04/06/2024
Have you heard of the fear, tension, pain cycle?
When you’re feeling fearful, anxious, or unsafe, your body's fight or flight mode activates and your bloodstream fills with adrenalin. You may start breathing heavily, sweating, and your heart rate will increase.
This is an automatic and primitive response to fear, and it’s not always something you can control.
The next part of this response causes you to tense up your entire body in anticipation of pain or threat. Your muscles get tense, your shoulders rise, your fists and jaw clench, and all of the muscles in your body are stiff and activated. You're ready to fight your threat (in this scenario, your "threat" is the pain of labor).
When your body is in this state, it's really hard to calm down or feel relaxed, and you'll usually experience even more pain.
Additionally, when the body is tense, it can interfere with the natural progression of labor by inhibiting oxytocin production and making it more difficult for the baby to move down the birth canal.
Labor is a time to shut of the “thinking” part of your brain and allow the primal part of your brain to activate.
To avoid this cycle….
⭐️ Educate! Take birth classes, make a birth plan, and practice mindfulness
⭐️ Support! Hand pick your birth team, prepare your partner, and hire a doula
⭐️ Mindset! Focus on the meeting your baby, positive affirmations, and reframe the pain
