Olympics

I love watching the Olympics: cheering on the USA, cheering on the inspiring stories, cheering on the underdogs (or the occasional sure thing, like Michael Phelps!!). Nothing is more inspiring than watching someone who has spent the better part of his/her life working for this one goal and then getting to stand on the podium. I get teared up just writing about it. How does this relate to childbirth? Wait, I can link it.

You're probably not spending a lifetime preparing, but certainly a large portion of how you've lived your life will affect pregnancy and labor. If you've been eating well, get regular exercise and keep the stress levels down (ha!) this is going to be an easier journey than if not. The better you do with this during your pregnancy, ideally, the easier journey you'll have. If you're just starting now, you'll still have an impact. The better shape that you're heading into labor, the better labor should go.

Unfortunately, this does NOT guarantee an easy pregnancy and/or labor. I know plenty of women who do everything right (myself included) and have miserable pregnancies. And I know of women who do everything wrong and have easy pregnancies (I don't know about the labors). But, I tell myself, if I weren't doing (almost) everything right, how much more miserable of a time would I have? So it comes down to having faith in doing the right thing for your body and your baby.