The best thing a woman can to for herself and her baby during birth is Surrender: get out of her thinking mind, and into her limbic system, where instinct and intuition are loudest.
The best way for this to happen is:
• to keep the chamber quiet.
A mother is an open channel right now; she is bringing a soul earthside, and she needs to hear what her body and baby are telling her. She can hear every whisper, every foot step, every pin drop... all of it absolutely jarring to her in these hours of birth. Loud or quiet noises keep her in the "taking care of things"/thinking part of her brain. That's the opposite of where she wants to be.
• dim, or natural lighting.
A soft glow or dim light has a calming effect on the mind, and can also feel like a protective blanket for mama and her body as she opens. Feeling like all eyes are on her can make her clam up. It's best to keep lighting dim. No cell phones, no flash of a camera, and certainly no bright and blinding hospital-grade LED spotlights, please.
• to leave mama uninterrupted.
Do not disrupt what is happening with questions, inquiries, suggestions, show and tell, visits, interruptions, fears, shushing, prompts, what you think should be happening, etc.
• to Trust in the Process of Birth.
Women are made to give birth to their babies.
Trust that everything is happening in divine timing.
Trust that birth is not an emergency.
Trust that birth is her nature.
• let mama lead the way.
She knows what her body needs if she could stop thinking and start BEING: in that moment, being in that sensation, being in her body. Let mama make the noises she feels she needs to make. Let mama move in the way she wants. Let mama be free to do what she FEELS.
Every birth is different, but every birth is the same. There is a natural progression that happens when birth is undisturbed. Just like mama can hear a pin drop, she can also hear the fears floating around in your head. Trust the process. Trust in women. Trust in birth.
Her body knows exactly what to do.
