How to Have a Good Birth

smooth, easy birth is the best birth for your baby - and most women today want to have a good birth. Many magazines and pregnancy books make it seem like smooth childbirth is just luck (and some women aren't made to be lucky). Is that really true? Or can you take steps during pregnancy to have a good birth?

You'll be relieved to know that you can make a difference in your own birth. In fact, it's not hard to have a good birth. There are a few things that make a big difference, though. First, you need to choose the right team to be at your birth. Secondly, you need to take good care of yourself. And finally and most importantly, you need to prepare yourself for your baby's birthday.

Choosing the right team to be with you at your baby's birth can make a massive difference - it can mean the difference between an easy birth and major abdominal surgery (that's what a cesarean section is...). Notice I didn't say "choose the right doctor." This choice isn't just about one person - you can choose a doctor or a midwife. And you can also choose who else will be at your birth. Will you have a doula? Who will be your birth partner? When you're choosing your care provider look for someone with a track record for good births. High c-section rates or high transfer rates for a birth center or home birth midwife are warning flags for trouble.

A doula is scientifically proven to shorten your labor and make birth go more smoothly for both you and your baby. If you want to have a birth partner with you outside of a doula, make sure your partner is well prepared and ready to advocate for you - and do what you need during labor. Don't get somebody who is more concerned about their own comfort levels. Choose someone who is going to stand by what you want, no matter how hard it is for them to see you laboring. A fearful or panicked person can really undermine your labor.

Take great care of yourself during pregnancy. This starts with you eating for two. That's right. Ignore the information that says you need to "just eat a few extra calories." You are growing a second human being and he or she needs additional nutrition. This doesn't necessarily mean you need to eat a whole lot more food - but it does mean that you need to eat smart. Fact: your baby's brain is built on fat. Fiction: a low-fat diet is a good idea in pregnancy. Fact: junk food is bad during pregnancy. Fiction: eating plenty of healthy foods is still "eating too much."

What you eat makes a difference. Eat red meat or fish to give your baby a great start. Eat plenty of protein - it has been proven to help combat morning sickness, preeclampsia, and other pregnancy complications. You need at least 80 grams of protein daily. Go over 100 grams if you're battling morning sickness. You need fat, too. If you don't get enough fat, your body will begin to burn protein for energy. Your baby's brain is built from mostly fats. A "low-fat" pregnancy diet starves you and your baby. Eat good fats - coconut oil, butter, olive oil, bacon drippings, and the fat that comes with grass-fed meats. Avoid bad fats - vegetable oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, etc.

Eating well will prevent most pregnancy complications - and give you the energy you need for labor and birth.

What else can you do to have a good birth?

Make sure that you and your birth partner are prepared. You need to understand not just what happens during childbirth, but how you can help your body open up and your baby come down. Don't sign up for a childbirth education class that teaches you the stages of labor, how to ask for an epidural, and what to do during your emergency c-section. You're cheating yourself and your baby if you do. Use a childbirth course that really teaches what to do during labor so you open up and your baby is born smoothly and easily.