“The Internal Dialogue is What Helps Most”

You know when someone is passionate about supporting birthing women when they text you all evening to support you in supporting your birthing friend! My sister Jessica (Birth Takes a Village) is a trusted, respected and well known Birth Doula in Vancouver. I trust her more than anyone else when it comes to birth. I gained so much from having her support leading up to and during the birth of my own son; and I often rely on her for information and support for my friends too! She never hesitates to answer all of mine and my friends questions and send information, research articles and birth stories and videos to help however she can, regardless of her busy schedule! Tonight, alongside tonnes of helpful information to support my friend through her contractions, Jessica said:

"The internal dialogue is what helps most."

I love that someone who has so much education on childbirth believes this to be true! Coming from a psychological perspective, this is my belief too. I love helping women in preparation for their births by supporting them to identify and release fears, and process their thoughts and emotions about pregnancy, birth and the post partum period. When women invest time into emotionally preparing for their births, they give themselves a much higher chance at having an empowering and positive birth experience and a positive transition into the postpartum period.

It's also very important to process past experiences that might impact your birth experience and transition into the postpartum period. There are often many negative internal dialogues that women have playing on repeat that interfere with our trust in ourselves to birth and care for our babies. These could be messages received during your last birth, from hearing other women's birth stories, or from past experiences in your life completely unrelated to birth but related to your ability to believe and trust in yourself and your body. 

What is your internal dialogue saying to you right now? Is it helping you or holding you back? 

Jen is a counsellor and psychotherapist in Calgary, Alberta. If you are interested in booking a session with her or attending one of her groups or workshops, visit The Essence of You website or Contact Jen directly.

This is me and some of the most important women in my life during my pregnancy who joined together to support me during a Mother Blessing. This day was FULL of affirmations and had a huge impact on my own internal dialogue for my labour and birth. I am so grateful for having had this experience to prepare me in such a positive and empowering way.