I need to begin this post by saying that I didn’t know that I wanted to have a natural labor the first time I was pregnant. My friend, Hannah, was telling me about her labor and she said a phrase I have never heard anyone else say. She said, “I absolutely loved my labor.” That sentence stopped me in my tracks and I had to ask why. She told me about this class she had taken and how helpful it was for preparing for labor, called the Bradley Method. I did some research and soon after, my husband and I were signed up for the exact teacher and class that Hannah and her husband had.

When I went into the class, I still wasn’t positive that I wanted to go natural (meaning no medicine or intervention during labor). I still felt like if labor hurt too badly, I’d get an epidural. Honestly, it mattered most to me (and still does!) that mama and baby are safe and healthy. So let me just say that as long as mama and baby are healthy and well, then whatever way you go through labor/delivery, you are awesome, Mama.

12 weeks of classes later and having had 2 babies born naturally, I’ll say that the Bradley Method was amazing for both of my labors. You can read about my first experience here, and my second labor story here.

I think that some of the main objectives of the Bradley Method course are to help you to have a low-risk pregnancy, and to educate both mom and dad on the process of labor so that you know what to expect and how to handle it. I think both of those goals are so valuable for pregnant mamas regardless of whether you want a natural labor or not. So I’ll share about the Bradley Method below because good things can’t help but be shared (and honestly much of what I learned is from them), but I hope that these 10 tips simply aid you in achieving a low-risk pregnancy, and a better understanding of labor and delivery.

Quick disclaimer: before we go on, I want to say that everyone’s body, health and baby are different so take this advice with a grain of salt knowing your own body and consulting with your doctor before making any medical decisions.

Alright, mama. 10 tips for having a low-risk pregnancy and a natural labor:

1. Sign up for the Bradley Method class. (I told you I couldn’t help but share a good thing, and no, I’m not paid to say that, it was just that good.) In the class, you’ll get to know a few other couples, have a (hopefully) great teacher and learn SO much. Our class was 12 weeks but I’ve heard they also have shorter 4 week classes, too! The Bradley method focuses on preparing your body for optimal pregnancy health so that you and baby are set up for a healthy, uncomplicated labor. Once the best pregnancy practices are in place, they focus on teaching you all about first and second stage labor, being able to make informed decisions during it and positions that are most effective for labor. The next steps for having a low-risk pregnancy and natural labor are all things I learned from the Bradley class so while this list doesn’t take away the need for the class, it’ll give you a good idea of what is taught.

2. Watch your nutrition. Prenatal vitamins, fruits and vegetables, eliminating processed foods and lessening caffeine will go a long way in providing baby with the nutrients they need, and helping you to have a low-risk pregnancy. Low-risk pregnancies lead to a higher likelihood of having less hospital intervention (like continual fetal monitoring, etc.). Hospital interventions have been proven to increase your likelihood of not having a natural childbirth whether through epidural or c- section, so you’ll want to do what you can to have a low-risk pregnancy.

3. Count your protein. It’s been tested that the overall health of mama and baby post-partum are hugely impacted by your daily protein intake while pregnant. The optimal amount of daily protein is 80-100g, which is actually a ton if you’re not used to eating that much. Dr. Bradley writes that there isn’t a certain number of pounds to gain or not gain, it’s about making sure you get enough protein from whole-foods. I gained 45 pounds while pregnant, which some would say is quite a lot, but my son received a 9 out of 10 on his apgar score, which I’ve learned is quite rare. Up your protein (and count it daily) to keep mama and baby as healthy as possible.

4. Do strength conditioning & stretches. Pregnancy is an athletic event and Bradley writes about a few main exercises to do daily to prepare your body for such an event, including kegels, pelvic rocks, squats, strengthening butterflies and more. *Please note, while these exercises are approved for pregnant women you’ll want to make sure you learn how to do them properly for pregnancy to avoid injury. These exercises get your body ready to push a baby out, and train your body to relax. Also, before I took the class, my pregnancy app said to do 30 kegels a day. The Bradley Method starts you at 50 keels and works you up to a daily 200, because your pelvic wall is just that important. Moral of the story? Do your kegels.

5. Make sure to exercise. Being pregnant can be exhausting! Some days, you just don’t feel like exercising, but the less you exercise, the more out of shape your body gets, and you want to be in prime pregnancy shape to handle those contractions and pushing. Bradley suggests regular moderate exercise (continue to exercise at the level you’ve been doing), including 1-2 walks/day to keep your exercise tolerance up.

6. Learn about first and second stage labor. I went into this class knowing absolutely nothing about labor. Bradley teaches you all about first stage, transition and second stage so that you’re not fearful when it happens but able to make informed decisions and stay calm. Fear makes you tense up, causing greater pain with each contraction, so the more you know, the better prepared and more relaxed you will be.

7. Write a birth plan. You want to make sure that your doctor and hospital know exactly what your wishes for labor and after-labor are. Things like, do you want to get an IV (I didn’t), or have continual fetal monitoring (I didn’t), or whether you’d prefer to delay the baby’s eye ointment for an hour so you can have optimal bonding. These things are helpful to have written out beforehand so that in the moment of contractions, you can focus on relaxing rather than explaining your birth hopes. A friend shared her birth plan with me and it was super helpful! I based our Birth Plan upon this friend’s and what we learned in our Bradley class, so I hope you find it beneficial!

8. Visit the hospital and talk with your doctor. Every hospital has different procedures and protocols that they deem necessary. Not all hospitals are friendly to natural child birth so you want to learn all that you can, and then discuss with your doctor your hopes and birth plan to make sure they align with your doctor’s and the hospital’s policies.

9. Do a labor “run through” with your husband or birth partner. In our Bradley class, we had a labor rehearsal, where we practiced having contractions 60 seconds in length, one minute on and one minute off, for 45 minutes. This gave us time to try different relaxation techniques and positions for relaxation. It was extremely helpful for getting a feel of what labor would be like. It also helped us to realize that everything we learned in class, needed to be fresh in our minds for the big day. I made a Study Guide for the big event, that we didn’t actually use in the moment, but was helpful for solidifying everything we needed to remember.

10. Learn to relax. The biggest thing about labor is enabling yourself to completely relax during each contraction, so that you can dilate as fast as possible and get closer to stage 2 (pushing) to meet that baby. Relaxing includes your body positioning, your facial positions and allowing every muscle to be free from tension. This is quite hard to do when you’re in pain (i.e. contractions) so practice practice practice beforehand is really effective. Also, finding relaxation materials to help aid your calm during labor can be very helpful– particular phrases your birth partner can say, relaxing music, and mental pictures to focus on.

There you go, mama! 10 tips for a low-risk pregnancy and natural labor. Honestly, there’s so much more to learn (hence why our Bradley class was 2 hours/night for 12 weeks) so I highly encourage you to take a class.

One word of advice: I have had friends who took the general labor and delivery class at their hospital, and what they learned was a mere overview of the many methods for how to handle labor, rather than learning any key tactics or concepts that actually helped them. I would research labor methods and pick one that seems right to you to take a class on and go deeper with. I think it will help you to feel much more knowledgeable and thus peaceful going into labor and delivery.

The books I listed here under the categories Pregnancy & Labor will be super helpful too! I think the biggest thing to know is that if you want to go natural, you can do it! Our bodies were made for it. One mama friend told me that there will come a point during your labor where you will think you can’t do it, but you need to know that you can. When that point came for me, I prayed and reminded myself what Ina May says, that she had never seen a woman die from the pain of a contraction and so I could do it. Oddly enough, that was really comforting to me and helped me get through Transition, and an hour of pushing later, baby boy was in my arms. And if you ever want to chat about why a natural pregnancy is worth considering, leave a comment or DM on instagram. I would love to talk more.