âI hate it. I hate it!â I sobbed. âIt feels like Iâm wetting the bedâ
I had been in labour for 18 hours. And my waters had finally broken.
I knew that was a good thing. I knew it would speed things along, and that baby couldnât be far away.
But youâre not rational when youâre in labour.
None of that mattered.
All of a sudden, I was overwhelmed with the sense that my body was failing me.
Growing up, I hated my body. Not because of itâs size or itâs shape. No.
I hated my body because it failed me. Night after night, it failed me.
I would wake moments after I wet the bed, angry and cursing myself for wetting yet again.
And all of a sudden, right in the âtransitionâ stage of my labour, I was being thrown back into that emotional turmoil.
Looking back on my labour, this one moment stands out as a symbol of what an emotional and spiritual roller coaster labour can be.
Luckily for me, my mum understood what I was really saying, and as she stroked my head she told me, âno Lizzie, these are your birth waters. These are beautiful. Youâre bodyâs doing exactly what it should.â
Today is the final post in my series on How to Have a Natural Birth.
The first five parts have been extremely practical. I have shared tools for dealing with labour pains, and I even got my sister in for an interview to help your birth support team prepare for labour.
But this series is incomplete without addressing the spiritual and emotional side of birth.
Today, I want to share 3 thoughts that I meditated on during my own pregnancy, to prepare myself for labour and delivery.
#1 God Made Our Baby
Psalm 100 tells us that it is God who made us, and we are His. This is very comforting!
Psalm 100:3
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
As the woman, obviously the baby is growing in my belly. But ultimately, God is the one making our baby. In fact, Jeremiah 1 tells us that God knew Jeremiah before he was formed in the womb!
So even before we conceived, God knew my child.
Jeremiah 1:4-5
Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
âBefore I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.â
And one of the most well known verses is of course Psalm 139. This beautiful passage of scripture expands on the idea that God knows us before we are born.
More than that, He knows âthe days that were formed for meâ.
Psalm 139:13-16
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
During my pregnancy, I meditated on these three scriptures. I reminded myself that God had planned my baby. Not only did He make my baby, He also made me.
It was comforting to remember that God is in control. He knew what would happen during my labour and delivery, and I could faithfully trust in Him.
4 Practical Ways That I Prepared to Labour Without Fear
Iâll get back to the scriptures I meditated on in a minute, but first I wanted to share my video – 4 Ways to Prepare for Labour Without Fear.
I share 4 specific things that you can do during your pregnancy to remove the fear of birth.
So give that a watch now:
Now, the final part of my video is about letting go of your fear of birth.
But, the next two areas of scripture will help me address specifically how I did that. I was able to release my fears because I knew that God is in control, and I can cast all my fears upon Him.
#2 God Is In Control
The second âthoughtâ I meditated on is the fact that God is in control.
We live in a culture that controls every aspect of fertility.
We prevent conception. We assist conception. And some even murder their children in the womb.
But scripture tells a different story.
Genesis 20:18 tells us that God âclosed all the wombs of the house of Abimelechâ.
In Genesis 29:31, God opens Leahâs womb.
And in Genesis 25:21 we read that âIsaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived.â
My point is not that all contraceptions are evil, or that all forms of fertility treatment are evil.
I donât believe that.
I just think that sometimes we need the reminder. We live in a culture obsessed with controlling fertility, and I certainly needed the reminder that ultimately it is God who is in control.
#3 Cast Your Cares Upon God
The fact is, itâs a normal part of life to experience fear. Fear is a natural human emotion, but we can choose how we respond to fear.
Child birth is feared in our culture. It is dramatised in movies. And seemingly everyone I meet has some horror labour story theyâll readily share.
And thatâs why I think itâs important to educate yourself on what actually happens to your body during labour and delivery, and to focus on reading positive birth stories.
But, when you feel that fear creeping in, the Bible has plenty of guidance. In fact, First Peter tells us to cast all our anxieties on Him!
1 Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Another verse that I love when addressing fear is Philippians 4.
Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
âRejoice in the Lord always.â
âLabourâ and ârejoicingâ arenât two words that seem to go together. But the fact is, thereâs lots to rejoice about, even in the midst of labour.
In fact, during my own labour, my birth team constantly reminded me, âthatâs good the contraction was strong. Itâs the strong contractions that do all the work!â We literally rejoiced in the pain of a contraction!
âLet your requests be made known to Godâ
Be confident to pray about your labour. Ask God for peace. Ask Him for the strength to labour.
Another beautiful passage of scripture is Psalm 56. Itâs written by David, when heâs under attack by the Philistines. Verses 3 and 4 say,
âWhen I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?â
During your pregnancy (and birth), you are likely to face fear.
Thatâs okay.
But we serve a mighty God. And when we are afraid, we can put our trust in Him!
And finally, I meditated on this passage in IsaiahâŚ
Isaiah 26:3-4
You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock
Iâd like to leave you with this final thought⌠Focus your mind on Christ. Focus on who God is. Meditate on His Word.
Because ultimately, the reason that we can completely surrender to the birthing process, to completely trust our bodies, is because we are actually trusting in God.
Blessings,
Lizzie x