10 Tips For A Normal Delivery

Pregnant women frequently spend the majority of their pregnancy months filled with joy and wonder about when they will eventually meet their child when the delivery will occur, and how it will happen. Who will it be, a boy or a girl? Throughout the first few months, she had a lot of questions, but as the delivery date drew nearer, her overthinking overwhelmed her and caused tension and anxiety. If this sounds like you, then this post is for you. Inside, you’ll discover the Top 10 Tips for a Normal Delivery along with what you should avoid overanalyzing.

How can you improve your odds?

Get enough sleep

During this rollercoaster ride of 9 months, sound sleep is pivotal for an expectant mother and a developing baby as the body goes through a lot of changes, in both physical as well as emotional aspects, so rest is important. Lack of adequate sleep can cause many repercussions like:

• Stress and anxiety
• mood swings
• gestational diabetes
• Preeclampsia or high blood pressure,
• longer labour and
• higher rates of c-sections.

Well, insomnia strikes 2/3^rd of people during the third trimester due to various reasons like discomfort from the growing belly, frequent urination, pelvic pain, back pain, etc. To get better sleep you can use products like:

Creating a perfect sleep environment and setting up a sleep routine can help you too. Cause a well-rested body is better ready to handle the demands of labour.

Pro Tip: During the third trimester avoid sleeping on your back and sleep on your sides as this is safe for the baby. In 2015, A Research Study was conducted in Sydney about women who sleep on their backs have the risk of late stillbirth (after 28 weeks).

Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated reduces the likelihood of experiencing fatigue, constipation, and urinary tract infections. To support the creation of amniotic fluid, the circulation of blood in the foetus, and your blood volume, you must increase your fluid intake throughout pregnancy. The body can exhibit a variety of symptoms of dehydration including dark yellow urine, fatigue, dizziness, and dry mouth and eyes.

So How much water do you require to meet the goals of normal delivery?

For a pregnant woman, it is recommended to have 6-8 medium glasses of water. It includes all kinds of drinks like

• cold coffee
• milk
• herbal or green teas
• juices
• coconut water
• dilute soup etc

 But make sure to reduce your caffeine intake.

It’s crucial to maintain proper amniotic fluid levels in your body to protect the baby in the womb so keep track of your fluid intake and stay hydrated.

What if you have low amniotic fluid? Is Normal delivery possible with low amniotic fluid?

Well, the condition is called Oligohydramnios in which amniotic fluid is lower than expected it can be due to various other reasons but one reason is dehydration also.

According to research staying hydrated can increase amniotic fluid between 37-41 weeks of pregnancy. At 37 weeks of pregnancy if your healthcare provider finds that your amniotic fluid is dropping then they can suggest induction of labour, baby can deliver vaginally in that case also.

Do Not Skip Exercises

staying active is an important aspect of getting vaginal delivery, women who do exercises regularly can combat labour pains. Adding daily workouts to your routine will surely give you the confidence and stamina to overcome all your fears about delivery.

working on abdominal muscles and pelvic floor muscles can help you in normal delivery.  Some of them are:

• Squats
• Yoga
• Walking
• Kegels Exercises
• Pelvic tilts
• Forward Leaning
• Opening Hip squats
• Swimming
• Cycling
• lunges

being physically active can prevent you from unnecessary weight gain and provide you with stamina and confidence.

Overcome Stress

When the delivery window draws near, we are becoming anxious about how to guarantee a regular delivery. Can I get that much strength? What can be expected on that day? Will the doctor opt for a caesarean over a typical delivery? how much suffering it will bring about, etc. In the third trimester, these are evident questions.

Stop worrying and stay calm. Engage in a busy, joyful activity. Avoid becoming idle and overanalysing. You are not so unique; every woman has had this birthing scenario.

Your mental well-being is as important as your physical because it will affect your baby as well. Staying positive and Engaging yourself in some other stuff can help you with this like:

• Listening to your favourite music
• read a book
• watch your pending web series or the latest one
• go for a walk
• eat your favourite dish
• call a friend
• speak to your healthcare provider.

Being happy and rejuvenated can give you strength in your birthing process.

Having Balanced Diet

To ensure that your diet contains enough nutrients, include a variety of foods. Beetroot, yoghurt, almonds, dried fruits, and leafy green veggies can all supply you with a wealth of nutrients. Increase your intake of fruits, such as apples, bananas, melons, citrus fruits, gooseberries (amla), etc.

Adding whole grains to your diet like brown rice, millet, oatmeal, whole wheat bread etc.

In your last trimester, an extra 450 calories a day is sufficient for you and your baby. Avoid unnecessary weight gain. Making healthy snack choices will give you a boost.

If you are non-vegetarian having 8-10 ounces of seafood each week is beneficial for you. Remember Foods to avoid during pregnancy that can harm you and your baby.

Mindful choices of fruits, foods and vegetables and taking plenty of fluids can prevent constipation and heartburn.

Aware with the Process

You are an adult and you should be aware whats happening in your surroundings and life so make yourself educated about the whole delivery process and the various stages of normal delivery like:

• The first stage begins with uterine contractions and severe labour pains and the cervix dilates up to 10 cm. It is the longest stage and may take 12-16 hours.

• The second stage involves the passage of the baby through the birth canal which takes 10-40 minutes. At this stage episiotomy or incision is performed, umbilical cord cut.

• The Third stage is less painful as the placenta is delivered which takes 20 minutes.

When you are already familiar with the procedure you will no longer get worried and imagine things that other people portray to you. So it’s better to rely on your knowledge than others. You can take childbirth classes also. Read books, watch videos, and attend workshops to enhance your knowledge.

Consult Your Doctor

Before taking any decision regarding the mode of your delivery first, consult and have a one-on-one conversation with your obstetrician and speak up about all your queries that you are asking to outsiders, as your doctor is the best person to answer all your queries more than anyone else.

Being an extrovert and expressing yourself without any hesitation is important.  Being flexible and open-minded in making a bond with your doctor and trusting the process is very crucial in this journey. And then it will turn into a positive birthing experience.

Create a birth plan with your doctor and ask them what you want to include like:

• Labour environment preferences (lighting, music)
• Presence of birthing partner
• Pain management from natural pain relief methods to medical interventions
• Delivery position preferences
• Immediate postpartum preferences ( skin-to-skin, breastfeeding,

Build your Support System

As you are the person who will be the lead at this stage you need a support system that can motivate you distract you from the pain and cheer you up. You can hire a doula for you also in addition to your birthing partner. A doula is someone who is trained to support a woman who is going through childbirth naturally.

Join Prenatal Classes

Prenatal classes are educational classes about information and guidance for childbirth couples. It is another tip for normal delivery as It provides an opportunity to connect with other expectant parents. It covers major topics like:

• Stages of pregnancy
• Foetal development
• Labour pains
• Delivery
• Different birthing options
• Breastfeeding
• Postpartum care
• Newborn care
• Parenting

There are options for free birthing classes also which provide in-depth information for new parents. For more details

Breathing Exercise

Breathing can distract you from pain, it relax your mind and muscles. During last few weeks you can practice breathing exercises to make yourself calm and composed. The more you know about breathing techniques the more you are ready for your delivery day. Some of the techniques are as under:

• Patterned Breathing
• Slow paced Breathing
• Cleansed Breathing
• Deep Belly Breathing
• 4-7-8 Breathing or Counted Breathing
• Rhythmic Breathing
• Alternate Nostril Breathing
• Sighing Breathing
• Visualization

These are some of the commonly practised breathing methods that you can try and choose which are more comfortable for you to do during your delivery time.  

Takeaways

While opting for a vaginal birth versus a caesarean section is a sensible choice, things don’t always go according to plan. Since every person is different and every pregnancy is different, you should do everything in your power to give birth naturally and adhere to these procedures, but you should also have complete faith in the expertise of your obstetrician. Since they are more knowledgeable than us, put faith in them and never question their methodology.