How to avoid intervention during labour

Intervention can be life changing and amazing for mum and baby when one or both is at risk. Let's put aside instances where there is risk of harm to mum and baby. My tips below are for those where there is not medical condition or concern.

Having been an Antenatal teacher for several years, I'd put money on you wanting to avoid medical intervention during your birth experience. And why wouldn't you? You may have heard horror stories or read the negative headlines or have simply done the work to understand how your body is designed for birth and how much intervention can disrupt that.

Whatever your reasons, here are my top tips for avoiding unnecessary medical intervention during labour.

Ask these questions when offered intervention of any kind:

• Is this recommendation based on Hospital Policy or a Medical Recommendation?

• Can you give me those statistics in numbers not percentages? Analyse the language that is used. Often the way information is communicated or presented heavily influences our decision. But you don’t want to make decisions out of fear or just because the person speaking thinks you should.

• How would this affect my birth choices afterwards? This is key. The intervention itself may seem straight forward but opting in increases the chance of a cascade of interventions. This can dramatically alter your birth journey and leave you completely unprepared.

Take some time to process the information, discuss it with your birth partner and listen to your instincts. Then you'll find the decision whether to opt in or not will become clear. If you do opt in then this information and decision making process will make it possible to find closure with your birth experience.

To help you navigate today's maternity system, I have a Free Guide to Navigating the Maternity System available here.

The reality is that mums-to-be are preparing to give birth in a culture where medical intervention is commonplace. It's so important to address this directly and equip you with the tools to navigate your own pathway, as I do in my classes, so you are truly prepared.

Afterall, that's a key ingredient of a positive birth experience which every woman wants and deserves.

Get in touch if you’d like my 121 support with your birth preparation. I can run thorough Antenatal Courses, shorter Hypnobirthing Essential classes or even Preparing to Breastfeed Sessions.