Ep 176:The Midwife’s Visit: How to Involve Your Children in Pregnancy and Birth With Kelly Jenkins, CPM

Happy Homebirth

Do you desire to involve your children in your pregnancy, birthing and immediate postpartum experience, but feel a bit uncertain as to how to prepare them? This episode is full of wonderful, easily attainable ways to discuss birth and midwifery care with your children, no matter what age. Kelly will be giving us such wonderful examples of how to involve your children and bolster their self-confidence. Episode Roundup:

1. One of the very best things we can do for our children is involve them in daily life- both the little and small events. From the daily routines like folding the laundry and washing the dishes to the extraordinary moments of pregnancy and childbirth, to the sweet and intimate moments like feeding our babies. Allowing our children to be a part of our lives facilitates confidence and creates young ones who feel at home in our world.
2. When answering our young children's questions, we don't have to give them a full college essay in response, but it is important to feel out what it is that they're truly wanting to know, and to do our best to give a response that is at their level when possible. I love Kelly's example from Corrie Ten Boom about not asking children to carry more than they can hold-- but on the other end, as parents, we are their safe place to ask questions and learn. Creating a relationship and an atomosphere that lets our children know it's okay to ask questions and to know that their parents are going to do their best to involve and include them goes such a long way when it comes to security.
3. And finally, we can make birth preparation fun and enjoyable for our children. By involving them in the actual appointments, talking openly and often with them, and reading beautiful books like The Midwife's Visit , we let our children take part in this incredible, transformative event-- giving trust to the process now, and allowing that trust to grow over a lifetime so that they too will be excited for their own birthing experiences. This is how we change the perspective of birth in our culture-- by teaching our children the truth.

Resources: Happy Homebirth Collective FREE Homebirth Essentials Guide