Do You Know The 7 P’s For Successful Childbirth?
Having A Successful Childbirth Experience With Little To No Pain
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
If you are looking for tips for having a successful childbirth experience with less pain, then you will definitely benefit from learning about the 7 P’s of Childbirth.
There are so many unknowns when it comes to Labor & Delivery and it can be scary leading up to your due date.
I know, I have gone through it 4 times myself. And from each experience I have learned what really makes delivery day that much more successful!
In this post I share my 7 P’s For Successful Childbirth that will ultimately lead to the best birthing experience for you on your delivery day!
Having A Successful Childbirth Experience With Little To No Pain
Childbirth is a miracle in itself. We are blessed, as women, to endure 9 months of carrying a growing baby inside us.
When that special day comes to deliver our baby, we instinctively want things to go just right, sort of like our wedding day. We spend months, maybe even years planning our wedding day so it can turn out just perfect.
Well, with childbirth, it might not go just the way you imagined it. Like I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of unknowns so let’s get prepared for what is about to come. We can make the birthing experience better, less painful (or even pain free) and more enjoyable by following The 7 P’s!
The 7 P’s For Successful Childbirth
1. Prepare
You are pregnant and your due date is getting closer and closer. You need to prepare for what is to come. A big transition is about to occur in your life; you signed up for a marathon, and you have to show up and make it to the finish line!
Get prepared for the delivery day of successful childbirth, it will put your mind at ease.
Pack your bag in advance with everything on your list checked off. I prefer to pack it 6 weeks before your due date because you just never know how early you might deliver.
Know the directions to get to your hospital, where to go once inside the hospital and how to register when you are ready to delivery your baby.(successful childbirth)
Get your body ready for delivery. Months before you want to be doing these specific exercises to prepare you for labor and delivery. These exercises will help you have a more successful natural delivery.
Related: Physical Therapy Recommended: 6 Best Exercises To Get You Ready For Labor & Delivery | VIDEO
Consider doing perineal stretches or massages to minimize the risk of tearing and requiring an episiotomy. I highly recommend them, and I swear this has reduced my risk of high grade tears during delivery.
2. Prayer
Prayer throughout your pregnancy is so important.
Leading up to your delivery date, your prayer focus should be on childbirth with as little pain as possible.
Pray for a healthy and natural delivery.
In advance, thank God for giving you the strength and endurance needed to successfully deliver your baby. And while you are at it, start praying for your new little one – that he or she would grow strong and be healthy and make a great, positive impact on the world!
3. Plan
Create a birth plan that is right for you. You can use a pre-made template or create your own that is customized for you specifically.
My favorite part about creating a birth plan is knowing I don’t have to do any heavy thinking the day of delivery. Make your delivery day stress free!
All my decisions are made in advance, written out and can be handed off for the medical staff to see and understand.
It goes right in your medical chart once you get admitted (unless your hospital has an online form to fill out in advance). It’s clear, concise and there is less room for error or confusion.
Related: How To Organize Your Home For A New Baby by Marissa at Just Simply Mom
The last thing you want to be doing the moment you just gave birth to your baby is discussing with your husband whether or not you want your son to be circumcised (my husband and I had long discussions about this but, obviously, never had to make the decision!). You want to have these important decisions all planned out way in advance.
4. Position
I’m a big advocate of proper positioning during childbirth. Positioning is so important to guarantee success during delivery. You wouldn’t want to delivery your baby upside now would you? No, that sounds crazy and you would be working against gravity.
So that’s why the opposite is recommended to help your baby to move down the birth canal.
Trying different positions throughout labor such as sitting on a therapy ball, walking, squatting, kneeling, on all 4’s.
Related: 14 Best Pregnancy Exercises Safe For All Trimesters | VIDEO
Changing positions is what helps the baby to continue to transition down the birth canal.
If you were to squeeze the toothpaste as hard as you can but never move your hand, eventually the toothpaste will stop coming out, however that doesn’t mean that all toothpaste has made it out. It just means you have to reposition your hand and and squeeze the toothpaste from a different angle. Once you squeeze the toothpaste from a different position on the container, you will eventually be able to get it all out.
The same is for delivering your baby, you can’t just push your baby out and lie on your back the entire time, the baby is not going to be moving very far. Change positions to help your baby to move further down the birth canal.
5. Purpose
When you are in the hospital room, ready to give birth to your little bundle of joy, say to yourself, “What is my purpose?” This should motivate you.
Your purpose is:
- To be a strong woman
- To push hard
- To have endurance
- To be fearless
- To fight the pain
- To breathe
- To relax
- To deliver your baby
- To hold your baby
- To take care and nurture your baby
- To feed your baby
- To love your baby and…
- To be the best mom to your little baby
Related: How To Be Fearless During Natural Childbirth
Keep this in mind when you are pushing and nearing the transition phase. You have a purpose and you are meant to fullfil that purpose. Stay motivated and do what you were called to do.
6. Positivity
This is so important and really dictates how your childbirth experience will turn out.
Stay positive throughout, no matter what.
Related: 15 Mom Bloggers Give Their Best Advice For New Moms
Be fearless, trust in yourself and your abilities as a woman, don’t focus on the pain, but focus on what is yet to come-holding your precious baby in your arms.
You have worked so hard over the past 9 months. You are so close to crossing the finish line.
Push yourself, stay focused and think about all the good that is still yet to come.
Remain positive in every situation that may arise during delivery. There are a lot of unknowns, but remaining positive in every situation will just help you to be stress free, comfortable and relaxed.
And ultimately that is what you need for a successful childbirth.
“Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” 2 Chronicles 15:7
7. Pleasure
Rejoice in the pleasure and satisfaction of holding your little blessing in your arms! The moment you give birth to you child, if able, hold your baby and squeeze your little one so tightly and have pleasure enjoying the most precious gift you will ever receive.
When all is said and done, childbirth ends in pleasure!
It may have been a bumpy ride getting there, but knowing in the end you will finally get to meet your baby is all that matters.
Congratulations!
I want to say an early “Congratulations” to you and the birth of your new baby. It’s going to be the best day of your life. I’m so excited for you.
Take lots of pictures and really embrace your baby the first 2 hours. The first moments you get to hold your baby go by so quickly so really capture those moments and enjoy it.
On another note, if you enjoyed this post, I really think you will also like reading about how to be fearless during natural childbirth.
I also wrote a guest blog post about why I decided to have a natural childbirth experience. You can read that post on Marissa’s site Just Simply Mom: “How I Managed The Pain During 4 Natural Childbirths”.
I would love to hear your thoughts about childbirth. How have you gotten prepared? What are you most excited about, and what makes you most afraid? Comment below! Oh, and are you having a boy or a girl?
Keep Smiling,
Dr. Jena Bradley, DPT
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
About Dr. Jena Bradley
Jena is a mom of 4 darling little girls, a physical therapist and founder of Live Core Strong, a blog focusing on motivating moms to live a life that incorporates fitness and fun throughout their motherhood journey. She aims to be the friend you always wanted to have who could guide you through the “fog” when faced with an “I don’t know what to do” mommy moment. At the most inconvenient time of her life, she embarked on a journey of sharing her story and expertise to inspire the next generation of healthy moms. You can learn more about Jena by visitng her ABOUT page.
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Please leave a positive and uplifting comment or ask a question. I am here to help! After I read and approve your comment, it will appear. Thanks for joining me and I look forward to hearing from you!
-Jena
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I love this post! I never thought about positioning that way, the toothpaste analogy was awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience with us!
Melanie, so glad you liked the analogy! It just makes better sense explaining it that way. So many doctors want us to be on our backs the entire time we are in labor. But it’s important for women to know that you have the right to move around if it’s medically approved.
Great advice. I wish I had info like this when I was pregnant. Keep up the good work. You will be helping a lot of moms with these blogs.
Grancy
Grancy, thanks! I definitely hope to help other moms…it’s my passion behind the blog! 🙂
This is great advice! I liked listening to ‘the pregnancy podcast’ it helped me with ‘preparing’ and ‘planning’ to create a birth plan. Two of the P’s.
Jessica, podcasts are such a great free resource! So glad the P’s helped you during your pregnancy!
These are spot on! I wish I would have been told more about the importance of preparing before I had my kids!
Melanie, I’m hoping to help many other moms out there so they can feel prepared and confident when it comes to childbirth!
These are awesome tips, and I actually followed all of them during my pregnancies with my boys, who were both delivered naturally! And by the way, you look amazing for just giving birth!! You’re like superwoman holding that sweet little bundle! There’s the proof that these steps work!!
Thanks, Tiff, so sweet! And I’m so glad these tips worked so well for you as it did for me!
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That’s so great! Hope it goes well for you!
One of the best natural labor articles I’ve read. Thank you!
Stefani, I’m so glad you found this helpful. Which part of the article was the most helpful for you?