and how your Christmas tree can help you give birth…

Many women I speak to worry about giving birth in December. Their concerns are totally understandable: they want to avoid a birthday too close to Christmas; they worry about bad weather affecting their journey to hospital, or possibly stopping help getting to them; and of course, they worry about being in hospital over Christmas, missing the big day with family and maybe they even wonder what staffing levels are like on the wards over Christmas. I get it.

The end of pregnancy can be a stressful time at any time of year, largely because we hate waiting for things and are used to living by schedules. Nobody at work ever says, ‘we should have a meeting about that in the next 5 weeks, let’s see when the mood strikes and just go for it at that point’. We are the Amazon Prime generation; we order things and have them delivered within 24 hours, and are able to find out where they are and who is driving them to us while we wait! As a generation, we are less equipped than our parents and grandparents for this waiting game. Add into the mix the enormously fun but crazy and quite frankly, pretty stressful event that is Christmas, and I can see why some December due mums find the final stage of pregnancy a bit of a nightmare.

But while I was standing on one leg and reaching round the back of the Christmas tree to turn the lights on (this is not recommended for pregnant women; get someone else to do it, or just have a plug in a sensible place!) A thought occurred to me… This Christmas tree would have been really handy when I was giving birth! As my daughter was born in May, and even we don’t leave the decs up that long, it wasn’t around. But it got me thinking about how December is actually, in some ways, a uniquely wonderful time to give birth!

Why December is awesome for birth

1. Your Christmas tree can help you give birth

Yep, I’m being serious! Your Christmas tree can totally help you give birth…

A cozy environment where you feel safe, loved and unobserved is what you need to get the right birthy hormones (also known as oxytocin) flowing so contractions are triggered and kept regular and strong. This hormone tells your body it’s safe to go into labour, and, if you start to feel stressed, will drop so that your body gets the signal to stop labour until you feel safe. Annoyingly, we can be triggered into feeling unsafe by things that seem quite insignificant, such as a friendly midwife entering the room and introducing themself, or overhearing some small talk between two people at the other side of the room.

That’s why one of my tips is to have photos of happy memories and loved ones around to help mum feel calm, happy, loved and to essentially get those birthy hormones back if they take a dip. 

What’s on your Christmas tree? Do you have handmade baubles made by some niece, nephew or elder child? What about that Christmas ornament- did you buy it somewhere special, perhaps on a romantic weekend away (when those were a thing!)

My tree is an embarrassment in the world of Christmas trees. Every year I look at other Christmas trees and think, wow, mine is rubbish! It’s a cheap fake one. There’s no theme or colour scheme. I’ve got hand-made decs made at nursery by my eldest (or possibly someone else’s eldest, I’m not sure how accurate the labelling process is after each little artist has finished their masterpiece!); I’ve got koala bear in Santa hat baubles from our relatives in Oz; and a weird donkey/zebra I found in TK Max one Christmas Eve and bought because I worried he’d be left alone on Christmas Day if I didn’t buy him. These are thrown on, mostly clustered around the bottom, because I let my kids decorate the tree. Yes, I let them decorate my tree! (Cue gasp!)

But this is why it would be an amazing thing to have in the room if I was giving birth! All those memories, all that sentimental crap (sorry P, I mean, excellent art work), would all help boost oxytocin and help keep me feeling calm, loved, and safe. (If the thought of a messy Christmas tree gives you heart palpitations, as I know it does for most of my friends, then your immaculately decorated, beautiful tree would probably have the same effect; whatever makes you feel calm is personal!)

2. Christmas lights make a great birth environment!

One of the most important elements of a great birth environment, but equally one of the hardest to achieve, is the feeling of privacy. If you feel unobserved, your hormones are likely to keep labour going nicely. Many women experience a stall in labour when they are feeling aware of people around them and feel a bit watched. This is tricky, as midwives are literally there to watch you and make sure all is well! So, how do you create this totally private birth environment whilst also enjoying the peace of mind that having a midwife present provides?

Dim the lights! A dark, cozy room with dimmed lights can create the feeling of privacy. I mean just think about it. If you have to be naked, or somewhat exposed, in a room with other people in it, what kind of lighting would you feel most comfortable with? Personally, I’d rather a few tea lights or fairy lights than a big, bright light!

Hypnobirthing parents often plan to use fairy lights or tea lights to create a dimly lit birth environment. Well, in December, job done! Turn the Christmas tree lights on, pull down the blinds and voila! You have yourself a gorgeous birth environment! This is slightly more ‘job done’ at a home birth than if you’re planning to travel to a birth centre or hospital. But at least in December, you’ve already dug the lights out from the loft/garage/back of the cupboard! (If travelling to a birth centre or hospital, bring battery operated lights only as you usually can’t plug stuff in for safety reasons)

3. Christmas movies are great for birth!

Many of us watch the same Christmas movies year on year. Why? Because they are jam-packed full of nostalgia, for one! We don’t just love the films, we love the memories of watching them years ago for the first time, perhaps when we were children. If Home Alone was released now, I’m not sure what I’d think, to be honest! I mean, firstly, it wouldn’t work because they’d just text him and say ‘where are you?’ And also, as a mum, I think I’d constantly we worrying about Kevin falling off something and hurting himself. But I still love it! I guess a huge part of why I love it is that I remember going to the video shop on Christmas Eve with my cousins to pick a film. I remember the fierce debate between the four of us and how long it took to all agree on something! And I remember rolling around on my auntie’s floor giggling at this kid out-witting the grown ups, confirming what I already knew in my heart: that kids are clever and grown ups are stupid!

So if I were 41 weeks pregnant and I found Home Alone whilst scrolling Netflix, can you imagine how that would make me feel? All those happy memories of feeling safe, loved and happy, would certainly get my oxytocin flowing. Who knows, if the baby was ready, it might even help labour to start.

I often suggest to women that they treat the last few weeks of pregnancy as ‘bonus time’ – especially if they go past their estimated due date (which about 85% of women do!) I say enjoy it, relax, make the most of this calm before the poonami. I can’t think of a more festive, cheerful time of year to attempt this than December!

So there we go – three perks to being ‘very pregnant’ in December!

I can’t deny that Christmas and birthday clashes will forever be a pain, or that the cold weather makes it very tricky to close your coat when in the third trimester, but I do hope that if you’re expecting a baby in December/ January, you’ve got some positive vibes from this post!

Thanks for reading!

Xxx