birth affirmations

Birth affirmations. Google these and you will come up with long lists and pinterest-esque photos of birth affirmations hanging under fairylights.

But affirmations are not just for looks, and are not just for the birth either. Ideally they are written by you for you, and for your story. Ideally by the time you get to your birth you hardly need them anyway, because you have used them to prepare your body and mind in pregnancy, and have internalised them.

Some find them helpful to utter to themselves either inwardly or outwardly, a form of ritual (more on this later), and for others they forget all about them. 

Importantly they may also provide guidance to your birth support team about the kinds of reassurances you would like to hear in birth. 

Examples of birth affirmations

  • You can do this, you are doing this 

  • I trust in my body

  • I am safe

  • Breathe my baby down

  • I can do anything for 60 seconds

  • My body and baby know what to do 

  • These contractions are strong but I am stronger

  • My baby will be born when she is ready

  • I have done the work, I can do the work

  • Soften

  • I relax, I release, I open

  • Breathe this baby down

  • My baby and I are working together

  • I am surrounded by love and support

  • Women all over the world are birthing with me

  • Pain is power, pain is progress

  • I trust my body, I trust my baby, I trust my birth

  • Loose lips, I breathe my pelvis open

The best kind of birth affirmations …

  • Are affirmations that speak to you. Not all affirmations will work for everyone.

  • Are specific to you. Think about what works for you — these may not be found on any list. They may be personal references, or inside jokes, or personal memories you would like to be reminded of. The above list were used in Alice’s birth, you will see that they gravitate towards softening and opening, as for her, releasing tension in the pelvis was a key priority.

  • Take all forms — they can be words, pictures, paintings, or photos.

Practical tips for preparing your birth affirmations

  • Ensure they can be moved around (blue tack is good, sticky notes will likely lose adhesiveness)

  • You can buy pre-made birth affirmations, but we encourage you to make or print your own

  • Consider putting them up in the spaces you will labour at home prior to moving to hospital (if you are leaving home to birth!), including in areas like the bathroom or shower. Consider a separate set for your birth bag.

  • Mother’s blessings are a beautiful event and opportunity for your friends to help you prepare some birth affirmations, this can include messages from your loved ones which may feel supportive in the moment.

A personal note on birth affirmations

I know a big focus for me and my second birth, in light of the physical and emotional effects (and therefore prep required) following my first, was on releasing pelvic tension and letting my body and breath do the work. My affirmations (many of which are above) reflected this — “breathe my baby down”, “I relax, I release, I open”, “loose lips”, and the like. But I hardly noticed them in labour, as by that stage the kind of physical and emotional letting go I wanted to promote had become instinctive. 

I enjoyed having them up on the wall in those final weeks, allowing me to visualise that dream birth, and was very reluctant to take them down, holding on emotionally to all parts of the birth I was so proud of. As a birth worker, I love it when clients have birth affirmations as it provides a great window into the kinds of language they find beneficial, and I and other members of the birth support team can draw on them when verbal affirmations are needed.


Alice x

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birthchoices, through this website, our service offerings and our podcast, aims to share stories and collate information to assist you in navigating your pregnancy and birth and in discussing these choices with your chosen pregnancy care provider. The information and resources provided are informational and educational in nature and does not constitute medical or midwifery advice and shall not be construed as constituting or replacing medical or midwifery advice.

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