It was silly to me at first because breathing is so natural and intuitive.

But in hindsight, now that labor is behind me, I think that the breath work in breath practice that I did was the most important prep work that I did.

And oftentimes it would just be in front of a mirror or even in the shower or sitting at my desk for work, I would just practice deep,

slow breaths, like four seconds in, eight seconds out. And it seems easy to do, but it's actually,

I mean, it was kind of hard for me to do the four seconds in, eight seconds out,

especially when you have such a big belly and you're trying to like control your breathing

a little bit more.

But I felt that just taking those small moments throughout the day to practice my breathing intentionally made it more of a habit for me that by the time labor came around, I knew exactly

how to breathe.

Getting pregnant and giving birth are two of the most exciting things you can ever hope to experience in this life.

The moment you think you could be pregnant, you're frantically searching for all the best information.

Which is why you're here today?

I'm Stephanie King and with my many years of experience as a professional childbirth educator,

doula and lover of all things, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, I'm here to make preparing for

your birth enjoyable, empowering, and totally easy. Each week, I'll cover different topics,

interview professionals, and get into the nitty gritty birth stories from mamas just like you.

And when you're ready for more, you can join me in the My Essential Birth course at myessential

birth.com, where I take you step by step through exactly how to prepare your mind, body, spirit,

and partner for a birth you love. So let's get started.

Thank you. and partner for a birth you love. So let's get started. Our reviewer of the week is S. Hemelgarn, and she says,

Best Way to Prepare for Birth. Currently pregnant with my fifth baby, and this is my third

birth listening to this podcast. I wish I would have found

...