Let’s ask AI different questions about pregnancy and childbirth and learn how AI only spits out content gathered. AI does not ‘think’, it does not reason’, it does not have consciousness. And we assume that ‘everything that is known is known’. CHATGPT: How should a woman prepare her body for birth short answer ChatGPT said: A woman can prepare her body for birth by staying active with prenatal exercises, eating a balanced diet, staying hydrated, practicing pelvic floor exercises (like Kegels), getting adequate rest, attending prenatal checkups, and learning relaxation or breathing techniques. Reality check … No wonder so many millions of women are having trouble giving birth, aren’t happy with their experience, get on with life after birth but wonder why that ‘wonderful, high light experience of giving birth’ was elusive. Let’s first break down what ChatGPT is saying:’
- Staying active … is that a way to prepare your body for birth? There’s a “yes” and a “no” to that.
- YES: Staying active protects your heart in pregnancy because you have 50% more blood flowing in your body so staying active helps your heart to stay strong.
- NO Staying active has ZERO to do with how you prepare your physical, pregnant body to let out a big object with a head the size of a grapefruit.
- Eating a balanced diet .. .has ZERO to do with getting a big object out of your body. So, that’s a NO
- Staying hydrated … has ZERO to do with getting a big object out of your body. So that’s another NO
- Practicing pelvic floor exercise … That’s a NO, NO, NO,
- Screaming NO!
- Your baby’s head is the size of a grapefruit.
- Tighten up ‘down there’ now.
- Do you think it’s easier or harder for that grapefruit to come out of you ‘down there’ when you are ‘tight”?
- So, what to do? Use PFE until 24 weeks then learn to ‘open up’ your pelvis for The Birth
- After the birth, then use your PFE to recover
- Pelvic Floor Exercises are COUNTER PRODUCTIVE to letting your grapefruit sized baby out of your body.
- Getting adequate rest …There’s a wee YES to this
- Do not go into labor tired!
- If you have niggling labor then don’t try to ‘get labor going’ by walking, nipple stimulation, staying aggetated.
- Your baby is preparing your body for the coming birth SO …
- Ask yourself (or have your partner ask you): ‘What do I want to do now?” Then DO something. Waiting is not ‘doing’.
- If your labor contractions have not gotten longer, stronger, closer together then ask yourself that question again
- You don’t have to LIKE ‘doing’ things that are not related to ‘getting my labor going’ but it’s important.
- 2nd time moms will say: ‘I learned not to get into my labor so soon, I just went about my life until labor became progressive …longer, stronger, closer together’
- So .. YES … keep ‘doing’ and not ‘trying’ so that part of ‘doing’ is resting so you don’t go into labor tired.
- Attending prenatal checkups … Nope. That does NOTHING to prepare your pregnant – soon to be birthing body – to let that big object out.
- Learning relaxation or breathing techniques … WOW, the last thing actually is what ‘preparing the body for birth’. Now you want to know which skills and what method?
- From mid-1950s-1970s Lamaze/Bradley were the two methods that taught ‘relaxation and breathing’
- Great skills for some and others, they didn’t work
- Other childbirth methods have evolved since then BirthingBetter was evolving in the early 1970s in response to Lamaze/Bradley methods. Fathers and mothers wanted a broader range of skills that were more adjustable, adaptable and sustainable.
- Find out your front-back and side to side dimension.
- Compare with your partner!
- Your baby has to come out of that ‘space’. Once you know your Map that will lead you to choose Positions in birth that keep your labor progressing (contractions getting longer, stronger, and closer together)
- HIP LIFT … (PHOTOS) creates space from side-to-side,/li>
- SACRAL MANOUVRE (PHOTOS) creates space front-to-back
- SIT BONE SPREAD (PHOTOS) creates space between your sitbones
- THE INTERNAL WORK .. essential for 8 weeks/5 minutes/day so your baby moves through the birth canal easily and you are not damaged
- POSITIONS … how to find the positions in birth that keep your labor progressing.