The Ultimate Marathon: Preparing for an Unmedicated Hospital Birth
Running has never been my forte. From my short-lived stint on the long distance track team in middle school, to the endless miles of laps I ran during rowing practice in college, I’ve always viewed running as a dreaded chore no reasonable person could possibly enjoy. As such, I’ve always viewed avid marathoners as a bit otherworldly, far beyond my realm of comprehension; whose willpower in the face of extreme mental and physical exertion I could never fully appreciate until my first unmedicated birth experience.
Much like preparing for a marathon, preparing for an unmedicated hospital birth can be empowering, overwhelming, and at times downright exhausting; especially when you're navigating defining your birth preferences within complex medical systems, while managing the emotional rollercoaster of your own hopes, dreams, and even worries about the experience. The good news? With thoughtful preparation, open communication, and solid support, a positive unmedicated birth experience in a hospital setting is absolutely possible.
Whether your goal with an unmedicated birth is centered around avoiding unnecessary interventions, or simply wanting to feel more in control of defining your birthing experience, ensuring you’re as mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared as possible is the first step to crossing that finish line.
Mental Preparation: Cultivating Confidence & Clarity
Birth, and especially an unmedicated birth, is as much a mental experience as it is physical. As such, your mental state going into your birth will absolutely impact your physical experience of your birth, for better or worse. Being as informed, empowered and emotionally grounded as possible will make a world of difference in whether or not you have a positive birth experience.
Practical Steps:
Take a childbirth education class focused on physiological (“natural”) birth. Look for a comprehensive class that teaches various coping techniques and how to manage each stage of labor, as well as informed decision-making. Virtual classes can also be a great option if you’re short on time or prefer to take classes from the familiarity of your own home (tip: this can also be a beneficial way to get hands-on practice with coping techniques in the space where you will ideally do most of your laboring: your home).
Create a birth plan that clearly communicates your preferences while staying flexible to the flow of labor. It’s also important to acknowledge the partnership aspect of birth, and the critical role your birth team and environment will ultimately play in defining your birth outcome. ACOG has a free birth plan template that can be a good starting point, and a birth doula can be a great resource for helping you best define your unique preferences.
Learn your hospital's policies around mobility, intermittent monitoring, and pain relief options. Knowing what's standard helps you prepare for different scenarios ahead of time. If possible, try and bake this conversation into a tour of your hospital’s Labor & Delivery unit.
Use affirmations and visualization. Never underestimate the power of your thoughts in guiding your birth experience. Repeating daily mantras like “My body and baby know what to do”, or “Each wave brings me closer to my baby”, is a simple yet effective way to “train” your mind to surrender to the natural flow of labor. Combining this with visualizations that resonate with you can be a helpful preparation tool that is also highly effective during labor and birth. I recently came across a wonderful free resource for birth affirmations that I feel beautifully captures and validates all the various feelings surrounding birth preparation.
Physical Preparation: Supporting Your Body for Labor
Your body was made to do this; and just like with any big event (looking at you again, marathoners), gentle conditioning and care can help your body do what it already knows how to do, but even more effectively and comfortably. A well-prepared body can move more freely in labor, helping your baby rotate and descend more easily, especially when paired with mindful breathing and relaxation.
Practical Steps:
Stay active with walking, swimming, or prenatal yoga to help with stamina, circulation, and fetal positioning. Even the bare minimum amount of gentle exercise or movement each day can give you enough stamina to sustain a long labor and birth.
Practice labor positions and comfort measures with your partner and/or doula: think squatting, hip squeezes, breathing rhythms, or using an exercise ball. One of my favorite comfort positions in the last weeks of both of my pregnancies was bouncing on the birth ball, and it turned out to be one of my most effective methods for managing both labors.
Eat a well-balanced, iron and protein-rich diet to keep your energy up and support your body’s nutritional needs as you support your baby’s growth. Yes, cheeseburgers and shakes are delicious, and also happen to be full of iron, protein and calcium; just remember to swap in some green smoothies as well.
Hydrate like it’s your job, literally. Your blood volume is up to 50% higher during pregnancy, as your body builds your baby from scratch while also preparing for labor and birth. Drinking 64 to 96 ounces (8 to 12 cups) of water per day is one small way to ensure your body has what it needs to support you both.
Consider prenatal chiropractic care and/or massage (with certified providers) to help with optimal alignment and comfort. A weekly prenatal chiropractic adjustment can be a godsend for alleviating round ligament pain and helping baby get in the right position for birth.
Spiritual Preparation: Grounding Yourself in Trust
However you define spirituality, whether it’s prayer, intuition, energy work, or mindfulness, birth is a deeply sacred experience. When you connect to something deeper than yourself — your baby, your intuition, your higher power — it becomes easier to surrender to the rhythm of labor, and trust that things will unfold as they are meant to. This surrender can also be a portal into the new version of yourself that will be born along with your baby.
Practical Steps:
Set aside daily quiet time. Even 5–10 minutes to sit, reflect, or breathe with your baby in mind can help ground you in the present, a skill that will be invaluable during labor and birth.
Create a birth altar or sacred space with meaningful objects: ultrasound photos, candles, affirmations, crystals, or a favorite quote. Creating a focal point to channel your spiritual energy makes connection that much stronger and easier to achieve.
Practice releasing control. Write down any fears or anxieties, and consciously let them go through breath, journaling, and/or talking with a trusted friend or doula.
Read or listen to positive birth stories to build your belief in your body and the beauty of birth. I read some of the most impactful birth stories while practicing Hypnobirthing ® techniques in preparation of birthing my oldest daughter, and you can read some of those here.
Partner & Birth Team Communication: You Are Not Doing This Alone
One of the most powerful tools you can bring into the hospital with you is your voice, and your birth team’s shared understanding of your values and preferences. You don’t have to be an expert in birth to have a valid perspective on your birth. Your preferences matter. Your experience matters. And the right team will honor that.
Practical Steps:
Involve your partner or support person in your learning process for preparing for your birth experience. Practice together. Teach them how you want to be supported, physically and emotionally, while also learning how they view their role as your support person.
Hire a doula to help guide, reassure, and advocate for both you and your partner throughout labor. Even the most well-prepared parents can benefit greatly from having an experienced and “emotionally objective” birth professional to help them navigate the rollercoaster of labor and birth, especially in a hospital setting.
Have honest conversations with your provider beforehand about what’s most important to you in your labor and birth experience (mobility, monitoring preferences, pushing positions, etc). While it is important to balance preferences with the reality of the unpredictability of labor and birth, going into it with a clear understanding between you and your provider of what you want and what they are willing to support can alleviate a lot of unnecessary stress and anxiety during that crucial time.
Bring printed copies of your birth preferences and share them with your nurses early in labor. While your provider should already be aware of your preferences well in advance, ensuring the entire birth team is on the same page removes unnecessary stress and ambiguity during go time.
Final Thoughts
Every birth is different, but regardless of the outcome, every mother or birthing person deserves to feel supported, respected, and empowered in their birth experience.
Preparing for a vaginal hospital birth doesn’t guarantee a perfect outcome, but approaching it with openness and intention does give you the tools, confidence, and support to face your birth with clarity and courage.
And remember: even though you’re the one having the baby, it doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. Want extra support in preparing for your hospital birth? Let’s connect! I’d be honored to walk (or run, however begrudgingly) beside you as your doula every step of the way, from planning to postpartum.
With Love,
Mama Nurture 💜
