Straight to the point with this one – you are a normal woman if you’re worried about how your vagina will feel and look after birth. It just doesn’t seem natural that something so big can fit through something so small without destroying it. Here’s the cool bit – remember I said in the fear of pain episode that your body can produce and use its own hormones to protect us from pain sensations? So we have the hormone oxytocin and the neuropeptide endorphins that help us with pain. Well your body can also adapt itself to birth a baby with minimal impact. Here’s what you need to know:

00:00 - Intro

01:25 - Terminology to understand this episode

05:03 - What you can do during pregnancy to reduce your risk of tearing

09:50 - What you can do during labour & birth to reduce your risk of tearing

Links mentioned in this episode:

If you have any questions or want to get on a FREE call/chat with me, go to https://birthserenity.com/

Remember to subscribe to get notified about new episodes.

Yours In Birth,

Resources:

https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/mothers-babies/australias-mothers-babies-2016-in-brief/contents/table-of-contents

https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD005123.pub3/full

https://midwifethinking.com/2015/09/09/supporting-womens-instinctive-pushing-behaviour-during-birth/

https://www.cochrane.org/CD006672/PREG_perineal-techniques-during-second-stage-labour-reducing-perineal-trauma

https://www.cochrane.org/CD000081/PREG_selective-versus-routine-use-episiotomy-vaginal-birth

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg190

https://midwifethinking.com/2016/01/13/perineal-protectors/

I often hear, “I have low pain tolerance, so I don’t know how I’ll cope with labour”. Believe it or not, labour is more about mental strength rather than physical strength.

In this episode we will cover:

Get in touch if you have any questions and be sure to look out for more episodes in the coming weeks, where we'll bust all the common "fears" surrounding birth.

To get in touch with me or to join our online antenatal program, go to: https://birthserenity.com/

Yours In Birth,

Resources:

"Our primary objective should not be to "reduce the cesarean rate", but rather to rediscover the BASIC NEEDS of labouring women"... 

This is just one of the many truths Dr Odent said in our interview. Here's what we talked about:  

04:00 - Your thoughts on cesareans before natural labour starts?  

09:35 - If you are told by week 40 "this now needs to be a cesarean", how will you as a mother know if that is truly necessary. Talking about healthy mothers, carrying healthy babies who had healthy pregnancies.    

42:25 - Do babies who are born by "cesareans before labour starts" face any health risks later in life?  

47:42 - One of the concerns about immediate cord clamping is the much lower iron levels in newborns. What are your thoughts on iron levels in newborns and their mothers? Is it really so important and also so easily thrown off balance?   

53:18 - It is sad to hear that so many mothers are still being coached to forcefully push their baby's out during labour. What drives the Natural Expulsive Reflex and why is it so important to wait for it?  

Let me and Dr Odent know if you have any questions. Also if there are certain topics you want us to talk about on this channel ;)  

If you are pregnant and hoping for a natural birth, go to https://birthserenity.com/ to join our online antenatal program.  

Yours In Birth,