In the past, I've dealt with fear in a number of ways: denial, avoidance, sleeping with my door open and the light on (this was specific to the months following my viewing of Halloween as a tween), and drowning my sorrows in white wine. However, during a pregnancy, none of these tried-and-true coping mechanisms are viable options, and we are forced to find other ways of dealing with fears about childbirth. Denial and avoidance are pretty much impossible when your body is reminding you during every second of every day that your child's birth is approaching. Sleeping with the door open would only work if I was sleeping at all. And white wine? Yeah, avoiding that is pretty much a given, unless you have one of those doctors who says wine is OK, in which case I must ask, is he or she taking new patients? Asking for a friend.
I don't mean to speak for everyone because I understand that there might be women out there who aren't, or who weren't, afraid of giving birth. In fact, if any of you are reading please show yourselves and please consider producing an infographic of some kind that explains how you managed to do this. I'd seriously like to know. For me, for my friends, and for many women whose experiences I've read, giving birth is a scary thought. The concerns are legitimate, valid, and oh-so-real, especially during the months of pregnancy.
So what do you about this very real fear of giving birth? If you're a grown-ass woman who doesn't back down from things that are challenging or scary, you probably do the following: