Birth Preparation Part II: Energetic Preparation

To read Preparing for Birth Part I: Physical Preparation, find it right here.

As the days wound down and I was in my last few weeks before my daughter was born, I began to address my fears around birth.

My biggest fear was that my midwife would advise me to transfer to a hospital and then I would have a C-section. I had heard this story from many women, and I could feel it lingering with me in the back of my mind.

I reached out to a mentor of mine, and I was able to speak the fears while using EFT Tapping. I brought them from the subconscious into the light.

We went through all the possible scenarios, bringing the unspoken thoughts forward to be loved. Speaking the fears out loud, and having them acknowledged, allowed me to step into a place of surrender.

We ended the session by traveling to an imagined future of “the ideal possible outcome.” Wisdom from my higher and future self reminded me, “My body was designed for this.” And “So many have done this before me.”

After the session, I wrote the names of women who I actually knew, who had birthed before me. Women that had shared their birth stories with me, stories that inspired me, and reminded me of the innate power women hold.

I decided to place these names on a birth altar.

Creating a Birth Altar

A birth altar is a place in your home where you can place sacred objects to remind you of feeling supported during birth.

You may like to incorporate the four elements onto your altar: a feather to represent air, a candle for fire, a crystal or stone for Earth, and a bowl of water to honor the water element.

There may be words or affirmations you place there, or the birth affirmation or mantra you formed from your mother blessing ceremony.

I placed my personal birth affirmations: “My body was designed for this” and “I am surrendered, I am surrounded by love.”

The combination of being witnessed in sharing my fears, along with reconnecting to the lineage of women who had birthed before me, deeply supported me in releasing what I no longer needed to hold.

I remembered these women and their birth stories as I looked at their names again and again. I pictured them birthing their children as I would soon birth my daughter.

I often would read their names out loud and remind myself that if they could do it, I could do it too.

Establish Sacred Boundaries

There were a number of strange experiences leading up to my daughter’s birth that taught my husband and me the importance of establishing strong boundaries, especially around our home, where we were planning to give birth.

Without going too deeply into the story, we had planned to rent a room in our home to a friend of a friend for a short period of time. What began as an act of generosity slowly became clear was not an aligned fit for our space or energy. When we asked her to leave, she resisted, and we spent over a week living in a tense environment during a season that was meant to feel peaceful and supportive as we prepared to welcome our baby.

There was another unsettling experience as well. One evening, a neighbor called to tell us that someone was sitting on the front steps of our home. He explained this person had previously thrown a rock through his window, and the police ultimately needed to be involved.

Looking back, these experiences felt symbolic in many ways. They showed me how important it is to consciously protect the field of the home during pregnancy and birth preparation. As women open physically, emotionally, and spiritually in preparation for labor, there can also be a heightened sensitivity to the energies, people, and dynamics around us.

In addition to changing our locks and placing “No Trespassing” signs on our gate, I began practicing simple energetic clearing rituals for our home. These practices helped me feel grounded, safe, and connected to the space where I would eventually labor and give birth.

Here is a simple energetic clearing practice you can use in your own home, or even in the hospital room you arrive in to to birth.

This post continues with the energetic clearing ritual I practiced before birth, the story of receiving my daughter’s name in a dream, and a simple ritual to welcome baby Earthside when you’re ready…

Energetic Protection

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If you’re looking for additional support for your pregnancy journey, I shared some of my favorite pregnancy and postpartum resources on my website.