Pregnancy Art Therapy Project: Birth Affirmation Pillowcases for Labor

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This post is part of a blog series, 31 Days of Preparing for VBAC: my story of purposeful pregnancy, beautiful trial of labor after cesarean, and the healing repeat cesarean birth of my second child. To view all of the posts in this series, check out the landing page. To receive all posts in the series by email, subscribe here.

When I was pregnant with my second child and planning a TOLAC, I had a lunch meeting with my birth doula and her backup doula. The three of us met for lunch and we were talking about things I should pack for the hospital. The backup mentioned that the hospital rooms never have enough pillows, and the ones they had were flat and uncomfortable. She recommended buying cheap pillows and colorful pillow cases (so they didn’t get confused with hospital pillows), and sealing them in vacuum seal bags to take to the hospital for labor.

I got my pillows and plain white cases at Target (you could probably go even cheaper than that if you wanted – check Amazon). I got Crayola fabric markers at Michaels and spent an afternoon decorating and writing birth affirmations on them.

Breathe, Relax, Let Go

Don’t Give Up, You Are Loved

(my favorite Josh Groban song)

I am calm, centered, and in control.

(This is an affirmation from the Calm Childbirth app I listened to during pregnancy.)

I made a 4th one (not pictured) with Little Brother’s name on it.

I LOVED having these pillows. I used them during my entire labor (they were incredibly helpful for positioning once I got the epidural), as well as during my recovery stay. And I still use them every day at home for help with nursing!