Birth/hospital Bag

There are heaps of countless lists about what to take with you into hospital or prepare for a homebirth, but few really helpful tips that can support your labour from a natural point of view. After all, most women with uncomplicated pregnancies plan to have a natural birth - one without drugs and interference. There are some really helpful therapies and bits and bobs that make a huge difference to your comfirt level whilst in labour. We've found a couple of these gems to tell you about.

A couple of pink and blue flannels. Great for cooling you down or warming you up. They are brolliant during the pushing stage when you get really quite hot as your body temperatire raises. If induced your temperature may riase before that so use it earlier. Also very helpeful to warm the perineum when pushing. the perineum is a muscle that needs to stretch as baby is coming down the birth canal. Tears could happen if this muscle is not stretchy enough to allow your baby through easily. Hopefully you've done some perineal massage in pregnancy from 37 weeks so it's more stretchy anyway but you could also (or instead) hold a warm flannel to the area (perhaps ask your liewife to do this so your partner can be whispering encouragement in your ear!). Our tip is to get peach/pink and blue, peach ideally for your face and blue for your b....m!

Straws. When on your hands and knees, standing, leaning forward or hanging over your ball, drinking fluids can be made so much easier with a straw! Rather than having your partner tip water down your chin, offering a glass with a straw in it means you can take as much as you wish, and keep your fluids up. Dehydration is dangerous in labour, make sure you sip regularly between contractions.

Lip salve – when you’re breathing effectively i labour through your contractions it's amazing how dry your mouth and lips can get, especially if you're using gas and air as well. vasceline or lipsalve is great to keep your lips from getting dry.

Hypnobirthing CD – If you’ve been doing hypnobirthing, use your CDs in early and late labour. The affirmations will help you stay calm and relaxed and ensure you have the confidence in your body and baby to birth naturally. not all hospitals have enough cd players for their rooms so you may want to take your ipod or small c player of your own.

Aromatherapy oils – Grapeseed/Sunflower vegetable oil or a carrier base. Massage enduces endorphins - something all all know we need for a great birth. Eithout theses special hormones fear and doubt can set in, causing a chain of events thay could lead to a deviation from your ideal birth plan. Clary sage is a hormonal oil sometimes used to help th eoset of natural labour. Jasmine is sometimes used to stimulate contractions, but only used in labour to speed contractions on if they are slowing. Lavender is very useful oil if you’re feeling sick in labour – try sniffing some from a tissue. Our advice to use essential oils in labour is not to burn them. If you suddenly don’t like the smell or it makes you sick, you can’t get rid of the smell easily by throwing the tissue away or taking it out of the room. Put them in boiling water to diffuse into the air gnetly or on a tissue. Aside from that hospitals wont allow a naken flame anyway! But the advice is the same for at home.

Homeopathy birth kit. Pulsatilla is a great all round healer - if you begin to panic, worry, feel frightened etc. Arnica is fantastic to help your body to “knit” back together after birth, if you’ve torn or need stitches. Best to get the 200c stuff so you will need to see a homepath or use the helios kit.