Preparing For A Fast And Unmedicated Labor

Every now and then, when I’m driving in the car or when I’m gazing at Remy while he’s nursing, I think back to how Remy was born. When I was pregnant with him, I was terrified of giving birth so much that I wanted to stay pregnant forever! I mean, it was the most wonderful pregnancy that you could only dream of: I was glowing, no morning sickness, and I had good weight gain. But even though I had the best pregnancy, I was so anxious to meet my son in person.

Leading up to our due date, I researched on how to make labor easier. My goal was to have a natural and unmedicated labor. Whenever I described my birth plan to others, I got those, “Yea, ok. Just you wait” looks. But I’m so happy to say that Remy’s birth went according to plan and was actually better than what I was anticipating! Completely natural, unmedicated and lasting only FIVE hours from my water breaking to having Remy in my arms, skin-to-skin. While every birth is going to be different, I believe the things I did to prepare my body for labor did make a difference. Read on to see what I did!

Table of Contents

Squats, squats, and more squats – the BEST prenatal exercise

Yes, squats are always good for that booty. But they are especially important when you’re pregnant because your lower body muscles have to work harder to support your growing belly. You need to keep your glutes, pelvic floor, and leg muscles strong and in shape! It has been shown to open up your hips and stretch those tight muscles needed to push your baby out and can reduce labor time. While I was pregnant, I would do squats while brushing my teeth lol. It sounds weird, but 2 minutes twice a day and I did about 100-125 squats per day! I truly believe that squats helped me the most during delivery. If you had to do only one thing from this list, DO SQUATS!

Moderate Exercise

Labor is an extremely physical activity. And it requires a lot of endurance. A lot. Prior to getting pregnant, I was in pretty good shape, but I didn’t want to gain excess weight during the next 40 weeks. Luckily, I was pregnant during the spring and summer, so I would take 30 minute walks during my lunch break and another 20-30 minute walk when I got home from work with my mom.

In addition, I would do the elliptical a few times a week for 40 minutes (just enough time for an episode of The Real Housewives of Anything lol). Finally, I did workouts from the app “Pregnancy Workouts Free”. This app consisted of daily workouts that are designed to be safe and effective for pregnancy and even broke down the workouts by trimester! No equipment is required and each regimen is only 20 minutes! While you can upgrade to the pro version, I did just fine with the free version.

Medicine Ball

The medicine ball is so useful before and during labor! I sat on a medicine ball at my desk at work for the majority of the work day and stood for the rest (yay for standing desks!). Sitting on a medicine ball after 30 weeks keeps your pelvis aligned and baby in optimal position. Because the ball is soft on your bottom, it forces you to sit upright (no slouching!), so you are engaging your core and pelvic floor, strengthening these muscles for labor.
During labor, a medicine ball allows you to sit upright in a comfortable position and may coax the baby into a better birthing position. In addition, it will help baby descend into the birth canal because gravity is working WITH you, not against you. I was much more comfortable on the medicine ball than lying on my back in the hospital bed as I would sway or circle my hips through contractions. I wanted to stay on the medicine ball right up to the delivery and pushing phase, but Remy was so low in my belly that the heart rate monitor was not capturing his heart rate when I bent forward and I had to switch to standing and “slow-dancing” with the hubby.
To use your medicine ball, make sure it’s not inflated to the max or overinflated. You want it to be a little squishy to make it more comfortable. When you sit on the ball, make sure your feet are flat on the floor and spread apart, forming a tripod.

TIP: On your hospital tour, ask the staff if they have medicine/birthing balls or if you are allowed to bring your own.

Dates

While dates with your significant other are always nice, I’m talking about the edible dates. You’re probably thinking, “What the heck is this lady talking about?” But seriously, eating dates have been shown to make your labor easier! There are actual research studies that demonstrate the positive effects of dates on labor. Researchers found that dates have an oxytocin-like effect on the body, increasing the sensitivity of the uterus. Dates also help stimulate uterine contractions.
In fact, a 2011 study of 100 women showed that women who ate 6 dates (so specific, right?!) per day for 4 weeks prior to their due date were more likely to:

Be more dilated

Have a labor that starts on its own without being induced

Have a shorter first stage of labor (which is usually the longest)

After reading this study, you better believe I started eating