Birth Bag Bonus Buys - Essentials For A Comfortable Birth

Search the internet these days and you’ll find a whole host of blogs giving you the low down on what to include in your birthing bag. Even birthing units often have a list of their own ‘must haves’ for you to include. But aside from the essentials of clothes, underwear, more underwear and huge maternity pads, what are the secret gems to pack for smooth labour?

1) Pillow and pillowcase

My first top tip is to take your own pillow. Buy a cheapy supermarket one and a simple pillowcase too - You know that in the birthing room things might get messy. Most maternity units supply the essentials, but when it comes to ultimate comfort during labour, having an extra pillow and one that is doused in your ‘anchored scent’ (see number 6!) can help you to feel much more at home and relaxed. Comfort is key.

2) A separate bag for birth and baby

It’s a great idea to have your birthing comforts in a separate bag from your ‘post arrival’ kit. Include one set of newborn clothes and a few nappies in your birthing bag, but keep another bag separately with a few days of supplies for baby. What you think will last a few days may turn out to just be enough for the night, depending on your baby, the season and whether or not it has yet to start filling nappies…

On this note, make sure your birth partner knows where all of the baby supplies are back at home. If you have to stay for some reason, they will be able to go home for more clothes and nappies if needed.

3) Birth comforts

In the birthing bag, pack your room spray and snacks. Plan to take many pairs of underwear then stop, reassess and add some more! If your waters break on the way to the hospital, be aware that they will continue to leak way past that initial ‘gush’ (lovely!) so wear a maternity pad and be prepared for a hospital car park strip off… It’s worth noting too, that having some towels in the car to sit on is well advised!

Also in your birth bag you’ll want to make sure you have a portable bluetooth speaker. Some maternity units, especially midwife led units, have ipod docks and other accessories, but if you should be moved to a consultant led unit for any reason, you’ll need your own way of continuing to play your hypnobirthing MP3s or relaxing playlist.

4) Snacks

Labour is like a marathon - we need to prepare accordingly and fuel our body throughout. Sometimes you won’t feel like eating much, but if and when you do, you should indulge. Think dried fruit, nut mixes and energy balls over sweets and chocolate. Simple, healthy sandwiches on wholemeal bread will give you a slow release of energy and help you to steer clear of exhaustion.

Be wary of fizzy drinks and stick to still energising options. I’d never drink it in my day to day life but Lucozade Sport (non-fizzy version) was recommended to me before my labour. Much to my surprise, the 2 midwives overseeing my induction were happy to see I’d brought supplies of it and allowed me to drink it throughout, despite only really being allowed to have water because of the syntocinon drip. They said it was ‘the best thing’ for labour.

5) Games

I’m not saying that ‘Deadly Disease Top Trumps’ was a bad idea, but the consultant definitely raised an eyebrow at our choice of card game to take to a hospital. That said, it is definitely advisable to take at least 5 or 6 different ideas for games / distraction during labour. At times, labour is boring. The time between contractions can be spent in self-hypnosis, if hypnobirthing, or it could just be spent chatting with your birth partner and the midwives.

Labour is one of those times where you can be feeling absolutely great one minute and highly irritable the next. Taking a range of games (think playing cards, uno, top trumps etc) and things to do (if you’re a keen knitter, knock yourself out!) means that the minute you get bored, you’ll always have something else on your list to jump to. The same goes for movies or box sets. If you’re planning a Netflix & Birth session, make sure your birth partner knows that they might not get to finish each episode… You’re in labour, you’re in control.

6) Anchored scent

During my hypnobirthing courses, I talk about having an anchored scent. This is perhaps an essential oil or a room spray used whilst you are relaxing. If you relax whilst smelling the scent, then your brain makes the association between that scent and feeling relaxed. This association ‘strengthens’ and ultimately, the process will start to work both ways. Spraying the scent around will eventually result in a feeling of relaxation.

It’s important to choose a scent that is suitable for pregnancy. On my course you’ll learn how to effectively anchor this for deep relaxation and how to use this to your benefit during labour for added comfort. Don’t forget to take the room spray or essential oils with you to the hospital and make sure your birth partner knows which pocket of the bag it is stored in! You’ll be needing this throughout for a calm and relaxed birth.

What are your birth bag essentials? Let me know in the comments below! As always, feel free to leave questions too.

Sam x

More Events!

I’m delighted that I’ve been invited back to Mamas and Papas at The Trafford Centre in Manchester to speak at their February Parent-To-Be events! I was really impressed at the special offers available on the day - some of the discounts are really good (and I’m not even paid to say that!) The events start at 10.30am and there are usually a few talks available - hypnobirthing, water babies swimming, baby first aid, car seat safety advice, safe sleep etc. Refreshments are provided and all attendees are given a goody bag full of offers and helpful bits and pieces.

I’ll be the guest speaker at the hypnobirthing stand on Sunday 17th and Sunday 24th February. If you want to find out more about my courses and what hypnobirthing is / how it can help you, book a free spot on the event and come and say hello!

Link for tickets!

AMAA - Ask Me Anything Antenatal - December!

Hello!

Each month I’m hosting an ‘AMAA - Ask Me Anything Antenatal’ session on Facebook. You can follow my page here for the monthly announcements! It’s your chance to ask a qualified antenatal instructor some questions, for free, when google just won’t do! We’ve all been there, waiting on hold or getting the repeated voicemail recording when all we want to do is ask our midwife or health visitor a quick question. Well now you can submit your queries to me.

Here’s a round up of some interesting questions asked this month. Don’t worry - all questions are asked and replied to privately and I will always make sure you remain anonymous in my blog posts!

I’m 26 weeks pregnant. I’m gutted because a hospital on the other side of the city sounds better for maternity care and I didn’t realise. I’ve booked in at a different hospital. Is there anything I can say to get myself moved across?

Yes of course! There is nothing you need to say other than ‘I want to move!’. You’re entitled to choose where you’d like to give birth to your baby and this decision does not have to be set in stone. Just like any good birth plan, it’s ok to change your mind on things if you see fit. If you wanted to opt for a home birth, you could change your mind at any time and transfer to a hospital. If you’ve booked in at a hospital that is no longer right for you, you won’t have to justify your reasons. Simply ask your community midwife to refer you over to the hospital you’d like to give birth in.

Depending on your location, it is often the case that your community care (fortnightly check ups, doppler scanning and urine testing etc) will take place within the health care trust your doctor’s surgery falls into. If you transfer to a hospital outside of this trust, that’s fine. Your community care will continue with the same team, but your antenatal classes, consultant led care (if needed) and birth will all take place at your choice of hospital.

Does eating dates really help labour to start? I’m 3 days overdue and considering buying some.

Quite a few major studies have been carried out in recent years to find out how dates can help women with their labours. Initially it was thought that dates could bring on labour and make for a shorter labour time. As with absolutely everything to do with getting your labour started, it’s just not that simple. Eating a few dates now that you’re overdue is very unlikely to make much difference.

The guidelines from one study found that eating 6-8 dates per day during the last 4 weeks of labour (from 36 weeks onwards) resulted in:

• Significantly higher mean cervical dilatation upon admission compared with the non-date fruit consumers (3.52 cm vs 2.02 cm)

• Significantly higher proportion of intact membranes (83% vs 60%)

• Spontaneous labour occurred in 96% of those who consumed dates, compared with 79% women in the non-date fruit consumers.

• Use of prostin/oxytocin was significantly lower in women who consumed dates (28%), compared with the non-date fruit consumers (47%)

• The mean latent phase of the first stage of labour was shorter in women who consumed date fruit compared with the non-date fruit consumers (510 min vs 906 min)

A direct quote from the study results:

It is concluded that the consumption of date fruit in the last 4 weeks before labour significantly reduced the need for induction and augmentation of labour, and produced a more favourable, but non-significant, delivery outcome.

So, it seems there could be great advantages to eating lots of dates late on in pregnancy. Unfortunately for the client asking this question, she was already past her due date and so eating a tonne of dates at this point was unlikely to make much difference!

I’m finding the date studies really interesting and so I’ll do some more research on this and write a full blog post soon with my findings!

My Journey Started At The Hairdressers...

…12 weeks pregnant, sucking on ginger biscuits in front of the huge salon mirror, reassuring myself I wasn’t going to be sick into a bin before the stylist had finished her job. She asked me if I’d thought about hypnobirthing. The truth was, I hadn’t even thought about birthing! Getting pregnant had been a long and difficult journey and that had been my only focus. This was the first time I’d paused and thought about actually pushing the thing out. I googled, researched and enquired about a hypnobirthing course before I even left the building…

And a year later, 6 months after the birth of my own baby, I was in a different salon chair. A different hairdresser too, pregnant with her first child. She didn’t have to say anything - the worry, the fear, the anxiety, the unknown… it was all written on her face. I told her about the wonders of hypnobirthing and how the course I’d taken had really helped to settle my nerves and stay positive… but she already knew about the course and had signed up herself just a few days before.

Though I knew she’d enjoy the course, I left feeling angry and annoyed inside; fed up that so many women end up in a situation where they face worry and fear around their birth. Too many horror stories told, too many ‘you won’t possibly understand until you’ve experienced it’ conversations. Too many negative thoughts about labour in a woman’s head by the time she is of childbearing age. It’s no wonder that women are scared of the pain of childbirth - it’s all we hear from the early days. And if we don’t hear it, we feel it in the voices of those who have experienced it before us. That overwhelming feeling of ‘you haven’t done it, so you can’t possibly know’ that shades every conversation between a new-mum-to-be and an experienced pusher (or worse - a group of them!)

My crew!

I couldn’t stand it when I was pregnant and, sitting in that chair in front of the worried young girl, I decided that I had to do something, even if it only helped a handful of people. I decided that I wanted to help others to prepare for the birth of their baby in the way I did. Women deserve to feel prepared and positive about birth. They also deserve to know and understand the choices they have in regards to their labour, antenatal and postnatal care. I think we can all agree that the labouring woman has most of the work to do, but nobody ever seems to think of the birth partner! In films and on TV they are seen as the ‘hand holder’ or the ‘bystander’. Birth partners deserve more than this too - they can learn, with hypnobirthing, to actively support the labouring woman with her techniques. There’s only so much mopping of the brow that can feel useful, surely? Birth partners experience such an overwhelmingly emotional event yet don't always get the chance to feel fully part of the process or feel truly helpful. I know of one dad who took my course who was told by the midwives that he should consider a career move into midwifery! Whoever your birth partner might be, they too can benefit from using hypnobirthing and feel fully prepared to act as your advocate on the day.

The clinical bright lights and cattle-market feel to the hospital’s basic antenatal class - the basic biscuits, cold plastic chairs and pain relief video (with little chance to ask questions or discuss pros and cons) - it just wasn’t for me. Experiencing all this, I decided to train as a hypnobirthing instructor, offering full antenatal classes and private instruction to women and their birth partners across Greater Manchester. And so far, so good! My clients have given me fantastic feedback and my sessions remain fun, friendly and informative. I’ve even been asked to attend births with my clients which is such a great honour.

If you’ve read this far and you’re still intrigued then you’ve come to the right place. Have a look around my website and discover more about hypnobirthing. Get in touch, connect with me on Facebook, Instagram or via email or book a course today. I can’t wait to be part of your journey and help you to have a positive and calm birth experience.

Mamas and Papas Manchester Events

Exciting news!

I’ve been asked to guest speak at the Manchester Mamas and Papas store during their January Parent-to-be events! I’ll be giving presentations on hypnobirthing, answering questions on all things antenatal and sharing some inspiring positive birth stories.

The events are happening on Sunday 20th January and Sunday 27th January between 10.30am and 12.30pm.

If you’re expecting, I’d love to see you there!

The Manchester Mamas and Papas store can be found in the intu Trafford Centre.

Details and tickets for the events can be found here!