Rebirthing
Rebirthing is a process that helps mark a restart in your breastfeeding/chestfeeeding relationship, usually with a goal of direct feeding. It’s about simulating the sensations of birth in a nurturing way so as to re-flip the “switch” of turning on everyone’s instincts. It’s about restoring defaults, in a way. Rebirthing is a great idea for a new beginning after a rough birth, fresh adoption, or post release of ties. This process can be done in many ways and should always be comfortable for everyone involved. Here is an outline of how it is most typically done, but it can always be customized.
Fill the tub with body temperature water. A baby thermometer is accurate enough to check the temperature. Aim for about 99 degrees; the temperature used for water births.
Climb into the tub and get comfortable, sitting up. You need to be bare from at least the waist up. The water should be between waist and nipple height. Your rebirthing partner hands baby to you. Then, you ease baby down into the water until they are floating on their back with just their head out of the water and only the back of their head supported. Most babies will be relaxed and peaceful this way. It is womblike to them.
After baby is floating and has settled, you bring the top of baby’s head against your abdomen and place your free hand on their forehead. This way you can feel that their face is out of the water.
At this point, the rebirthing partner will turn the lights out or down. It is most important that baby’s face stays out of the water. Make it as dark as you are comfortable with, while maintaining that. This may mean anything from drawing the curtain to just a night light or candle to total darkness. This is simulating the womb.
Now, you will pour her heart out to baby. Talk about everything that has happened up to this point (starting from pregnancy, through the birth, and beyond) and what you hope for the future. Talk about feelings, both physical and emotional. Talk about the positive and the negative and about moving forward, vision moving forward. Cathartic crying is usually involved.
When you have poured your heart out, welcome your rebirthing partner back in to bring a warm towel (a heating pad, a cooling oven, or a space heater works for this) and to turn the lights on. At the same time as the light level goes up, bring the baby out of the tub; like they are being born from the simulated womb. Baby goes immediately to your bare chest and has a warm towel placed over them, as would happen with birth.
Hang out in the water, skin to skin like this, for as long as everyone is happy there. Most often baby will wiggle down and latch themselves on, as in laid back breastfeeding. When they are ready, you hand baby to your rebirthing partner and climb out. It helps if this is followed by a 48 hour “babymoon” filled with skin to skin and unlimited access to the breast.
Tips:
~Aim for a baby who is not full, but not actively hungry. About an hour after a feeding is usually a good goal.
~If milk has already started transitioning (“come in”), breasts are best comfortably full. There should be enough for a baby to easily remove, but not engorged where baby might get overwhelmed.
~Try to avoid bottles for 48 hours before rebirthing. If supplementing is happening, using a bottle alternative or non-traditional bottle for just those proceeding 48 hours helps.
~If not comfortable with all aspects of the rebirthing procedure, the elements that are most important is that baby is enabled to float peacefully for a while, then brought to your chest and allowed to hang out there for a while, hopefully even latch on.