Creating Your Ideal Birth Environment
- Brainz Magazine
- May 5
- 6 min read
Written by Lauren Spencer, Doula
Lauren Spencer is a childbirth educator and labor support doula. She is the founder of Beloved Births KC LLC, a small business in Kansas City, Missouri, USA.
Your body needs to feel safe, comfortable, and supported to go into and progress through labor. Your birth environment has a tremendous impact on your level of safety and well-being. Being intentional when planning your birth environment will not only create a more positive, memorable experience, it will help your body surrender to the process of birth. Are you a birth guru looking for a guide to help curate your birth space? This article is for you!
The why: Labor hormones
There are many hormones flowing through your body during pregnancy and birth. Two of the most well-known are oxytocin and cortisol, key contributors in childbirth. Oxytocin is known as “the love hormone.” It is a neuropeptide produced in the hypothalamus that makes you feel connected, bonded, and safe (Buckley and Jackson, 2024). Your uterus has receptors that receive high doses of oxytocin, which create the onset of labor contractions. To allow your uterus to have strong contractions and trigger milk supply during labor, you need to maintain high levels of oxytocin.
Cortisol is known as the stress hormone, a steroid produced by your adrenal glands. It is your body’s lifeline, triggering metabolic processes when the body is under threat. Your cortisol rises when you are under stress, feeling unsafe, have illness, or are experiencing trauma. In labor, high levels of cortisol can stall contractions and prevent the body from progressing.
Cortisol and oxytocin act as opposites. During labor, your body cannot sustain high or low levels of both hormones at once. This means you need to keep your stress response (cortisol) down to allow for higher levels of oxytocin. What does this have to do with your birth environment, you ask? Everything!
The 4 pillars to promote oxytocin
There are four key pillars to promote oxytocin when preparing your birth environment: safety, comfort, support, and resources. These four pillars are encouraged to be included in your birth plan. Let’s dive deeper into each.
Safety
Your body was created with powerful physiological mechanisms designed to protect, preserve, and heal. Your fight-or-flight response is stimulated with a rise in cortisol, telling your body it is not safe to give birth. Similarly in nature, mammals seek a safe place away from predators where they are not threatened when having their young (Buckley and Jackson, 2024). You are at your most vulnerable when in labor. Whether you’re being chased by a tiger, overwhelmed by pain, surrounded by unwelcome spectators, or overhearing a conversation about needing a cesarean section, your brain can interpret all of these as threats. If you do not feel safe, cortisol rises, and you enter fight-or-flight mode for self-preservation.
Although it may feel simple, ask yourself: What makes you feel safe? Conversely, what makes you feel unsafe? It is never too early to start having these conversations with your birth support team. There may be some boundaries that you need to put in place to protect your safety in the birth space, both physically and mentally.
Comfort
Labor can be one of the most physically and emotionally intense experiences a woman goes through. Anything your birth support team can do to comfort you will help you cope with the challenge of labor. Experiment with different comfort techniques during pregnancy, and invite your birth team to practice them with you. Some common pain management tools to try in regard to physical touch are:
hot and cold therapy
hydrotherapy (such as a bath or shower)
massage
comforting touches
counter pressure
squeezing a birth comb
using a TENS unit
topical use of essential oils
The role of melatonin
Your comfort also ties deeply into your body's natural rhythms, guided by a powerful hormone called melatonin. Melatonin is produced by the pineal gland and is largely responsible for the sleep/wake cycle and reproductive cycle. It is present in your ovaries and your baby’s placenta. The journal article Melatonin and Stable Circadian Rhythms Optimize Maternal, Placental and Fetal Physiology describes the relationship between melatonin, pregnancy, and birth. Dim or red lighting helps maintain your body's natural circadian rhythm without disrupting melatonin. The article concludes that “melatonin synergizes with oxytocin to promote delivery of the fetus” (Reiter, Tan, Korkmaz, Rosales-Corral, 2014). In other words, turn those lights down low and set the mood!
Note that what brings comfort in one moment may not feel helpful during every stage of labor, and that’s completely normal. Go in with a variety of tools, and give yourself permission to shift and adapt as your needs change. Communicate as directly as you can with your birth support team to help ensure your needs are met.
Support
Your support system can make or break your birth experience. Only people truly offering support in the way that you need should be welcome in your birth space. Consider who you do (and don’t) want to be there when you are at your most vulnerable.
You may want to discuss the roles of your support team before labor arrives. Who will be primarily your physical support? What do you envision that looking like? Who will be best at emotional support? Who do you need to help with advocacy or keeping the birth space running smoothly and organized? Who will support your other children or pets (if any) during labor?
Resources
There are so many wonderful resources available to support you in your birth space through labor. Most hospitals and birth centers offer helpful options like birth or peanut balls, hydrotherapy, and various forms of pain management. When you work with a doula, you'll also have access to additional tools such as a birth sling, TENS unit, counter pressure, and a deeper knowledge of labor positions in each stage of labor.
Remember your mindset, birth affirmations, an inspiring playlist, hypnobirthing techniques, and guided meditations can all play a meaningful role in creating a supportive, empowering birth environment.
Your place of birth
As covered in Do I Really Need a Birth Doula, your chosen place of birth plays a significant role in shaping your experience. Hospitals and birth centers often have policies that might limit some of your preferences, so it’s important to have open conversations with your provider early on. Understanding the constraints and expectations ahead of time helps you plan and prepare for your ideal environment within a hospital setting.
Many families choose to welcome their baby at home, where they can enjoy an added layer of comfort in a familiar, uninterrupted space. The sights, sounds, smells, and surroundings are their own, thoughtfully curated to embrace their new baby.
For others, a hospital or birth center offers the safety, comfort, and reassurance they need. Being close to medical professionals, pain relief options, and neonatal support allows them to fully relax and surrender to the birth process.
Finding that comforting "happy medium" between home and hospital is absolutely possible too. Consider hiring a doula! A large part of their role is to help create an intentional, soothing environment, no matter where you choose to give birth.
Use your 5 senses
Once you know where you’ll be giving birth, the next step is creating a space that feels safe, calm, and supportive. Birth is a full-body experience, and your surroundings can have a powerful impact. By intentionally engaging your five senses, you can weave comfort, familiarity, and peace into your birth environment. Here are some ideas to consider for each of your five senses.
Sight
dim or red lighting
string or twinkle lights
candles
affirmation cards
pictures or videos of your other babies or pets
Sound
preferred music playlist
spa or relaxation sounds
guided meditation or hypnobirthing
silence or whispers only
low tones or groans
Smell
essential oils: lavender, clary sage, peppermint, chamomile, etc.
ask birth support to have fresh breath and use perfumes or colognes with caution
your own blanket or pillow with personal laundry scent
Touch
your own clothing, pillow, or blanket
massage
counterpressure
hot or cold therapy
hydrotherapy
something to squeeze: birth comb, ball, or someone’s hand
Taste
sweet and salty snacks
electrolytes
cold water to sip
mints
tea and bone broth
Prepare, not predict
Every labor is different, and that’s part of the beauty of it! While you can absolutely go into birth prepared, it's important to remember that you can't predict exactly how your labor will unfold. By gathering tools, resources, and preparing for a variety of possibilities, you can approach birth feeling, as Catherine Bell expresses in The Birth Map, “informed, supported, and confident in your birth, your way, no matter what.”
Still have questions? Reach out to chat about all things birth!
Read more from Lauren Spencer
Lauren Spencer, Doula
As a teacher and a mom of a toddler, Lauren Spencer is passionate about educating and guiding families through pre-conception, pregnancy, birth, and postpartum healing. Although she supports all types of births, she specializes in pain management and preparation for unmedicated, low intervention birth. She is certified in guiding families through Vaginal Birth After Cesearean (VBAC), supports breastfeeding, and focuses on educating and empowering parents as they grow their families.
Resources:
Bell, Catherine. “The Birth Map.” The Birth ap, birthmap.life/. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
Jackson, Melanie, and Buckley, Sarah. “Episode 101- The Brain and Body in labour with Dr Sarah Buckley” The Great Birth Rebellion, 07 Jul. 2024. Spotify app
