A marathon and childbirth have so many parallels. Indeed, how to mentally prepare for labor is strikingly like preparing to run a marathon or do any long-distance run. You plan, prepare, hone your mental strength and positive self-talk, form a supportive team, and know that the pain and discomfort are SO worth it in the end.
The biggest difference between a marathon and childbirth is that you MUST get to the finish line with childbirth. As one of my athletes, Rochelle (a mom of four), put it—there are no DNFs in having a baby!
I asked my thousands of Instagram followers and dozens of athletes I coach how running helped them mentally prepare for labor. I share their lessons below.
Let’s go!
Related: 9 Mental Training Tools for Runners from a Sports Psychologist
1. You can physically endure hard things.
One of my athletes, Rachel, is a labor and delivery nurse, and she notes that “runners’ bodies have a better functional labor pattern, push better, have less inductions, and recover faster.”
Indeed, many mother runners wrote they had better stamina and were able to physically endure the pain of labor better because they were in shape from their running. Running is arguably one of the best ways how to prepare your body for labor.
2. Mental strength is everything.
Even more than the physical strength running affords you—runners must have a lot of mental strength.
Moms wrote that running taught them that they can do hard things. If they can run for hours at a time, sometimes in really hot weather or pouring rain, then they can withstand childbirth.
Related: How to Adapt to Racing in Bad Weather
3. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
That said, running teaches us to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Sometimes the hardest things are the most worthwhile (we learn that in parenting, too!).
Learning that it’s okay to not feel good all the time while running can you help mentally prepare for labor which won’t feel comfortable either. But in the end, the result is well worth the discomfort.
4. Quitting is not an option.
In running, we hone that mental skill to keep going even when it’s hard. This is something we work on nearly every day we lace up our shoes.
There’s no quitting or taking the easy way out when having a baby. You have no choice to quit. Running helps us mentally prepare for labor in that aspect—embracing the challenge much more easily.
Related: How to Recover from Hitting the Wall in the Marathon
5. Practice patience.
The sport of running is built on patience. Nothing in the sport happens quickly. You train for months or even years to reach your goal. It takes lots of work and consistency. You endure lots of miles when the going gets really tough. And patience to get the reward is hard fought.
You, in effect, callous your brain to get used to working hard for a long time before getting the reward.
This can mentally prepare for labor as, in most cases, the process is long and requires mental endurance to stay in it and keep going. As one of my Instagram followers wrote: “The birthing process is a marathon, not a sprint .”
It will all be worth it in the end.
6. Practice visualization.
To mentally prepare for labor is like how you would mentally prepare for a race. For many runners, this requires taking time in the week leading up to the big day to visualize the process.
Visualize what you will pack, the contractions coming on, going to the hospital, being admitted, breathing through the contractions, and seeing your baby for the first time. Imagine success so you enter the experience with a positive mindset.
Related: Why Am I Not Getting Faster? 9 Potential Reasons
7. Be flexible.
While you visualize things going right to mentally prepare for labor, also visualize things going wrong—because just like on race day, they will! And that teaches us to be flexible (a lesson that will serve you well as a parent!).
Imagine what it’s like to have early contractions, or to have to wait for your epidural, or it storming when you’re leaving for the hospital. Imagine yourself beautifully meeting each challenge head on.
Don’t imagine scenarios that make you anxious. Instead, imagine yourself confidently handling each one.
8. Prepare!
This requires preparation. Preparing for birth requires preparing for things going right and things going wrong. Pack your bags ahead of time. Have a support team to handle things at home if you happen to be away for longer than expected. Think through what you will want at the hospital for your birthing process and stay, etc.
Being prepared is the antidote to being anxious and will make the childbirth process that much smoother.
Related: How to Prepare for a Marathon Race Day
9. Fuel your body well.
Every runner knows the importance of proper fuel. Nutrition is important for childbirth, too, as it is also an endurance event! Eat and drink well leading up to the big day—and pack snacks you will want in the hospital, so you aren’t starving or relying on gross hospital food to nourish your body.
You may even conduct a take-out stake-out near the hospital so you have a meal plan while there.
Related: Carb Loading: Essential for a Half Marathon or Overrated?
10. Recruit a support team.
Endurance athletes need a good crew to support their endeavors. These are people who watch the kids while you train, bring you fuel on the road, and cheer you on on race day. How to prepare for childbirth also requires having a support team
These are positive people who will do what you need on the big day. They’ll let the dog out, bring you fuzzy socks, and tell you everything is going to be okay if you are freaking out.
Banish any Negative Nancies. You don’t need those in your life! Only love and support!
Related: 10 Steps to Run Longer Without Stopping
11. Stay in the moment, especially when things feel hard.
Running teaches you to stay in the moment. We learn to take it one mile at a time because if you think about the whole distance you are covering, you’ll be sure not to give up. But when you break your run into smaller segments—even just getting to the next tree—it feels more palatable and less daunting.
And then you surprise yourself in the end by accomplishing what you doubted you could.
The same goes for childbirth. If you think about how much longer you must push, learning how to take care of an infant, the sleepless nights, the crying, etc. you’ll be defeated even before you start. Stay in the moment and tackle what’s going on right then and there. This will serve you well in all stages of mom life!
12. Find your mantras.
Mantras as short phrases that you say to yourself to keep going, to not give up, to bring out the best in yourself. And their power is backed by science.
Runners rely on mantras to pull them through when the going gets tough. Some powerful mantras are:
- You are tough.
- No one else will do this for you.
- Embrace the suck.
- I got this.
- I’m strong.
- Bring it on.
- This is nothing I can’t handle.
Find what speaks to you and gets you fired up to finish what you started!
Related: Find Your Mantra: 30+ Examples of Good Running Mantras
13. Master positive self-talk.
Positive self-talk is a tool in all runners’ toolboxes. We learn to reframe bad things as good.
Legs hurt and lungs burn? You’re getting fitter! Falling off pace? That’s ok! Focus on your effort; you’re doing your best. Hamstring feels tight? I can stand tall and focus on what feels amazing!
Runners also learn to disassociate and focus on other things outside running to help them from falling into a negative spiral. Everything going wrong? Just keep pumping your arms and think about the grocery list.
All these tactics help us mentally cope with the rigors of running and easily translate to the challenges of childbirth!
14. Trust the process.
While many runners tend to be Type A and want to control everything, running is a sport that is vulnerable to many variables—and successful runners learn to let go and adapt. This means we trust the process.
We show up the best we can on any given day and trust that what will happen will happen. We can’t control everything, but we can control ourselves.
This mindset of trusting the process including trusting your body and your medical team to do what they need to do will give you a state of calm that will make your entire birth process feel easier.
15. BREATHE through the pain.
Learning to breathe through the pain—and focus on your breath`—can get you through many hard spots in running, parenting, life, and giving LIFE. Breathing helps relax our bodies and gives us strength to endure whatever discomfort we are experiencing.
Many successful runners learn to stop focusing on what hurts and get lost in the rhythm of their breath. They quickly learn this helps them keep going because they aren’t fixated on the bad. Breathing through the pain helps you get in the zone, while zoning out.
16. Pain is temporary; pride is forever.
This is what my dad used to tell me when I was a high school cross country runners. I always remembered it when I was hurting at the end—and it’s something I tell myself when I want to give up in the last 10k of a marathon. But I remember that the pain won’t last forever and that ending proud of myself is worth any temporary discomfort.
The same is true with having a baby. There is a beautiful and rewarding finish line that makes the pain worth it. And you are strong enough to get there. (When having my babies, I reminded myself that much less fit people were able to do it—so why couldn’t I?).
17. Give a finishing PUSH.
Runners have what is known as a “finishing kick” or a “final surge.” We give it all we got at the end, finishing fast, and knowing we gave it all we had.
In childbirth, you will also push at the end—a literal push to bring that baby into this world. I don’t know of a better parallel between running and childbirth than that.
You push and instead of a medal, you get a beautiful human that is all yours!
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