Affirmations for birth can be a powerful tool to help motivate and strengthen you for your labor and delivery. Below is a list of ideas for birth affirmation cards that possibly resonate with you and your birth vision.
Congratulations on your pregnancy! There are lots of changes happening and a lot of things to think about before your delivery. It can be overwhelming, exciting, exhausting, and terrifying all at the same time! Believe me, I know!
If you are anything like me, I had some fears surrounding childbirth. For me, I wanted to have a natural birth, and I preferred to be at home.
Though the idea of an unmedicated birth was my preference, I still had some mental blocks to break down in order to follow through with my vision. So, during my pregnancy, I learned about preparing your mind and the importance of taking control of your perception of birth. I learned about affirmations for birth.
Your mindset is crucial.
Childbirth is often described as a marathon. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t just wake up one morning and run a 10K. I need to start running weeks, even months in advance to train my body for the event, especially since I’m generally not a runner. I need to prepare.
Now, you aren’t popping out babies every single day, but you may have a baby once every few years. Just as you prepare your body for a marathon, you need to prepare your body for birth. And not only do you need to prepare your body, you need to prepare your mind.
When it comes to childbirth, whether it’s natural or medicated, mindset is key.
So what can you do?
Think positive and visualize the way you want your birth to go. Sounds basic and cheesy, but it’s true. It also sounds easy, but it’s not. It is not easy to replace set beliefs with new beliefs. However, it is made possible by reciting affirmations daily that will help remind you of your aspirations for birth, and in time, your visualizations will become reality.
There is a long list of emotions that can block this powerful mindset. Fear, anger, depression, annoyance, lack of self-love, guilt, shame, indifference, anxiety… The list goes on and on. And experiencing an event that requires much courage, like childbirth, can magnify some of these damaging emotions.
Affirmations for birth can help redirect your mindset and rewire some of these negative beliefs and emotions. They can help create a new power within you or access a power you forgot you possessed.
Words have an impact on a person. A big impact. And the words you tell yourself, words that you truly believe, whether positive or negative, have the BIGGEST impact. Filling your mindset with positive words of affirmation can form an immense amount of self-empowerment and confidence.
Do affirmations for birth work?
Honestly, it depends on who you ask. It varies from person to person, but only because it depends on their dedication to the practice. It will obviously work better if you spend the time doing it. Like brushing your teeth.
Brushing your teeth has proven to prevent cavities, but only if you brush your teeth every day. Not just once a week, or once a month, otherwise your teeth would be decaying. Instead, it’s a daily habit. And it can’t be a quick swipe with the toothbrush over your six front teeth. You have to brush for two minutes, morning and night, making sure to brush your teeth at the back of your mouth. You move your brush intentionally along the outside and the inside and around the corners and back again.
Same concept with the affirmations. You can’t just read the affirmations mindlessly every once in a while. Instead, you need to think about them every day. You really have to READ them with INTENTION, DIGEST them, CONNECT with them. Doing so will be more effective.
Not all affirmations will resonate with you.
Make sure to find ones that tug on your heart, that spark a little fire in you, that bring meaning and purpose. You want affirmations that make it easier to be intentional in your practice, not ones that sound silly or make you want to gag while saying it out loud 😛
Recite them throughout the day, whether it’s in the morning while you do your makeup, when you are cooking yourself some dinner, or when you are applying pregnancy stretch mark cream to your belly before bed. Repetition will help your mind and body remember these beliefs.
I do not think it matters how many affirmations you use. You can use five or you can use twenty. I would read through affirmations online and think, “Is this something I need to hear? Is this something I need to believe in for myself?” If yes, I would add it to my birth affirmations. I would also go through the emotions that I was feeling about birth, and come up with an affirmation to support it.
For example, if I was feeling incapable and weak, I would write an affirmation that said, “I am strong and capable.” Reciting this new affirmation daily would help replace the old belief of feeling weak and incapable, with the new belief that I was strong and capable.
Start now.
Replacing negative emotions with positive feelings and beliefs will take time and intention, but it can make all the difference in your birthing experience. Starting affirmations early in your pregnancy is ideal, and can help you transition into a brighter mindset and a better prepared mental state.
It’s important to be honest with yourself about your true emotions. That way you are able to tackle them fully and know exactly what is holding you back from having the birth you desire. Think about involving your birthing support partner, whether it’s your husband, mother, doula, etc. Be open about the emotions you struggle with and let them know about the affirmations for birth that you have in place for yourself. They can help keep you on track with your daily practice.
Write them down.
Write down the affirmations for birth that you choose or print them out (click here for the free PDF I made from this list: affirmations for birth cards).
Below is a list that you can use. I also included the ones that I wrote for myself a few months before my due date. However, I wish I had started them earlier as I still had some emotions that I needed to break down. I did not realize this until I was in labor- these negative feelings stalled my labor. If I had started affirmations earlier, maybe I would have released all of my negative emotions before the birth of my little boy. But then again, maybe not. It is difficult to know, but I believe it would have made a greater difference.
Personally, I simply wrote the affirmations on some sticky notes and slapped them on the walls where I would see them every day. It was a way for me to feel more capable about my decision to have an at-home birth. It also created peace for just wanting to get my baby here safely, no matter what that looked like.
Getting your baby here safely should be your top priority. Have an open mind. Plan for the birth you want to have, but also realize that things happen that are out of your control. Control the things you can, but let go of the rest. Be at peace with that.
AFFIRMATIONS FOR BIRTH
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I’m excited to meet my baby
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I know how to breathe and relax
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I am strong and capable
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I am brave
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I can do this
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I can do anything for 60 seconds
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I am taken care of
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I am in harmony with my body and my baby
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I want a pure birth
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I trust my instincts
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I love my body
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I am patient in this beautiful process
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I am supported
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I am visualizing the birth I desire
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I am calm and controlled
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I am confident
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The waves bring me closer to my baby
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I am positive
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I feel safe and secure
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I am strong and resilient
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I feel empowered
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I am loved
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I soften, I open, I release
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I accept myself fully and completely
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I am proud of myself for doing this
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My birth vision is positive and curious
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The ability to give birth is a gift
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I am safe and my baby is safe
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I will ask for what I need
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I am surrounded by love
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Each wave has a purpose
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My body achieves what my mind believes
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I allow my baby to feel my love, even though this is difficult to do
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I let go and I am present
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I am enough
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I gracefully surrender to what is and let love heal me
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I create my life and birth
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Even though it’s hard, I can do this
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My birth is full of possibilities
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I trust that I have all the talents, skills, and abilities that I need to birth my baby
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I created life
As I mentioned above, I just wrote these affirmations on sticky notes, but I also created a free PDF of the affirmations for birth cards that includes all of the ones above. You can just click affirmations for birth cards to download it so you can print them for yourself. Just be sure to put them around your house where you will see them throughout the months leading up to your delivery. Maybe consider placing a few of your favorites in the place where you will labor/deliver so they can bring you strength. You can also have your partner recite them for you during labor if that makes you feel empowered.
I would recommend starting affirmations for birth as soon as possible. And honestly, daily positive affirmations for yourself are an amazing mental tool whether you are having a baby or not.
You can find tons of affirmations online. You can also create your own. If you choose to create your own, just remember to use positive words, not negative words. For example, instead of saying “I am not scared”, say “I am brave” or “I am fearless”. When you include negative words like scared, even if you are trying to tell yourself that you are NOT scared, your body still remembers the word scared. So, tell yourself that you are brave, and your body will remember the word brave.
Just a little tip from one mom to another 🙂
You are strong and capable, Mama, and your baby is going to completely redefine what love means to you. Recite your affirmations for birth every day and let them alter your mind positively. Remember, there is an end in sight and it is beautiful.
This post was all about affirmations for birth.
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