November 11, 2025 • 38 mins
In this episode, I'm walking you through everything you need to know about preparing for an induction—from practical tips to spiritual encouragement—so you can approach your birth with peace and confidence, even if this wasn't your original plan.
Maybe your provider has mentioned induction as a possibility, or perhaps you already have a date scheduled. Whatever emotions you're feeling—excitement, disappointment, nervousness, or fear—I want you to know that an induced birth is still a beautiful birth story where God can be glorified.
In this episode, I share:
🌸 How to reframe an induction as part of God's plan for your birth story
🩺 Understanding different induction methods and what to expect with each one
🎶 Comfort measures and coping strategies specifically for induced labor
🧠 The B.R.A.I.N. acronym to help you make informed decisions about your care
✝️ Practical tips for preparing physically, mentally, and spiritually for your induction
Scripture Shared:
"The Lord will fight for you. You only need to be still." – Exodus 14:14
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." – Romans 8:28
Mentioned in this episode:
✨ Christian Mama Birth Prep Library - Free birth prep tools, worship playlists & more
✝️ Online Christian Childbirth Education - Explore my complete birth preparation self-paced course
💛 Work with Me 1:1 - Personalized pregnancy and birth support that integrates faith and evidence-based care, including virtual coaching, doula support, and comprehensive childbirth education
📞 Free 15-Minute Discovery Call: Schedule your no-obligation consultation with me today! I would LOVE to connect with you.
If this episode encouraged you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with any friends preparing for an induction.
Let's keep choosing faith over fear, one birth story at a time. Go here for the full blog post, show notes, and all resources mentioned!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Natalie Portman (00:45):
Hey sweet mama.
Welcome back to the podcast.
Today we're talking aboutsomething many women experience
but few feel fully prepared for,and that is.
An induction.
Maybe your provider has alreadymentioned this to you as a
possibility for your labor, ormaybe it's something that is
already scheduled and you knowthe time that you are going into
(01:05):
your induction, and you might befeeling a mix of emotions about
this upcoming induction orpossible induction.
Maybe you're feeling a littlebit excited because you're just
ready to meet your baby, but youmight also be feeling maybe
disappointed, nervous, or evenmaybe a little.
Scared that this is how yourbirth is going to be starting,
and this is not how you picturedthings going.
(01:26):
So I want to start this episodeby saying being induced does not
make your birth less natural orless sacred or anything of the
sort.
It is still a beautiful birthstory that the Lord can and will
be glorified in.
And so today I wanted to walkthrough some practical things,
what to expect, and then alsohow to prepare for this
(01:48):
induction.
So an induction is simply amedical process that helps start
your labor or helps strengthenyour labor when your body or
maybe your baby just need alittle bit of a help to get
started.
Some common reasons for beinginduced.
It can be, you know, beingpassed your due date, 41 42
weeks.
(02:08):
Each provider has a differenttimeline in which they deem you
past your due date enough toinduce you.
If you're dealing with thingslike high blood pressure,
gestational diabetes, low orhigh amniotic fluid, or other
health concerns for you or yourbaby these are common reasons
why we see inductions being usedas a means to get the baby out
(02:31):
sooner rather than later.
And if you're feeling unsureabout the necessity of an
induction in your particularsituation, I do encourage you to
think about the B.R.A.I.Nacronym, which I've spoken to
and touched on in previouspodcast episodes, but I'll
briefly touch on this.
So this is the B.R.A.I.Nacronym, B-R-A-I-N, and B stands
(02:54):
for benefits.
So think about the benefits ofdoing this induction.
Think about the risks.
That's r, that's the nextletter.
What are the risks of doing thisinduction?
A, what are the alternatives toa medical induction?
I, what's your intuition tellingyou or, I like to more so say,
praying about it, bringing it tothe Lord, asking him for his
(03:15):
wisdom.
And then N what, if you say no.
To the induction, or, no, notright now.
And so thinking through thoseoptions, because again, you
always have options and you canhave an open dialogue with your
provider if it's looking like aninduction is the only
possibility.
So have that conversation gothrough the B.R.A.I.N acronym.
(03:36):
I think it's really important tofeel at peace with your
induction rather than feelingreally pressured.
Confused as to why you're beinginduced.
So instead of viewing this aslike a loss of control, I invite
you to reframe an induction asjust a different way that the
Lord is wanting your baby tocome into the world, and that
(03:58):
takes a lot of surrender.
I wanted to point out Exodus1414 where this scripture says,
the Lord will fight for you.
You only need to be still.
So even if your inductioninvolves utilizing all these
interventions that you hadoriginally not prepared yourself
for or not preferred, yourstillness, your peace your trust
(04:20):
in the Lord, all of that becomesa place where the Lord does get
to fight on your behalf.
And because he's already there.
He's gonna prepare the way foryou and bring you the victory.
So that's just an encouragement.
If, you know, without a shadowof a doubt, like this induction
needs to happen you know, thisis the way that your baby needs
to come into the world and justto have a different perspective
(04:43):
and just a different heartposture going into your
induction.
Some practical things to prepareyour body and your mind for your
upcoming induction.
The first is physicalpreparation.
So this looks like stayingactive as long as you are
medically able to, and this canlook like going for walks, doing
(05:03):
curb walking, where you have onefoot up on the top of the curb
and then one down on the street.
And just doing some of that,like opening up the pelvis,
allowing the baby to come down,hopefully become more applied
into the pelvis so that maybeyour body will go into labor on
its own.
Who knows?
And so yeah this just allowsyour body to more naturally see
(05:23):
if you can get things going.
Another thing that I like tosuggest is trying the miles
circuit.
It's basically three differentmoves or positions.
You're not like going for a milewalk.
That's not what Miles standsfor.
And it allows you.
To help encourage baby into amore optimal fetal position.
(05:45):
So especially I recommend this,if you're having prodromal
labor, meaning you're havingcontractions that are
consistently coming but they'renot going anywhere.
Like they're not getting longer,stronger, closer together.
I always encourage doing themile circuit for this, and I'll
include a link to the milecircuit handout in the show
notes.
But that is a great way to helpencourage baby to come out of
(06:08):
the pelvis.
That's like the first move.
And then the next two moves ormoves to try to engage and
rotate baby.
So that hopefully your body willgo into labor on its own or with
an induction like we're talkingabout.
Once baby is induced and labordoes begin, baby's in a more
optimal position, which helps,the labor tends to go more
(06:30):
smoothly and just less pain foryou.
All the things.
Another thing practically is tostay hydrated and nourished,
especially in the days leadingup to an induction.
So I want you to think, youknow, doing electrolytes daily
eating high protein snacks,drinking plenty of water all of
those things you will definitelywant to do as well as resting.
(06:51):
Oh my goodness.
I feel like the number of mamasthat I am like, they're doula
and they're just like, yeah, Ijust, I wanted to try all the
things to try to get the baby tocome.
And so they come into theirinduction, they're so tired.
I'm like, no, I want you to comeinto this induction fully rested
because as much as you thinklike you're just gonna be laying
around in the hospital bed, yourbody is doing so much work and
(07:12):
intentionally plan to rest.
I always like to say pairmovement with rest.
So say you do go for, you know,curb walking or a couple miles
walk, pair that with, thenyou're gonna go sit in an epsom
salt bath or you're gonna justlay down and take a nap, like
just rest and move.
There's a good balance that Iwant you to try and strike
(07:34):
there.
And then when it comes to mentaland spiritual preparation, I
want you to intentionally.
Carve out time to go to the Lordin prayer and worship.
So put on your favorite worshipmusic.
Maybe even invite you know, yourhusband into this, or like
particular friends, like prayerwarriors or your family into
this.
(07:54):
And just make it a time to justpray over you, your heart, your
mind, your body, and yourprecious baby as you prepare for
this induction.
And then just more practically,the mindset that I want you to
have for an induction is that itis going to be a marathon.
Inductions typically take daysfor you to actually be in full
(08:16):
blown labor to then have thebaby.
And so I want you to be preparedpractically with.
Like comfort measures havinglots of healthy snacks,
electrolyte drinks, all thethings with you.
Some hospitals have arefrigerator in your room, like
a little mini fridge in yourroom.
Some don't.
So that's something that's goodfor you to find out because if
(08:38):
you do have some perishablesnacks that you're bringing,
just know whether or not you cankeep that in your room.
Bring your own blanket and yourown pillow.
Those like very comfortingthings.
Can help you just relax more ifyou have an eye mask and that's
helpful for you to block out.
Not only light, but just likedistractions.
(08:58):
I always recommend bringing aneye mask to the hospital.
Bringing familiar senseessential oils.
Music.
Music is so powerful for me, andhaving my worship labor playlist
is so important.
And I inside the Christian Mamabirth prep library, this is my
free library.
I offer to anyone and everyoneas long as you sign up for it.
(09:19):
And if you go tofaithoverfearbirth.com, you can
sign up for that birth preplibrary.
But inside that, I do have afull hospital bag checklist.
I have a labor worship playlist,so check out some of those
things in there.
As a way to just prepare forthis upcoming induction.
And then definitely just have aconversation with your partner,
(09:41):
your spouse, your husband aheadof time to just know how you
want him to best support you.
Not only you know, physically,but.
Also emotionally andspiritually, if it's important
to you that there's prayer, thatthere's you know, music that's
playing, like just make it knownwhat your heart's intention is
(10:02):
for that, because he can't readyour mind.
And.
Of course, if you do hire adoula, whether that's an
in-person doula or virtual birthsupport, like with me or
somebody else you know, we cancertainly help you in those ways
as well.
But again, just having that openline of communication.
So much of this is mindset whenit comes to an induction because
most of us.
(10:23):
Don't start our pregnancythinking, oh, and at the end I'm
gonna have an induction.
Like typically this is like planB or C.
So when you are preparing for aninduction, I want you to come at
it with a posture of surrenderrather than striving where you
are entering the in inductionwith I need to do all these
things.
(10:43):
I need to accomplish X, Y, Z.
And if it takes longer or itgoes differently, then somehow
that's a reflection on mymistakes, my problem.
And so I don't want you to thinkthat at all, you know, God is
going before you in this and heknew way before this baby was
even conceived that this wasgonna be how things, unfolded.
(11:04):
And so don't think that you'reoutside of his plan or his will.
If you find yourself in aninduction scenario.
Some other things that I wantedto go over were like common
questions that I get when itcomes to an induction.
So I'm gonna go through some ofthose.
The first is I hear from a lotof mamas, will an induction hurt
(11:24):
more?
Will the contractions feel morepainful?
Will it just be a more painfulprocess?
And to be completely honest.
Pitocin contractions usuallyfeel a little stronger than
normal contractions that yourbody is, you know, producing
with the natural oxytocin.
Pitocin is like the artificialversion of oxytocin.
(11:47):
However.
With comfort measures, this,pain scale if we want to think
of it that way.
It can really diminish based onthe types of comfort measures
you're utilizing.
So I want you to think movementlabor positions.
Breathing, using counterpressure and all of these
techniques and things I teachinside of my online childbirth
(12:10):
education course as well as withmy clients that I serve, whether
that's in person or virtually.
Another question I get a lot ishow long will this induction
take?
And of course there is nocrystal ball.
There is no way to know forsure.
However, just a generalguideline, to keep within a
perspective is early cervicalripening, meaning like getting
(12:33):
the cervix to open from zero tothree, zero to four centimeters
approximately.
Generally takes a lot of time.
Think 12 to 36 hours.
And again, that seems like areally long time, but sometimes
it really does take that long toget that dilated.
And for the cervix to soften andto start moving from posterior
(12:54):
to anterior, so back to front.
And then once active laborbegins, things typically pick up
a little bit more.
So think another 12 to 24 hourspossibly for active labor.
And this is when they consideryour cervix is six centimeters
and beyond.
So yeah, it can certainly takesome time.
(13:15):
And then then another question Iget a lot is, can I move or get
in the shower when I'm beinginduced?
And the answer is yes.
If you're getting an epiduralpretty quickly in the process,
no, you will not be able to getup and take a shower.
But if you're going unmedicatedespecially in the first part
then yes, you are welcome to getup and use the bathroom, get up
(13:37):
and use the shower.
Check with your hospital and theprovider about the different
monitoring options.
Most of the time they will wantcontinuous monitoring,
especially because of themedications and pitocin and
different things that they'reintroducing just to make sure
that baby and you are toleratingthem well.
But ask about wirelessmonitoring.
(13:58):
Or if you're doing minimal.
Medication induction routes.
Maybe you could do intermittentmonitoring.
So again, just talk with yourprovider about that.
But movement does help the babynot only descend, but it also
makes the contractions feel moremanageable.
So, as much as you can move,again, pairing it with rest, I
(14:18):
highly recommend that you gothat route.
Another one is, can I still eatwhen I'm being induced?
And.
Policies vary on this.
You know, providers vary aswell, like what they're gonna
recommend.
But most of the time they'regoing to say clear liquids.
They're gonna say, you know, youcan have electrolytes, you can
(14:39):
have bone broth, you can havecoffee and tea and all that kind
of stuff, but nothing solid.
So like they, I think they evenconsider things like applesauce
a solid, and this rule, thiskind of policy goes back to the
fifties when women would gounder a heavy medication called
(14:59):
twilight sleep for giving birth.
And what would happen is thesewomen would end up like vomiting
and aspirating meaning like theywould like choke on their own
vomit.
And die.
And so they didn't want womeneating all this food ahead of
all of that because they didn'twant them to, you know, have all
these complications.
(15:21):
Okay.
We've come a long way sincethen.
We're not doing twilight sleep.
And even if you did have ac-section even an emergency
section, I've actually had aclient who had a she ate dinner.
Yeah, and then went to thehospital.
Baby was not tolerating laborwell and they immediately did an
emergency C-section a couplehours just after she had a full
(15:42):
blown dinner.
And so all that to say, I'm notsaying you need a break every
rule when it comes to eating inlabor, but I want you to again
think about the B.R.A.I.Nacronym, the benefits, risks
alternatives.
What's your intuition tellingyou?
And then what if you say no ornot right now about, you know,
choosing a clear liquids dietversus eating some actual
(16:05):
healthy food.
And I think that's the caveathere.
I'm not saying you need to goto, you know, Chick-fil-A and
just gorge yourself on a bunchof food.
But having intentional thingsthat you're eating that will
keep your energy up.
So thinking high protein evensmoothies are great if your
appetite isn't super high, butyou can tell you're hungry.
But I just don't see how yourbody is meant to labor for days
(16:28):
without actual.
Food in your system, like weneed energy.
So think about that, pray aboutthat.
But that's my stance on it.
A little bit bending the rulesthere.
But that's just my personaltake.
And then the last thing I wannatouch on is women feeling like,
can I still have a beautifulbirth experience?
And.
And the answer is absolutelyyes.
(16:52):
You can invite the Holy Spiritinto your birth experience,
praying when appropriate duringa labor playing worship music,
inviting your partner, yourhusband to to pray over you, to
read scripture over you, to readaffirmations over you.
And then just knowing that Godcan and will be glorified in all
things, including yourinduction.
(17:12):
And I really want to challengeyou to examine what your fears
are and your spiritual hangupsgoing into your induction.
So are you holding onto yourplan so tightly because you feel
like only you know what's bestfor your baby and yourself, or.
Can you release that control andknow that God can still be
(17:33):
glorified even if your birthgoes completely haywire and
just, it doesn't go according toyour quote unquote plan.
Another thing is, you know, Iwant you to think about how an
induction is not a reflection ofyou and how.
Prepared you were or howcompliant your baby is or any,
(17:58):
anything like that because youcan't control what your cervix
is doing or not doing.
And so for you to take on thisresponsibility, like somehow
it's your fault that you're inthis situation.
You need to let that go.
That spirit of condemnation isnot of the Lord because there is
therefore no condemnation forthose who are in Christ Jesus.
(18:19):
And if you're in Christ Jesus,there is nothing to condemn you.
The Lord is so proud of you andhe has entrusted you with this
precious baby that you'regrowing.
And so I want you to lean intonot fighting for victory in your
labor and your birth experience,but that you are fighting from
victory.
That you have already won, thatthe Lord has already gone before
(18:42):
you, and he already knows howthings are gonna pan out.
So I want you to look at who heis.
He is so capable.
He has literally created.
Everything that has ever beencreated, and nothing that has
ever been created, it doesn'teven exist because he is a
creator of all beautiful andperfect and wonderful things,
(19:02):
and the child in your womb is abeautiful thing from the Lord,
and so he will.
Make it happen.
You don't need to condemnyourself.
Feel hard on yourself, feel likeyour experience is going to be
lesser than because it's not howyou wanted things to go.
And I would say, just continueto bring that to the Lord.
Lord, show me my feelings, myheart about this induction so
(19:26):
that I can lay that before yourfeet.
I know that if I was in thissituation if I had to be induced
with the pregnancy that I'mcurrently going through, I know
I would struggle.
And I'm not saying that it'seasy to lay this down, but I
would encourage you to do it.
I would encourage you to just goto him and say, Lord, search me.
Search my heart, search myfears, search my pride and help
(19:48):
me to understand how you can beglorified even in this
experience that I did not planfor.
So that's my big encouragementthere.
A little bit of encouragement, alittle bit of a challenge.
'Cause it's hard.
It's really hard.
On a more practical note I alsowanted to go through in this
podcast episode aboutunderstanding the different
induction methods that you mightencounter.
(20:10):
So the first is that you mayhave the opportunity to do a
membrane sweep.
This is typically done in yourprovider's office.
Even midwives can do this where,like between 38 to 41 weeks,
they can do a membrane sweep.
And this is where they take agloved finger and they gently
separate the cervix from theamniotic sac.
(20:31):
And that typically causes justlike a hormone cascade where it
releases prostaglandins anddifferent things to help the
cervix start to ripen, tosoften.
And that can sometimes in and ofitself help you go into labor if
your body is ready.
And that's why I love this as amethod because if your body is
not ready, it's not going tothrow you into labor.
(20:51):
But it can certainly help if youare staring down an induction
you're wanting to try and avoidthat medical induction.
I feel like this is a greatroute to try ahead of a medical
induction.
And you can even ask them to doa membrane sweep.
When you get to your induction,just ask them, say, Hey, is it
possible to do a membrane sweep?
You do need to be at least onecentimeter dilated in order for
(21:14):
them to do that.
But if not, you can even ask.
Them to do cervical massage.
So if you're completely closed,cervix is very tight.
You can ask them to do cervicalmassage and then go into these
other medication, you know,options.
So the second would be doingcervical ripening medications.
These names of these medicationsare called Cytotec and Cervidil.
(21:34):
Sometimes they have differentnames.
And so just you, you can alwaysask them, you know, is this
Cytotec?
Is this cervidil?
But these are prostaglandinmedications that help soften and
ripen the cervix.
They're either placed vaginally,so like they place it inside of
the vagina, or they give it toyou orally Sometimes they'll
even have you take itsublingually, so you put it
(21:56):
under your tongue and you mightfeel mild.
Cramping or contractions fromthis.
But many of the times you're notgonna feel a whole lot when this
medication gets into yoursystem.
They typically will administerthis at night.
A lot of the times I haveclients that will be induced at
night so that they can start theprocess.
You hopefully get some rest, andthen they pick things up later
(22:17):
on.
The other option is having aFoley balloon or cook's
catheter.
This is a small balloon that isinserted into the cervix and
then they inflate it withsterile water.
And it just helps like gentlyopen the cervix mechanically or
manually rather than it beingmedicine that's causing it to
(22:39):
soften and open.
Again.
This is typically usedovernight.
Something that they'll place andthen say, okay, now try to get
some sleep.
For some women it can be quiteuncomfortable to have this foley
balloon or cooks catheter in.
You can experience some, youknow, pressure cramping.
That's normal.
I even had one time a mama who.
(23:00):
Got pretty sick from it.
Like it, it just was like sointense, the sensation that
like, she was like throwing up.
So sometimes that can be alittle bit intense, but other
times if you're wanting to avoidlike the medical route as the
first line this is a great routeto go.
And like I said, not everyoneexperiences it, that feeling
that intense to them.
(23:20):
Another thing your provider cando is breaking your water,
Amniotomy, this is somethingthat I would suggest you do when
the cervix is more open and thebaby's head is not only like.
low in the pelvis, but is in agood position in the pelvis.
There's a couple providers herein Jacksonville, Florida that
are notorious for startinglabors with breaking the water
(23:43):
and it makes me cringe because.
It's like you're putting thecart before the horse.
Like the breaking the water is agreat step at a certain point,
but early on in the labor isgenerally not going to lead to
the best results.
And so if your provider iswanting to break your water
really early on in the process.
Again, I keep bringing up theB.R.A.I.N acronym in this
(24:04):
episode but talk about that withyour provider.
Benefits, risks, alternatives,intuition, or, no, not right
now.
But that's my generalrecommendation is to wait until
baby is.
Nice and low in the pelvis.
Maybe close to the mid pelvis orin the mid pelvis.
And then also wanting to bepretty dilated, like honestly,
(24:25):
4, 5, 6 or more.
Dilated.
So that's my personal take onthat one.
The thing with breaking yourwater is it does.
Seem to intensify contractionsbecause you are losing that
cushion between you and baby.
And so baby's head usually ismore applied.
(24:46):
And while that's great forhelping things, progress, it
also just.
Makes things feel more intense.
So things that I like to do atthis point, once the water's
been broken again, if you'reunmedicated, is getting in some
warm water, whether that's ashower or a tub utilizing some
great breathing techniquescounter pressure movement, labor
(25:07):
positions prayer.
Like all of those things are sohelpful to just make things more
comfortable once that water isbroken.
And then another more finaltypical induction method is
utilizing Pitocin, which againis that synthetic oxytocin which
is what tells your body tocontract.
And this is also the lovehormone.
(25:28):
So oxytocin is the love hormone.
The hormone that you feel whenyou're having a really good
meal, when you are with peopleyou love when you are having
sex, when you have an orgasm.
So oxytocin gives us all theselike kind of benefits, but
Pitocin, when it's just thatsynthetic version, we don't have
all those like.
Side benefits too.
(25:49):
So that's the other reason why Ithink most women are a little
hesitant to wanna do, an inducedlabor is because their body is
receiving a synthetic version ofthe hormone oxytocin But yeah,
so it does increase yourcontractions.
Not only, you know howfrequently they're coming, but
how intense you feel them.
Typically the nurse will startwith one or two units and then
(26:12):
go up gradually every 15, 30minutes or so going up on that
dosage.
And then they have a certain.
You know, max dose they can giveyou if you are laboring without
like internal monitoring toreally check on your
contractions and baby, the maxis 20 units.
(26:33):
And if your baby is beingmonitored with an internal
monitor and all that, then youcan go up to 30 units on
Pitocin.
But.
All of this to say, you may usesome of these, you may use all
of these, you may use none ofthese.
You may end up just doing themembrane sweep, and then your
body just goes into labor.
But no matter how the processbegins.
(26:53):
God is still the author of life,and so just being able to trust
him and give him the glory inthe process that you know, he's
good.
If things progress quickly, he'sgood.
If things progress slowly, he'sgood.
If things progress, not at all.
And you end up with a C-section.
He is still good in all thosethings.
So I tell you these methods notto, make you feel like you need
(27:16):
to figure all this out, but justas a way to just inform you and
have an understanding.
But then at the end of the day,trusting the Lord with the way
he's going to make this storypan out.
Some things I wanted to also goover in this episode are some
more comfort measures andsupport things you can do.
So physical comfort.
Some things that I alwaysrecommend is utilizing things
(27:40):
that the hospital provide.
Some hospitals provide a birthball a lot of providers here in
Jacksonville don't provide birthballs.
They just provide peanut ballsor something called the Cub.
And CUB stands for comfortableupright birthing.
So there's peanut ball, birthball, and the cub seat.
And these are all just likelittle, ways that you can get
(28:02):
into different labor positionscomfortably both.
Medicated and unmedicated.
So if you have an epidural, youcan still utilize the peanut
ball in the cub seat to helpbaby reposition for your
comfort.
Like all the things andespecially if you're going
unmedicated, you will want toutilize all these tools during
your labor as well.
(28:23):
Another thing I like torecommend is, again, resting and
doing more movement heavypositions.
So you can alternate between anupright birthing position to a
laying reclined position.
Another thing you can try issomething as simple as using a
warm compress or a heating pad.
Cold compress can be nice too,especially when you get to the
(28:45):
pushing phase or just if you'relike.
Feeling really warm at anypoint.
Hydrotherapy.
So this can look like, you know,utilizing the shower in the
labor room or some placesprovide a tub for you to be able
to submerge and labor in thereSome other things is really
honing in on practicing yourslow deep breathing as a way to
(29:06):
relax your body.
There is such a mind bodyconnection, and breath is a
great way to help you controlyour body.
And again, if you would likemore information on these
comfort measures, I teach all ofthis inside my online childbirth
education course as well asgoing over this with my clients
as well.
(29:28):
And then when it comes toemotional and spiritual support,
again utilizing music readingscripture, or silence like that
can also be so helpful.
Dimming the lights or usingbattery operated candles or
twinkle lights whatever you needto set the mood.
And I even one time had thissweet family go through and they
(29:48):
made Scripture, birthaffirmations, they would just
like at breaks in the labor,would just read them to her.
And so she didn't have to go upto the wall and like stare at
all the affirmations, butsomebody would just be like
speaking and praying them overher.
So I thought that was sobeautiful and then just being
able to find little pockets oftime where this would actually
be a great time to pray.
(30:09):
And and so having somebodyeither pray with you or you pray
and just being able to again,invite the Holy Spirit into your
birth experience having apartner that is supportive is so
important and.
If you're interested in doing anin-person doula or a virtual
doula, I do offer those forpeople here in Jacksonville, for
(30:30):
in-person, and then virtual foreverywhere else.
But yes, there can be just somuch help in.
Understanding the communityaspect to the, this whole
process.
And if you go back to episode26, I actually go in full detail
about what virtual birth supportlooks like and some of the
(30:50):
benefits of that, as well as,you know, just debunking some
fears or doubts about that kindof support.
So check that out if you'reinterested in that at all.
And now we're kinda getting tothe end here.
We're gonna go over what to eat,what to expect, and like again,
how long to expect things totake.
So before you go into yourinduction, I would choose easy
(31:12):
to digest nourishing meals.
So think things like oatmealwith nut butter making yourself
a really hardy, healthysmoothie.
Avocado toast and thenhydrating.
Whether that's coconut water orelectrolytes, that kind of a
thing.
Again, please bring healthy,yummy snacks that you and your
husband like pack cozy socks,essential oils all that stuff.
(31:35):
Again, check out the handout onwhat to pack in the Christian
mama birth prep library.
And then again, going over thetimeline of how things will pan
out.
In early labor, like as yourbody is trying to get in the
zone of like, oh, I'm in labor.
Think 12 to 24 hours, possibly.
(31:56):
And so this will look like, zeroto six centimeters or so.
It can take a long time becauseyour body has to realize, oh,
I'm supposed to be in labor.
Now, once we get to activelabor, that's, you know,
generally six centimeters andmore.
This is typically when the bodymore so takes off and we
(32:17):
progress more quickly.
Not always, but typically.
And so think, you know, six to12 hours.
From that point, and then forpushing, actually pushing the
baby out, this is once you'refully complete and your body is
telling you it's time to pushthink one to two hours
especially for a first time mom.
If you're a seasoned mama, thatcould, that time could be
(32:37):
significantly less, butespecially for first time moms,
expect it to take a few hours.
And then some things you can dobefore your induction.
I have all of this inside of theCervical ripening methods
handout, again, inside theChristian Mama birth prep
library.
I also have a full episode threethat goes over all of this.
But doing acupuncture oracupressure ahead of the
(33:00):
induction again might help yourbody go into labor, you know,
spontaneously.
Another thing is doing nipplestimulation.
It helps release.
Oxytocin, which is that hormonethat helps you know, stimulate
the uterus.
It's the love hormone.
But that can also help your bodygo into labor if it's ready
using evening primrose oil.
Typically this is a supplementyou're taking a couple times a
(33:23):
day drinking red raspberry leaftea.
It helps support uterine tone sothat your contractions are
efficient.
And then my favorite is goingfor a walk.
Preferably a prayer walk andagain, just going to the Lord
and worship, whether that'sputting on some music and
praying, putting on some musicand journaling talking to a
(33:43):
friend that's going to speaklife and truth into you or your
doula.
Just being able to again, justalign your heart and your mind
and your spirit to what is aboutto unfold.
And then the last thing I wantto leave you with is the verse,
Romans 8 28.
And it says, and we know that inall things, God works for the
(34:05):
good of those who love him.
So even if your birth is lookinglike it's very different than
how you imagined, God is stillworking in that, he is still in
all of it.
And I don't want you to feellike., He has abandoned you.
That he didn't come through foryou because you didn't go into
labor spontaneously like you hadhoped.
(34:26):
Because he is good.
Even in inductions, I have seenthe Lord move in beautiful and
mighty ways in an induction, andso he can be glorified anywhere.
So just to leave you with thatencouragement and just knowing
that it is for your good.
Whatever he's doing, whateverstory he's writing, it's for
your good.
And he does not withholdanything from you that is
(34:47):
necessary for you.
And he will never give yousomething that was not intended
for you.
And so you get to hold onto thatas well, that for whatever
reason, and you may know thisside of glory, you may not why
he has made your story what itis.
But just know that it's for yourgood and for his glory.
So now I'd love to just close usout with some prayer.
(35:08):
As you know, we all just needencouragement in this season.
Lord Jesus, I just thank you somuch that your word promises us
that in all things you areworking for our good and that
you love us.
And Lord, I just pray that youwould remind this sweet mama
that nothing in her birth storyis outside of your plan.
(35:29):
You are not surprised by what'shappening and if things move
slowly.
You're still working and whenthings change quickly, you are
still good.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that youwould fill her with peace that
passes all understanding and afaith that refuses to fear
because she can trust in youLord.
And I just ask that as shelabors, I pray that she would
(35:51):
taste and see that you aretrustworthy Lord, and that you
are working all things for hergood and for your glory, Jesus,
I pray that you would safelybring this baby into her arms
and let her heart just overflowwith awe and wonder and glory at
your name.
Jesus, and I ask this in yourprecious name, amen.
I.
(36:12):
So if today's episode blessedyou I ask that you would share
this with any of your friendsthat are preparing for an
induction.
And again, don't forget to graball the free resources mentioned
in this episode inside theChristian Mama birth prep
library.
Things like the labor positionscheat sheet, that's so helpful.
Cervical ripening methodshandout and then that worship
labor playlist.
(36:33):
And you can go to.
faithoverfearbirth.com to checkout all of that as well as
services.
So if you are looking for doulasupport, virtual doula support,
I'm happy to chat with you evenif you're here, down to the
wire.
But until next time, I want youto just trust that the Lord is
good and just remember that heis working all things for your
good sweet sister.
(36:53):
And I will talk with you soon.
Bye-bye for now.
Hey sweet mama.
Welcome back to the podcast.
Today we're talking aboutsomething many women experience
but few feel fully prepared for,and that is.
An induction.
Maybe your provider has alreadymentioned this to you as a
possibility for your labor, ormaybe it's something that is
already scheduled and you knowthe time that you are going into
(01:05):
your induction, and you might befeeling a mix of emotions about
this upcoming induction orpossible induction.
Maybe you're feeling a littlebit excited because you're just
ready to meet your baby, but youmight also be feeling maybe
disappointed, nervous, or evenmaybe a little.
Scared that this is how yourbirth is going to be starting,
and this is not how you picturedthings going.
(01:26):
So I want to start this episodeby saying being induced does not
make your birth less natural orless sacred or anything of the
sort.
It is still a beautiful birthstory that the Lord can and will
be glorified in.
And so today I wanted to walkthrough some practical things,
what to expect, and then alsohow to prepare for this
(01:48):
induction.
So an induction is simply amedical process that helps start
your labor or helps strengthenyour labor when your body or
maybe your baby just need alittle bit of a help to get
started.
Some common reasons for beinginduced.
It can be, you know, beingpassed your due date, 41 42
weeks.
(02:08):
Each provider has a differenttimeline in which they deem you
past your due date enough toinduce you.
If you're dealing with thingslike high blood pressure,
gestational diabetes, low orhigh amniotic fluid, or other
health concerns for you or yourbaby these are common reasons
why we see inductions being usedas a means to get the baby out
(02:31):
sooner rather than later.
And if you're feeling unsureabout the necessity of an
induction in your particularsituation, I do encourage you to
think about the B.R.A.I.Nacronym, which I've spoken to
and touched on in previouspodcast episodes, but I'll
briefly touch on this.
So this is the B.R.A.I.Nacronym, B-R-A-I-N, and B stands
(02:54):
for benefits.
So think about the benefits ofdoing this induction.
Think about the risks.
That's r, that's the nextletter.
What are the risks of doing thisinduction?
A, what are the alternatives toa medical induction?
I, what's your intuition tellingyou or, I like to more so say,
praying about it, bringing it tothe Lord, asking him for his
(03:15):
wisdom.
And then N what, if you say no.
To the induction, or, no, notright now.
And so thinking through thoseoptions, because again, you
always have options and you canhave an open dialogue with your
provider if it's looking like aninduction is the only
possibility.
So have that conversation gothrough the B.R.A.I.N acronym.
(03:36):
I think it's really important tofeel at peace with your
induction rather than feelingreally pressured.
Confused as to why you're beinginduced.
So instead of viewing this aslike a loss of control, I invite
you to reframe an induction asjust a different way that the
Lord is wanting your baby tocome into the world, and that
(03:58):
takes a lot of surrender.
I wanted to point out Exodus1414 where this scripture says,
the Lord will fight for you.
You only need to be still.
So even if your inductioninvolves utilizing all these
interventions that you hadoriginally not prepared yourself
for or not preferred, yourstillness, your peace your trust
(04:20):
in the Lord, all of that becomesa place where the Lord does get
to fight on your behalf.
And because he's already there.
He's gonna prepare the way foryou and bring you the victory.
So that's just an encouragement.
If, you know, without a shadowof a doubt, like this induction
needs to happen you know, thisis the way that your baby needs
to come into the world and justto have a different perspective
(04:43):
and just a different heartposture going into your
induction.
Some practical things to prepareyour body and your mind for your
upcoming induction.
The first is physicalpreparation.
So this looks like stayingactive as long as you are
medically able to, and this canlook like going for walks, doing
(05:03):
curb walking, where you have onefoot up on the top of the curb
and then one down on the street.
And just doing some of that,like opening up the pelvis,
allowing the baby to come down,hopefully become more applied
into the pelvis so that maybeyour body will go into labor on
its own.
Who knows?
And so yeah this just allowsyour body to more naturally see
(05:23):
if you can get things going.
Another thing that I like tosuggest is trying the miles
circuit.
It's basically three differentmoves or positions.
You're not like going for a milewalk.
That's not what Miles standsfor.
And it allows you.
To help encourage baby into amore optimal fetal position.
(05:45):
So especially I recommend this,if you're having prodromal
labor, meaning you're havingcontractions that are
consistently coming but they'renot going anywhere.
Like they're not getting longer,stronger, closer together.
I always encourage doing themile circuit for this, and I'll
include a link to the milecircuit handout in the show
notes.
But that is a great way to helpencourage baby to come out of
(06:08):
the pelvis.
That's like the first move.
And then the next two moves ormoves to try to engage and
rotate baby.
So that hopefully your body willgo into labor on its own or with
an induction like we're talkingabout.
Once baby is induced and labordoes begin, baby's in a more
optimal position, which helps,the labor tends to go more
(06:30):
smoothly and just less pain foryou.
All the things.
Another thing practically is tostay hydrated and nourished,
especially in the days leadingup to an induction.
So I want you to think, youknow, doing electrolytes daily
eating high protein snacks,drinking plenty of water all of
those things you will definitelywant to do as well as resting.
(06:51):
Oh my goodness.
I feel like the number of mamasthat I am like, they're doula
and they're just like, yeah, Ijust, I wanted to try all the
things to try to get the baby tocome.
And so they come into theirinduction, they're so tired.
I'm like, no, I want you to comeinto this induction fully rested
because as much as you thinklike you're just gonna be laying
around in the hospital bed, yourbody is doing so much work and
(07:12):
intentionally plan to rest.
I always like to say pairmovement with rest.
So say you do go for, you know,curb walking or a couple miles
walk, pair that with, thenyou're gonna go sit in an epsom
salt bath or you're gonna justlay down and take a nap, like
just rest and move.
There's a good balance that Iwant you to try and strike
(07:34):
there.
And then when it comes to mentaland spiritual preparation, I
want you to intentionally.
Carve out time to go to the Lordin prayer and worship.
So put on your favorite worshipmusic.
Maybe even invite you know, yourhusband into this, or like
particular friends, like prayerwarriors or your family into
this.
(07:54):
And just make it a time to justpray over you, your heart, your
mind, your body, and yourprecious baby as you prepare for
this induction.
And then just more practically,the mindset that I want you to
have for an induction is that itis going to be a marathon.
Inductions typically take daysfor you to actually be in full
(08:16):
blown labor to then have thebaby.
And so I want you to be preparedpractically with.
Like comfort measures havinglots of healthy snacks,
electrolyte drinks, all thethings with you.
Some hospitals have arefrigerator in your room, like
a little mini fridge in yourroom.
Some don't.
So that's something that's goodfor you to find out because if
(08:38):
you do have some perishablesnacks that you're bringing,
just know whether or not you cankeep that in your room.
Bring your own blanket and yourown pillow.
Those like very comfortingthings.
Can help you just relax more ifyou have an eye mask and that's
helpful for you to block out.
Not only light, but just likedistractions.
(08:58):
I always recommend bringing aneye mask to the hospital.
Bringing familiar senseessential oils.
Music.
Music is so powerful for me, andhaving my worship labor playlist
is so important.
And I inside the Christian Mamabirth prep library, this is my
free library.
I offer to anyone and everyoneas long as you sign up for it.
(09:19):
And if you go tofaithoverfearbirth.com, you can
sign up for that birth preplibrary.
But inside that, I do have afull hospital bag checklist.
I have a labor worship playlist,so check out some of those
things in there.
As a way to just prepare forthis upcoming induction.
And then definitely just have aconversation with your partner,
(09:41):
your spouse, your husband aheadof time to just know how you
want him to best support you.
Not only you know, physically,but.
Also emotionally andspiritually, if it's important
to you that there's prayer, thatthere's you know, music that's
playing, like just make it knownwhat your heart's intention is
(10:02):
for that, because he can't readyour mind.
And.
Of course, if you do hire adoula, whether that's an
in-person doula or virtual birthsupport, like with me or
somebody else you know, we cancertainly help you in those ways
as well.
But again, just having that openline of communication.
So much of this is mindset whenit comes to an induction because
most of us.
(10:23):
Don't start our pregnancythinking, oh, and at the end I'm
gonna have an induction.
Like typically this is like planB or C.
So when you are preparing for aninduction, I want you to come at
it with a posture of surrenderrather than striving where you
are entering the in inductionwith I need to do all these
things.
(10:43):
I need to accomplish X, Y, Z.
And if it takes longer or itgoes differently, then somehow
that's a reflection on mymistakes, my problem.
And so I don't want you to thinkthat at all, you know, God is
going before you in this and heknew way before this baby was
even conceived that this wasgonna be how things, unfolded.
(11:04):
And so don't think that you'reoutside of his plan or his will.
If you find yourself in aninduction scenario.
Some other things that I wantedto go over were like common
questions that I get when itcomes to an induction.
So I'm gonna go through some ofthose.
The first is I hear from a lotof mamas, will an induction hurt
(11:24):
more?
Will the contractions feel morepainful?
Will it just be a more painfulprocess?
And to be completely honest.
Pitocin contractions usuallyfeel a little stronger than
normal contractions that yourbody is, you know, producing
with the natural oxytocin.
Pitocin is like the artificialversion of oxytocin.
(11:47):
However.
With comfort measures, this,pain scale if we want to think
of it that way.
It can really diminish based onthe types of comfort measures
you're utilizing.
So I want you to think movementlabor positions.
Breathing, using counterpressure and all of these
techniques and things I teachinside of my online childbirth
(12:10):
education course as well as withmy clients that I serve, whether
that's in person or virtually.
Another question I get a lot ishow long will this induction
take?
And of course there is nocrystal ball.
There is no way to know forsure.
However, just a generalguideline, to keep within a
perspective is early cervicalripening, meaning like getting
(12:33):
the cervix to open from zero tothree, zero to four centimeters
approximately.
Generally takes a lot of time.
Think 12 to 36 hours.
And again, that seems like areally long time, but sometimes
it really does take that long toget that dilated.
And for the cervix to soften andto start moving from posterior
(12:54):
to anterior, so back to front.
And then once active laborbegins, things typically pick up
a little bit more.
So think another 12 to 24 hourspossibly for active labor.
And this is when they consideryour cervix is six centimeters
and beyond.
So yeah, it can certainly takesome time.
(13:15):
And then then another question Iget a lot is, can I move or get
in the shower when I'm beinginduced?
And the answer is yes.
If you're getting an epiduralpretty quickly in the process,
no, you will not be able to getup and take a shower.
But if you're going unmedicatedespecially in the first part
then yes, you are welcome to getup and use the bathroom, get up
(13:37):
and use the shower.
Check with your hospital and theprovider about the different
monitoring options.
Most of the time they will wantcontinuous monitoring,
especially because of themedications and pitocin and
different things that they'reintroducing just to make sure
that baby and you are toleratingthem well.
But ask about wirelessmonitoring.
(13:58):
Or if you're doing minimal.
Medication induction routes.
Maybe you could do intermittentmonitoring.
So again, just talk with yourprovider about that.
But movement does help the babynot only descend, but it also
makes the contractions feel moremanageable.
So, as much as you can move,again, pairing it with rest, I
(14:18):
highly recommend that you gothat route.
Another one is, can I still eatwhen I'm being induced?
And.
Policies vary on this.
You know, providers vary aswell, like what they're gonna
recommend.
But most of the time they'regoing to say clear liquids.
They're gonna say, you know, youcan have electrolytes, you can
(14:39):
have bone broth, you can havecoffee and tea and all that kind
of stuff, but nothing solid.
So like they, I think they evenconsider things like applesauce
a solid, and this rule, thiskind of policy goes back to the
fifties when women would gounder a heavy medication called
(14:59):
twilight sleep for giving birth.
And what would happen is thesewomen would end up like vomiting
and aspirating meaning like theywould like choke on their own
vomit.
And die.
And so they didn't want womeneating all this food ahead of
all of that because they didn'twant them to, you know, have all
these complications.
(15:21):
Okay.
We've come a long way sincethen.
We're not doing twilight sleep.
And even if you did have ac-section even an emergency
section, I've actually had aclient who had a she ate dinner.
Yeah, and then went to thehospital.
Baby was not tolerating laborwell and they immediately did an
emergency C-section a couplehours just after she had a full
(15:42):
blown dinner.
And so all that to say, I'm notsaying you need a break every
rule when it comes to eating inlabor, but I want you to again
think about the B.R.A.I.Nacronym, the benefits, risks
alternatives.
What's your intuition tellingyou?
And then what if you say no ornot right now about, you know,
choosing a clear liquids dietversus eating some actual
(16:05):
healthy food.
And I think that's the caveathere.
I'm not saying you need to goto, you know, Chick-fil-A and
just gorge yourself on a bunchof food.
But having intentional thingsthat you're eating that will
keep your energy up.
So thinking high protein evensmoothies are great if your
appetite isn't super high, butyou can tell you're hungry.
But I just don't see how yourbody is meant to labor for days
(16:28):
without actual.
Food in your system, like weneed energy.
So think about that, pray aboutthat.
But that's my stance on it.
A little bit bending the rulesthere.
But that's just my personaltake.
And then the last thing I wannatouch on is women feeling like,
can I still have a beautifulbirth experience?
And.
And the answer is absolutelyyes.
(16:52):
You can invite the Holy Spiritinto your birth experience,
praying when appropriate duringa labor playing worship music,
inviting your partner, yourhusband to to pray over you, to
read scripture over you, to readaffirmations over you.
And then just knowing that Godcan and will be glorified in all
things, including yourinduction.
(17:12):
And I really want to challengeyou to examine what your fears
are and your spiritual hangupsgoing into your induction.
So are you holding onto yourplan so tightly because you feel
like only you know what's bestfor your baby and yourself, or.
Can you release that control andknow that God can still be
(17:33):
glorified even if your birthgoes completely haywire and
just, it doesn't go according toyour quote unquote plan.
Another thing is, you know, Iwant you to think about how an
induction is not a reflection ofyou and how.
Prepared you were or howcompliant your baby is or any,
(17:58):
anything like that because youcan't control what your cervix
is doing or not doing.
And so for you to take on thisresponsibility, like somehow
it's your fault that you're inthis situation.
You need to let that go.
That spirit of condemnation isnot of the Lord because there is
therefore no condemnation forthose who are in Christ Jesus.
(18:19):
And if you're in Christ Jesus,there is nothing to condemn you.
The Lord is so proud of you andhe has entrusted you with this
precious baby that you'regrowing.
And so I want you to lean intonot fighting for victory in your
labor and your birth experience,but that you are fighting from
victory.
That you have already won, thatthe Lord has already gone before
(18:42):
you, and he already knows howthings are gonna pan out.
So I want you to look at who heis.
He is so capable.
He has literally created.
Everything that has ever beencreated, and nothing that has
ever been created, it doesn'teven exist because he is a
creator of all beautiful andperfect and wonderful things,
(19:02):
and the child in your womb is abeautiful thing from the Lord,
and so he will.
Make it happen.
You don't need to condemnyourself.
Feel hard on yourself, feel likeyour experience is going to be
lesser than because it's not howyou wanted things to go.
And I would say, just continueto bring that to the Lord.
Lord, show me my feelings, myheart about this induction so
(19:26):
that I can lay that before yourfeet.
I know that if I was in thissituation if I had to be induced
with the pregnancy that I'mcurrently going through, I know
I would struggle.
And I'm not saying that it'seasy to lay this down, but I
would encourage you to do it.
I would encourage you to just goto him and say, Lord, search me.
Search my heart, search myfears, search my pride and help
(19:48):
me to understand how you can beglorified even in this
experience that I did not planfor.
So that's my big encouragementthere.
A little bit of encouragement, alittle bit of a challenge.
'Cause it's hard.
It's really hard.
On a more practical note I alsowanted to go through in this
podcast episode aboutunderstanding the different
induction methods that you mightencounter.
(20:10):
So the first is that you mayhave the opportunity to do a
membrane sweep.
This is typically done in yourprovider's office.
Even midwives can do this where,like between 38 to 41 weeks,
they can do a membrane sweep.
And this is where they take agloved finger and they gently
separate the cervix from theamniotic sac.
(20:31):
And that typically causes justlike a hormone cascade where it
releases prostaglandins anddifferent things to help the
cervix start to ripen, tosoften.
And that can sometimes in and ofitself help you go into labor if
your body is ready.
And that's why I love this as amethod because if your body is
not ready, it's not going tothrow you into labor.
(20:51):
But it can certainly help if youare staring down an induction
you're wanting to try and avoidthat medical induction.
I feel like this is a greatroute to try ahead of a medical
induction.
And you can even ask them to doa membrane sweep.
When you get to your induction,just ask them, say, Hey, is it
possible to do a membrane sweep?
You do need to be at least onecentimeter dilated in order for
(21:14):
them to do that.
But if not, you can even ask.
Them to do cervical massage.
So if you're completely closed,cervix is very tight.
You can ask them to do cervicalmassage and then go into these
other medication, you know,options.
So the second would be doingcervical ripening medications.
These names of these medicationsare called Cytotec and Cervidil.
(21:34):
Sometimes they have differentnames.
And so just you, you can alwaysask them, you know, is this
Cytotec?
Is this cervidil?
But these are prostaglandinmedications that help soften and
ripen the cervix.
They're either placed vaginally,so like they place it inside of
the vagina, or they give it toyou orally Sometimes they'll
even have you take itsublingually, so you put it
(21:56):
under your tongue and you mightfeel mild.
Cramping or contractions fromthis.
But many of the times you're notgonna feel a whole lot when this
medication gets into yoursystem.
They typically will administerthis at night.
A lot of the times I haveclients that will be induced at
night so that they can start theprocess.
You hopefully get some rest, andthen they pick things up later
(22:17):
on.
The other option is having aFoley balloon or cook's
catheter.
This is a small balloon that isinserted into the cervix and
then they inflate it withsterile water.
And it just helps like gentlyopen the cervix mechanically or
manually rather than it beingmedicine that's causing it to
(22:39):
soften and open.
Again.
This is typically usedovernight.
Something that they'll place andthen say, okay, now try to get
some sleep.
For some women it can be quiteuncomfortable to have this foley
balloon or cooks catheter in.
You can experience some, youknow, pressure cramping.
That's normal.
I even had one time a mama who.
(23:00):
Got pretty sick from it.
Like it, it just was like sointense, the sensation that
like, she was like throwing up.
So sometimes that can be alittle bit intense, but other
times if you're wanting to avoidlike the medical route as the
first line this is a great routeto go.
And like I said, not everyoneexperiences it, that feeling
that intense to them.
(23:20):
Another thing your provider cando is breaking your water,
Amniotomy, this is somethingthat I would suggest you do when
the cervix is more open and thebaby's head is not only like.
low in the pelvis, but is in agood position in the pelvis.
There's a couple providers herein Jacksonville, Florida that
are notorious for startinglabors with breaking the water
(23:43):
and it makes me cringe because.
It's like you're putting thecart before the horse.
Like the breaking the water is agreat step at a certain point,
but early on in the labor isgenerally not going to lead to
the best results.
And so if your provider iswanting to break your water
really early on in the process.
Again, I keep bringing up theB.R.A.I.N acronym in this
(24:04):
episode but talk about that withyour provider.
Benefits, risks, alternatives,intuition, or, no, not right
now.
But that's my generalrecommendation is to wait until
baby is.
Nice and low in the pelvis.
Maybe close to the mid pelvis orin the mid pelvis.
And then also wanting to bepretty dilated, like honestly,
(24:25):
4, 5, 6 or more.
Dilated.
So that's my personal take onthat one.
The thing with breaking yourwater is it does.
Seem to intensify contractionsbecause you are losing that
cushion between you and baby.
And so baby's head usually ismore applied.
(24:46):
And while that's great forhelping things, progress, it
also just.
Makes things feel more intense.
So things that I like to do atthis point, once the water's
been broken again, if you'reunmedicated, is getting in some
warm water, whether that's ashower or a tub utilizing some
great breathing techniquescounter pressure movement, labor
(25:07):
positions prayer.
Like all of those things are sohelpful to just make things more
comfortable once that water isbroken.
And then another more finaltypical induction method is
utilizing Pitocin, which againis that synthetic oxytocin which
is what tells your body tocontract.
And this is also the lovehormone.
(25:28):
So oxytocin is the love hormone.
The hormone that you feel whenyou're having a really good
meal, when you are with peopleyou love when you are having
sex, when you have an orgasm.
So oxytocin gives us all theselike kind of benefits, but
Pitocin, when it's just thatsynthetic version, we don't have
all those like.
Side benefits too.
(25:49):
So that's the other reason why Ithink most women are a little
hesitant to wanna do, an inducedlabor is because their body is
receiving a synthetic version ofthe hormone oxytocin But yeah,
so it does increase yourcontractions.
Not only, you know howfrequently they're coming, but
how intense you feel them.
Typically the nurse will startwith one or two units and then
(26:12):
go up gradually every 15, 30minutes or so going up on that
dosage.
And then they have a certain.
You know, max dose they can giveyou if you are laboring without
like internal monitoring toreally check on your
contractions and baby, the maxis 20 units.
(26:33):
And if your baby is beingmonitored with an internal
monitor and all that, then youcan go up to 30 units on
Pitocin.
But.
All of this to say, you may usesome of these, you may use all
of these, you may use none ofthese.
You may end up just doing themembrane sweep, and then your
body just goes into labor.
But no matter how the processbegins.
(26:53):
God is still the author of life,and so just being able to trust
him and give him the glory inthe process that you know, he's
good.
If things progress quickly, he'sgood.
If things progress slowly, he'sgood.
If things progress, not at all.
And you end up with a C-section.
He is still good in all thosethings.
So I tell you these methods notto, make you feel like you need
(27:16):
to figure all this out, but justas a way to just inform you and
have an understanding.
But then at the end of the day,trusting the Lord with the way
he's going to make this storypan out.
Some things I wanted to also goover in this episode are some
more comfort measures andsupport things you can do.
So physical comfort.
Some things that I alwaysrecommend is utilizing things
(27:40):
that the hospital provide.
Some hospitals provide a birthball a lot of providers here in
Jacksonville don't provide birthballs.
They just provide peanut ballsor something called the Cub.
And CUB stands for comfortableupright birthing.
So there's peanut ball, birthball, and the cub seat.
And these are all just likelittle, ways that you can get
(28:02):
into different labor positionscomfortably both.
Medicated and unmedicated.
So if you have an epidural, youcan still utilize the peanut
ball in the cub seat to helpbaby reposition for your
comfort.
Like all the things andespecially if you're going
unmedicated, you will want toutilize all these tools during
your labor as well.
(28:23):
Another thing I like torecommend is, again, resting and
doing more movement heavypositions.
So you can alternate between anupright birthing position to a
laying reclined position.
Another thing you can try issomething as simple as using a
warm compress or a heating pad.
Cold compress can be nice too,especially when you get to the
(28:45):
pushing phase or just if you'relike.
Feeling really warm at anypoint.
Hydrotherapy.
So this can look like, you know,utilizing the shower in the
labor room or some placesprovide a tub for you to be able
to submerge and labor in thereSome other things is really
honing in on practicing yourslow deep breathing as a way to
(29:06):
relax your body.
There is such a mind bodyconnection, and breath is a
great way to help you controlyour body.
And again, if you would likemore information on these
comfort measures, I teach all ofthis inside my online childbirth
education course as well asgoing over this with my clients
as well.
(29:28):
And then when it comes toemotional and spiritual support,
again utilizing music readingscripture, or silence like that
can also be so helpful.
Dimming the lights or usingbattery operated candles or
twinkle lights whatever you needto set the mood.
And I even one time had thissweet family go through and they
(29:48):
made Scripture, birthaffirmations, they would just
like at breaks in the labor,would just read them to her.
And so she didn't have to go upto the wall and like stare at
all the affirmations, butsomebody would just be like
speaking and praying them overher.
So I thought that was sobeautiful and then just being
able to find little pockets oftime where this would actually
be a great time to pray.
(30:09):
And and so having somebodyeither pray with you or you pray
and just being able to again,invite the Holy Spirit into your
birth experience having apartner that is supportive is so
important and.
If you're interested in doing anin-person doula or a virtual
doula, I do offer those forpeople here in Jacksonville, for
(30:30):
in-person, and then virtual foreverywhere else.
But yes, there can be just somuch help in.
Understanding the communityaspect to the, this whole
process.
And if you go back to episode26, I actually go in full detail
about what virtual birth supportlooks like and some of the
(30:50):
benefits of that, as well as,you know, just debunking some
fears or doubts about that kindof support.
So check that out if you'reinterested in that at all.
And now we're kinda getting tothe end here.
We're gonna go over what to eat,what to expect, and like again,
how long to expect things totake.
So before you go into yourinduction, I would choose easy
(31:12):
to digest nourishing meals.
So think things like oatmealwith nut butter making yourself
a really hardy, healthysmoothie.
Avocado toast and thenhydrating.
Whether that's coconut water orelectrolytes, that kind of a
thing.
Again, please bring healthy,yummy snacks that you and your
husband like pack cozy socks,essential oils all that stuff.
(31:35):
Again, check out the handout onwhat to pack in the Christian
mama birth prep library.
And then again, going over thetimeline of how things will pan
out.
In early labor, like as yourbody is trying to get in the
zone of like, oh, I'm in labor.
Think 12 to 24 hours, possibly.
(31:56):
And so this will look like, zeroto six centimeters or so.
It can take a long time becauseyour body has to realize, oh,
I'm supposed to be in labor.
Now, once we get to activelabor, that's, you know,
generally six centimeters andmore.
This is typically when the bodymore so takes off and we
(32:17):
progress more quickly.
Not always, but typically.
And so think, you know, six to12 hours.
From that point, and then forpushing, actually pushing the
baby out, this is once you'refully complete and your body is
telling you it's time to pushthink one to two hours
especially for a first time mom.
If you're a seasoned mama, thatcould, that time could be
(32:37):
significantly less, butespecially for first time moms,
expect it to take a few hours.
And then some things you can dobefore your induction.
I have all of this inside of theCervical ripening methods
handout, again, inside theChristian Mama birth prep
library.
I also have a full episode threethat goes over all of this.
But doing acupuncture oracupressure ahead of the
(33:00):
induction again might help yourbody go into labor, you know,
spontaneously.
Another thing is doing nipplestimulation.
It helps release.
Oxytocin, which is that hormonethat helps you know, stimulate
the uterus.
It's the love hormone.
But that can also help your bodygo into labor if it's ready
using evening primrose oil.
Typically this is a supplementyou're taking a couple times a
(33:23):
day drinking red raspberry leaftea.
It helps support uterine tone sothat your contractions are
efficient.
And then my favorite is goingfor a walk.
Preferably a prayer walk andagain, just going to the Lord
and worship, whether that'sputting on some music and
praying, putting on some musicand journaling talking to a
(33:43):
friend that's going to speaklife and truth into you or your
doula.
Just being able to again, justalign your heart and your mind
and your spirit to what is aboutto unfold.
And then the last thing I wantto leave you with is the verse,
Romans 8 28.
And it says, and we know that inall things, God works for the
(34:05):
good of those who love him.
So even if your birth is lookinglike it's very different than
how you imagined, God is stillworking in that, he is still in
all of it.
And I don't want you to feellike., He has abandoned you.
That he didn't come through foryou because you didn't go into
labor spontaneously like you hadhoped.
(34:26):
Because he is good.
Even in inductions, I have seenthe Lord move in beautiful and
mighty ways in an induction, andso he can be glorified anywhere.
So just to leave you with thatencouragement and just knowing
that it is for your good.
Whatever he's doing, whateverstory he's writing, it's for
your good.
And he does not withholdanything from you that is
(34:47):
necessary for you.
And he will never give yousomething that was not intended
for you.
And so you get to hold onto thatas well, that for whatever
reason, and you may know thisside of glory, you may not why
he has made your story what itis.
But just know that it's for yourgood and for his glory.
So now I'd love to just close usout with some prayer.
(35:08):
As you know, we all just needencouragement in this season.
Lord Jesus, I just thank you somuch that your word promises us
that in all things you areworking for our good and that
you love us.
And Lord, I just pray that youwould remind this sweet mama
that nothing in her birth storyis outside of your plan.
(35:29):
You are not surprised by what'shappening and if things move
slowly.
You're still working and whenthings change quickly, you are
still good.
I pray, Lord Jesus, that youwould fill her with peace that
passes all understanding and afaith that refuses to fear
because she can trust in youLord.
And I just ask that as shelabors, I pray that she would
(35:51):
taste and see that you aretrustworthy Lord, and that you
are working all things for hergood and for your glory, Jesus,
I pray that you would safelybring this baby into her arms
and let her heart just overflowwith awe and wonder and glory at
your name.
Jesus, and I ask this in yourprecious name, amen.
I.
(36:12):
So if today's episode blessedyou I ask that you would share
this with any of your friendsthat are preparing for an
induction.
And again, don't forget to graball the free resources mentioned
in this episode inside theChristian Mama birth prep
library.
Things like the labor positionscheat sheet, that's so helpful.
Cervical ripening methodshandout and then that worship
labor playlist.
(36:33):
And you can go to.
faithoverfearbirth.com to checkout all of that as well as
services.
So if you are looking for doulasupport, virtual doula support,
I'm happy to chat with you evenif you're here, down to the
wire.
But until next time, I want youto just trust that the Lord is
good and just remember that heis working all things for your
good sweet sister.
(36:53):
And I will talk with you soon.
Bye-bye for now.
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