The Practice of Birth Basking
‘Birth Basking’ is a term I use working with parents preparing for their baby’s birth. It’s a simple but profound practice that can change the way you experience your pregnancy and reduce the time you spend worrying about labor (it can also be used for a planned cesarean) or any potentially stressful upcoming event.
In pregnancy so many parents are mentally rehearsing the kind of birth they don’t want (especially if you’re new to the GentleBirth approach).
Think about this for a minute. When you think about your upcoming birth - how does it make you feel? Anxious or excited? This repeated negative mental activity in the brain blocks oxytocin and endorphins due to the release of unnecessary adrenaline. Stress exhausts your resources for labor too so if an unmedicated birth is important to you emotional mastery is essential.
You can choose to birth bask instead and minimize the time spent ‘nightmaring’ your baby’s birth.
We have a tricky brain that evolved to be constantly on the lookout for threats so it’s very easy for to imagine labor in a way that isn’t supportive of mental and physical wellness. Those neural connections in the brain are well and truly wired together and it’s so easy…takes no effort (how quickly those negative images come to mind are indicative of how well you’ve been practicing those thoughts. It’s called the negativity bias and is just a normal survival function of the brain.
When we ‘birth bask’ or simply ‘rehearse’ a positive emotion we bring about a state of physiological coherence. Coherence means the systems of your body and mind are in a state or stability. When we’re stressed the mind/body is in a state of chaos. That means when you intentionally activate a positive emotion your heart rate variability increases which has a significant effect on your health and wellness.
Why not try birth basking.
It’s more than seeing yourself strong, focused and in control. The emotions you intentionally evoke helps to change the wiring of your brain and gives the brain a different experience of what it is expecting labor to be like. It doesn’t come easy for most as you most likely haven’t been mentally rehearsing your labor in this way so the connections need repetition to grow. The more you practice the more your automatic thoughts about birth will be exciting instead of anxiety provoking.
How helpful would it be to evoke a familiar feeling (practice is key!) of feeling powerful, strong and capable when you hit 6cm? This is such a simple way to hack your hormones - more coherence in the body = more oxytocin and endorphins.
Birth Basking Practice - 5 minutes
Find a place where you can be undisturbed for a few minutes, get comfortable and focus on your breath.
Pay attention to the the felt sense of the breath as it moves in and out of your body…and that rich oxygenated blood nurturing your baby.
Let your breath settle into a slow rhythmic pace (this will settle your nervous system first).
Bring to mind a time in your life when you felt confident…think of a challenge you overcame….bring up those feelings of determination and focus.
As you notice those feelings building in your body - notice how they make you feel....notice any feelings of pride and satisfaction. Now think about being in labor, feeling focused….feeling determined…in control….notice how you feel…bask in those feelings of excited anticipation.
Repeat daily.
If you want to take this to a whole other level try practicing with this ‘advanced’ imagery.
***This exercise helps reduce stress and bring more joy to your pregnancy but of course it doesn’t determine outcomes. Every so often I buy a lottery ticket and like most people I fantasize about those numbers coming up…what would I do with it? I think about the places I would travel to. How I would take care of friends and family. I haven’t won yet and my numbers may never come up but for those few minutes when I think of buying that lottery ticket I am marinading in those wonderful feelings.
No matter how your baby arrives on the day you’ll never regret the time you spent birth basking with your baby. Both of you enjoying that time of nurturing connection and oxytocin. You’ll never regret giving yourself and your baby the gift of a more peaceful pregnancy.
