What No One Tells You About Having a Support Person in the Labor Room (And How to Fix It Before You Get There) | 262 — The Birth Experience with Labor Nurse Mama

Most birth prep focuses on you - your breathing, your birth plan, your body. But what about the person standing next to you? Because here's the truth: if your partner isn't prepared, they will default to the doctor. Every single time. And you'll be left feeling completely alone in one of the most intense, vulnerable moments of your life.

That's exactly why I brought Lena Athena onto the show. Lena is changing how the world understands boundaries. She created the Kind Boundaries framework to show that boundaries aren't a source of conflict, they're the foundation of every healthy relationship. She's a TEDx speaker, founder of the boundaries practice app HEARD, and author of a forthcoming book on belonging and boundaries. She specializes in supporting women in the most boundary-violated season of life: the transition into motherhood.

In this episode, we cover:

Why partners shut down in the labor room
The conversation you need to have before you ever go into labor
How to have the hard conversations without blowing up your relationship
The role relationship dynamics play in the birth room
Three steps to get back on the same team if you've already drifted apart

You should not have to choose between advocating for yourself and keeping the peace. With the right preparation - and the right conversations ahead of time - you can have both.

More from Lena Athena:

Try the HEARD boundaries practice app free: https://heard.lenaathena.com/

Work with Lena privately: https://lenaathena.com/coaching

Follow Lena on Instagram & Threads @lenasathena

Helpful Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome Lena Athena
01:52 Boundaries in Motherhood
05:20 Why Advocacy Fails
08:14 Talk Before Labor
11:13 Align as Decision Makers
14:45 Practice Hard Talks
16:55 Team Based Conversations
24:45 Three Steps to Reconnect
28:19 Where to Find Lena

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Produced and Edited by Vaden Podcast Services