The Most Helpful Trick During Labor: Use Your BRAIN
Imagine... you are in labor, and suddenly have forgotten everything you learned during your childbirth education class about all the options you have for labor and birth.
Truthfully, there is so much to remember (interventions for mom and baby during labor and after birth, etc) that most people don’t remember it all!
We don’t expect you to.
If you forget everything you learned, just remember this one trick.
Use your BRAIN.
Ready? Here’s what you do.
First, pause. ✋🏽
Unless it’s an emergency (which it likely isn’t), you have time to get answers and make an informed decision. Even if it is an emergency, you can still ask questions and get answers.
Ask yourself and your OB/midwife the following questions:
B - What are the potential benefits?
R - What are the potential risks?
A - What are any possible alternatives?
I - What is my intuition saying?
N - What if I do nothing? Or do nothing right now?
Mamas…
Sometimes, providers (particularly in hospitals, but also in birth centers and more rarely at home births) can get too eager to “treat” a certain symptom.
Their suggestions can feel pushy, and if you aren’t equipped with the knowledge you need in order to make an informed choice, you may feel like their suggestion is the best (or only) option.
Let me tell you - there is always an alternative option - it’s just up to you to choose what feels right to you in the moment, with the information you have available.
The 5 questions in the acronym BRAIN are key to making empowered decisions. When you have the information you need to feel good about the choices you are making during labor and birth, you are putting yourself in a position to have a positive birth experience.
As a doula, I can also help you remember to ask these questions and find the answers you need in order to feel good about every decision you make. Your birth team is there to support your birth experience. Sometimes, your provider also has to be reminded to use their BRAIN, and to evaluate all possible options and alternatives to determine the best plan of action.
Your nurse, OB, or midwife will be so happy to answer all of your questions - and if they don’t know the answer, they will find someone who does. In short, you will not be bothering anybody by asking “too many” questions.
This is your birth, and you always have the right to say no or not now. You never “have” to do anything. If something is very serious and an emergency could be avoided by using a certain intervention, your care provider will communicate this with you. Then, you can use your BRAIN to make an educated choice around your birth, your baby, and your body.
You always have options.
Lean into that intuition, mama.
Your intuitive senses are heightened during labor, and if you intentionally tune in to the needs of your body, baby, and womb... chances are, you will receive a response.
Trust yourself.