Birth Advice from Bill Murray

Planning a natural hospital birth? Bill Murray gives his advice to Birth Boot Camp students in Monterey, CA.

My husband is a huge Bill Murray fan. One of the things he does for fun is this for charity:

I am also a fan, but I'm more of a Lost In Translation fan than Ghostbusters. What's important here, is that when my students shared the following story, Eric and I LOVED it. Bill Murray, love, talking about birth... double love! And he actually gave amazing advice! 

Melissa and Dan took my Salinas Spring 2015 class. At the first class they shared that they had just met Bill Murray, and seeing that Melissa was pregnant, he gave them some birth advice. Unsolicited birth advice is usually not very helpful, "Oh you will be begging for that epidural," "You are having a home birth? I would have died if I was at home," "You are pregnant? Let me share my most traumatic birth experience with you!" Rarely do women get practical, positive birth advice from a stranger.

Unless that stranger is Bill Murray.

Bill Murray's advice:

"Bring a fan because Moms in labor get hot."

"Tell everyone you are due a month after your real due date."

"Bring something to hang on the hospital wall to make it look nice."

"Bring night lights because the hospital lighting can be really bright and intense."

Seriously... Bill Murry is moonlighting as a doula. This is the solid advice of a seasoned professional! He is also the father of six boys, but I just can't believe how on it he was with these unique and genuinely helpful tips. I just have to share why.  

"Bring a fan because Moms in labor get hot."
Moms DO get hot, especially in transition. Mom may go from comfortable to intense hot flashes with very little warning so being prepared for those shifts is key. I shared a friend and Birth Boot Camp grad's birth where she suddenly got very hot and her doula had to use her teeth to help her get out of her gown. Another favorite. Be prepared with ice packs, misters, fans, cold drinks and easy to remove clothing.

"Tell everyone you are due a month after your real due date."
The controversial due date. One mom in Melissa and Dan's class actually DID tell everyone she was due a month later than she was. This is brilliant. Normal gestation is 37-42 weeks, but it's not uncommon for friends and family to freak out if mom passes her due date, even though this is totally normal.

"Bring something to hang on the hospital wall to make it look nice."
During a hospital birth, make the space your own. Sights and smells from home can help mom feel safe, lessen anxiety, and stimulate hormones essential to birth. Many women have some anxiety about being in the hospital, making the room look less sterile can help mom relax. Have friends make affirmation flags at your baby shower. Create some birth art while envisioning what your ideal birth looks like. Personalizing your birth space isn't just for mom's benefit, it can communicate to hospital staff that they are entering your sacred space in a very non-confrontational way.

"Bring night lights because the hospital lightning can be really bright and intense."
Yes Bill Murray, you are once again right on! The lighting in a hospital room was designed with hospital procedures and not laboring women in mind. Hopefully during labor there are few procedures being done so turn those lights down and use night lights. Oxytocin, the hormone that causes contractions and creates a feeling of well being for laboring women, works best when mom is in a dark warm space. Humans, like animals, labor best with privacy. Nurses will usually respect a woman's desire to labor in this way, but if lights are turned on partners can turn them down again once the nurse steps out.

I so enjoyed this list. It also appears that Bill Murray also loves babies. The weekend that Bill Murray was in town some of my friends posted pictures of him posing with their babies, interactions he initiated.

Bill Murray went out of his way to meet Birth Boot Camp baby Dylan!

Bill Murray reenacting a scene from the Lion King with my friend from school's baby, Tydus. You can follow baby Tydus on instagram at @babytydus

Do you have a great Bill Murray or celebrity birth advice story? Please share!