Birth Environment: How to Create a Space that Reflects “I’m in Control”
I want you to close your eyes and think about how you envision your birth environment to look like. Maybe, you closed your eyes and just thought about the location of your birth, or you thought about how you want your partner in the room, which are all great points. However, I want you to try to dig deeper within. Birth is more than just bringing your baby into the world healthy. In the article, The influence and meaning of the birth environment for nulliparous women at a hospital-based labor ward in sweden: an ethnographic study by Lisa Goldkuhl, Lisen Dellenborg, Maria Berg, Helle Wijk, and Christina Nilsson. The birth environment is identified as the “physical birthing room, the human interaction within it, and the institutional context in which a birth takes place” (Goldkuhl, Dellenborg, Berg, Wijk, and Nilsson. 2022).
Now that you know the definition, I want you to close your eyes again and re-envision it. Where do YOU want to have birth? Maybe everyone has told you that a hospital birth is the safest way to bring your baby into the world, but you want to have a home birth because home brings you comfort. I want you to go with your intuition. When you lean into your own desires for birth, you are taking control of your journey.
Next, after you have thought about where you want to give birth, think about who you want to be present.Whoever is present is either going to make or break your birth environment. Ask yourself who you want to see you in one of the most vulnerable and empowering experiences of your life. Can you see them bringing you peace, being supportive and being okay with you managing the intensity of labor and birth? Have they caused you any stress up to this point while being pregnant? A space that holds so much empowerment thrives off of boundaries and taking control of who and what is included in the process. What I see the most, is parents or inlaws that think they automatically get a spot in your birth environment. As much as I love my mother in law, that doesn't mean I'm automatically okay with her being in my birth space and not because I think she would sabotage my experience, but more so because I want a limited amount of people in my birth environment when I am fully exposed and pushing my baby out.
Maybe for you, you feel at ease with the thought of extra loved ones in the room and that's okay too (hospital births are limited to guests that can be present in the delivery room). We are like plants, we need the proper environment to bloom. If the environment is unknown, you don’t know if you are going to thrive or not. This is similar to birth because if you want to naturally progress in labor you need to increase your oxytocin levels and decrease your stress levels. Oxytocin is your love hormone so hugging/kissing your partner or being around people who bring you peace is ideal. According to research article, Maternal plasma levels of oxytocin during physiological childbirth – a systematic review with implications for uterine contractions and central actions of oxytocin by Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg, etl “Oxytocin contracts the uterus and promotes the progress of labor. A large oxytocin pulse occurs with the birth, and pulses continue afterwards, which help the new mother to birth the placenta, prevent bleeding, and warm her chest for skin-to-skin contact with her baby” (Uvnäs-Moberg, Ekström-Bergström, Berg, Buckley, Pajalic, Hadjigeorgiou, Kotłowska, Lengler, Kielbratowska, Leon-Larios, Magistretti, Downe, Lindström, and Dencker. 2019). If the environment is tinkered with, it throws the natural process off, therefore it slows down everything or stops it completely just like with labor.
This is probably a good time to tell you that at any point you feel like your healthcare provider is not a good fit, you have the right to change your healthcare provider at any point in your pregnancy. If you have a hospital birth and you don’t like how you are being treated by the labor and delivery nurses you can request someone new at any point. Your healthcare team can negatively affect the birth space by not respecting your wishes, how they talk to you, and telling you what YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DO instead of asking you how you want to approach each stage of labor. Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself to ensure a birth environment that is full of love, support and respect.
Did you know that you can adjust the birth atmosphere in a hospital? Yes, you read that correctly. You don’t have to go through this process feeling like birth is a medical intervention. Make your hospital room as calming and home-like as possible. This looks different for everyone. You can have the lights dimmed and can bring battery operated flameless tealights to set around your room. These can bring a sense of relaxation to the atmosphere. Can you see yourself listening to your favorite music or doing meditation in early labor? If it was me, I would love to have my christian music playing and my husband holding my hand. This would bring me peace and comfort at the same time. The key especially in early labor is to try to rest or distract yourself from your contractions. This can look like using your pillow or blanket from home while watching your favorite show with your partner. You know what goes well with your favorite show?Some snacks and something to drink. I would encourage you to eat easy to digestible foods and water with electrolytes to prepare for your active labor. Some hospitals are strict about food and drink intake but it is totally acceptable and you have the right to do so.
So let's reflect. If you want to take control of your birth environment you need to know what you want and what your end goal is. Know where, who is involved and what items are going to be the cherry on top for your birth space. I want you to put yourself first and don’t leave out any desire you have. THIS IS YOUR BIRTH SPACE,NOT ANYONE ELSE'S. Don’t let family members, friends or healthcare providers dictate this space. You have to believe in yourself and your body’s capabilities. If you are struggling with knowing how to take control of your birth environment feel free to reach out. I would love to assist you in having a birth experience where you feel like you prepared enough to reach your desired outcomes.
Kayla_sue@vinesofmotherhood.com
References
Goldkuhl, Lisa, et al. “The Influence and Meaning of the Birth Environment for Nulliparous Women at a Hospital-Based Labour Ward in Sweden: An Ethnographic Study.” Women and Birth, vol. 35, no. 4, July 2021, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519221001190, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2021.07.005.
Uvnäs-Moberg, Kerstin, et al. “Maternal Plasma Levels of Oxytocin during Physiological Childbirth – a Systematic Review with Implications for Uterine Contractions and Central Actions of Oxytocin.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, vol. 19, no. 1, 2019, bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-019-2365-9, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2365-9.
