Ep 128: The Importance of Mindset and Language in Birth

Happy Homebirth

Do words really matter? I mean, you’ve got to give birth one way or another— so is the language that’s used around your experience actually important?

This week we’ll be speaking to Frankie Sena, a mama of two and graduate of Happy Homebirth Academy. She had two very different perceptions of feeling during her experiences of giving birth, and we’re going to hear what influenced that.

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Episode Roundup:

What an amazing story. I love getting to follow back up with graduates of Happy Homebirth Academy, so this was such a special interview for me. As we head into this week’s episode roundup, a few points really caught my eye.

1. I loved Frankie’s discussion of placenta encapsulation. I feel like it’s such a perfect example of the “crunchy” lifestyle, and even the homebirth experience. When you hear about it for the first time, you can have a knee-jerk reaction of, “oh my gosh, no!” And then… it grows on you. And suddenly you’re asking for the placenta girl’s info, or asking for that midwife’s number…. Sometimes it can be hard to release the mainstream point of view, but then… oh man, the other side can be so enjoyable and helpful.
2. Let’s talk about labor thoughts. Frankie shared with us some of the very specific thoughts that she had that turned out not to be true: I’m 7 cm which means I’m going to have to walk the parking lot, I definitely have a cervical lip…. I imagine that so many of you can relate to this! You feel something certainly in your bones in labor that is… come to find out, pretty off base. I was confident that I had a shoulder dystocia with my first daughter and that my midwife had to reach her arm up inside to pull her out…. That was decidedly not true. Remember to approach these things gently and with a sense of humor later— our brains are in a whole different place in labor, and they’re doing their best! It can be somewhat amusing to look back and think of the interesting jumps they made while navigating labor
3. I want to bring up how well Frankie and her husband worked together. They took the time to prepare with one another inside of Happy Homebirth Academy— which is certainly my recommendation— to have your husband involved with childbirth education— and the pregnancy was “theirs” together. What a beautiful, critical outlook that can magnetize you to one another.
4. Finally, let’s end where we began. WORDS. MATTER. And even more, mindset is so important. Frankie had endured a fear-mongering hospital birth class that ensured her of the deep pain she would experience during labor, and her midwife discussed the pain of the ring of fire right before she experienced it— because Frankie hadn’t yet tapped into the power of her mindset, these words were highly influential on her experience. Now, I do believe the good news is that once your mindset is fixed and prepared, those words can bounce off you much easier. But, still, the preference is certainly positive words combined with a fortified positive mindset. If this sounds good to you, make sure you check out Happy Homebirth Academy.

Before you hop off, would you take a screenshot of this episode and share it on your instagram stories? Tag happyhomebirthpodcast and tell me your favorite takeaway from this episode! Okay my friends, that’s all I’ve got for you today. I’ll see you back here next week.