Hospital bag essentials to boost your birth experience …
You’ve got the onesies, the nappies and your birth comb. But, what about the things that’ll really boost your birth experience?
Natural birth relies on hormones…
If you’re planning a natural birth, the one thing you really need to know and remember is this: oxytocin matters.
This hormone powers birth like no other: it’s responsible for so much, and without it labour just won’t work.
In short, oxytocin is the hormone of contractions:
it gathers the uterine muscles up
it opens the cervix
it is also the powerhouse behind those downward contractions that bring your baby earthside.
But if it’s going to do all the work that’s needed, you need to be in the right space of mind to produce it. And your birth bag is the source of the stuff that’ll help you get there.
Oxytocin is released when you feel good…
Oxytocin is produced when we feel loved, safe and generally worshipped like the human-creating goddesses we are.
Your hypothalamus creates oxytocin and signals it’s release from the pituitary glands when its needed: within the context of birth, it’s physically acts in response to baby’s head on your cervix (along with a host of other hormones that signal that baby is ready to be born) to stimulate the uterine contractions that create labour and bring baby earthside. Oxytocin also supports the release of milk during breastfeeding and supports parent-baby bonding.
And it’s also very clever because once you’ve started producing all of this oxytocin, your body tells itself to produce even more of it using a positive feedback loop (read all about that here).
It’s also important to note that adrenaline is oxytocin’s arch enemy: feeling worried, panicked or under threat in any way shape or form will interrupt that feedback loop and stop the hypothalamus from releasing the birth boosting hormone our body is relying on.
In short, the more we tell our brain that we are in the right state for oxytocin, the more oxytocin we will make, and therefore the smoother our labours will progress.
There are some really simple ways to do that …
Comforting physical touch (everything from hugging, massage & sex to really comfortable clothes)
Exercise & staying mobile (yoga, walking, stretching and generally moving about at will)
Feeling connected and comfortable with the people around you
Feeling nourished and strong in your body
So what does this mean for you and your birth bag?
Well, it means thinking about what will make you feel good within the context of labour…
Five birth boosting things to pack in your hospital bag…
Boosting your birth experience is not about the goal: it’s about navigating the oxytocin-restricting challenges you might face and figuring out how to counterbalance them…
Item 1: boosts oxytocin with a focus on capability & strength
Challenge: a long & tiring labour that makes you feel like you can’t do it.
Birth Bag Solution: honey
This easy-to-consume, easy-to-carry carbohydrate-rich liquid is the quickest way to boost you back into birth mode when the exhaustion is getting the better of you.
A quick teaspoon of honey (or drizzle straight into your mouth) will give you the sustenance you need to help you feel powerful and strong, and tell your brain that it’s birth time once again.
Additional bonuses of honey also include the fact that it has antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties which can help during postnatal recovery, and some studies suggest it can help with pain relief!
Items 2 & 3: boosts oxytocin with a sense of privacy & comfort
Challenge: nerves, doubts and a sense that the world is watching
Birth Bag solution: a woolly or peaked hat & sunglasses
Feeling vulnerable during labour is totally natural, especially when we are moving from one place to another, outside of our home or comfort zone, or when we can’t have the hug we really need (i.e. in the car on the way to the hospital).
A big woolly hat, or a peaked cap, creates a reassuring enclosure of our head which psychologically helps us to feel more secure. Sunglasses create a one-way protective barrier which allows us to avoid eye contact from people we don’t want to interact with, and also creates a darkened view of the world which boosts our sense of privacy and comfort.
Item 4: boosts oxytocin with feelings of safety and independence
Challenge: wanting to move around cold hospital floors without the annoying slap-slap sound of slippers or flipflops.
Birth Bag solution: a fluffy pair of grippy socks
Moving in response to pain is a key coping strategy: stretching, swaying and pacing allows our bodies to change shape - to move away from and accomodate the pain - while allowing us a sense of control.
But in the sterile environment of a hospital, this isn’t always easy. Floors are smooth and cold, and birthing hormones make us super susceptible to the sounds of slippers and flipflops (and annoyance at these will only cause adrenaline to spike!).
Packing a comfy pair of fluffy grippy socks will allow you to move in your labour, responding to your body’s surges and sensations, while staying warm and feeling secure in your independent movement.
Item 5: boosts oxytocin with feelings of love
Challenge: feeling scared and confused about why you ever thought this was a good idea!
Birth Bag solution: a love-filled photograph of the people you love
Why do any of us have a baby? Because we want to create a family life filled with love and fun and adventure. Packing some photos of times where you felt that - either as a child or as an adult with your partner - will give you a physical and emotional reminder of what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how excited you are that this dream is now becoming a reality.
Birth is not a purely physical event: so much of what birth is, how it works and how it affects us in the long term is emotional. If we don’t prepare for that, we are not ready.
Packing a hospital bag that gets you genuinely ready for this is about balancing the practical, the physical and the emotional. And not in a general way either; in a way that reflects you and your needs.
This checklist helps you to do all of that in one fair swoop…
