How to Prepare for Birth: 3 Things I Want Every Expecting Parent to Know

Birth is a Spectrum

One thing I always try to keep in perspective is that birth is a spectrum.

I’ve heard some amazing birth stories. I’ve also heard stories that make me do a double take. Most people’s experiences are going to fall somewhere in between.

As a perinatal movement teacher and doula, there are a few things that can really help when preparing for birth. Not because you can plan every detail or control how your birth will unfold, but because preparation can help you feel more confident, supported, and grounded when the unexpected happens.

Build your support and care team

Your care team might include your OB/GYN or midwife, doula, mental health support, and lactation support if you choose to breastfeed.

It’s really important to feel comfortable and safe with the people who are caring for you. You are going to be in a vulnerable place, both physically and emotionally, and having providers you trust can make such a difference.

You should feel like you can ask questions, voice concerns, and talk openly about what matters to you. You don’t have to agree with everything a provider says, but you should feel heard and respected.

And if you don’t feel that way, it’s okay to keep looking. Finding the right care team is part of preparing for birth too.

Get educated

Take a birth class that is specific to where you are planning to give birth.

If you’re planning a hospital birth, the hospital class can be really helpful for learning how things work there, what to expect when you arrive, and what their policies and procedures are.

I also think there is a lot of value in learning from someone outside of your birth setting. An independent birth class or another source of education can give you a different perspective and help you learn about birth, movement, comfort measures, and your options in a different way.

You’re going to learn different things from different people, and I think that’s a good thing.

Preparation isn’t about knowing every possible option or becoming an expert on birth. It’s about having enough information that you can feel more confident and grounded when decisions come up.

This is also one of the places where having a doula can be so helpful. When you’re in the middle of labor and not necessarily thinking clearly, having someone there who understands the different options can help you slow down, understand your choices, and navigate decisions with you.

Prepare your body and your mindset

Movement is an important part of preparing for birth. Learning how to move your body, work with different positions, and build strength and mobility can help you feel more connected to and confident in your body.

Mindset is just as important.

Whatever fears, anxieties, stories, or past experiences you carry with you, those come too. Sometimes they have nothing to do with birth itself, but they can still shape how you experience it.

We can prepare physically and educate ourselves about our options, but birth also asks us to be flexible. You may have a plan for how you hope things will go, and then birth may ask you to adjust.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have preferences or hopes. I actually think it’s important to know what matters to you. But there is a difference between having a preference and feeling like you need a particular outcome in order for your birth to be a good experience.

This is something we talk about a lot in yoga. Not avoiding discomfort or disappointment, but learning how to sit with it. Learning how to stay present when things feel hard or uncertain instead of immediately needing them to be different.

For me, that is a big part of birth preparation. Prepare your body. Learn your options. Build a support system you trust. And then practice being open to the fact that birth may not go exactly the way you imagined.

Final thoughts

I would encourage you to make decisions from a place of information, support, and trust rather than fear or trying to avoid discomfort at all costs.

Birth asks us to prepare, and then at some point, to let go.