The Mind-Body Connection in Birth and Beyond
The mind and body are so intricately intertwined that even just our thoughts and emotions can have a direct impact on our physical bodies, as well as our general health and well-being. We call this the mind-body connection.
In this post, we’ll cover:
The nervous system
Birth and the mind-body connection
Mindfulness and meditation
The Nervous System
Understanding how the nervous system works will provide greater insight into the mind-body connection. The nervous system is comprised of two main parts:
Central nervous system (brain and spine)
Peripheral nervous system (vast network of nerves that extends beyond the brain and spinal cord, connecting the central nervous system to the rest of the body)
The peripheral nervous system can also be divided into two main parts:
Autonomic nervous system (regulates involuntary physiologic processes)
Somatic nervous system (controls voluntary movements and transmits sensory information to the central nervous system)
The diagram below shows the structure of the nervous system that we’ve discussed, so far. The autonomic nervous system is circled, because we’re going to focus more on that part, specifically.
Autonomic Nervous System
The autonomic nervous system is central to this discussion on the mind-body connection, and it can actually be further broken down into two main parts, as well:
Parasympathetic nervous system
Sympathetic nervous system
Parasympathetic Nervous System
I like to think of the parasympathetic nervous system as our ideal default mode or “homeostasis”. When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, we are able to effectively rest, relax, repair, connect, learn, respond, and love.
Dr. Kerstin Uvnäs-Moberg calls it the “calm-and-connection system” in her book, The Oxytocin Factor: Tapping the Hormone of Love, Calm, and Healing.
Certified Nurse Midwife, Nancy Bardacke, expands on this in her book, Mindful Birthing: Training the Mind, Body, and Heart for Childbirth and Beyond:
When I think of the calm-and-connection system, I often visualize a troop of baboons on the Savannah just hanging out, calmly grooming each other, at peace as gazelles and wildebeest graze nearby.
Sympathetic Nervous System
In contrast, when that same troop of baboons reacts to the sight of a lion or other predator in an attempt to escape danger, the sympathetic nervous system activates to help them do so.
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system happens when we perceive something as a threat. It’s a stress response that triggers very quickly within the body and manifests in the following ways:
Increased heart rate
Increased blood pressure
Rapid breathing
Sweating
Inhibited digestion
Tense muscles
Dilated pupils
Increased alertness
Also called the fight-or-flight response, it allows us to react quickly and either directly confront or flee from danger.
The nervous system also communicates with the endocrine system to release stress hormones (like adrenaline and cortisol) into the bloodstream to sustain the response until the threat is removed.
This response happens even when we’re not in true danger. Here are some examples that you may have experienced at some point yourself:
Public speaking
Job interview
Exams
Financial stress
Traffic jams
Running late
Arguments
Loud crying
Toddler tantrums
The response in the body is the same, and we usually refer to it as being “stressed”. Ongoing or recurring stressors can cause ongoing or recurring activation of the sympathetic nervous system that negatively impacts our mental and physical health. This is chronic stress.
Return to Homeostasis
When the threat is over, the parasympathetic nervous system activates to help return the body to homeostasis:
Heart rate slows
Blood pressure decreases
Breathing slows
Sweating decreases
Digestion resumes
Muscles relax
Pupils constrict back down
Normal level of alertness is restored
Hormone levels normalize as the body's physiological processes resume their balanced state, ensuring optimal functioning and well-being.
Actually taking action, like fighting or fleeing, in the event of a real threat helps the body metabolize the stress hormones released into the bloodstream. It can be a little harder to return to homeostasis in the event of those perceived threats (like sitting in traffic when we’re late), where we aren’t actually responding with physical movement.
Birth and the Mind-Body Connection
During labor, we want activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. This allows us access to the flow of important hormones, like oxytocin and beta-endorphins. Oxytocin is needed to stimulate powerful contractions of the muscular uterus. Beta-endorphins help us manage pain and other challenges of labor. In fact, high levels cause an altered state of consciousness during labor that is so beneficial for coping through the most difficult moments.
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system will have an impact on labor and birth. Earlier on in the process, a fight-or-flight response can cause labor to slow or stop. In the event of real danger, this would be crucial in order to confront or escape a threat. Later on, when birth is more imminent, stress hormones can actually speed up the birth. This is called the fetal ejection reflex, and quickly birthing the baby would allow for the birthing person to respond as needed to danger.
But, remember, the sympathetic nervous system can become activated even when we’re not in any real danger. In fact, during labor, it can be activated fairly easily. Here are some examples of “threats” during birth:
Bright lights
Loud noises
Distractions
Interruptions
Unwanted people in the birth space
Overwhelming or intense sensations in the body
Unresolved fears
Invasive exams
This is why protecting the birth environment for the person going through a physiologic labor is so critical.
A fight-or-flight response begins what is commonly discussed in childbirth education classes, called the fear-tension-pain cycle. The fear is anything perceived as a threat. Muscles tense as part of sympathetic nervous system activation, and blood flows away from the uterus and other non-essential organs and toward the extremities. This causes increased levels of pain, which further feeds this cycle (as the increase in pain can become a new threat).
The stress hormones released during a fight-or-flight response during birth inhibit those important birth hormones, oxytocin and beta-endorphins. This can slow or stop labor and make it much more difficult to cope.
If this happens, the birthing individual may need additional support to cope with the increased pain and intensity, as well as help in identifying and removing the perceived threat. Reactivation of the parasympathetic nervous system can help the mother or birthing person restore calm and get those important birth hormones flowing once again.
I think one of the most challenging aspects of birth is that we need to stay calm and relaxed while feeling very vulnerable and experiencing some really intense sensations within the body. But strengthening our mind-body connection in advance can help.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness is an important life skill and can help us with nervous system regulation. I really like this definition from the Mindful.org website:
Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
All of us are mindful at least from time to time, like when we are:
Enjoying a meal without feeling rushed
Walking in nature
Listening to music
Engaging in an enjoyable hobby
Spending time with loved ones
It’s harder to be mindful in more challenging situations (like the examples in the list above that can activate our fight-or-flight response). Or maybe we just get carried away by our thoughts and the stories we tell ourselves about what we perceive to be happening.
So how do we become more mindful?
The answer is to start a regular meditation practice.
Here’s how Walsh and Shapiro define meditation in this article titled The meeting of meditative disciplines and Western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue:
The term meditation refers to a family of self-regulation practices that focus on training attention and awareness in order to bring mental processes under greater voluntary control and thereby foster general mental well-being and development and/or specific capacities such as calm, clarity, and concentration.
Just like we can do some form of regular exercise to strengthen our physical bodies and make them more resilient for use in everyday life, we can do the same for our minds. Meditation is like going to the gym, but we’re strengthening the mind-body connection. This makes us more resilient for life outside of our practice. With time, effort, and consistency, we can become less reactive to those perceived threats. We can become a better judge of what’s truly a danger to us and what isn’t. We develop the ability to pause and respond versus immediately react.
A meditation practice can help you stay calm and relaxed through the challenges of birth. It can also help reduce stress in pregnancy and postpartum (also very challenging times!). It can also help you be a more mindful and less reactive parent if you make meditation part of your routine for the long-term. In fact, becoming more mindful is arguably one of the most important ways to prepare for birth and beyond.
So let’s give it a try! Find a comfortable seat and set a timer for five minutes. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Feel the sensations as you breathe in and out. If your mind wanders away from your breath, just gently return you focus once you notice that has happened. It’s ok if your mind wanders (it will!). It’s the noticing and returning that is helping to build your mindfulness muscle.
Having a strategy for nervous system regulation is foundational for birth and beyond. It’s one way to be proactive during pregnancy, but there are others! Check out my Proactive Pregnancy: Early Essentials for Expectant Parents toolkit to access a spreadsheet with to-do lists by trimester and more!