Why it's ok if you have no idea how birth works

So you have sat through the mandatory sex education at school. This image of female reproductive organs will probably be pretty familiar - even to your family who don't have them.

When you fall pregnant, once the initial rush of complex feelings about your new adventure have peaked you may find yourself contemplating the concept of birth. The end goal. The necessary milestone to meet your baby and bring them earthside.

You may find yourself looking at this image a little differently. You're relatively confident about which part the baby is currently living in. And you're probably certain about where the exit is. Everything in between though, the actual process of how that baby gets from its current home to the fresh air...might be mysteriously blurry and unclear...this can be terrifying.

I found this realisation very strange and unsettling. We are taught very little about birth, and we don't realise until it's too late! We might have some understanding of how our bodies menstruate and depending on our journey to pregnancy we'll have differing levels of understanding of conception. But what is almost certain is that our understanding of the mechanisms of birth is, for a huge proportion of people, incredibly minimal, potentially non existent. I want you to know that if that's you, you are absolutely not alone.

The journey to meeting my children taught me so much about my body that I simply would not have known otherwise. It has been transformative in my relationship with this vessel that keeps me here. Warts and all, pros and cons. By learning about my body and how it both grows and births babys my world has been tipped on its head.

Did you know your uterus is effectively a bag of muscles?

Did you know that your vaginal passage (/birth canal) doesn't have smooth sides and the sides are built like an accordion all folded up ready to expand?

I very much did not.

By learning about your body you are giving it respect, you are demonstrating to yourself that your body is yours, you are owning it. As such you can make more informed decisions that are right for you. You can also hand that understanding down to your child(ren) once they are grown.

I love walking people through their own bodies as a hypnobirthing teacher. Everyone's bodies work differently, and everyone has a different relationship with their own vessel. Reproductive organs are weird. And everyone who has them has their own unique weirdness that's a pleasure to get to know!

It's daunting sitting on the precipice of the unknown.

Imagine how many birthing bodies have been right there, where you are now.

I certainly have and it can feel like a lonely place.

Arm yourself with info and get yourself on a birth prep course. Check out my other blog on how to pick an antenatal course https://www.mountainbirthing.co.uk/post/8-tips-to-help-you-pick-an-antenatal-course

And of course, if you are in Weston-super-mare or North Somerset then send me a message about starting your hypnobirthing antenatal course,