How to Answer ‘Mom, What’s Childbirth?’

Discussing and explaining specific topics to your child can be a challenging and uncomfortable task — for instance, childbirth. However, there are always a few tips that can help you overcome the awkward situation better. Having said that, how do you explain the curious topic of childbirth to your child?

An excellent way to discuss the process of childbirth is by answering the question at hand. For instance, start by saying something like, “Once the mother goes to the hospital, the doctor takes the baby out from mothers’ tummy.” It is an excellent way to initiate the conversation and see how the child reacts. You can then determine whether the child is ready to learn more about the process.

Most parents find themselves in a situation where the child asks questions that they are not comfortable answering and sometimes have no idea how to react, whatsoever.

 


 

How to Respond When a Child Asks How Babies Are Born?

 

Children, when growing up, are curious and want to know everything about the world. Most children, when growing up, play with baby dolls and like to meet other kids, especially babies. However, things start to get uncomfortable when your child keeps wondering where these babies come from and how they are pulled out of a women’s stomach. 

In this article, we will discuss some of the ways that can you can find accommodating. To be honest, there is no right or wrong way to explain to your child where babies come from, but at times specific ways can seem more daunting than others.

The acceptance of the tips discussed below is open for individual interpretation. You can choose anyone that better suits your family. In the end, it is about getting the message across. If you believe one way is better than others, then that is what you should utilize.

1 | Trust That They’re Ready to Hear an Answer From You

 

Your child would be mature enough to hear the answer if they are mature enough to ask the question. As a parent, most of us do not want to cross this line when it comes to discussing or introducing our kids to adult topics. We do not want to tell them anything that they are not prepared for and lose their innocence in the process. 

That being said, it is essential to remember that the intake of all the information they need to and the rest of it will fly over their heads. Thus, you do not have to go all crazy in your explanation. It is fine to explain what happens in the childbirth process. 

Another thing to notice is, if the child asks you a mature question, they are ready to accept a mature answer from you. They are not naïve and usually know what they are capable of handling. However, if they cannot handle or take, what would be the worst-case scenario? 

They would say, ‘That is gross!’ and will move on with their life, until next time. A lot of parents suggest that it is always in the best interest to answer the questions as far as children are ready to accept the answer. 

Kids are getting smarter every day. If they cannot find the answer they want from you, they will go ahead and get those answers from someone else. Thus, it is in your best interest to answer them yourself, as you would be sure where they are getting the information from. 

2 | Resources Are Your Best Friend

 

Another tip to provide an answer to the questions your child may have is to make use of visual aids, such as videos. There are several videos available online, which can be used to explain the process of childbirth without using graphical images. If you think it is right, you can even use the actual live childbirth videos. 

While the preference of live birth videos might change from person to person, there some people who find them useful. Baby centers usually have an animated video that people love; however, if your kid is curious, you might want to explain everything in detail.

You can find the video on YouTube and can pre-screen here. Always make sure you pre-screen all the videos that you suggest to your child. This video is very resourceful and can be easily understandable for a young child. It video goes through the entire labor and delivery process and is quite easy to understand. 

There are several other animated videos, highly suggested by a lot of parents. Thus, look around, and you will get to know a lot of original content to explain the childbirth process to your kid. You can also find live video showings for your kids. There are videos available online. However, make sure you pre-screen such videos beforehand. You don’t want your kids to watch something they aren’t ready to see.

By using the live birth process of animals, you can also discuss the childbirth process with your kids, without showing them any graphics. Not only is it less graphical, but it also has a safe side of cuteness related to animals. It is undoubtedly less awkward in comparison, as well. By looking at these videos, kids can understand that the mother needs assistance from other people for moms to have their babies. 

Illustrations courtesy of Shutterstock.

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3 | Keep Things Simple

 

One of the best ways to do things is to keep them simple. By keeping things simple to explain any sensitive subject to your kid is one of the most effective ways. If your child asks you a specific question, provide them with an answer, and wait to offer them any further information. 

Your child will let you know if they still have any doubts about the topic and or if they need more explanation on the matter. Either they will continue to ask more questions or will look completely mystified. Regardless of that, you will get to know if they still have any more questions left. 

A good rule to follow is, if the kid does not ask a particular question, do not provide the answer. For instance, if they ask how the baby is taken out of the tummy and not how they get inside, it means they are not ready to learn the answer for the latter question. 

However, if you, as a parent, believe that it is the right time to discuss certain things with your child, you should do it. If they are not interested, they will let you know or probably stop listening to what you have to say. 

Remember, all of these tips are based upon the opinions of other parents and other websites. You can take the information you like and leave what you don’t. 

4 | Preparation is Key

 

Your child is growing up, and so is the curiosity inside them. Thus, it is always beneficial to be prepared. If you, as a parent, are ready for questions like, “How babies are born?” then you will have an easier time answering the question. 

And as the saying goes, practice makes a man perfect. Practice the scenario a few times with someone else in your family, friends, or anyone else. You might find it a bit awkward at first, but in the end, you will end up having great laughing sessions and will get all the practice that you need to help you prepare for your D-Day. 

If you start explaining things from childbirth, discussing the process of birth will not feel weird at all. If you think it is a wise thought. If you consider all the things with your kids from the time they were born, you will not feel uncomfortable on the day when your child finally asks you the childbirth question. This is because you two have a good background in sharing thoughts together. 

A few ways to do this is by teaching your kids following things early on: what babies are, who doctors are and the role they play, how babies grow inside the mothers’ stomach for nine months until they are born, and the differences between boys and girls. If you start discussing the basics early, it will not complicate things later.

You will be in a more comfortable position to discuss childbirth with your curious child. While this is a shortlist of topics, every parent will have to decide on their own what things they want to share with their child and what would be the right time to do so. 

 


 

5 | Be Resourceful

 

Another way to discuss things with your kids is through the use of books. By providing your kids with books on the subject matter can be a great way to discuss uncomfortable topics. There are many different quality books available that can be extremely useful in explaining the process of childbirth to your kids. 

One such book is When You Were Inside Mommy’s Tummy by Joanna Cole. This book is very informative by providing your kids with lively illustrations and introducing them to the concept of childbirth and pregnancy. The books explain everything from the time they begin as a tiny cell to the happy moment when the parents brought the kid into the new world of life. 

This book is a great way to describe what babies are and how they are brought into the world. In addition to this, some of the other books that children can use to learn more about the topic include the following: 

 

  • A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson and Lars Hamberger One more book that can explain the process of childbirth to kids is, A Child Is Born by Lennart Nilsson and Lars Hamberger. However, it takes a more scientific look into the childbirth process and can help your kids find answers to a few additional questions that they might have. Since it is much more scientific that one listed above, you would want to have a look at the pictures includes in it, before allowing your kids to go through them.
  • What to Expect When Mommy’s Having a Baby, by Heidi Murkoff The book can be used as an excellent resource by your kids to understand more about the questions they have. The book uses an animated character of a dog, who is named Angus to explain to kids what to expect when the mother is having a baby. 
  • You Were Born on Your Very First Birthday, by Linda Walvoord Girard This is another book that can be used by kids. This classic book helps a child understand the beauty of bringing new life to the Earth. The description of a tiny baby, developing and coming to life, is as insightful and useful as it gets. 

6 | Bring Them in on the Experience

 

This tip is particularly essential for pregnant women who need help explaining their child about the childbirth process, how it works, and how it happens. If you are pregnant, you can let them experience pregnancy along with you to help them understand in the most effective manner. 

By allowing them to come with you during your appointment with the doctor and letting them hear the heartbeat, they will be able to experience and learn better. When they see a child grow inside you, and as your doctor talks about your baby, they will be able to learn much better as compared to anything else. 

You can even allow them to experience the baby kick and move to understand how the baby grows. Let them have a conversation with your baby, just like you do. Not only will they get to know the childbirth process, but it will also help them to build a stronger relationship with the baby.

 


 

7 | Use The Correct Language

 

Another efficient way to answer the questions that your child might have is by making use of the proper terms. Doing so might feel awkward when having a conversation with an adult, but when you are explaining it to your child, the words do not carry a lot of meaning to them. 

Thus, when you make use of proper terms, as a parent, you are aware and can decide how, when and why the kids are learning these words and what is the actual meaning of it. There is nothing much better than talking to your kids and helping them understand what you mean to say. 

You would hate to pick up your child from the school and find out someone else taught them these words but did not provide the right meaning. Only you can help them understand the correct meaning and in the proper sense. 

However, make sure you ask your kids not to speak about these words or meaning with their friends, as the family of their friends would not want that to happen. Or their friends’ parents would like to explain these things by themselves to their friends.

That being said, if they are eager to talk about it, ask them to speak to you. When they talk about something to someone, they tend to understand things in a better way. 

 


 

8 | Be the Person to Go To

 

The last tip that would be right to end this is to always ask your kid by telling them – if they have any more questions or need any clarification, they can come to ask you any time of the day. Always maintain an open window of communication with your kid. Being curious, kids can still find themselves running into more questions. 

Children should feel comfortable and safe coming to parents with all the questions they might have. And by offering a place to go anytime will help them grow tremendously. 

Yes, there is no doubt that such questions are going to be extremely uncomfortable for you. But do not shy away from conversing with your kids. After all, your child is only going to be young once.

At Never the Right Word, our aim is to give you practical examples of how to handle life’s difficult conversations. If you have an awkward situation that you’d like example templates for, request a topic here.   

If you’re interested in further reading, we’ve also included links to our trusted resources and related posts below. To find out more about NTRW and our recommended tools, you can do that here.  

Lastly, if you found this content helpful or want to share your own examples, let us know in the comments. We’d also be delighted if you shared this article and joined us on social media too!

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Never the Right Word

Never the Right Word

Hi there! I’m Amy, and I’m the person behind Never the Right Word. I’m a designer-by-day who’s fascinated by human psychology; you’ll find me learning about what makes others tick through all types of media and good old-fashioned conversation. Learn more about me here.

In 2019 Never the Right Word was born to fill the gap of ‘how-to’ websites with copy and paste examples showing you EXACTLY what you need to say to steer difficult conversations into positive outcomes.

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