I hope I’ve caught you on the toilet!

Now that I’ve got your attention, I want to tell you how you can practice for childbirth in under 3 minutes a day without ever having a single contraction.

Why on the toilet, Kristen?!  Because that is the best place to practice for having a baby.

All of the muscle groups that are used when you have a baby or that you want relaxed when you have a baby are the same muscle groups that are involved when you’re on the toilet.

Here’s what to do when you’re on the toilet (and I know you’re there a lot because you’re pregnant):

• Tense up your pelvic floor muscles.
• Tighten the muscles and then loosen, or soften, or relax those muscles.
• Get a feeling and an understanding of what that contrast feels like

It’s easier when you’re on the toilet because you’re used to being uninhibited there and doing what you need to do.  Otherwise, many women don’t pay a lot of attention to feeling in their pelvic floor.

Just notice that.

Also notice the sensation, especially when you’re having a bowel movement.

We’re talking about having babies here, ladies, so let’s not sugarcoat anything.

Those nerve endings get hit in the same ways, even though one is the baby’s head coming down.

When you feel that, practice softening It is a great way to practice before you ever have a contraction.

The day-to-day practice is conditioning your body to help you soften and open when your baby’s born, which makes it much less likely that you’ll tear and things will just go more smoothly with your baby coming down and out so that you have him or her and your arms faster.

(NOTE: Want 3 Simple Steps for a Smooth, Gentle Pushing Stage? These techniques helped me birth 8 babies (including a 10lb, 10oz baby boy) gently with NO tearing. Get the steps here.)

Another thing to pay attention to during this time is how you’re breathing.  As people, we breathe in different ways:

• Normally we breathe in through our nose and out through our nose.  That’s relaxed breathing. 
• If you’ve done yoga, you may have learned about a cleansing breath, which is when you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.  It’s a good way to calm yourself, center yourself, calm down.
• If you’ve been racing to catch a bus or you’re behind on something, you may breathe in through your mouth and out through your mouth.  That’s panting and it’s what we do when we’re behind.
• The 4th type of breathing is breathing in through your mouth and out through your nose, which sometimes we hear little kids do when they’re about to tantrum or when they’re going to stop and scream, but usually, we don’t see adults doing that.

Pay attention throughout the day how you breathe, especially when you’re stressed, and how you calm down your breathing.

Now combine that with what I talked about above.

When you’re on the toilet or when you’re focusing on softening your pelvic floor, take a minute to pay attention to how you’re breathing and start to correlate that.

Notice how when you breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, it’s a little bit easier to soften and relax.

Practice breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth because that cleansing breath, that big breath, is a great breath to use after a contraction.

Sometimes contractions are intense.

Having a baby is intense.

(NOTE:Want Labor Pain Techniques that REALLY Work? Get these 11 mom-tested techniques for handling contractions from start to finish Get the mom-tested natural labor techniques here.)

I’m going to teach you what you need to know to have a baby naturally.  But I will admit, I’ve done it eight times…

…It’s intense!

Going through this, practicing this every day, even for a few minutes a day, starts to condition your body to be ready for having your baby and when it is time for your baby to come, these things will come naturally.

I also recommend that you talk to your birth partner about breathing because sometimes when you feel overwhelmed by things, your birth partner can remind you to breathe. 

Or they can model breathing for you to follow along with, which is really helpful during an intense contraction. You don’t have to think because girl, you are busy doing other things.  It can really save you!

This helped me so much through all of my babies’ births…

…to do this practice during pregnancy and then when it came time to have my babies, to have those tools that I could use when things got intense.

They were intense, but also awesome, empowering experiences, sacred experiences, especially when I stayed in control.

These techniques were especially helpful with the births where everything felt smooth and soft and my babies came out so quietly that other people didn’t even realize they had been born.

It may seem unlikely, but it is possible!

Conditioning makes a difference!

Looking for a natural childbirth course that’s evidence-based AND focused on honoring your intution and power during your birthing time?

Click here for details on MamaBaby Birthing, my complete online birthing course. Used by thousands of birthing families, you’ll be completely prepared for a beautiful, safe, and confident birth experience.