Less than 14 days now! The countdown begins. I still remember the anxiousness and the excitement I felt during the days leading up to my first delivery. How would I know if I’m having contractions? How does it feels like? What the heck is mucus plug? And my biggest fear of all is my water bag breaks when I’m in public. Or not having enough time to get to the hospital and giving birth in a taxi.

This time around, I’m more chill because I know what to expect. However, according to the doctor, the second baby would arrive a lot faster than the first (the first took 15 hours from the time I was admitted), so the fear of giving birth whilst on the way to the hospital still lingers.

So I’ve pooled a group of Singapore mom bloggers and asked the question: Any tips to overcome fear of child birth? Here is what they have to say:

Go in without any expectations except that you will see your beautiful baby at the end of it and it will all be worth it, take the epidural, it’s not as scary as it looks!  – Elizabeth Soh-Teo

Relax. Trust yourself, trust your body and trust your gynae. If u need pain relief, use it, epidural was my life saver and I didn’t turn out a bad mum because I used epidural and I didn’t experience any long term side effects. – Seng Tzer Jing

Read up on hypnotherapy prior to birth (no we din’y do hypo birthing). One of the things i put in heart is not to bring fear with you. It worked! I didnt feel pain at all when epidural was being administered! The first time when it entered the spine, I almost wanted to kick the fellow…but with baby number 2, it was so much better. – Janice Wong

I had my 3 births without epidural. I had only one thought: if my mum could do it, so can I. – Christy Wong

Save all your energy for the pushing! Take everything slow and chill and when it’s time to push, give it your best. After 3 deliveries, I realized that how I pushed really makes a difference. – Elizabeth Wu

I can’t even hold my breath long enough to swim a quarter of the breadth (not even the length, thank you very much) of a swimming pool, but I managed to take a super deep breath, and push the baby out anyway! If I could do it, I’m sure you’ll have no problems at all. – Adeline Tan

I faint (or almost) whenever I have to do a blood test but I gave birth to Nakayla naturally with only laughing gas. Nothing will hold the baby back when it’s ready to say hello! They’ll even do all the work. – Mabel Lee

I got no tips except “be prepared that the breathing/gas/epidural might not relief any of your pain. I know it’s not very encouraging but it happens..it happened to me! And not being prepared for it was the worst feeling. Believe in yourself and your body anyway. You were meant to do this and it’ll be all worth it once you see your baby. – Madeline Heng

Go on a social media-television-youtube-pregnancybooks blackout. don’t read or watch anything to do with birth or labour. Instead spend time strolling by the park hand in hand with the husband, and eating to your hearts content! Free your mind of anything and everything, and just absorb the wonders of life, especially of the one inside of you. – Nadia Cheong

Focus on seeing your baby and take deep breaths. And remember that labour is not a competition and you don’t have to prove anything to anyone. So don’t be shy to ask for pain relief. Having an epidural won’t make you a bad mum. – Adora Tan

Keep calm and relax. Think of all the positives and the joy of seeing your baby afterwards. – Jolin Poon

My tip would be not be over-plan the delivery. It is good to have a birth plan, but don’t be too hung up on it. Go with the flow, and do whatever makes you feel most comfortable. – Shermeen Ching

My tip is… Epidural. Depending on your pain threshold, don’t be afraid to talk to your gynae about it and discuss options. Sure, listen to other people’s advice, read books but at the end of the day, go with what you are most confident with. For me, I KNEW I would take the epidural, it is not up for discussion. Haha! – Sandra Tan

If it is your 1st child, what’s written on all the books and shared on all the talks may not apply to you. Giving birth is an experience, it needs to be an accumulated experience. So, go on, please have more babies if you can. – Jenn Lee

Take epidural early. My first labour was 6 hours so I guess second labour would be faster. Each epi last about 5-6 hours so I went ahead. Just stay relaxed and take a nap while waiting. Follow the gynea’s instruction to push and I hope you can get to see your precious little one as you push out just like me. Trust me, the feeling is wonderful when baby is in your embrace. – Serene Seah

Knowing that I have low pain threshold, I requested for epidural early. So that I conserve energy to receive my bundle of joy!  – Waiwai Leong

Practice visualizing a smooth delivery – close your eyes and see yourself giving birth to a healthy baby and that your birth plan went as you planned. Prayers work the same way – ask for smooth delivery. Don’t watch any baby delivery videos if this is your first baby. Best of luck! – Meiling Wong-Chainani

And finally, this one is from me – Think of the weakest person you know who is also a mom. For example, I have this friend from high school who is easily frightened by everything. So I would tell myself, “If S**** could give birth to 2 kids, so can I.” (Sorry, S!)

I hope these tips helped ease some of your fears. We all have concern and worry if things would go wrong, it is only normal. I blame it on our hormones, Meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. If you have other tips to add, do share!

PS: Decode baby’s cry.