My Holistic Birth Plan to Prepare for our Second Baby

Now that I have experienced birth with our firstborn, I feel more confident and equipped to birth our second. Simply having a previous experience helps me visualize the whole process more realistically. I recognize that each pregnancy is different so my “labor + birth plans” will also change accordingly. This is a basic outline to help me feel confident and positive to embrace labor with patience and grace. During my first birth, there were many “learning” moments due to lack of knowledge and experience, all of which are now considered for my second birth plan (read about it HERE). For my second time I’m planning to keep the same strategy of labor prep, however, I’m including more proactive preparations that involve a holistic approach. I am including physical, mental and spiritual wellness into my birth and recovery plan to have the best overall experience possible.

Preparing for birth + recovery

My labor strategy for our firstborn was to focus on the general idea of labor. I, personally, decided to keep labor simple and remain a bit naïve to not psyche myself into worrying or stressing. I did, however, learn coping mechanisms for contractions and ways to effectively communicate with my husband (who would be aiding me throughout labor). I figured everything else would fall into its rightful place when the time came. I prioritized learning ways to boost my oxytocin throughout the labor pains to produce more “feel good hormones”. My approach of “labor prep” was successful for me (but this might differ for you) and here’s why:

by remaining a bit naïve about labor → I was able to keep negativity out of mind

by learning how to naturally cope with pain → I felt empowered to birth a child

by communicating effectively to my husband → I had a wonderful helpmate that cared for me the entire birth

What I would change from my first birth experience

The only things I would change about my first labor + delivery experience is to reduce any oxytocin disrupters; meaning to prioritize my own emotional stability- this is one of the rare moments in life where our emotional needs are greater than others. To simply put it, it is a moment that we should not feel the pressure to manage other people’s emotions. Instead, it is a moment to be assertive and advocate for ourself if anything feels uncomfortable, or delegate the communication role to your partner.

Something different I am doing this time around is preparing for the “4^th trimester”, known as postpartum. I did not realize the impact that hormones have on your relationship with yourself. Feeling a disequilibrium of emotions can confuse your mind to feel like a different person and it can be disheartening to feel strange and unlike yourself. I soon realized that hormonal imbalances are inevitable and part of the postpartum recovery process; our bodies experience a drastic adjustment – it is a mental and physical transition into motherhood. For this reason, it is important to learn how to identify these emotions, accept our body’s response to our new life change, express our discomforts, and grow from the discomforts with healthy coping mechanisms. Thankfully, the first time I did not have any extreme symptoms of Postpartum Depression (PPD) but I did experience a bit of the “baby blues” – I think it had to do with not leaving my house much and not socializing with many people (besides my husband and baby). For 2 months, I stayed inside the house establishing myself as a new mom with unbalanced hormones and self-regulating my mental health all while living a new pace of life. This time around, I want to take a more proactive approach to my post-partum recovery by communicating any discomforts to family and giving my body adequate rest to replenish itself.

How I am preparing for my second birth experience

Below is a chart of my holistic approaches (that include mental, physical and spiritual practices) to ease the pains of Labor + Delivery and to reduce the emotional disturbances of Post-partum + Recovery.

As mentioned before, I recognize that each pregnancy is different, so “labor + birth plans” will change accordingly to each child. This is a basic outline of avenues to alleviate the discomforts and disturbances of birth and postpartum. To *hopefully* boosts confidence to embrace the entire birthing experience with patience and grace, by having a few realistic practices planned.

xx, Cielo Cesare