The Empowered Pregnancy Guide by Nina Phelan
Hi! I’m Nina ~ an LA based birth doula and pregnancy coach. I am passionate about cultivating a support system for women as they journey through the initiation of Motherhood and beyond. This series is designed to give you tools to help connect with your intuition so that you can embody pregnancy and childbirth in YOUR power.
Finding Your Inner Compass
Congratulations! You’re pregnant - now what?
The physical changes, the emotional shifts can really rock your world. Be gentle with yourself mama - you are growing life within! You are magic.
These early days can definitely be a mix of highs and lows.
Growth isn’t always comfortable; and you are definitely growing. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually. The ten months of pregnancy isn’t just to gestate your baby but to support you into this next version of who we will be as a Mother.
And this happens every single time ~ whether this is your first pregnancy or your fourth pregnancy.You are in this liminal space where you are still you, but change is happening. Your old self is shifting but your new self hasn’t been fully born yet. You’re in the midst of a trans-form-ation.
The ebb and the flow of elevated hormones not only affect your appetite, your energy and as we all know (possibly) your mood. Fun times!
Perhaps this is an opportunity to take life a bit slower and go inward.
Allowing the space for introspection can give you some insight into how you’ve been conditioned to think about birth. Whether it is from the stories you've been told, the movies you’ve watched or even previous birth experiences. We all have some perceived idea of what birth is.
What comes up for you? Does it feel scary or overwhelming? Or maybe beautiful and sacred? And by the way, you can feel all of these emotions simultaneously. -because birth is not linear.
Birth is a Spiral. It is Feminine. The Mystery.
And that is why it is often feared.
What if this journey into the unknown, into this mystery could be the source of your greatest power and not your greatest fear?
Power you say? But what about the pain? How am I going to handle it? What if I get a c-section? What if I tear??? Yes, there are many unknowns and nothing is guaranteed.
As a birthworker I will never sugar coat anything - birth is hard. It is the hardest thing that you will ever do. But
it’s not more than you, because it is you.
The physiological design of birth isn’t flawed; we’ve just been conditioned to think that. Just as your heart beats and your blood flows - your body knows what to do in labor. Remember that you are standing here today on the back of thousands of women who have come before you.
Now is the time to start tuning in to your intuition. Journal. Create. Dream.
*What do you envision your birth looking like?
*Imagine yourself moving through the hard parts of labor - because you can do hard things
*What kind of mother will you be? Do you want to be? Envision her. Talk to her. She is you and she is why your baby has come to be with you.
When a woman can connect with HER truth, for HER pregnancy and birth she will feel empowered and confident along the way (nausea , achy hips and all!)
Your inner compass is your internal guidance system. You can flip the switch right now.
Showing up one day at a time.
Just like labor - staying present one surge at a time.
Inner Compass Grounding Exercise
Placing one hand on your heart, one hand on your baby’s home
Inhale through the nose
Exhale through the mouth
Continue for 3-5 breaths
Connecting in with your heart. Connecting in with your baby.
Now visualize a color you love moving in through the top of your head and moving down your body.
With each letting go breath, this color, this energy washes away anything and everything that doesn’t serve you right now.
Give yourself permission to let go
Affirmations: I am a wise, intuitive woman
I am magic- I am growing my baby
I can do hard things
My body knows what to do, my baby knows what to do
More info about Nina and her work can be found at www.thesoulfulbirth.com and on IG @thesoulfulbirth and follow along as we share the rest of her incredible series for Your Zen Mama!