During my last pregnancy, I created a few affirmation cards for me to use before and during the birth. I wanted to fill my space during my pregnancy and birth with beautiful reminders of God’s promises to me that would also provide encouragement for moments when I was discouraged or struggling to believe in myself and in Him. But then…well, I kinda got on a rolI. I kept thinking of more and more beautiful and poignant phrases and prayers for pregnancy and birth and couldn’t quite stop once I started!
By the end of my pregnancy I had created over 120 options (yes, 120) that I then sorted into 6 groups: General, Supernatural, Scriptural, Saintly, Traditional Prayers, and (thanks to the inspiration of a reader who contacted me sharing that she had done this and that they had helped her!) I included a set of quotes from my book Made for This: The Catholic Mom’s Guide to Birth. And now I get to share them with you!
These affirmation cards are now all available for download in my store! You can get each set individually or get all of them in the bundle at a huge discount.
There’s no one way to use affirmations! They are simply meant to be reminders of what we already know to be true or invitations to prayer when we might need it most. You may have seen birth photos where affirmation cards are hung in the birth space. So many women find them helpful. These ones are particularly unique in that they contain spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional encouragement within the context of the Catholic Faith.
Here’s a few ideas for the ways that clients and others have used printed birth affirmations:
• Hang them in your home before the birth…on the bathroom mirror, in your bedroom, in your prayer space, by the kitchen sink. Hang anywhere that you will see often.
• Hang them around your birth space to offer encouragement and reminders during your actual birth.
• If planning a hospital or birth center birth, you can bring them to the hospital and bring them there to hang! I’ve known plenty of mothers who have done this and it helps to make the space feel more personal and comfortable (which also helps facilitate better oxytocin release!)
• You can laminate the cards, put them on a binder ring, and have your husband or doula read them to you during your labor or simply read them yourself out loud or quietly.
• If you have one you absolutely love, it can even be framed! I intentionally used sizing to fit a standard size frame.
• After birth you can place the ones you found most special to you during pregnancy and birth into baby’s room to decorate or in a baby book as a keepsake.
The blue and green floral color scheme was chosen in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s motherhood and representative of new life. But if there ends up being a lot of interest in these, I may consider working on and adding different designs in the future!
I’m excited to share these with the world and I hope a few mothers out there find them helpful for their births! Please know that every purchase also includes a special prayer for your birth from me.
Oh, and don't forget to take a pic of them in use and tag @madeforthisbirth and #madeforthisbirth in your Instagram posts! I'd love to see them in use and share!
