Birth Affirmation

Maybe you're inching closer to your "due date," or maybe it has come and passed. Maybe you've got some extenuating circumstances (that do not need justifying) and you just really would appreciate baby's arrival to take some pressure off of whatever timeline you are facing. Maybe you're simply uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that you welcome labor if it means taking away the pain of another day of being pregnant.

A really nice way to welcome labor is to acknowledge that it is wholly out of your control.

Once we can give up control, or whatever you want to label the part of yourself that likes to cross off items on your to-do list, we can settle into something more true, more in line with labor's timeline, something that honors your baby's role in this journey called birth.

Your task as the birthing mother is to be still; to be patient; to connect to your breath and this moment right *here*.

Of course, we have moments of losing it; losing our steadfastness, losing our patience, losing our emotions; and that is alright, even necessary. Those moments are necessary and are part of the process. They are normal.

When you're not sure how to take another step, when you're riddled with doubt and convinced baby will "never come," take a moment and tell yourself:

"My baby knows to arrive in his own divine timing.

I am still.

I am patient.

I breathe."

For even in our most uncertain moments, we always have our breath.

And our body responds to images in our mind. What comes to mind when you whisper these words to yourself and your baby? How are you allowing change to happen, in this moment?

You can learn to use the power of your thoughts through mindfulness training to bring about a peace within yourself throughout your birth preparation. You can learn to birth....from within.