Preparing for a Peace-Filled & Relaxed Birth
My baby is now 9 months old. She is learning to crawl, standing up, and has grown two teeth. Finally, I am getting back to the post I started writing when I was 35 weeks pregnant. It's still worth posting. Someone needs to be encouraged. I think us mama's and mama's to be, need all the encouragement we can get. For, the job of Mom is very difficult, and yet, is of the upmost importance.
April 2024
As I sit here and write this, I am currently about 35 weeks pregnant with my fourth baby. My mind and body have been pre-occupied with the upcoming change and new life that will soon enter my arms, our family, and the world. Even after having three pregnancies, labors, and deliveries my mind is just as vulnerable to the unsettling feeling of the unknown that labor and delivery can be. If I am not careful it can be easy to rehearse all the discomfort and the pain that was a part of my previous experiences and play them in my mind thus, producing fear and uncertainty.
Recently, I attended a women's retreat where we were prompted to write down anything that we were finding comfort in apart from God. As I reflected on this, the word, "Hypnobirthing" came to mind.
Hypnobirthing was something introduced to me by a midwife before my very first birth as a new mom. I studied its breathing techniques and read up on some of the materials as I had wanted to have an unmedicated birth. Now, amidst my fourth pregnancy, I came across the book again at my birth center and began to read it somewhat religiously. Partially, for myself and partially to be familiar with a resource that could help others. While this book has been immensely helpful and given me some wonderful practical tools that have helped me in delivering naturally and unmedicated, I felt the Lord remind me that He is the Source of all my strength and peace. It hasn't been hypnobirthing techniques that has carried me through four pregnancies, it has been the presence of God, surrendering to His truths, and keeping my mind steadfast on Him.
I recently came across a birth story of another mom on social media who shared how Jesus showed Himself to her during a very challenging labor. As she visualized Jesus there with her, looking into His face and Him looking at hers, she could no longer feel the pain or fear she had experienced just moments before. I felt the Lord was revealing His vision for what labor and delivery is meant to be like, a spiritual encounter with the Creator God, the life Giver and Comforter.
What if labor and delivery was meant to be a deeply spiritual worship experience, where the mother is taken into a realm where she loses track of time and encounters the Giver of life like she has never experienced? What if it was meant to be a literal "co-laboring" with Christ, filled with peace and surrender with the One who created her body to perform this natural act?
As I have continued to study hypnobirthing I have learned to see it in a new way. through the lens of God's intension for this experience. Unfortunately, too many people accept pain in childbearing as inevitable and even a punishment from God (Genesis 3:16). Pain in childbearing was never God's will, and if pain in childbearing was a result of sin, we can know that Jesus put an end to all sin and death on the cross. Hypnobirthing presents the idea that labor and delivery doesn't have to be filled with pain and fear. It can be filled with peace and relaxation, and we can condition our minds to cultivate this very thing. Scripture presents this idea as well.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment." 1 John 4:18
Childbearing is not a punishment, nor is God interested in punishing us for sin by bringing painful childbearing. Childbearing is a gift and a blessing. God is filled with love for us and our baby.
"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
Transcends means to, go beyond a limit or range. This means that we can experience the peace of God even when our circumstances warrant anxiety, fear, and despair. The peace of God will guard us.
"He gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11
Children have a special place in God's heart, and the caregivers of children receive a unique strength. I often wonder where my strength comes from after so many nights of missed sleep getting up with the baby.
"Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7
Don't hide your anxiety or pretend it isn't there, place it at the feet of Christ and let him carry it.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23
Surrendering to the Lord's care brings peace, and refreshment. Hypnobirthing helps the mother learn how to surrender to the natural progression and sensations of labor and to follow them instead of resisting them. It teaches the mother how to manage her thoughts, keeping them peace filled and positive. Which brings me to the next verse.
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5
The ability to take every thought captive is the crux of mental health. Meditate on truths that produce peace, and joy!
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come...her children arise and call her blessed." Proverbs 31: 25, 28
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