Giving birth to my son was an amazing experience. Even through this was my first birth, I felt in control and at peace with what was going on, even though what was happening was out of my control.

I credit having an empowering, unmedicated birth to these three tip I want to share with you. Maybe they will help you have an easier birth as well.

3 Tips That Made Giving Birth Easier

1. Learn what really happens with your body during birth

Knowledge is power, and the smartest thing you can do is learn as much as you can about the stages of labor and what you can expect during the birth of your child.

You only have one chance to make this a positive experience, for your child and yourself, so why not educate yourself as much as you can?

From the beginning, I was determined to have a natural, unmedicated, gentle birth, and I prepared for it for weeks with exercises and with educating myself.

I wasn’t surprised when contractions got a lot stronger all of a sudden — I had learned that this stage is called transition. It’s a lot easier to make it through that stage if you know that this signals that your baby is arriving very soon, and you might be able to hold off on the pain medication you want to ask for.

2. Hire a doula

A doula is trained to help you during the birth. She will show and explain to you how a birth progresses, she can help you make decisions about choices you might have to make, she can massage you and make you feel better, and she is your cheerleader and advocate. Trust me, don’t think that your partner will be able to be a great advocate during birth.

Our doula was also our Bradley coach, plus she herself gave birth to her three children naturally and at home, so I trusted her to help me though the challenge of giving birth. We didn’t really have the extra money, but this was such an important day for me, I was glad to pay it.

3. Attend a (Bradley) birthing class

My husband and I attended a 12-week Bradley birthing class, and it was the best money we ever spent. Out teacher, taught us everything we needed to know about what happens during a birth, the decisions we would have to make, how giving birth in a hospital is set up, and which interventions we could say no to.

For example, I wouldn’t have known to say no to vaginal checks, which introduce the chance of infection every time it is performed. It also puts you on the clock: once you are x centimeters dialated, the hospital expects another centimeter every hour, and if that doesn’t happen, they will suggest drugs to speed up your birth.

Those drugs make contractions much harder, which makes most moms ask for an epidural and makes the baby’s heartbeat going down because it can’t handle the drugs, which often ends in a C-section.

I also learned about nutrition and daily exercises that prepared my body for the marathon of birth. I really think being in great shape helped me have a pretty easy, natural birth.

If you are pregnant, I hope these tips will help you have an easier birth or make you think about your options and preferences.

Do you have other tips? Share in a comment?

{Image via Image via stock.xchng/hamletnc}