Using Your BRAIN
Welcome to my blog! I'm glad you're here. I thought I'd use this first blog as an opportunity to talk about one of the many useful approaches to doula and birth work. It's not a philosophy or mission statement, but a way to help moms make informed decisions surrounding their birth. This strategy can be applied to any situation that presents itself during your labor. It is a tool that we, as doulas, give to our clients to use while we help them work through it.
So, what is this amazing tool? It's called "BRAIN" and it's an acronym for the following:
Benefits
Risks
Alternatives
Intuition
Need/No
This can be used to assess how to best address an issue that may arise. Heck, you could use this even when you're not pregnant to help you make the right decision for you! Let's break it down.
Benefits and Risks
When presented with a situation that is new to you, you may not know what action to take in response. Of course, weighing the pros and cons of decisions can be helpful in figuring out whether something is worth it or not.
An example of a situation that might arise during labor is intense pain in your back during and between contractions, or back labor. You might have had in your birth plan that you wanted to use only natural pain relief measures like the double-hip squeeze or rebozo techniques. However, the pain from the back labor might cause you to pursue other methods of pain relief, even if they are not natural. Your provider recommends an epidural. The benefits of an epidural might be the relief of no longer feeling the back labor due to the numbness it provides. One risk, however, might be that epidurals prevent movement of the mom. Freedom of movement is important in labor because it uses gravity to bring the baby down and in the optimal position for his or her trip through the birth canal. There are many other benefits and risks to epidurals, but we will keep it brief.
Alternatives
Something that is crucial in decision-making is the fact that there are often more options than you realize. It may not just be "A" or "B." There may be, and often are, many alternatives. Using the example from before, let's think about the alternatives to getting an epidural. You could not get one and take on the pain while continuing to use natural methods like the double hip squeeze or you could ask your provider for nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. It is another effective and commonly used pain relief tool for labor. You could ask your provider and doula if they know of any physical movements that help with back labor like massage, changing positions, or going for a walk.
Intuition
This step involves thinking about your values and desires for your birth. If thinking about getting an epidural really upsets you, even in the moment of intense pain, don't do it. If you don't feel like you want to continue trying natural methods, get the epidural. Do what feels right. Listen to your gut. It is as simple as that.
Need/No
This part is all about knowing that you are in control of what kind of care you receive if you advocate for yourself. It involves figuring out how necessary the action you are thinking about is. It also is about realizing that you can say "no" to anything you don't want to happen. Is it necessary for your baby to be born healthy to get an epidural? No. Is it necessary for you personally to get an epidural, or some other form of pain relief, in order to have a positive birth experience? Perhaps it is. That is for you to decide, and this is where the final decision happens.
This framework can help you make informed, personalized, and smart decisions. It can help you come out of your birth experience feeling empowered and having overall positive feelings associated with your labor and delivery. It is important that baby is happy and healthy before, during, and after birth, but it is also important that mom is happy and healthy during these stages. Use your BRAIN before, during, and after labor, and keep the birth of your baby sacred!