Scared To Give Birth?
Take Lamaze classes
Signing up for a Lamaze class can be an eye-opening peek at what will occur when you go into labor. You'll receive all kinds of useful information from how to check into the hospital to how to practice deep breathing techniques -- and other natural pain management methods -- to help you through labor and delivery.
These classes are so valuable if you are planning on giving birth naturally. And since they are usually taught by a certified delivery nurse, you can ask all kinds of questions and receive expert -- and real -- answers.
Meditate
If you find yourself working up a sweat thinking about your labor experience, relax! Worrying about it is not going to do you any good. Sign up for a calming pre-natal yoga class and meditate on your own when you start to feel anxiety getting the best of you.
Talk it out
Seek support from your partner, your best friend or your mom. Express your fears and your concerns. Even if they don't have all the right answers for you, having them lend a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on might be enough for you to move forward without being so riddled with anxiety.
Discuss your birth plan with your doctor
Definitely express your concerns and fears about childbirth to your doctor. He can not only listen as your aforementioned loved ones will, but he can offer practical advice. If your concerns are irrational, he'll be able to tell you so -- with some tactful bedside manners of course. And if your anxieties have some backing, he can help you deal with them from an expert's point of view.
Have a brith plan ironed out but also prepare for Plan B. Remember that even the best laid plans sometimes don't work out exactly as you want them to. Be flexible if your birth plan needs to be switched up due to an emergency or simply if you feel to anxious too deal with delivery without the assistance of an epidural or other pain management medication.
More on childbirth
16 reasons to use Lamaze during childbirth
Pain management options during childbirth
Easing the pain of childbirth
