Using different forms of visualization techniques are becoming more popular for women preparing to birth. Many women these days will have taken or are at least aware of Hypnobirthing classes where you learn self-hypnosis techniques and train yourself by repeating affirmations and going inward, or prenatal yoga classes with daily meditations/affirmations incorporated as part of your practice.
Visualizing a positive birth experience is a wonderful thing to do when preparing for birth. It gives you a good focus and helps you calm any fears or concerns you may have about the process. And as you all know, what you say and think has a strong correlation to your body and each influences the other. For example, if you think, "Oh boy, my co-workers are all sick, I'm sure to get sick too." The more you think that you are going to get sick the more likely it is that your body will respond and get sick! However, if you say to yourself, "I am strong, my body is strong, this time I will not get sick." You actually increase the likelihood that your immune system will fight any germs/disease and keep you healthy. Now each does influence the other, so even if you're thinking positive, "I will not get sick," if you eat really unhealthy or neglect to exercise, your body may not be strong enough to work with your mind and keep you healthy. The two, mind and body, are an inseparable pair.
Because your mind and body are so connected, it is important to note that when practicing a visualization technique you should be aware of the danger of practicing what I'll call, "wishful thinking" rather than an actual visualization. The distinction is fine, but important. True visualization involves going inward and examining your inner questions, concerns and then figuring out what you need to do and say to best prepare for and address that question. For example, a mother who is worried about birthing a big baby may visualize her body getting big enough to allow her baby to come out. She may say, "No matter how big my baby is, my body can grow bigger." If she repeats this enough, she will start to believe it and then during the birth if fear or doubt creeps in, she can call on that visualization and affirmation to help her get through.
Now what happens if this mother is one of the rare few whose pelvis is actually too small to fit a baby through? Will all her visualization preparation have been for nothing? Is she destined to be devastated and regretful over her birth experience? Not if she had been practicing true visualization.
The key is in the final step of the visualization process--letting go of outcomes. You first do all the hard work of finding your question/concern, looking at it from all angles and figuring out what is in your power to do, doing that, repeating your affirmation daily, and then allowing your actual experience to unfold as it will. If you have done everything in your power to prevent a fear from coming true or if you have spent time building up your confidence in your body and then you allow that there are other forces beyond your control that will play their part; you will be free to accept and experience your birth as it is happening without too much resistance or attempts to control the process. When all is said and done you will know in your heart that you did all you could and this was just how your body and your experience unfolded.
Wishful thinking involves repeating an affirmation or practicing visualizing something that you want without ever doing the deeper work of examining your desires from all angles and taking steps to make sure it can happen. Wishful thinking is wanting something with your mind without ever involving your body in the process. As I said before, the two are inseparable. You could say every day all day, "I am going to win the lottery," but if you never actually go out and buy a ticket...no amount of focusing your mental energy will make it come true.
Take the time to figure out what is most important for you to know/have/experience in order to birth and then involve your mind and body in the process of achieving it. Figure out the what, do whatever is in your power to do and then let go of the details on how you get it. Trust that you will get what you need and that you will be strong enough to adapt and change and respond to your unique situation as it unfolds.
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