B.R.A.I.N.
B.R.A.I.N. (or as I affectionally call it, “Brian”, when I spell it wrong!) is an acronym I first came across through pregnancy yoga training. It stands for:
Benefits
Risks
Alternatives
Intuition
Nothing
It is a really useful tool particularly in pregnancy (but actually for any life situation) for approaching choices. Below I give examples of how to use B.R.A.I.N. in pregnancy or in everyday life. (scroll down half way if you are not expecting a baby!)
What do you do with B.R.A.I.N.?
First you ask – What are the Benefits?
Then – What are the Risks?
And – What are the Alternatives?
Then you check in with your Intuition - How do you feel? What does your gut instinct say? (By the way, it’s always right)
Finally you ask – What happens if I do Nothing?
In Pregnancy:
B.R.A.I.N is a useful check list to use at any appointment where you are being told that things have changed in your pregnancy and you are being advised to consider a new option or options. These options may or may not be in your ideal labour and birth plan. They may be simple choices or more complex.
Let’s take the example of Induction. We know that currently, induction levels for birth in the UK are very high. Higher than they need to be according to many birth professionals and according to nature itself. Induction is a really useful tool for SOME pregnancies. For SOME pregnancies it is not as useful. How do we decide?
1. Educate yourself on all your birth options – not just the one you hope for.
Look at information about natural, spontaneous labour, induced labour and caesarean birth. Find out about home birth and hospital birth. Take a look at water birth and land based birth options. All of these births can happen at any point no matter what you have planned or hoped for, so having an idea of what you’d like to do in each scenario makes a lot of sense. It is a really good idea to make sure the information you look to is evidence based and not just Instagram!
Especially take a look at the information from your local birth professionals – what do your local home birth team or hospital or other chosen place of birth provide? What are their statistics for birth? What does this tell you about how they will support you on your chosen path or if things change?
You can find information from your midwife, health visitor, hospital, NHS antenatal classes and also nationally known professionals such as
www.aims.org.uk - birth information
www.nice.org.uk - guidelines for birth
www.birthrights.org.uk - your rights in pregnancy and birth
www.nhs.uk
www.sarawickham.com -evidence based information
2. Take your B.R.A.I.N. acronym card, which you can download below, to your antenatal appointments and have it to hand in your birth room for you and your birth partner to refer to.
Have it to hand as you ask questions about choices you are being offered. Remember that you are an individual, not a national statistic that fits into the same box as everyone else. What’s right for you, might not be right for someone else and vice versa. At all times it is YOUR BODY, YOUR BABY, YOUR CHOICE. You have the right to ask lots of questions, get second opinions and change your mind at any point.
Remember you are asking about you and your baby as a unique team, ask your health professionals:
What are the Benefits of being induced for ME and MY Baby?
What are the Risks of being induced for ME and MY Baby?
What are the Alternatives to induction for ME and MY Baby?
Then check in - before this information what did your Intuition say? Has that changed with this information? It is also ok if your Intuition changes its mind later on…
Finally, ask what happens if we do Nothing at this point? For 24 hours? For a week? (You can use whatever timescales fit here depending on what choice your making – during labour you might ask what happens if we do nothing for 30mins when being offered choices.)
Make sure you get all the information you need to make your choice and in a way that you understand, ask them to really explain medical jargon if they use it. Ask how long you have to make your choice, always take time to think about it and reflect, even gather more information yourself -whether that’s for 5 minutes or a couple of days or more. And it is ALWAYS ok to change your mind at any time.
So can you now apply B.R.A.I.N. to something you have already made choices about? Has it changed anything?
For the remainder of your pregnancy, labour, birth and also postnatally, use B.R.A.I.N. wherever it helps you to make the best choices for you and your baby.
If you are not expecting a baby
B.R.A.I.N. is a really useful tool for all of us. You can use it for everyday choices, or for those bigger life decisions. It may just help you make the best choice for you at that time.
Remember what it stands for:
First you ask – What are the Benefits?
Then – What are the Risks?
And – What are the Alternatives?
Then You check in with your Intuition. How do you feel? What does your gut instinct say? (By the way, it’s always right)
Finally you ask – What happens if I do Nothing?
Let’s take the somewhat silly (but on some days legitimate) example of choosing a sandwich:
First you ask – What are the Benefits? Maybe one is healthier than the other.
Then – What are the Risks? Perhaps one is smaller, so you might still feel hungry afterwards.
And – What are the Alternatives? Are there any other sandwich options at all? Or a different type of food available?
Then you check in with your Intuition - How do you feel? What does your gut instinct say? It’s always right (no pun intended for this example!)
Finally you ask – What happens if I do Nothing? - In this case you could be hungry! But you could also do nothing for ten minutes and then decide, or take 30 mins and then see if your requirements are still for a sandwich or have moved onto something different.
And remember you can always change your mind – always, even if you think you can’t there is always a way even for more difficult decisions!
Can you apply B.R.A.I.N. to a more challenging choice you’ve made recently. Would it have helped you decide the best way forwards?
For a more challenging situation you would be looking to find lots of information on Benefits, Risks and alternatives e.g. with a new job offer – does it pay more, is it permanent, is there a different role available to you etc etc.
When making decisions do you listen to your intuition enough? Do you do nothing for a while when making decisions, give yourself time to think, gather information and then decide? If you don’t do these things very often, would it help you to give yourself space and listen in to yourself more?
Of course every scenario you are working with is unique, with many variations and things to consider, so there is no real right or wrong choice. B.R.A.I.N. won’t help you with every situation, some are way too complex. But maybe this blog has sparked something that you might use in the future.
We’re just into 2024. A new year. Maybe there are some life changes, resolutions or intentions you are making that B.R.A.I.N. could help you make choices with?
Let me know if you use B.R.A.I.N. and how its has helped you, I’d love to hear from you.
Download your B.R.A.I.N card by clicking on the image - it should open in a new window.
