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Every woman facing the prospect of birthing her baby wants to know how to make that process as easy as possible, while keeping her baby and herself safe. Here are ten tips to help you have the best childbirth experience possible.

10. Educate yourself. Home birth vs. hospital birth? Epidural vs. drug free? Doctor vs. midwife? Do you know what your choices are? Do you know what position your baby is in and what you could do to coax your baby into a position that is more conducive to an easy labor? Do you know how to ask for the information you need? The choices you make about your caregivers and birth plan all have the potential to impact on the length and number of complications or interventions in your labor. In some situations an epidural may greatly prolong a labor by making dilation slower and pushing less effective, but for some women who are exhausted from a long labor without pain medication it may allow them to relax enough to dilate completely. By educating yourself about the risks and benefits of common birthing practices you empower yourself to choose the best childbirth experience for you and your baby. In most situations, a labor that is experienced without pain medication is shorter and has less complications and medical interventions than a labor in which the mother has an epidural early in the process. Some good books to start with are New Active Birth by Janet Balaskas and Birthing From Within by Pam England.

9. Do yoga. Yoga can help open the pelvis, turn a baby who is in a breech or posterior presentation, and it gives you an improved sense of body awareness. Yoga can also teach excellent relaxation techniques, which are useful throughout pregnancy and childbirth. Choose an instructor who encourages you to listen to your body and do exercises which are gentle and appropriate to your stage of pregnancy.

8. Trust your caregivers. Choosing a caregiver that you can trust to be truthful, competent and respectful of your wishes can allow you to focus on your own experience without being constantly on the alert for unwanted interventions or procedures by your caregiver. It is important to maintain some vigilance, and this is a good role for your birth partner or doula, but having a basic level of trust makes it easier to relax and allow yourself to shift into "labourland", where a more primal level of your brain takes over.

7. Trust your body. Women's bodies are designed to birth babies, and we have been doing so for thousands of years. In fact, at no

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