Listen to Your Body!!

It is so important to listen to your body when you are pregnant, it will let you know if you are overdoing it.  Last week I went to two births, one of which was very long (I was at the long birth for 40 hours), and ended up sleeping only one night out of four nights.  Needless to say my body was screaming loudly.  I had a very crampy uterus and would have been more concerned if I didn't know that lots of rest should fix everything.  I put everything on hold except taking care of the kids and slept twelve hours at night with an hour to two hour nap during the day. It took me almost four days to fully regain my energy but I did!  That long birth was a good reminder for me in many ways.  One it reminded me that you can do EVERYTHING right and still get a doozy of a labor.  I think that sometimes I think that the natural birth world suggests that if you do the right things, you will have an easy (maybe even pain-free) birth.  NOT TRUE.  It also reminded me that you have to take excellent care of yourself as a midwife (student midwife) if you are going to be inflicting that kind of abuse (regular mostly sleepless nights) on your body.  And finally, it reminded me that I am NOT willing to be away from a little one for a long birth until he/she is at least 18 months.  That means I need to be ready to take it slow when the baby comes and leave a birth if necessary to go home and take care of my family.  One day at a time, that is my current mantra...

Comments

[Amanda]

I just stumbled upon your blog as I was searching for "home birth blogs". My story sounds similar to your own, minus the becoming a midwife part. With my first child I was forced into an unnecessary c-section, although my entire pregnancy was very low-risk and perfectly healthy. For my second child I opted for a homebirth, not wanting a chance that they would give me another c-section, especially as my babies like to show up a week or two past the "due date". My husband and I are working on making our third, which is definitely going to be another homebirth! Rock on!

[Alison L Longley]

I agree, listen to your body! it knows and speaks it's own true language and when you pay attention, the sense of empowerment is huge! Thanks for a great post!

[Audrey]

I too am a student midwife, 27 wks preg with #9 and wondering how it will work after baby gets here. One day at a time, indeed!

[Nyrie]

I wish you all the best in both your pregnancy and your studies.
www.themiracleofkangaroomothercare.com

[Accelerated Nursing]

Totally agree with you. If we take time to listed to our bodies, we can learn so much and we can be healthier and happier.

[Nyrie]

This is a great article and so well said

[Carla]

Hello, I must say that we must listen to our body generally, not only in pregnancy, especially when we try to conceive. This helps our body listen to us also, and so we get perfect harmony.
Thank you
Carla,