Thank you to everyone who joined us on our first moKee Birth School Online session. We’ve had such fantastic feedback and we’re glad to be able to provide support and advice to you all in these uncertain times.

Marie Louise, AKA The Modern Midwife was our first guest who ran through how to prepare for the arrival of your baby; from feeling happy to what pain relief options you have, there was so much good advice which we’ve summarised here for you all.

Create your digital tribe

Now more than ever it is important to have a digital network of people you can reply on. Whether that’s someone you can text at 3 am for advice during a feed, or if it’s someone who can just provide a digital shoulder to cry on! Create a WhatsApp group and keep talking!

Nesting

Get into nesting mode and we don’t just mean clearing out the house, we mean creating a relaxing space for you and baby to enjoy. Whether it’s meditation with deep breathing to calm your mind and body to send calming hormones to baby or soaking your tired feet in a hot bowl filled with fragrant lavender oil, really make the time to chill.

Boss Birth Plan

A birthing plan is not about putting together a strict schedule for exactly how you want to have your baby. A birthing plan, or as Marie Louise likes to call it, a Boss Birthing Plan, is all about putting mum in the driving seat. Get all the information so that mum can make the right decisions for her when it comes to having to make those all important decisions during labour. Once mum knows all the options, she can then work as a team with the Midwife to have the best birth possible.

Marie Louise gave us the BRAIN tool to help ask the right questions when having to make decisions during labour:

B - Benefits - what are the benefits of taking this option given by the midwife or doctor?

R - Risks- what are the risks associated of taking this option given by the Midwife?

A - Alternatives- what are the alternatives to what I’m being offered?

I - Instinct- what does my gut instinct (Mumstinct) tell me about the current situation?

N - Nothing- what happens if I just do nothing? Nothing is always an option.

What pain relief options are available?

1. Oral Analgesia is a codeine-based pill which is taken orally which can be taken at home and in hospital
2. Pethidine- this is an injection given in the bottom and we recommend that you don’t have this close to the arrival of baby as it can also make baby sleepy. It is an opioid based drug so there is a risk of particles crossing over into the placenta but we believe that it is a very small amount. We often given an anti-sickness drug to mums as this can make you feel sick, but you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to. Pethidine usually takes a few hours to wear off
3. Gas & Air- using gas and air is best used during established labour (4 cm dilated with 3 contractions every 10 minutes with each contraction lasting 45 seconds) as it can lose its effectiveness if used for too long. The results last roughly one minute so if you don’t like the feeling, it will quickly go away. This pain relief does not cross over into the placenta too
4. Epidural- administrated only in hospital by an Anaesthetist with a needle going into the spine, this will numb the pain for you and baby is then monitored closely with CGT monitoring

Hypnobirthing

Marie Louise is a big fan of Hypnobirthing which is all about relaxing your body AND MIND to have a calm birth. Getting the body and mind to work in conjunction helps to reduce anxiety, sending calming hormones to baby and can be used with natural vaginal births as well as C- sections.

The hypnobirthing courses are Positive Birth Company and also The Mindful Birth Group.

Fear Dumping

Marie Louise likes to approach mums’ fears with a technique called Fear Dumping. This is where Marie asks mums where the fear has come from, the background to it and then as a team they unpick all of the fears to have all of the information about the fear. Try it with a friend or partner to get to the bottom of why you’re scared about something.

in the right position and condition for a natural vaginal birth:

1. UFO- Have you been a UFO this week? This means that you are sitting Upright and not slouching, you are pushing your pelvis Forward and your hips and legs are Open- no crossed legs! This should become a habit from about 34 weeks to help open up the pelvis and help move baby so that the smallest part of baby’s head comes out first, thus helping labour progress quicker. Baby’s head should be down with their chin on their chest looking towards your spine- this is known as an OA Baby. OP babies are the opposite of this. Don’t worry if your baby is OP, it’s likely that they will move into the right position during of labour
2. Pop a cushion under your bum when sitting on the sofa to help tilt the pelvis or stand and lean on a wall front ways. A birthing ball is also fantastic at helping to open up the pelvis
3. Perineal massage- help reduce tearing by massaging your perineal with oil ahead of labour. Any natural oil is fine, so olive oil, coconut oil, rapeseed oil, anything with no chemicals in. You can also find massage oil made especially for your perinuem.

If you have any questions, please just drop us an email at helpingmums@mokee.eu and we’ll come straight back to you!