Yet, so often this beautiful, natural process evolves into a hard, distressing, sometimes complicated procedure. Women's bodies have been well designed to give birth, yet we can sabotage our own pregnancy and labour by holding onto negative beliefs and fears. 

These negative beliefs and fears, if not recognised, released and dealt with, will lock up and constrict important muscles and organs in the body preventing them from doing what they do best. Negative beliefs & fears are the major factors of difficult pregnancies and labours.

We are bombarded with stories and myths about pregnancy and birth. They have been passed down and around, from generation to generation, from girlfriend to girlfriends, husbands to husbands. They can be alive and as fearful as ever, resonating deep within our mind and bodies.

I don't know how many times I've heard the analogy of "having a baby" to being the equivalent to passing a watermelon through the bowels of our being, and that's putting it politely. 

Well it resonated well within my mind. It was a frightening picture; a frightful thought I carried through my pubescent years and into adulthood.

After the birth of my first baby, I couldn't wait to get home from hospital and tell anyone who wanted to listen. It felt just like I was told! A watermelon, only bigger and worse! How gutsy and lucky I was to survive such an experience I bragged. The pain, gore and the drugs I described in fine detail, until everyone was squirming. "And where was my husband when I needed him?" He was eating the breakfast I'd ordered for myself, in another room! Oh yes, I was the heroine of all heroines, who successfully produced a baby under very difficult circumstances!

Lets all squirm and giggle; yet it is because of these stories and myths we do have fears and negative thoughts lurking in our subconscious. We also have life to deal with - our relationships, our finances and work commitments. Quite often we shove any concerns about our life down and away when we don't want to deal with them. But remember they tense, tighten and constrict our bodies. The best environment for a foetus to nourish and grow is a relaxed, stress free body, where blood and oxygen flows freely into important organs and muscles. 

So how can we deal with this fear factor? Mostly when asked what our fears are, we give a good account of them - off the top of the head, so to speak. Or simply reply with "Oh, I'm o.k. I don't really have any fears." We are so good at popping things away we don't want to know about or feel. We don't give ourselves a chance to stop and look at these issues. Instead, we busy our lives up even more, so we don't have to GO THERE.

Meditation is an important self-help technique in aiding you to gently sit with your self, allowing you to relax into a state of peace and calm where you can eventually acknowledge and release fears and negative thoughts in a healthy positive way.  I call it pregnancy meditation.

Pregnancy meditation takes your attention from the outside world, and brings your focus into yourself, just by closing your eyes and following your breath in and out takes your mind off the things you should be doing, the things you've got to do, the things you should have said and done. Yes, you are finally slowing down and resting your busy mind just by focusing on your breath.

Imagery, visualisation is a very effective form of releasing your fears and concerns from a deep cellular level. In a relaxed meditative state, you can visualize passing your fears and concerns over to a higher guidance, a spiritual being or a loved one who has passed from this life where they will take it to a place of healing. This will bring a sense of relief, and deeper relaxation.

A pregnant woman, having relaxed with her breath, released her fears and is in a state of deeper relaxation can then visualize travelling into her body to her baby. She can explore her uterus, her birth canal. She can feel and listen to her own body and her own needs. She can feel and listen to her baby's needs. Each time, she gathers more faith and trust in herself and her own abilities. 

That's the Essence of Pregnancy Meditation
A labouring woman can use her breath for focus and relaxation. She can breathe into her body as it contracts, not fearing the pressure/pain but using it. She can travel into her body to encourage and reassure herself and her baby of their inner-strengths. She can visualize her uterus relaxing and filling with energy, her womb, softening and opening for her baby's entry into the world. 

Yes, pregnancy and giving birth can be an exhilarating, empowering and happy experience. Know your baby's emotions are dependent on yours; being calm, happy and positive makes for a calm, happy and positive baby trusting in their own abilities. 

Give pregnancy meditation a try!

Gael Drum