How to Have A Christ-Centered Birth

I’ve given birth three times. I could recount to you every detail of every birth, but that’s not really what I’m here for. Each woman has different wants, needs, and desires for birth, and each child is born differently. However, I think we can agree that as women who follow the Lord, we should all strive to have a Christ-centered birth. If He is to be the center of our lives, He should be the center of some of the most monumental moments of our lives, as well.

Of course, this now bodes the question…what does it mean to have a Christ-centered birth?

I won’t spend time telling you how you should or should not birth your child. I don’t believe a natural birth is holier than a medicated birth, or that a homebirth will necessarily draw you closer to the Lord. A Christ-centered birth is not dependent upon where a child is born or how they come into this world. As Christian women, we need to broaden our focus. A Christ-centered birth is about inviting God into EVERY aspect of your preparation, birth, and afterbirth. It is about prayer, worship, and the Word. It is about crying out to the Lord and allowing Him to show Himself faithful during this life-changing event.

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A Christ-centered birth is a birth that brings glory to God, plain and simple.

Worship Music

Having a labor playlist is a common recommendation for several reasons. Music helps to pass the time, your body will naturally move along to the beat of the music, and music makes people happy. But as women who love the Lord, we need to fill our minds with music that glorifies the Lord. I chose some of my favorite worship songs to listen to during the births of my children (access my playlist here). Some women choose songs that speak directly to deliverance and God’s faithfulness. Even instrumental worship music could be beneficial if you don’t want lyrics disrupting your focus. Whatever music you choose, be sure that it honors God and ushers in His presence.

Birth Team

Your birth team consists of anyone present at the birth of your child. Ideally, each member of your birth team would share your faith in God. However, that’s not always possible. Many women have limited options in regards to doctors/midwives, and hospital nurses/interns are unpredictable in regards to beliefs, as well. With that in mind, what can we do?

Choose people to be present who will pray for you, encourage you through the Word, speak life into you, and lift you up when you need it. This could include your husband, friends from church, sisters, mother, mother-in-law, etc. I prefer for birth to be a private event, so my husband is the only other non-medical personnel present. He knows that his job is to pray me through my contractions and to speak life into me between them. Another person you may want to have at your birth is a doula, preferably one who shares your beliefs and can lift you up spiritually while walking you through the practical steps of labor and birth.

Prayer

The best way to center anything around Christ is to pray. Birth, however, is a unique time because you’re not necessarily able to pray. When the contractions become intense, transition takes place, and you begin to push, prayer may not be at the forefront of your mind. And that’s okay; the Lord designed birth and He understands. There are several ways to still involve prayer, though.

1. Pray leading up to birth, and while you can during labor. Prayer for your birth needs to be a daily habit throughout your pregnancy. Pray for yourself, the baby, your birth team, the doctors/midwives, the birth location, nurses, etc. Tell God your desires, and ask Him what He has for you in this specific birth. When it comes to praying during labor, I try to focus on thankful prayers – “Thank You, Lord, that this contraction is bringing me closer to holding my baby. Thank You for this child. Thank You for the gift of pregnancy and childbirth.” This refocuses me into the holy moment of labor, instead of focusing on the discomfort.
2. Have people praying for you during your birth. This goes back to your birth team, and can also extend beyond that. You need people in the room with you praying as you labor; you can choose whether you want them to pray silently or aloud, but it’s very significant for them to share in the birth experience with you as they pray. Additionally, you can have people outside of your birth team whom you ask to pray. For me, these are my family members and a couple of close friends. We alert them when I am in labor and they carry us to the Throne of Grace until the baby is in our arms.
   

Bible Verse Affirmation Cards

Affirmation cards are popular right now in the birth community. And while I like the concept, I don’t want to focus on how great I am or how powerful my body is. I’m sure that helps some women during labor, but if I want to have a Christ-centered birth, then I want my focus to be on Him, not me. That’s why I choose to have affirmation cards with only Bible verses on them. I used these for the birth of my third child, and it really helped to refocus me during early active labor (which was about 10 hours). You can easily make your own cards by asking the Lord for specific verses and writing them on index cards or colored paper. These printable cards on Etsy are also a great option (and absolutely beautiful!).

Invite God In

Honestly, this is as simple as it sounds. Throughout your pregnancy, surrender your birth plans to God and invite Him to be present. Think about it; we like to be invited to be part of activities, right? If we know we’re supposed to be there, sure, we’ll show up, but it holds a different level of significance when we’re invited. And since we’re made in God’s image, we know that the same is true of Him. He’s always present with us; after all, He is omnipotent. But when we invite Him to be present with us during labor, He sends His manifest presence, and the Spirit of God inhabits the birthing room with us. It’s truly an incredible gift.

Birth doesn’t always get spoken of highly in our society today, but it really is an incredible gift from God that has the ability to bless us in so many ways beyond the sweet little baby we hold in our arms afterward. And when we choose to focus this blessing time back on Christ, it becomes even more meaningful and significant. Don’t miss out on what God has for you in this moment.

How do you focus your birth experiences on Christ? What can we as Christian women do to reclaim birth for the Lord?