This natural birth tip comes from Ina May Gaskin, one of the midwives who helped establish The Farm Midwifery Center.
Summary of My Natural Birth Tip Video!
Ina May Gaskin talks about how you can get big like a man during childbirth (and why you want to!). Your body is magic!
I love this. I know that she makes audiences laugh with this, and I think it’s really a lot of fun and helps us talk about some things that might feel awkward.
In fact, watch this video with your husband or partner to help him understand how amazing your body is!
Men Don’t Doubt THEIR Bodies…
We’re surrounded by men who have no doubt that they can get really big and then they can get really small without any damage being done to their body, right?
In fact, many of the men swaggering around us today feel really proud of their ability to do that.
Yet somehow, there’s a doubt that a woman’s body can get big enough to birth a baby, and then get really small again without some sort of permanent damage or some sort of interference needed.
Most guys don’t think they will have any problems with getting big (and then getting small again). And even if they are having issues, they take it for granted that they’ll be able to work those things out.
Yet somehow we think that women’s bodies aren’t going to be able to do what they were naturally designed to do. So why can men, but not women, women’s bodies?
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How Your Body Changes (Before Pregnancy)
Your birth canal is designed to change – during birth and even before. When you’re being intimate, the vagina is actually meant to expand. This increases your level of pleasure and also prepares for possible conception. All kinds of changes happen, including getting bigger.
This is just like what happens to guys. It also happens on the inside of you, which increases your feelings of pleasure just like it does for him. And it also creates room for things that need room down there.
And the inside changes, too. Your cervix comes down, things open up to help facilitate the possibility of a pregnancy, which is a really good thing if you’re hoping for a baby!
How Your Body Changes (During Childbirth)
Things change when it’s time to have the baby, too. During labor the vagina is called the birth canal, and it gets much bigger…
…in a really beautiful way.
The inside of the birth canal is not a smooth wall, it’s actually ridged with rugae (folds of skin). These soft folds expand during both physiological actions: excitement and when you’re about to birth your baby.
As I mentioned, the cervix changes when you’re being intimate to help permit the conception of a baby. It also changes when you’re about to birth your baby.
All of these changes are natural. They’re designed to happen.
You’re Going to Get Huge
In Ina May’s book, Spiritual Midwifery, she shares how one mom said to her, “oh, you told me I was going to get huge. So I did.”
Ina May says she can’t even recall quite when she said that. But apparently, she said that to this mom.
And this mom took that literally, and she meditated on that and visualized that.
Ina May said she had never seen a woman who just opened like that quite so beautifully.
The reality is, you’re going to get huge!
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And You’re Going to Go Right Back Again 🙂
The other reality is that everything is going to go back to the way that it should…
…because that’s how your body is designed to work.
And just like no man would ever doubt that his body is designed to get really big and then go back, you know, to a small turtle kind of guy…
…No man would ever doubt that.
So why do we doubt our bodies?
Spoiler Alert: Your Body Works!
Part of the reason, of course, is that as women, we’re taught to doubt our bodies and be uncomfortable and unsure of our bodies all throughout our lives.
Pregnancy and birth are also shrouded in mystery and fear.
But what I hope that this video & article have helped you do is to start to think differently, maybe to laugh, maybe to smile, and also maybe to just shift that paradigm in your mind…
…to say, “Oh yeah, you know, my body was meant to do that.”
From a Mama of Eight…
I‘ve had eight babies and I’ve got a little mama “fluff” and a mama’s curves, but I don’t walk around feeling like my insides will fall out. I actually feel fit and trim, probably more so than I have between some of my other babies.
Why do I share this? You need to know the truth: a strong pelvic floor, good muscle tone down there, all of that comes back.
Your body opens naturally. I had all eight of my babies naturally, including my 10-pound, ten-ounce baby boy. Everything comes back together and life feels good! Things can feel pleasurable just like they did before 😉
Designed to Birth Sweetly, Peacefully, Beautifully, Sacredly
Your body was designed to work in a way that is beautiful and majestic. You’re made to birth baby sweetly, peacefully, beautifully, sacredly…
…and then to heal up so that you feel good and whole and strong and vigorous afterward!
Believe in yourself and your body, Mama!
For Pregnant Mamas Who Want an Ecstatic Natural Birth…
…I’ve got one last note for you:
If you want somebody to help you with evidence-based information, to shift these paradigms, to help you grow this belief in yourself…
…to help you do that soul searching to find your inner power…
…and to help you with practical things like preparing for the birth, and designing easy meal plans that nourish you, I am here for you!
Want personal support to stay healthy and low-risk through your pregnancy? Longing for authentic guidance to make your sacred birth dream a reality?
Click to book a pregnancy and birth visioning call with me. We’ll talk about your hopes and dreams and explore if my pregnancy coaching program is a good fit for you.
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