Pregnany prep!

 

 

It’s important to gain knowledge about pregnancy, labour and childbirth expecting. Read about how the body functions naturally; do not read about complications. There is a lot of discomfort during pregnancy but it’s normal and you don’t require medical help; reading about it will calm your frayed nerves.

If you are afraid of the pain of labour, read the chapter, “Birth Without Fear” from “The Complete Childbirth Book” by me. Here’s an excerpt from it:

“A woman generally has a vague notion that childbirth is unbearable pain and danger.  This notion is formed as a result of the distorted tales heard during adolescence or later.  What can be pieced together from gossip, movies or fiction draws a picture of passive pain, to which a woman has to submit in utter helplessness. A negative attitude during labour causes her entire body to tense up with fear. If one undergoes unendurable pain, one passes out as a rule, i.e. loses consciousness.  This is nature’s safety mechanism.  However, women in labour may be rendered unconscious by drugs, but never by pain.  Hence, what pain can be felt, can be endured.”

 

Change your perception of pain

“Pain and childbirth have been associated with each other for so long that normal uterine contractions are often referred to as pain. A woman is often told that pain is the signal of labour. In France, labour wards in many units are referred to as the “Hall of Pain”.  Women who have had babies also talk of “the pain” hence a temporary connection between words and nerve centers takes place. The uterine nerves signal the beginning of labour to the brain.  The brain translates it inevitably into pain, anticipating it.”