in Parker, Co.)

Birth Ball

Positive Birth Stories

Christian Hypnobirthing

Thanks for listening!  Always feel free to message us for more information or, if you have information you feel we should see, please send that. We LOVE to hear and learn from you!

Transcript

Welcome And Quick Disclaimer

Speaker 2 0:03

I'm Misty, and I'm Tammy, and we're the Doulas On Call. Remember, mamas, we're not doctors, midwives, or magical birth wizards, I wish. Just two passionate birth workers with microphones, sharing personal experiences, trusted information, the best snacks for labor, and a whole lot of heart. What you hear on this podcast is meant to educate, encourage, and connect, but it's not medical advice.

Speaker 0:34

Please consult your trusted healthcare provider when making decisions about your health, your birth, or anything clinical. Basically, don't sue us. We're just here to talk birth, spill some tea, and share the love.

Speaker 2 0:55

Ring ring, dool is on call. Hi, friends. Welcome back. Hello. Hi, Misty. Hi, Tammy. How's it going? Going good. Going good. Are you happy it's raining? Um, I'm happy. Happy and unhappy. I feel like we need it. Definitely happy for Mother Earth, for the trees, for the ground. Not so happy for Misty's sinuses and for Misty's mental health.

Speaker 1 1:28

I think just allergies. Can you hear my voice is sounding? Yeah, I think we both kind of very dreamy today. So yeah, I kind of sound like that too. So we're sounding more definitely more today. It's really me you guys.

Speaker 2 1:40

I'm loving it. I'm loving it.

Speaker 1 1:41

I'm a little worn out. It's been a long weekend.

Speaker 2 1:44

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:44

I know you had a big weekend. So excited. So excited. Yes. Shout out to the Sam's.

Speaker 2 1:51

Yes. Yeah. Um, just so you guys know, like what we're talking about, did you know that Tammy's other job, she like, what do you say?

Speaker 1 1:59

I've won more as a ordained minister.

unknown 2:03

Yeah.

Speaker 1 2:04

As an officiant. So she can win. I got you, I got you from birth to marriage. No, from marriage backwards. Or hey.

Speaker 2 2:15

Could be, could be. That's how mine worked. I mean, really.

Speaker 1 2:19

I was birth and I think I said it because I was their nanny. So, like, they were little kids. So you raised these children. Helped raise them. I'm sorry. Yeah. Helped raise these children. And now they're getting married. Then you married them. Now I'm ready for them to have babies. Let's go. And then I love their kids full circle. Oh yeah. Full circle. Anyway, enough about me. I love it. Let's talk about it. I love it. Yeah. So let's talk about birth.

What Birth Prep Really Means

Speaker 2 2:44

Today, let's talk about um how to prepare for birth. How to actually prepare for birth. This is a big one. Or can we?

Speaker 1 2:54

Yeah, can we? I mean, yeah. Right? Right.

Speaker 2 2:57

So we're gonna get into that. We'll unpack a little bit about that.

Speaker 1 3:00

Um, is wild. We there's so many things you can do. Um, so we we are gonna talk like in practical terms about things that you can do. But this is more than just what to put in your hospital bag.

Speaker 2 3:14

Like all those cute little baby clothes and what we want to take pictures of the baby in.

Speaker 1 3:19

And do you do you tell your clients this? I actually say, and I think I may have stole it from you. I don't know who said it. But I always say, you know, if you show up with nothing, they have everything. Honestly, they it's everything you bring is literally personal preference. That's if you're birthing in a hospital. Absolutely. Um, but even in a birth center, they have everything. Yeah, they do.

Speaker 2 3:43

So they do. I never you bring it up. People are shocked when I'm like, no, you don't need to bring all your uh your pull-ups, you don't need to bring all your ice packs and all of that because they will.

Speaker 1 3:53

And they and that varies from state to state. But in Colorado, I've never been to a hospital birth center. They can just show up. Correct. And in fact, I ask, I tell my clients to ask for a postpartum bag to take home. So that you can you can uh have more of all the things. And then save your good stuff. Yeah, bougie stuff.

Speaker 2 4:16

Save all the good things for sure. Exactly. So yeah, well, I guess you know, when we're talking about preparing for birth and what to do, more like physical preparation, mental preparation, emotional, all of those, um, all of those ways of preparing. And whether you want an epidural birth, no epidural birth. Yeah. Uh is it a scheduled induction? Obviously, your bag's gonna be a little bit more packed for that. Sure. Um, or you know, spontaneous labor.

Speaker 1 4:42

Yeah, but this is I so I think we could break it up, right? Okay, so there's let's talk about the physical preparation. Yeah, physical. Um, I think a lot of clients I meet with for the first time, they hear birth prep and they immediately um are like, oh, I have it's my breathing, or it's my yoga ball, which they're not wrong. Right. Some of them don't even know that. So I'm like, they're like, oh, I need a yoga ball. Are you s are you? I'm like, yes. It's the cheapest, easiest labor tool. But yeah, but the physical is more than that, right?

Speaker 2 5:15

Yeah, there's a lot more physical preparation that we can do now and that we understand now, versus like, gosh, when I had my kids when you had your kids, like it's a it's a lot different.

Spinning Babies And Daily Movement

Speaker 2 5:26

Like one of our favorite resources that I throw out, uh, shout out to Spinning Babies. Spinningbabies.com. I love spinning babies. Um, I love giving um giving my clients the information on spinning babies like from our first meeting, and they have so much to offer you. So And you are actually um certified with spinning babies, didn't you? Take it. So technically not I'm not certified as a educator or an instructor, but you took yes. I'm trained. I would say I'm spinning babies trained in that I have taken their full course for doulas, workshop, all of that.

Speaker 3 6:04

Right.

Speaker 2 6:04

Um so yeah, I'm able to help help parents um work with them one-on-one.

Speaker 1 6:09

And we we do a lot of that as a doula group. We we um we talk a lot about it when we're at births. If we have data like how babies positioned, we do, we help each other with that. And moms, I think, so Missy, if you had to explain what the premise for spinning babies is, why is it called spinning babies?

Speaker 2 6:31

What are we talking about? So it's you know, the name spinning makes you think like, oh, well, my baby's breach or in a bad position. That's not, and we're not trying to manipulate your baby's position. We don't actually move your baby, turn your baby or anything. It's not wizardry, right? It's creating balance in the body, right? So we're not forcing anything, we're not doing any of that. So we're helping the body be more, I would say, balanced and have more mobility, so your baby can move more freely and get into that more ideal position for for labor.

Speaker 1 7:11

Yeah, because of how we have well, and I mean, I think historically when women were working in a field, women were not sitting for 18 hours for all these commuting or yeah. So that that looks very different. Just how we how we work and move looks very, very different. Yeah. Um, and that I think that's important whether you're planning on medicated or unmedicated. Absolutely. Right? There's a big um positioning matters for everybody. Um, let's talk about what are like what's some examples of that movement that we go over during the first prenatals when we meet with you in person.

Speaker 2 7:50

So the importance of moving your body, like moving your body every day. And this doesn't mean like Walky. Right. And it doesn't mean like you have to by any means like train for a 5K.

Speaker 1 8:02

Yeah, no, or anything like that. Start where you're at. I would don't you always say that? And um, my husband is a performance coach. We talk about this a lot. It's not like I get pregnant and think, oh goodness, I need to start working out now. Like you have to meet your body where it's at. And if that's like, hey, I'm gonna continue to walk, because that's what I normally do, then I'm gonna continue to walk. I always ask my clients, what's your jam? Like, what do you like to do? Do you like to do yoga? Do you like to swim? You know, what do you like to do? Start doing your want to do it. Or or do you and most I just want to survive.

Speaker 2 8:35

I just want to survive. I just want to get through this pregnancy. That's so fair.

Speaker 1 8:40

It's really I that's so fair. I know, but we're just walking, daily movement, right? Just go for a walk. Um, what about uh stuff for hip mobility? You know, I always say like they do those open hip flips, yeah, those stretches.

Speaker 2 8:53

Stretches are good, and again, like movement doesn't have to be anything crazy. Like Orange Theory. I do have clients who run. What's the other one called? It's like the 45. Yeah, fit forty five 45, like ones like that. Um, what's that other big one? Um, there's so many. Oh gosh, I'm trying to think of the name of it. Call me at midnight when you think of it. Yeah, I'll think of it at midnight. But you know, some of the bigger ones, um, you can you can like if that's where you're at and that's what you want to continue to do. I have uh bodybuilders that I work with, and that's great.

Speaker 1 9:28

I can honestly say 98% of my clients are insanely fit. Yeah, right? A lot of them in a fit living in Colorado. That's exactly right. Living in Colorado. But so one of my favorite spinny movies I teach them is the sideline release. Yes. And then that's probably the number one that I use in labor too.

Speaker 2 9:48

Yeah, sideline release. I use that one a lot. That one's excellent. A lot of moms really like that.

Speaker 1 9:53

Well, and one of the to we'll link. Oh my gosh, you say it.

Speaker 2 10:00

We will link a lot of these uh movements we're discussing. Um, I think I'll just link Spinning Baby's website and they have all of it there. So you'll be able to find that. But another big one is you mentioned the ball, like doing things on the ball. I love using like the the ball to prepare prenatally and like you know, sitting with your ball. So practicing really good posture, um, doing that, the hip circles, the movement. I kind of have a joke. I I tell my clients that um the ball can lead to the other method that helps prepare the body for labor. So like when you're doing the ball and you're like exotic, and then you're like, oh, and then that leads us to the big- It's so sick. It's so the other the other way. But yeah, I love using that. Um that's pretty funny.

Hydration Rest And Simple Nutrition

Speaker 2 10:51

Also, really, really good to emphasize to y'all mothers, really, really focus on your hydration. Oh my gosh. That makes such a big difference.

Speaker 1 11:02

Like when clients are, you know so we can talk physical, so the physical movement, but also physical slash nutrition. Before we skip to that though, can I I also wanted to say with that with the yoga ball, I do emphasize since COVID, so so many of my clients are still working from home. And instead of sitting on your desk chair, sit on your ball. Yeah, replace your replace your chair, that hard surface just to open up um your tailbone. Yeah, right. Or it's not about core work. Or, like I say, if you have to use that chair, turn that chair around and sit like a bro. No, come, no, really, truly straddle it's just turn it around and then put your hat on backwards. I'm just like a bro. What about like forward-leaning inversion? Yeah, I think that one makes my clients laugh. That always gets a giggle when we're at uh at an appointment, I think, and also having the dads incorporate and help. Um, but yes, let's go. So let's go back to the nutrition, rest, and hydration. If you are in the Denver metro area and you're listening to, you are walking around at a mile high, we're known as the Mile High City. Um hydration is so massive and it's such a simple thing. I think um I just had a text uh conversation with a client this morning, and she's going in, she's toward the end of her pregnancy, and she's like, Oh, well, what if the amniotic fluid is low? What do we tell them? What does it directly relate to? Water. Yeah, they relate to water. Yeah. Yeah. It it honestly, I've had have you had that happen? Oh, gone in.

Speaker 2 12:39

I had it happen personally to me too. Right. My fluid was low. Oh my gosh. And then my midwife, thankfully, you know, she was like, Don't be concerned. I'm not concerned about this, but we're gonna have you come back in in a couple days. It's like kind of a it's a screenshot, it's a moment in time. If you're a little bit dehydrated, that can affect your fluid levels. Not saying that there aren't cases where fluid correct, you know, fluid being low isn't a concern. Right. And it is an issue. But sometimes what that does mean is we need to drink a little bit more water. Right. So we hydrated our we can hydrate. It helps your muscles like so much for improvement.

Speaker 1 13:12

And it helps with cramping. Absolutely. I mean, towards the end of your pregnancy, if you're cramping a lot, how much water are you drinking? Add the electrolytes. I just reposted today the cutest little um blip I'm trying to think of. I should shout out to the user. And she did moptails for hydration. And you can make it fun. It doesn't have to be just water. Right. One of my other clients who I love um did coconut water with electrolytes and she made ice cubes. And she literally put them in a ziploc and brought them to her birth. Oh, that's awesome. I love that one in the freezer. I love that idea. Wait, what about rest? Can you emphasize the importance of rest from a physical standpoint? We're talking about a lot of movement.

Speaker 2 13:56

Yeah, well, if you think of think of anything like obviously like stress can cause tension in the body, being exhausted. Like we need to release any tension from our body. And that's huge for preparation. Yeah, yeah. So rest can be on the physical side, it also can be on the mental side. Um yeah, having having that rest is just as important too. Yeah.

Speaker 1 14:19

It doesn't, it I think two things. Um pregnancy isn't a time to be afraid of movement, right? Yes, because we can still move. Birth is athletic.

Speaker 2 14:30

Yeah, absolutely. It's like a it's a marathon. You are yes, you are preparing for a marathon. So um definitely not the time, like you said, to become terrified of that.

Speaker 1 14:44

Um, I do want to give a shout out to um iFangirl over these ladies. Oh, I know who you're talking about. I know exactly who you're talking about. Mama stay fit. Yeah. Instead of Nama Stay Fit. Yeah. Yeah. They are, I think I love them so much because when I first started doing this, they were probably one of the first platforms I really listened and um researched. So not fear-mongering, but just so generally.

Speaker 2 15:13

That's what I appreciate about them. I love that.

Speaker 1 15:16

Common sense.

Speaker 2 15:17

Yes.

Speaker 1 15:17

Common sense very logical and definitely have the education and the certification. But their their theory of teaching strength, mobility in addition to birth education, actually makes sense in such a practical way. So if you haven't heard of them, hi ladies, we'll tag them too. We'll tag them too because they're one of our favorites. All right, Missy, you had a client. Um we will give her a shout out because her name is pretty hysterical.

Speaker 2 15:49

Oh, yes. So let's move on. I think no.

Pelvic Floor Therapy Before Birth

Speaker 2 15:54

Okay. Are we thinking about the my pelvic floor client? Okay. So my pelvic floor client, that that is there are two funny names for pelvic floor therapists that I know pretty well here in Denver. Okay. Um, one was a client, one is not a client. Um, although hopefully she has a client one day when she decides to have children. Please. Um, but anyways, I will tag both of them here.

Speaker 1 16:17

Yeah, because pelvic floor therapy during pregnancy is incredible.

Speaker 2 16:22

Pelvic floor therapy is. It's incredible regardless.

Speaker 1 16:25

Yeah. You just had your own experience.

Speaker 2 16:28

Yes. I need to go. I love so the pelvic floor therapist that I use is a client, also a client of mine. Um, she is located in Parker. So I am not located in Parker. Um and it takes it, it took a good while to get to her, but well worth the drive to get there. Um, but her name is Kylie, she's with Jean. Um Jean, I think is how she pronounced it. Jean, there's a reason why. So Vajan. Oh, that's hysterical. Jean. So J E E N. Um I I love Kylie, she's fantastic. Um, she had her twin babies.

Speaker 1 17:04

Congratulations.

Speaker 2 17:05

Yeah, so uh, but I saw her personally for myself, and then I have a lot of clients that have used Kylie um and and love her. Yeah. So I think that a lot of times people assume that pelvic floor therapy is only for after the birth. Um, for like Yeah. I'm sneezing, I'm peeing, I'm coughing, I'm jumping. That's not the case. You know, you have to think like when you're pregnant, first of all, when you're pregnant, every person who experiences pregnancy, your pelvic floor will drop. It's just known. We're carrying weight, it's gonna do that, it's gonna change your pelvic floor. Right. The other reason why your pelvic floor is so important is what do you think, where do you think your baby, if we're planning for a vaginal birth, where do you think your baby is going to come through?

Speaker 1 17:55

Yeah.

Speaker 2 17:56

And have to guess what has to move out of the way.

Speaker 1 18:00

Right. Which is, I think, um, you know, and I had to that was a new space for me to be educated in because I always feel like there's so many things to think about for birth. And I feel really remiss. And my clients are like, what do you, you know, if I had to do XYZ, because I always do acupuncture, you know, um, movement, obviously, daily movement, and they feel so overwhelmed with all of the things. And public floor therapy, I'll be honest, wasn't on my top three until recently. And I think, but then I have these clients, right? And I I'm sure you can attest to this. My hardest clients with in this department are dancers, the super, super athletic athletes. Yeah, okay, but specifically dancers, ballerinas, and I think it's because they're runners, their entire life is spent training, training their pelvic floor to be nice and strong.

Speaker 2 18:54

Which a good pelvic floor is we want it to be. We want it to be strong. But what we need to practice Relax. Right. Because those pelvic floor muscles, ladies, they gotta move out of the way. Or what happens is your babies bounce off of it like a trampoline. They literally and that's when you have long pushing time. So a lot of challenges. There's and then so there's other great benefits that pelvic floor therapy can help with. And this was one that surprised me personally. Oh, yeah. So I have um had a lot of lower back pain, a lot of hip pain. Um, and my pelvic floor therapist, she's like, well, we can do some work with that. Right. Your pelvic floor probably contributes to a lot of that. So she did some pelvic floor um strengthening with me. Um, and it really helped with that back pain, that hip pain, feeling like pressure in my low back.

Speaker 3 19:48

Right.

Speaker 2 19:49

Um, so ladies, guess what happens later on in pregnancy as your baby begins to grow and cause more back pain. So I think there's so much that pelvic floor therapy can do for you, keep you more comfortable, but help you prepare for birth.

Speaker 1 20:04

And a lot of uh my a lot of my clients, um, particularly ones who are their goal really is unmedicated. It is beneficial because they can show you breathing techniques while you're in that pelvic floor session. With your specific pelvic floor, with your specific pelvic floor for pushing, especially if you're unmedicated. So to have that tool in your tool bag is pretty great. So, and and overall, I think the the emphasis on the relaxation during that and for that is really, really important. Would you agree? Yeah, I would definitely agree.

Mental Prep And Letting Go

Speaker 1 20:44

Which leads me to mental preparation. Oh, cool. This is I don't know. I mean, we're talking about a lot today, but honestly, the mental part is I think that the next two things we're talking about are the most important. I have to say, well, more than the mental issue. More than anything you put in your bag. This is more than the cute outfit for going home.

Speaker 2 21:07

Yeah, right. Absolutely. It's not just a physical thing that you're going through, it's a mental, it's very deeply mental because you have to dig so deep to find that strength. And you're thinking, we have no time on it, right? So we don't know when this is gonna end. Like I had one client, she's like, I ran a hundred, she did a hundred mile marathon.

Speaker 1 21:32

Oh, my god, ultra runner, yeah.

Speaker 2 21:34

Yeah, and she's like, if you would ask me what was the most like challenging physically and mentally, birth over that. And it was because she said she knew that, you know, and she knew that there's an end to the birth. Obviously, the baby's gonna be born.

Speaker 21:49

Yeah, but you don't know how long but you don't know how long.

Speaker 2 21:51

At least with that hundred mile marathon, and you're crossing those miles, you're like, okay, I know this is how much more I have to go.

Speaker 1 21:57

So don't pace yourself knowing having. That control because the mental part really I I tell my clients you can do all the physical, you can pack all the right things, but if you are not mentally in the right headspace, it it it you're it's going to be harder. Yeah. And most of that mental, would you agree, is really letting go of a specific plan. Absolutely. So if I hear the comment, I will never I can't. I do not want to use, or I'm not going to use it. I'm not going to. Um I get a little afraid. I know. Well, and mainly because, okay, we're talking about fear, tension, anxiety. Those things matter in labor. Absolutely.

Speaker 2 22:46

Well, fear, tension, pain cycle.

Speaker 1 22:48

Ding, ding, ding, ding.

Speaker 2 22:49

You know, when we have fear in our body, what happens is our body instantly tenses.

Speaker 1 22:54

Yeah.

Speaker 2 22:55

So if we're tensing the muscles in our body, well, guess what? What's a muscle? Blood flow. All your blood flow just goes, well, and what's a muscle, Timmy? Like, what do we need for birch? Uterus? Yeah. Cervix. They're all muscles. Like we need to do. Everything tightens. All of those muscles, they tighten and they cause all your blood vessels tighten.

unknown 23:12

Yeah.

Speaker 1 23:12

And then what happens when you tense? Then you have more pain. Yeah. And then you anticipate. Yeah. So we have a lot of tools to help with that. Um, knowing your options. Uh this is one of the reasons I actually love acupuncture when you're pregnant.

unknown 23:28

Yeah.

Speaker 1 23:29

Because it works with that meridian in your body. And sometimes subconsciously we don't know where we're holding that fear and tension. And those those meridian points, acupunctures, just goes dink dink and it creates this balance that we didn't even know we needed. Good old nervous system. With our nervous system. Yeah, it truly matters. The nervous system matters for so much. And especially in birth. And don't you think our I think this is the hardest part also culturally because there's just so much fear associated with birth. And women love to tell you their horror stories. What is up with that? Seriously. I've actually told my clients, you have every I give you permission to put your fingers in your ear and be like, eh, baby, C DFG. Like thank you, but no, thank you. Please, if somebody starts to tell you, be like, you know what? I thank you so much for being willing to share that. But I I think can we talk about that after?

Speaker 2 24:22

Yeah, I would love to discuss this after my birth. I'd love to swap birth stories. After I have both after you have your baby. And there's nothing wrong with doing that.

Speaker 1 24:30

That's that's absolutely true. What are some things we can do to reduce the fear mentally to reduce the fear mentally? What'd you say? Education?

Speaker 2 24:40

Yeah, obviously, like education is good. So the more I look at it like the more you know, the more confident you feel. Right? So you feel more confident going into something with NGCA. On the flip side of that, sometimes we can know too much. Too much. Yeah, it's true. Um know yourself.

Speaker 1 24:59

It it really depends on your personality.

Speaker 2 25:01

Yeah. Yeah. So I've worked with um several clients who are in the medical field. I've actually worked with an OB, OBG Wynne before. Um I've worked with um Lauren had like a student midwife, I think.

Speaker 3 25:14

Yeah.

Speaker 2 25:15

Um doulas, I've worked with doulas, I've worked with um um nurses, whether they worked in L D or a NICU. And so while all of that information that they have access to can be very beneficial to them, I can see that it also can be the other way, or then they know a little bit too much. Um, but yeah, so I definitely think that to have education, it's gonna be how much is gonna be based on you know your own personality. Personality.

Speaker 1 25:42

And you can sign up. Like I tell I encourage my clients, all the hospitals offer, I think it's a rite of passage, to be honest. I always say to them, you you know, sign up for the birth education class. If you get into that space and John's talking about his brother's mother's cat's sister, text me and I will give you a get out of jail free card. Be like, Miss Tammy, this is horrific. And then, you know, we can focus on that just stuff like that. If you hire me, do it. Same with Misty, because we we probably could do that. And she did do that for many years. But I did five years that I talked for local education closet. Okay, what else? Um affirmations.

Speaker 2 26:19

Yeah, affirmation cards. I know that there's a couple different ones that we like, like Mama Natural has one. What's the other one you like?

Speaker 1 26:25

Um, I well, because I'm a Christian, so I love um oh, I just blanked the name of it. Isn't it called the doula deck? There's oh, I love Laura Bregman. Yes, the doula deck. And I actually hand those to my clients. If you've had me as your doula, I'll hand you. And she has ones for while you're pregnant, during birth, and postpartum. Yep. And those are on Amazon. We could link that. Um, Christian Hypno Birthings. Yes, I love Christian Hypno Birthing. And they always have a free trial. Um, what is the other uh app that is all encompassing um for affirmations and postpartum? There's a thousand. You can find the one that works for you, but um, I also love Bridget Taylor. And you know Bridget Taylor is great. She has a YouTube channel. And they're free. She has a whole playlist. She has a whole playlist. And what I tell my clients, her voice isn't annoying.

Speaker 2 27:18

Yeah, that makes a big difference. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Um, what about journaling? I am a big fan of journaling. I think I'm a big fan of journaling, like writing to your future self. Yeah.

Speaker 1 27:29

I always say writing to your baby.

Speaker 2 27:31

Yeah, write to your baby, write um to your future, you know, birthing self, and then you can actually bring it with you and read it to yourself for encouragement for your birth. I think that's really good.

Speaker 1 27:40

A lot of clients do that.

Speaker 2 27:41

Yeah, I think that's really good. Um, obviously, like talking to people is very helpful. So maybe like seeing an actual therapist. Um Tammy and I consider ourselves kind of therapists at times with clients for sure.

Speaker 1 27:55

We definitely are. And also um Sondermind, Sondermind.com, like they'll find you. There we are, thankfully, people are so much more aware in this space. Um, even if it's just during this time that you have to if you need something more. But a lot of my clients continue to do this postpartum. And I think preparing for that through real therapy. If you've already had a baby, even if you had the most beautiful magical vaginal birth, right? Or a plan C section that was wonderful, please revisit that birth.

Speaker 2 28:31

Process that process that birth. You might not realize sometimes what we can carry from our previous birth on. So I think that's really good to have that.

Speaker 1 28:42

Absolutely. And encouraging yourself with positive birth stories. We will start introducing those on this podcast where we'll have people come tell their and actually you may send a link. Don't you want to do that? Where people can sign up to share their birth stories.

Speaker 2 28:57

I want to, yes, I definitely want to do that. I want to create a space where our moms can go and read all these positive yeah, all moms, but you know, having them read the positive birth stories. Um, that's big. I think Mama Natural has all positive birth stories on her.

Speaker 1 29:13

Well, and just Aina Mae's book. Yep. You know, we recommend that book a lot. Yeah. Um, honestly, just you know, hearing that positivity is probably one of the best ways you can mentally prepare.

Speaker 2 29:25

Yeah, and emotionally prepare. I mean, birth is very emotional.

Speaker 1 29:29

Um there's just so much fear because everything we see in the media, which is not like Misty, what happens when their water breaks?

Speaker 2 29:38

Like in the movies. Instantly, it's like fear. Like, oh my gosh. And I always I always tell people when we sit down, if if you work with me, um, Azure Julie, you may know this. I'm like, it's not an emergency if your water breaks. Um, obviously, there's gonna be signs like to tell you that you need to go in, and that's something that we can discuss, something that your provider would discuss with you, what those actual signs are. Yeah, but just the fact that it breaks does not mean it's an emergency.

Speaker 1 30:04

You do not have to run in. Okay, so I always tell my clients, I'm like, okay, repeat after me. I will not panic. Panic if my water breaks. If my water breaks. Let's say it again. I will not. No, she so and my last couple that delivered, the dad literally looked her dad in the eye and said, Miss Tammy said you're not supposed to panic. She goes, Stop talking. Oh gosh, pretty funny. Yeah. So we don't want you to feel afraid mentally.

Speaker 2 30:35

Yeah, no, emotional. Being emotional about it is okay. It is.

Speaker 1 30:40

You can't help it. Yeah. Physiologically, I'm sorry. Like your body releases those prostaglandins, it's getting ready for birth. Your hormones are increasing. Yeah.

Speaker 2 30:51

So and another thing I tell my moms too is if you do get emotional in labor, that's okay. We let it be. Oh my gosh, do not hold it. Let it out. That's I want everything to stay. I don't want anything to stay in, and I want everything to come out.

Speaker 1 31:06

And yeah. And let's just be honest, becoming a parent is emotional. Yeah. Like it's very surreal. Absolutely. It never stops being emotional. Absolutely. Right? Yeah. Never stops. Never stops.

Speaker 2 31:20

And labor brings up a lot. It can bring up a lot. And we definitely, you know, we want you to feel like you're very safe in labor.

Speaker 1 31:28

It can bring up a lot of emotions that you are not prepared for.

Speaker 2 31:32

Yeah. Like vulnerability, um, being able to identify the shift of that, having fear, those relationship dynamics.

Speaker 1 31:42

I think being vulnerable is the the hardest, don't you? Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Like you're naked and you're naked.

Speaker 2 31:50

Yeah. Well, and I I work with a lot of um, a lot of women's women. We can't speak today, guys. I've worked with a lot of women that are like, they are like badass women, like in their careers and how they are, and they're just so strong. And then they're like, labor rocked me. Oh yeah, they're not prepared for that. And but it it's a good, it's a good thing because you're able to release that um those emotions and that's because it's unknown.

Speaker 1 32:21

I think, and that's what we talk about a lot as duelists. We will we that's why hiring a dueling is so great. Because my type A moms, like you're talking about, they're used to doing this, and I then I see this result. If I work harder, I get paid more. If I fix my company and I get organized, this you know, it's a direct correlation. Ding, don't, don't, right? But in birth, nah. Like you can do X, Y, Z and like see you it you're you don't have control. You just don't have control over it. You don't so um the the emotional context, let's talk about feeling safe, right?

Who Belongs In Your Space

Speaker 1 32:59

Who's in your space?

Speaker 2 33:01

What else? That's a big one, who's in your space. I I want to just put it there for a second because I've worked with women who they have a family member or a friend or whoever in the room, and I can see I can see the tension, and I can see that it makes it can make it harder on them. So, like, really think about who is in your space. And I joke and say, like, who can you sit and poop in front of? For real. Like, who could you sit and like have a bowel movement and do those things? Um, you know, if another one like cussing, you know, I had one client and she was like, she would cuss and then she'd look at her mom and she'd go, I'm sorry, mom, I'm sorry, mom. Because you know, she grew up very Christian. She's like, we just don't conservative, conservative. We don't cr we don't cuss a lot. And so it's just funny. So like you need to feel safe being able to say what you want, do what you want. Um, yeah.

Speaker 1 33:56

Yeah, and just make sure who it's you're don't worry about hurting feelings. You really need to make that space what you want it in order to do. This is your birth. It's your birth. This is your birth. And it is a sacred space. And even as you if you're hiring a doula, we always say we don't have an ego in that space. You know, like we're non-medical, but we're definitely all up in your you know what. And if you can't feel comfortable with us like that, you don't we it don't hire us. Yeah. Find your personality. Then I'm not your doula. Yeah, find your person. Feel emotionally. Yeah. Um, regardless of what birth you want or what birth happens, right? Um, epidural moms need support, unmedicated moms need support. Everybody needs support. And c-section moms need support. Like, there's no trophy for suffering. It's not like you got extra. Yeah, right.

Speaker 2 34:51

I always joke and say, you don't leave with a button that says, I made it to six centimeters without an epidural. I made it to eight centimeters without an epidural. You know, we never leave that, but we do have that. Like, because I hear it. I hear it in the birth space.

Speaker 1 35:04

I hear moms that say such and such got to eight centimeters.

Speaker 2 35:08

I want to get there. I'm like, but we're not that we're not Susie. No. You know, we You're not. You know your body. You listen to your body. Your body is gonna tell you when enough is enough. If you plan for an epidural, or even if you don't plan for an epidural and change your mind, you know your body. Yeah.

Speaker 1 35:25

You're um I think it's Lauren that says that's the body, I say you are an expert on your own body. That's right. Only you are the expert. And I always say you're the only one in your body. Nobody else can crawl in there and and take over. So it and if you've if you're a first-time mom, there's nothing that equates childbirth pain in our world, in our body. There's just not. So not and the unknown of that and how we're gonna approach that is different. Now, if I'm gearing for unmedicated, I'm at a birth center, and they don't offer that, or I'm I'm having a home birth, and they don't offer that. Yes, definitely mental, mental, mental preparation is beyond, right?

Speaker 2 36:08

Um well speaking of unmedicated births, Tammy. Because sometimes prepping for an unmedicated birth and preparing for that versus a medicated birth is different.

Tools For Unmedicated Labor

Speaker 2 36:18

So you know, what are some things we could do to plan for that unmedicated birth?

Speaker 1 36:23

Yeah, there's a lot. I think in a lot of them overlap. So I mean, I wouldn't state there's not like two separate lanes. Um comfort measures. So if I'm preparing or hoping for an unmedicated birth, then my prep is definitely gonna be super heavy on what are my coping tools and how am I gonna regulate my nervous system, right? So I always tell my clients, if you are gearing for what I've got a client who's allergic to drug, like she literally cannot get an epidural. It's impossible. There's no way, right? Our body just cannot. She can't have and so I'm like, oh, look, here's I I'm like if you can see me through the mic, I'm holding my two hands up and I'm like, here's your tools. Like, you know, there's so much physically I'm going to be doing that I would not be doing as much with an unmedicated because those coping tools.

Speaker 2 37:15

So there's a lot more hands-on. Definitely more hands-on-mm. Um making sure your partners are, you know, up on how to where to where to counterpress, where to talk, yeah. Um, how to actually do massage. I can't tell you how many times that the dad will be massaging. She's like, I don't like that. He's like, You like it when Misty does it. She just feels different. Or they're doing it and they're like, Stop, I want this. Or they're like doing it, like they're like almost like scratching or like tickling them, and I'm like, no, don't noodle them, don't do any of that. Like middle fingers.

Speaker 1 37:47

Surface area, right? Big surface area. Pregnant mommy's like big surface area, not poke, poke. Um water, water, water. Water. 70% well, joking. Sorry. Yeah, that kind of water. Both, both. Hydrotherapy. Um, I love, I think it's a Vista. Hospital actually has um the room is called um the It's the spa room. And but but it's called Aquedula. What? They call it yes, it's I've literally seen this on the door. It says aqueduilla because it's a it's a big pool. That's hilarious.

Speaker 2 38:22

I've heard it as the midwife's epidural.

Speaker 1 38:25

Isn't that true? Yeah. So counterpressure, movement, um, and having again, here's your mental piece, your endurance mindset. Okay. But okay, what are some other tools? Because we use the tens unit or stem.

Speaker 2 38:40

Yeah, but I love the tens. The tens is like one of my favorite tools. I'd say nine out of ten, if not ten out of ten of my clients. Put that on and let it don't take it off until baby is out.

Speaker 1 38:50

Until baby is born. And do you know what the other day I used it post-epidoral? Oh. When the mom was shaking. Ah. That was a new one. Okay. Yeah. Um, I've also had a dad take it and use it for his neck. That's a good one. That's a good one. I like that. Amanda and Matt, you know who you are.

Speaker 2 39:13

I love that. We're we're telling on Matt.

Speaker 1 39:16

We're telling on Matt. Um okay, so and then the comb, you know, a labor comb.

Speaker 2 39:21

Oh my gosh. Yeah, the labor comb. And then I had one client use these like Pokeball things. Oh, yes. And then you told me you had a client that used ones that were like cylinders. Yes. And so I actually bought them because they're longer. I need them. So I've had a couple moms use those and they like that.

Speaker 1 39:37

Why does that work? Missy, talk to me about like explain why that works.

Speaker 2 39:41

So it's the gate theory. So the gate theory is that you can only receive your bot your your brain can only receive so many signals of like sensation. So like pain or it's processing something. Totally. So it can only receive so many at one time. It's sending all the little things that respond. So it's the tens unit, the pokeyballs. It doesn't hurt, but it is a sensation that your brain is registering. And then what I like to say is it dims the sensation of a contraction.

Speaker 1 40:12

So it's not pain relief. We're not taking away the pain. We're just like dimming- We're dimming it. We're dimming it all over. Yeah. Yeah. So all of those things help. And we actually give our clients a TENS unit at their 36-week appointment to practice with and get used to using. Um, and that has increased my unmedicated birth by a lot.

Speaker 2 40:32

Absolutely. That's why we um I think I have like eight of them. Thank you.

Speaker 1 40:36

You know, thank you, TENS for labor. We'll also we'll also link that in our thing.

Medicated Birth Still Needs Movement

Speaker 1 40:41

Oh, let's talk about medicated. What are the some things that so there's an overlap here, right? Because if you know, like I have a lot of clients who are like, I'm definitely getting an epidural. I don't care if I get an epidural. Um, so we talk about the timing of that. Yeah. You know, when do you get an epidural? I talk about a pain scalping, zero is nothing, and 10 is suffering. Like I cannot continue. I can't go on this road trip any longer. Um, so when do I get the epidural? Um, what about body positioning? Does that still matter?

Speaker 2 41:11

Oh, positioning is huge, even with an epidural. Like when you get an epidural, we're still moving. People think like, oh, I hear it all the time too. Is I don't want to get an epidural because I want to move. I want to move, and I'm like, oh girl, we still move. No, we're not walking. I get you like a rotation chicken. There's no better like a pancake.

Speaker 1 41:34

Flipping like a pancake, it's yeah, there are no better analogies. Now, you you are hook, you when you have an epidural, don't get us mistaken. You are in the bed. Like you cannot, you can't get out of the bed. Yeah. But uh one of the dads at the last brother was like, holy crap, I didn't know the bed could do that.

Speaker 2 41:51

Like I was like, Yeah, there's so much those beds can do.

Speaker 1 41:54

I was like, You bought a ticket to Disneyland with this TV. Like, let's move that bed.

Speaker 2 41:59

Yeah. Um those positions matter. So like getting you, you know, turning from side to side, not only that, but like peanut balls, like correct. We get to use peanut balls for labor. Yes. Um, and try all the fun.

Speaker 1 42:10

Yeah, like birth bar, birth bar, tuggle, like during pushing and laboring. Um, and also knowing how to rest. If you're getting the pain intervention, whether whether that is an epidural or oh, we forgot to talk about nitrous. Nitrous is another one that you can get that's not pain relief.

Speaker 2 42:29

Yep, nitrous oxide, so it's half oxygen and then half the the nitrous. It's 50-50. And you could use that.

Speaker 1 42:36

Um but you know, knowing how to rest through if you get if you have medication. Um a fentanyl shop.

Speaker 2 42:45

I just had a client use that and it worked amazing. So she went without a her goal was to go without an uh epidural. Um so she did. She went without an epidural and she did an induction. This mama, praise to you, girl, you know who you are. Um she did so amazing, but that fentanyl just took the edge off. Just to get over the hump. I always say it makes you feel like you had a couple margaritas. And did she sleep? And you just don't care. In between. So she'd like sleep in between and kind of drift off.

Speaker 3 43:16

Interesting.

Speaker 2 43:16

Um and then it, you know, so the good thing about like using that is that it it is fast acting, but then it also leaves your system within an hour. Yeah. Um, so they don't like to use that option. Um unless it's like early, earlier on. So they don't like to use it later on. But anyways, we can we definitely are gonna do a whole episode on like pain relief and different options.

Speaker 1 43:39

So well, I think that regardless, medicated, unmedicated, you're still benefiting from movement, being educated, how you're breathing, what is your body positioning, and who's in the room. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 43:51

Yep. So those are your big takeaways, right?

Speaker 1 43:53

Totally.

Speaker 2 43:54

Yeah, for

Surrender Flexibility And Closing

Speaker 2 43:55

sure. This was a longer episode, guys. So thanks for like tuning in and staying with us. It was a little bit Longer. As you can tell, or hopefully you could like Tammy and I are very passionate about what we do, yes. Um, in supporting you. So we love talking about birth. We love talking about preparing for it. That's why we did a podcast. That's why we're here, y'all. That's why we're here.

Speaker 1 44:15

If you could leave the listeners with one thing about this episode and birth preparation, what would you say?

Speaker 2 44:23

Birth preparation is not about earning that perfect birth. And remember, remember, I want you to repeat after me as you were driving or listening to this in your AirPod in the bathtub, wherever you're at. If you're misty, you're in your bathtub. I was just gonna say it's so funny. Um, but I want you to think that we can, we have many, many tools to influence our birth.

unknown 44:47

Okay.

Speaker 2 44:48

We cannot directly control our birth and control what happens and exactly what type of birth we get. Surrender, surrender. So we have to learn how to surrender that. So but birth preparation is so important in going into this.

Speaker 1 45:05

It's not about feeling I mean, it's not about being perfect. It's definitely about being informed, about being supported. Um, oh man, and flexibility. Yeah, my gosh. Because you matter inside your birth. You matter. Yeah, your birth matters inside. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thanks for hanging out with us today, guys. It was like and share and download and all the things. And go follow us on social and we just changed our social media. That's important. Yes, we did. We're gonna have a whole episode on that.

Speaker 2 45:41

There are you. Misty. So I'm Misty at Full Circle Birth. Yeah, no, I think it's a good look.

Speaker 1 45:49

I think it's Misty underscore full birth full circle birth co. And I'm the same. Tammy. Yes. Underscore full circle birth code.

Speaker 2 45:57

We need to get this link down. But yeah, yeah, so good to have you here. Um please, uh, like Tammy said, like, subscribe, all of that, but also reach out if you need anything.

Speaker 1 46:07

Yeah, see you next time. Bye. Bye.