If you’re like most mamas-to-be, you’ve probably had plenty of people telling you how hard it is to give birth… and if you’re like I was, you’re asking yourself, “what should I do for an easy delivery?!” I knew that women around the world give birth smoothly and easily - and after my 8 babies, I’ve now got some tips to help you have the easiest birth possible.
Here are seven things you should do for an easy delivery:
These seven secrets are simple - but really make a difference during labor and delivery. If your heart is set on a natural birth it can go smoothly and easily - especially if you know these steps and use them! Read on for full details:
(NOTE: Want a Perfect Birth Plan Template? Use this template and step-by-step videos to write a birth plan that gets your birth team on your side for a beautiful birth experience! Get the birth plan kit here.)
Walk Daily for an Easy Delivery
If I could share only one thing you should do for an easy delivery, it would be walking! Walking helps to line your baby up properly, keep your body aligned (so you avoid pregnancy aches and pains), and it helps keep you toned and prepared for birthing.
Labor is an athletic event. You’ll hear that more than once on my site - because it’s so true!
Giving birth is natural - but think about jogging, running, and climbing...
...sure you can do those with no training, but you’re going to get worn out! It’s much easier to do those activities once you’ve trained for them…
…and birth is the same.
The easiest way to prepare for labor is to walk daily. Labor is usually more of a marathon than a sprint - it takes some endurance...
...but you can do it.
When you condition your body to walking every day, you build strength, tone, and endurance in a way that’s safe and gentle for pregnancy.
You’ll help keep fluids moving and lessen pregnancy discomfort, as well.
Women who walk every day during pregnancy may experience less pelvic girdle pain (or other pelvic pain, like sciatic nerve pain), easier delivery, and studies show it helps control blood pressure, lower risk of gestational diabetes, and more.
Daily walking and other physical activity has also been shown to greatly reduce your chances of a c-section.
Eat a Nourishing Pregnancy Diet
Your body undergoes major changes during pregnancy - every system is impacted. Good nutrition supports that change and keeps your body in top shape for delivery.
Like I said above, labor is an athletic event. If you were training for a marathon, you’d probably pay close attention to what you eat during the months you train. You’d want to be ready for the big day!
Labor and delivery is the same deal - you want to be well-nourished and completely ready.
Did you know that your uterus (your womb, the organ that holds your baby, the placenta, and the amniotic fluid) is a muscle?
It is!
Muscles need good nutrition to function properly - if you eat well throughout pregnancy, your uterus will be stronger and ready to work harder to bring your baby down faster.
Additionally, eating well means you’ll get vitamins, minerals, and micro-nutrients vital to your baby’s growth. These nutrients also support your body in doing the work it needs to do.
Calcium, for example, has been shown to help make contractions smoother and easier to handle - so eating a diet rich in nutrients such as calcium is a great way to prepare your body for a better labor.
A well-nourished body has better blood flow, which means a healthier baby, a safer birth, and in many cases, a smoother birth.
Take a Natural Birthing Class
(and be ready for whatever labor and delivery brings)
There’s no doubt about it - your body was made for giving birth. But just like you would train to compete in a marathon or have a go at rock climbing, you need to prepare for birth.
Those activities are “natural” (running and climbing are both things women’s bodies are made to do) - but you still prepare for them. Prepare for your birth.
Part of the way you do that is by what I’ve talked about above - eating well, walking, etc.
But it goes beyond that. You don’t just eat and walk to prepare for a climbing expedition. You learn about how to climb!
You need to learn how to give birth - there are skills, tools, and techniques that help make labor and delivery easier, smoother, and safer for both you and your baby.
A good childbirth class teaches you these things. Choose a skills-based class, like Bradley classes, Hypnobabies, or my own online MamaBaby Birthing childbirth class.
My natural childbirth mini-class is free and will give you tips on moving and staying active during labor!
Talk With Your Care Provider…
...After You Build a Better Birth Plan
These two make up a perfect pair to help you have an easier delivery.
Working with your care provider can make the difference between a labor that goes smoothly and stress-free - and one that’s tense and fearful.
A birth plan is important because it gives you an organized way to start talking with your care provider. More importantly, a birth plan helps you consider what is most important to you about your baby’s birth.
I recommend that you keep your birth plan short - no more than one page - and that it really mean something.
Sure, you can make a cute “graphic birth plan” or use a generic “birth plan generator” on the internet - but it’s going to get a polite smile from your care provider and not much more.
When you take a little time to think through and write up your own birth plan your care provider realizes it means a lot to you. And because you keep it short, she can work harder to make sure that your requests are honored.
When you’re going for an easy delivery, focus on things like:
These requests make a huge difference in how smoothly and easily your labor moves along because they help you make more room in your birth canal, keep your energy up, and help you feel safe and secure…
…which results in a faster, easier delivery.
Your care provider can run interference for you with hospital staff, or hold space for you at your birthing center or your home.
Use your birth plan as a tool to decide what’s most important and get your care provider on board with the work you’re doing to make an easy natural birth happen.
Stay Active (During Your Pregnancy - and During Labor)
During Your Pregnancy
I hinted at this in two places above - staying active by walking during pregnancy, and telling your care provider you want to move around during labor.
Birth is an athletic event - I can’t say it enough! So one of the keys you should do for an easy delivery is to get moving!
Walking every day is a great first step. I also recommend you start doing squats every day - they’re safe unless you’ve had threatened pre-term labor.
Deep squats feel good and they’re a complex exercise that works many muscle groups at once. Try doing a few just before you leave the bathroom - you’ll get a lot in across the course of your day 😉
Add in other pregnancy exercises as you feel like it, but most importantly, keep moving throughout the day.
Normal household tasks like laundry, cooking, cleaning and putting away dishes, vacuuming, and picking up dozens of kids’ toys can really keep you moving!
Also use other classic suggestions for more movement:
It’s usually best to avoid high-impact activities when you’re pregnant, but you can generally adapt pre-pregnancy routines to fit.
Dance is an ideal pregnancy exercise, especially a choice like belly dance that helps you connect with your baby.
During Labor
Don’t stop moving when labor gets started! You don’t want to wear yourself out, but go about your normal daily activities in early labor. Walk, squat, and move. Balance it with rest.
When things get more intense, rocking your hips, standing upright and swaying, or using a birth ball can be really helpful.
If things seem “slow” or even “stuck” movement can make a huge difference - try standing upright in the shower, moving to sit on the toilet, or go up and down a flight of stairs a few times.
It’s important to rest, too - you don’t want to wear yourself out, especially not in early labor. So it’s a balance.
That’s why having a daily routine that includes a lot of natural movement is your best bet - spend early labor going about your normal routine. Walk, squat, reach, bend, and just move!
And take time to relax, eat well, and nap, too…
…you’ll establish a good labor pattern, plus boost the labor hormones you need to have the smoothest, easiest birthing time possible (more on hormones in a moment)
Get Upright During Labor
Usually you think of labor in terms of you - the birthing mama. Your uterus does the contracting, your cervix does the opening, your body does the pushing.
That’s all true, but also very simplistic and it leaves out an important person - your baby!
Your baby is also doing a lot during labor and birth - squirming, pushing with his or her feet, and rotating to help with your birthing time <3
You help your baby out (literally!) during labor - but sometimes your baby needs more space to rotate and move.
When you move, it creates room for your baby…
…and gravity can help, too.
That’s why upright positions can help when labor seems slow or baby seems “stuck.”
If things aren’t moving - or if labor seems really painful (think “back labor”) - get upright:
Getting upright to get your baby lined up is a great strategy to work towards an easier delivery.
Protect Your Labor Hormones
Think about a train. If a train has just started and it’s going slowly, it can come to a stop again without too much trouble.
If a train is going very fast, however, it’s difficult to stop.
Labor hormones work the same way. If your labor is just getting started, it’s easy to cut off the flow of hormones. If your labor is really moving along and you’re deep into your birthing time, it’s much harder to interrupt the hormonal flow.
Labor hormones, such as oxytocin, help stimulate efficient contractions - and provide natural pain relief signals to your brain. It’s a positive feedback loop.
These hormones also keep labor as quick and smooth as possible because that’s what makes birth safer for you and your baby.
Many of the strategies above help to safeguard your hormonal flow, especially eating well, staying active in daily life, and then continuing that routine in early labor.
Being well-nourished during pregnancy and eating + resting throughout early labor sets down a solid pattern for your body and helps those hormone levels start to take off.
By the time you’re really feeling things and the “labor-land” sensation kicks in, your birthing time is well underway and it’s unlikely to stop or get interrupted.
Beta-endorphin is the hormone that causes the “labor-land” feeling - you’ll note it most between contractions, when you feel somewhat drowsy and other-worldly. Beta-endorphin, like oxytocin, skyrockets during labor and helps relieve pain.
Late in labor, all hormones can be helpful, including adrenaline, which can help give you extra energy to push efficiently and speed up the second stage. But you don't want adrenaline on board too soon, which is why it's good not to get to the hospital too early.
If you go in when your labor is well-established, adrenaline surges from the drive and getting settled in the hospital will likely just speed labor up, rather than slowing it down.
Click here for a more detailed dive into labor hormones and how they impact you and your baby.
Related Questions
What should I do for an easy normal delivery? The best way to have an easy, normal delivery is to walk daily and eat a healthy diet during pregnancy. Then wait until your labor is well-established to go to the hospital or call your home birth team. Move throughout labor to move baby down and out!
Does walking make labor easier? Yes! Walking is the easiest pregnancy exercise to start and continue. It helps gently tone your muscles for birth and it gets your baby lined up in a good position for easy delivery.
How can I prepare my body for normal delivery? Eat a nourishing pregnancy diet with plenty of protein, lower carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Stay hydrated and walk daily. Take a good childbirth class to practice techniques for birth - you'll be ready for labor and delivery!
(NOTE: Want a Perfect Birth Plan Template? Use this template and step-by-step videos to write a birth plan that gets your birth team on your side for a beautiful birth experience! Get the birth plan kit here.)
