Dec 2, 2009
What Athletes and Pregnant Women Have in Common
What do athletes and pregnant women have in common? Both anticipate an event that will be challenging emotionally and physically, but, one that will be extremely rewarding at the finish line.
First let’s look at what athletes do.
Athletes train for an event. They are known to employ coaches to help build their “mindset” for recognizing past accomplishments, and building confidence in their strengths, talents, and abilities. They learn to trust and believe in their capabilities. Athletes use techniques such as visualization to “see” themselves doing their training perfectly, winning, succeeding in their goals, and celebrating their accomplishment. Athletes train physically for hours, for days, weeks, and months to be in “shape”, while increasing endurance, stamina, and be physically fit for the competition. Athletes eat well for strength, get enough rest, and stay well hydrated.
Let’s recap. Athletes:
1. have coaches for emotional support
2. build positive “can do” attitudes and visualize success
3. learn to trust and believe in their skills and strengths
4. practice, practice, practice
5. take care of their body by eating well
6. prepare for the event
Pregnant women have a lot in common with athletes. They know a physical and emotional challenge is coming – the birth of their baby. They know they need to eat well because they are “building” a baby. They prepare for birth by enrolling in childbirth classes. They enlist the support of family members and their partner. Some women learn visualization techniques to prepare for birth.
The difference of course is athletes are usually not pregnant! But what if pregnant women started developing an athletic point of view for preparing for birth? If they did, it might look something like this:
From the first day a woman finds out she’s pregnant she goes into “training” for pregnancy and birth doing the following:
1. finds a healthcare provider – a midwife or doctor
2. starts an exercise program appropriate for pregnancy: swimming, walking, etc. to build physical strength, stamina, and endurance and does it daily. Health care provider approves program
3. hires a birth coach, Doula, or builds a strong, positive, support group
4. enrolls immediately in a relaxation program and uses it throughout the pregnancy. For example, pre-natal yoga
5. learns how to meditate daily to develop a “mindset” for birth, using birth affirmations, and positive visualizations
6. learns to trust her personal strengths and abilities based on past challenges and successes
7. eats healthy for “building a baby” not eating for two, takes prenatal vitamins, maybe sees a nutritionist
8, researches childbirth education classes and takes the one that meets her values and interests
9. learns about pregnancy changes of the body and fetal development
10. reads books on parenting
11. accepts pregnancy and birth as normal events in life
12. focuses on her own pregnancy experiences, turns off the TV, doesn’t listen to negative stories about birth
13. receives and celebrates her “prize” at the finish line – her baby
Pregnancy “training” is a great way to prepare for birth from day one. Waiting until the last few months to prepare can add stress to the experience. Starting from day one creates time to “grow” with the pregnancy emotionally. Time is needed to discover methods of relaxation and breathing for labor that work the best for the physical challenge of birth. More important, with time and preparation you can have the kind of birth and experience you want.
Be a pregnancy “athlete”! The training is worth it.
Lesly 
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