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| 17-7-2008 - Natural Pain Relief in Labour |  My mood while writing this blog:Excited for by own labour! |
[in no particular order]
Keep moving and stay busy until you find you need or want to slow right down and be still. Try moving DURING a contraction too. This works wonders for some. Certainly, aim to keep you body 'loose' and 'floppy' during a contraction, rather than tensing up and fighting against it. Tension intensifies pain.
Leaning slightly forward onto a cupboard or wall and making a figure of eight move with your hips helps to ease tension and can really get the baby moving!
Birth balls are comfortable, keep the baby's gravity right over your cervix, help widen your pelvis considerable when straddled and soft bouncing or figure of eight movements really ease tension and discomfort! [I had one for my last birth and an utter fan.]
Go to the loo frequently! A full bladder and bowel WILL slow labour.
VISUALISATION - Picture your cervix dilating smoothly and evenly; picture your baby descending slowly and contentedly down into your pelvis; with second stage, picture the crowning in your mind very clearly, or imagine you are watching a animal give birth. [If you don’t think visualisation can work wonders, consider what thoughts/images you create when you make love! And think how altering those images to ones of distress and anxiety would effect your arousal!]
Saying ‘Birth Affirmations’ will remind you how natural, healthy and rewarding birthing is, for you and your baby. http://birthandmotherhood.com/birthaffirmations.html
Remind yourself regularly that any pain you are feeling is BENIGN. It is your body working for you NOT against you. You are not injured. Your body is not distressed, but calming unfolding and working just as it was created to.
Sleep! In early labour, and for some, right up until active labour, any chance to sleep will calm and strengthen you.
Water! Consider a waterbirth. They are notorious for reducing tension and pain. At the least, hop in the shower or bath and have a long soak.
Choose birth partner well IF you should feel you‘d like one at all. Override feelings of duty or obligation about who ‘should’ be with you at YOUR birth. If you know someone won’t cope well or you won’t able to relax fully in their company in birth, tell them they cannot be with you, even if it is your partner. Your state of mind effects the comfort of yourself and your baby. It would be unreasonable for anyone to think they had a ’right’ to be there regardless. You only get one chance, one birth-day with your baby.
Homebirth - if at all possible, strive for a homebirth. They are notoriously easier, safer and more fulfilling. http://sheilakitzinger.com/Homebirth.htm
Freely eat & drink what you WANT. Food and drink is one of life’s great pleasures. Apart from nourishing you and giving you more energy and strength, it can be very gratifying in itself and ease your mood.
Talk to your baby, either out loud or in your mind. Be positive and welcoming.
Remember ‘transition’, the point where the body shifts from first stage (opening up) to second stage (expulsion/pushing) can be a short but distinct period of confusion and disorientation, due to swift hormonal changes. If you are aware of this phase and anticipate it, you can rely on yourself more to just wait it out. It is rarely more than 5-8 minutes long.
Think of yourself FIRST. Disregard how your movements, sounds or looks will affect others. Birthing is common amongst womankind but not common within our own daily life. We will of course behave in an unUSUAL way.
Position! Do NOT at any time attempt to birth on your back or in a semi reclined position. You effectively have to first push your baby down and then upward and within a far more restricted pelvic opening. Being upright is by far and away the most superior position for birth. [To slow a labour that is progressing too quickly or one where any discomfort is felt down the thighs OR where you are too tired to stand lying on your LEFT side with your chest supported a little by pillows.]
Make love! This will seriously reduce pain sensation if you have an orgasm and will make you relaxed as only sex can! http://unassistedchildbirth.com/sensual/sex.html
Make jokes! Laughter is always the best tonic for any kind of tension. “Always look on the bright side of life” as the song goes.
Music. If there is any kind of music or even a single track that really gets to you in a positive way, let it play!
Smells! Some mums really respond to certain smells. If you are such a mum, think about treating yourself to some of your favourite smells. Lavendar is reputed to be the most soothing of smells amd can be bought cheaply as a room scenter too or in oil for a burner.
A glass of wine or whatever your favourite tipple is, if you drink, will be very soothing (and in moderation will be NO harm to your baby). Drinking a ‘social’ drink can remind you what is happening is all part of normal, human life. Just like sharing a drink with a friend or relaxing with one at the weekend, it will make you feel indulged and lighthearted.
Comfort: pillows, quilts, a fan, a heater (depending on the season), anything that makes you feel cosy and secure.
Subdued lighting and silence. These can have a massive impact, on you and on your baby if it is born into such a atmosphere. [Treat your baby to this BEFORE the birth: ‘Birth Without Violence’ by Frederick Leboyer]
Knowledge. The more informed and birth aware you are the better. [Try and read ‘Childbirth Without Fear’ by Grantly Dick-Read. Painfree birth really does exist!].
Be sure of your birth plan and make sure your carer, if you use one, knows exactly what are your does, don’ts and expectations.
Remember any carer you choose to use is there to serve YOU not themselves. Don’t apologise for asking for more information or saying no to anything they may suggest. YOU are the most important person in the room!
Massage!
Hot flannels on your perineum will soften that area if you are wary of tearing (yet a tear is superior to a cut). Also, heat packs on your lower back are so soothing!
Don't push unless you get an urge to. Pushing in labour can be exhausting IF you don‘t have any urge to do it. But ‘Blue Pushing’, where you hold your breath and push with every ounce of your being can be positively dangerous to both you and your baby (as it deprives you both of oxygen and tires you very quickly, putting stress on the baby and making you tense. Tension increases pain sensation) and is far more likely to lead to deep tearing. Only push if your body tells you to and even then push in short, firm, relaxed bursts.
Aboveall, “Let your monkey do it” (a good phrase to repeat if you like mantras). We have an innate ability to sort ourselves out, a raw, almost animal quality that trusts our bodies and its biology if freed of conformity and customs. Clear your mind of all restraint. Speak to the ‘monkey’ within and tell her to sort it out! There‘s nothing scary about natural childbirth if you, “Let your monkey do it“.
Comments on Natural Pain Relief in Labour
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