If you’re pregnant and making preparations for your upcoming birth, you know that there are many little details to attend to. From packing your hospital bag to taking a childbirth education class to arranging childcare for older siblings. One thing that may not be on your radar (but is super important!) is making plans for a calm, peaceful environment in which you can bring your baby into the world.

It’s easy to forget that we’re mammals! And just like a deer giving birth in the forest, we, as birthing mothers, are exquisitely sensitive to the environment around us. If a mama deer laboring in the woods senses a threat in her environment, her body will automatically shut down the birthing process and only resume once she returns to a place of quietness and safety. It’s the same with us!

And unfortunately, hospitals aren’t known for being dark, quiet and peaceful. Quite the contrary, actually! So if you’re planning on giving birth in the hospital, it’s actually very important that you do everything in your power to create an environment where your body feels safe and at ease. Because if you’re in a harsh environment that’s bright, cold, and loud, it increases the chances that your labor will be much longer and more painful than necessary.

Fortunately, there is much you can do to stack the odds in your favor for a calm environment if you’re planning a hospital birth! Read on for my tried and true recommendations.

Choosing a Care Provider

One of the most important decisions you can make early in your pregnancy is who you choose to take care of you during your pregnancy and delivery. Some questions to ask yourself are: Do I feel comfortable with this person? Do they really listen to me? Do their values surrounding birth align with mine?

Because one critical yet often overlooked aspect of your birthing environment is actually the energy that others bring to the room. And while you can’t control what nurses are assigned to you, you can absolutely choose your provider!

Will they joke around with the nurses while you’re working to push your baby out? Will they make the experience more about them than about you, the birthing mother? Do they have certain requirements for what position you can labor or birth in?

If you’ve already chosen a care provider and are realizing that maybe they aren’t the best fit, it’s never too late to find someone new. It’s important to remember that your care providers work for you! Don’t be afraid of rocking the boat or hurting someone’s feelings. This is your birth, and you will carry the experience with you for the rest of your life. Don’t be afraid to switch providers if your intuition is telling you that a different doctor or midwife is going to be a better fit.

Hire a Doula

Speaking of others in the room with you during labor, hiring a doula is a must. A doula is worth her weight in gold when it comes to optimizing the environment of your birth, and I cannot recommend one enough. (Contact me if you need recs!)

While nurses come in and out of the delivery room, and are busy monitoring your blood pressure and the baby’s heart rate, a doula’s sole purpose is to make sure you have the most optimal birth experience possible. A good doula will do everything she can to make sure you’re comfortable and at ease, including adjusting the lighting, making sure the room is at a comfortable temperature, and speaking in soft, quiet tones while encouraging everyone else to do the same.

I recommend interviewing several doulas to find someone whose personality is a good fit, and talking with other moms who have used a doula. There is definitely a range of personalities and styles, so it’s important that you find someone you feel comfortable with!

Tracking your Tigers

Back to our deer in the woods analogy, it can be helpful to think through any anticipated “threats” you may encounter in your birthing environment. If you’ve had any negative experiences with hospitals, doctors, needles, miscarriage, sexual abuse, etc, it can be very beneficial to explore and work through these traumas before labor begins. As uncomfortable as it is to revisit painful moments from the past, something may come up in your laboring environment that could be triggering to you, and cause your body to believe that you’re not safe.

In her book, Birthing from Within, Pam England offers a simple and effective exercise for processing anticipated fears that may arise. It’s called Tracking your Tigers, and you can learn about it here.

If you’ve experienced significant trauma, seeing a counselor to help you work through and heal from your past can be very beneficial in preparing you for birth. Graceful Therapy is one resource that I can recommend - they specialize in perinatal and postpartum issues, and would be a great choice if you’d like to go this route.

I’d recommend discussing your fears with your partner and doula, so they can be aware of what may be triggering for you, and have a plan for how to coach you through any difficult moments.

Essential oils

As you probably know, essential oils have a variety of uses, and their aroma can have a powerful effect on the environment of your birth!

My two go-tos for labor are lavender and peppermint. Lavender promotes relaxation, while peppermint can help to ease a headache, help with nausea, or bring a burst of energy if you’re feeling depleted.

Have a bottle of each handy during labor, so your partner or doula can put a few drops on the floor of your shower (lavender plus a hot shower can work wonders to relax your muscles!), or on a cold washcloth for your forehead. And obviously, a diffuser is a simple way to reap the benefits of essential oils.

While you’re pregnant, I recommend practicing relaxation rituals each night, and adding your essential oil of choice to your routine. The scent you use in the comfort and safety of your home can transport you right back to that feeling of safety if you’re laboring in an unfamiliar setting.

Dim Lighting

Did you know that the melatonin levels in your body naturally increase before labor begins, in order to calm you down so you can focus on your body and your baby? Melatonin also works with oxytocin (the love hormone - and also what causes contractions!) to make labor more efficient. This is why it’s so important to make sure you don’t have bright, artificial lighting flooding your system while you’re in labor!

Taking charge of the lighting in your birthing room is a great job for dad (or doula). Make sure that your team knows to keep the lights low and natural whenever possible!

Music

Music is another powerful tool that you can easily utilize during labor. Create several playlists, so you have options depending on how you’re feeling or where you’re at in labor.

Typically, faster, more upbeat music is more appropriate for the early stages of labor, while slower, more meditative music is great for when things get intense.

For your reference, here is the playlist I use in class! Like essential oils, you can use music to transport you back to a calm, peaceful state.

Focal points

Every mama is different, and every labor is different. So, while you may feel like closing your eyes and turning inward at times, there may also come a time when you need something visual to focus on to keep you grounded.

Some ideas for images are: waves of the ocean, a beach you once visited, a path through a forest, or a flower in bloom.

If you were able to join me a few months ago when we created birth mood boards, these are also a wonderful option to bring along as a focal point!

You can bring affirmation cards along to the hospital and set them up around the room.

(See the list at the bottom of this blog post for a list of ideas!) If you’re so inclined, you can get creative with making these. Putting together a banner, or several small decorated cards, can be a great way to prepare for labor in itself.

Bring your own laboring gown!

When you arrive at the hospital, they’ll likely have you strip out of your clothes and put on an ugly and uncomfortable gown to labor in. No, thank you!! But did you know that you can actually bring your own gown to labor in, as long as it has an open front so the nurses can easily put the monitors on? Yes, please!

Wearing your own clothes can be an easy and powerful way to maintain a sense of autonomy in an unfamiliar environment. It can make you feel less like property of the hospital, and more like you belong to yourself.

I brought my own gown for my recent birth, and it was amazing. Here’s the one I used!

Conclusion

As you can see, there is really so much you can do to optimize the environment for your birth. I would recommend giving everything on this list some thought and preparation, so you have many easily accessible tools in your toolkit when you’re in the thick of labor. Make sure that you do everything in your power to choose a birth team that will support and encourage you, work through any potential fears or triggers ahead of time, and make plans to optimize your environment with scents, music, and meaningful focal points.

Your baby’s birthday is a day that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. You’ll remember how you were treated and how you felt. Not only that, but your body literally needs a calm, soothing environment in order to labor efficiently. This means that all the thought and planning and preparation you put into the environment of your birth will absolutely be worth it.

Wishing you the most beautiful of births!

Kelly