Dream Birth: Transforming the Journey of Childbirth through Imagery

It is well known that visualization exercises can be beneficial both during pregnancy, for relaxation, and during childbirth itself. But many women don’t know where to start, and believe that practicing requires someone to read you guided visualizations, or audio files to guide you. Catherine Shainberg, who has spent much of her life studying imagery and how traditional practices can be adapted to modern medical uses, knows that visualization exercises can easily be completed a few minutes at a time. In order to make simple imagery practices accessible to everyone, Shainberg has written Dream Birth, which features one hundred sixty-one exercises to be used from pre-conception through birth and the early days of bonding with your baby. There are exercises for all kinds of scenarios, such as to protect your baby from discomfort during an ultrasound, warding off anemia, dealing with third trimester fears (such as being an inadequate mother or becoming too much like your own mother), and preparing for labor by visualizing exactly how it should go. There are no scientific studies on the effectiveness of these kinds of visualization exercises, but the author declares that there is “much circumstantial evidence showing the benefits for both mother and child.” If you are looking for some new ideas for childbirth preparation, pick up a copy of Dream Birth and get to work!