Why ‘Fight or Flight’ is never helpful for birth
The fight or flight response and how it affects birth is an important thing to know as part of your birth prep.
Watch this video with me, Beth Midwife and Mother of 4, to find out exactly why our overthinking and panicky thoughts can contribute to a bumpier labour. And how feeling calmer can contribute to a smoother and more positive birth.
Throw it right the way back to GCSE Biology. I’m sure you were paying mega attention, right? Fight or flight is our body’s acute stress response. It happens when we are in the presence of something frightening; whether that be physical or mental. The response is triggered by hormones that get your body ready to either face the threat head-on, or run away.
So, why is fight or flight relevant for birth?
It’s ALLLL about SCIENCE baaaaabyy!
And how our wonderful bodies as women work to birth our babies… take a look in the video and I’ll tell you everything I know.
Ready to start feeling calmer? Try these 👇
- Start educating yourself on what happens during labour and birth – This will reduce the WTF moments that you may be thinking about now. Maybe you have these thoughts from other people’s birth stories, things you’ve seen in the media or things that happened in your previous birth that you are worried about. I truly believe knowledge is power!!
- Start practicing coping techniques – This will help keep your mind calm and focussed and will positively impact your birth.
Keeping calm during labour and birth is CRUCIAL if you want the best birth experience possible. Birth is about so much more than one day.
The Birth Chapter antenatal & hypnobirthing course is here if you want a structured guide rather than scrolling social tips and wading through thousands of Google results.
