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LABOR: getting through & staying comfy! (relaxation & coping info)
- Aug 12, 2008 at 3:48 PM
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LABOR: getting through & staying comfy! (relaxation & coping info ~ also see replies below for more)
Relaxation Techniques for Women Giving Birth Naturally
For women giving birth naturally, the most critical skill to master is relaxation. It may seem odd to consider relaxation a skill, but indeed it is.
Maintaining
relaxation in the face of the unknown, in the midst of the emotional
journey into motherhood, can be a daunting task. If negative
thoughts or self-doubt creep into your mind, they can undermine your
ability to turn your body over to birthing and ultimately
make
your birthing a painful experience.
To
illustrate the skill of maintaining relaxation amidst distraction, Pam
England, in her book
Birthing From Within
, suggests taking the "ice
cube" test: holding an ice cube in your hand when you think
you're completely relaxed.
After
a few minutes, you will most likely find that your "relaxation" has
vanished.
Relaxation techniques can be
applied to every aspect of your life. The benefits
of relaxation for improving people's physical and mental
health have been well documented.
Barriers to Relaxation
To birth your baby, your body must open. Tense, tight muscles impede that opening. If you condition your body now to stay relaxed in the face of distraction, you will be better equipped to slip into deep relaxation during labor and birth.
Different
factors may impede women giving birth naturally from fully relaxing,
including their perceptions
of childbirth. If a woman harbors negative
connotations or phobias about childbirth, these feelings can interfere
with her ability to trust her body and truly relax. Any of
the following techniques may be employed to learn relaxation for
childbirth. Before starting them, read the guidelines for
using relaxation
techniques for childbirth.
Relaxation Techniques
There are many avenues available to learn relaxation. The key is finding what works for you. Some of the most commonly used methods include:
Relaxation Scripts
A relaxation script is critical. I used one during both my pregnancies. These scripts can be read by a partner or you can choose a relaxation audio instead. I was amazed by how naturally relaxation came - I even fell asleep during transition, the most intense phase of labor. I truly believe that my daily relaxation practice was the key to both my pain-free births. I can't recommend them enough.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progress
muscle relaxation techniques can be particularly effective
for women giving birth naturally. With this technique, you
learn to actively tense and then release individual muscles or muscle
groups. By doing so, you learn to discriminate tense vs.
relaxed muscles and ultimately maintain a relaxed state at will.
Visualization
Visualization can be a powerful tool for women giving birth. This is a technique commonly used by athletes. You learn to visualize the whole experience of birth-from early labor to delivery. In your mind, you picture all aspects of your birthing and how you will react to each new development. When we see ourselves successfully giving birth naturally, we are better able to trust our bodies when actual labor begins. A guided imagery exercise in which visual imagery represents the birth process, such as picturing your body opening like the petals of a flower, can also be effective. The Hypnobirthing book contains several quality imagery scripts.
Music
Music speaks to people in many ways. It has such a varied impact upon people. Music can be used as a tool to evoke emotions across the spectrum-from energizing and invigorating you to soothing you to sleep
Women giving birth naturally benefit by using relaxation music as part of their relaxation routine to instill relaxation at the first strains of that familiar melody.
Whatever method or methods you choose, they will be most effective with consistent practice. So the next time you sit back and put your feet up, remember you're hard at work preparing for your birthing!
http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/women-giving-birth.html
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Learning to Use Relaxation for Labor
Since relaxation holds the key to managing pain in labor, it is important that you take the necessary time to learn and master techniques to relax your body, and to keep it relaxed during contractions. Relaxing through pain takes practice. Even if you have tried relaxation methods in the past, chances are your first response to pain (headaches, muscle cramps, stubbing your toe) is to tense the offending part of your body.
The information contained in this page is meant to help you learn to relax. Do not rush this process. Try each exercise for a week or more before moving on to the next. Practice in various situations, in different positions. Try it when you have a headache or other pain to see if you are able to concentrate enough to relax through the pain.
Start slow. Active muscular relaxation takes practice. If you are the average American woman, sitting still for five minutes will be a difficult task for you, as we are constantly on the go. Gradually increase the amount of time you spend in relaxation daily until you have the concentration necessary to relax for at least half an hour. During labor, your contractions will be 60 to 90 seconds long at their most intense, but you may desire to continue relaxation between contractions when the labor nears transition.
Learn What Tension Feels Like
Your first job will be to learn to recognize tension in your body. Quite possibly your body is carrying a lot of tension right now, only you are so used to feeling it that you don't even recognize that you are tense! Understanding the difference between a tensed and a relaxed muscle is key to being able to relax on demand.
Begin this exercise by assuming a comfortable position lying on your side, whichever side is most comfortable to you, with the top leg bent forward reaching past the bottom leg. The actual position you choose will be personal to you and your bodies intricacies. For some women, a pillow under the knee of the top leg will improve comfort. For other women, a pillow under the head. Do not be too concerned about the placement of your arms, do what feels comfortable.
This side-lying position will be the basis for most of your relaxation exercises. That is because it is one of only two positions that allow you to relax every muscle in your body as much as possible. You see, every muscle in your body has an opposing muscle so that you can move the parts of your body in many different directions. When one muscle is fully relaxed, its opposing muscle is fully tensed! For that reason, straight legs and arms should be an indication to you that your muscles are not as relaxed as they should be.
Lying on your side will allow you to bend your joints half way, without putting too much pressure on any muscle group. Allowing your muscles to be as relaxed as possible to start helps you achieve the most relaxation possible.
In your comfortable side-lying position, choose a part of your body and tense it as much as possible. For example, if you chose your shoulders, lift them high to your ears really crunching your neck. Feel the discomfort and tightness in these muscles. Recognize how the tightness carries to neighboring muscles.
Then, after holding that tension for about ten seconds, release the muscles, letting the body part go limp or get soft. Remember not to take the muscles into the opposite tensed position yet, we are trying to learn the difference between tensed and relaxed, not between the two possible tensions for each body part. Feel the looseness in the muscle, and the difference in comfort. Repeat the tensing and relaxing a few more times, trying to achieve a deeper relaxation of the muscle each time.
After you have tensed and relaxed that muscle group in one direction a few times, switch to the other direction. For the shoulder example, you will now press your shoulders down toward your waist, as if you were trying to stretch your arms to reach something low without bending over. Feel the tension that is created by the muscle this way, and the difference between the tensed position and the relaxed position.
There may be other directions you can try with certain muscle groups. For example the shoulders can be tensed forward or backward, each time tensing a different set of muscles. Become as familiar as possible with the feeling of tension in your muscles. Once you have explored all possibilities with a muscle group, move on to a different group. Don't forget to do your face and neck, back and buttocks, chest and stomach.
What you will find during the week or two that you practice this exercise is that some muscles will come under your control very easily, and you will be able to relax them without tensing them first. That is good, in fact that is what you ultimately want to achieve. You will also find that there are muscles that seem resistant to your desire to have them relax. That is ok, you need to know what muscles you need help relaxing so your coaches will know where to concentrate efforts.
Many women find that doing these exercises before they go to bed helps them achieve a more restful nights sleep. That should not be surprising to us, as experts have been telling us that stress in our lives affects our sleep for years. Relaxation is a way to alleviate some of the stress your body is feeling. It will not remove the source of your stress, but it can help you manage it more effectively.
Progressive Relaxation
Once you have learned to tell the difference between a tensed muscle and a relaxed muscle, and have gained the ability to relax some muscles at will, you are ready to go onto the next step. Perhaps you have heard of progressive relaxation before and thought it had to do with self-hypnosis or the new age movement. It may be used for those purposes, but there is nothing anti-Christian about the act of relaxing your muscles. The name simply refers to an exercise of working from one end of your body to the other trying to make every part relaxed at one time.
Begin as before in the side-lying position. Choose a part of the body to begin with (many women find it is easier to work from one end of the body to the other rather than try to start in the middle and work towards both ends). Relax the muscle group you choose to start with, if you need to tense and relax it a few times that is ok. Be sure the muscle group is very well relaxed before moving on.
Now, keeping that muscle group as relaxed as possible, relax the muscle group that is next. So, if you are starting with your feet you will move on to your ankles and calves and then to knees and thighs. The key is to relax each part of your body without losing the relaxation in the muscle groups you have already relaxed.
This may take time to learn, but do not get discouraged. If you lose the relaxation in your feet while you try to relax your thighs, continue until your thighs are relaxed then go back and relax your feet again. Then you can either work your way back up your leg or jump to your hips if the leg has remained relaxed.
The idea is to be able to relax your entire body at one time. This may seem an overwhelming task, but it is one that will get easier with practice. You may soon find that you surprise yourself with how well you are able to relax your body. It may become difficult to get up quickly if the phone rings or your toddler wakes from a nap, so be sure that you have set aside time to practice your relaxation when you will not be disturbed.
Abdominal Breathing
This next exercise may seem unusual to you, most people to consider their breathing to be a source of tension in their lives. And yet, there are very few things that have as much effect on your ability to relax as your breathing.
Shallow chest breathing, the breathing style you probably use every day, uses the muscles of the chest and the ribcage to expand and collapse the lung cavity. The change in size changes the air pressure and either forces are in or out of your lungs. But chest breathing uses a lot of muscles to perform this task, wasting your energy and keeping your chest in an almost constant state of tension.
Abdominal breathing uses the diaphragm muscle to change the size of the lung cavity. Not only does this save energy by using only one muscle, but it also provides you with more "air" because the diaphragm is able to enlarge the lung cavity more than the chest muscles. You get more oxygen with less work.
Another advantage is that because abdominal breathing is so much deeper, it is performed slower than chest breathing. This slowness serves to encourage you to relax your mind and body. Fast breathing, on the other hand, can make you feel tense and rushed.
Begin this exercise by sitting in a semi-upright position with your arms and legs propped up with pillows. You should look as if you are sitting in a recliner chair, and if you have one you can use it in place of the pillows. This is the second position in which all your muscles are able to be evenly relaxed (the first was side-lying).
In this recliner-chair position you should be able to let your head drop so you can see your protruding stomach. Relax your abdominal muscles and your back muscles and begin to breathe slowly and deliberately using the diaphragm rather than the chest muscles. You should see your abdomen rise as you inhale and sink as you exhale. You can place your hands on your stomach and feel the abdomen rise and sink as you breathe.
Once you feel comfortable with the breathing, begin to relax your body using the progressive relaxation. Periodically come back to your breathing to ensure that you are still using the diaphragm and not the chest muscles. Do not be surprised if this exercise makes you sleepy!
You should find in a few days that you are beginning to breathe abdominally throughout the day, not just when you practice your relaxation. That is good because you want to breathe abdominally throughout labor, and it can help you relax if you don't have to keep checking to be sure you are breathing correctly. Be sure to demonstrate this breathing to your coach or coaches to that they know what to look for to help you relax in labor.
Mental Relaxation
Now that you have mastered relaxing your body, you will also need to master relaxing your mind. This does not mean that your brain should become useless and mushy, but rather you need to learn to keep your attention on something for more than twenty seconds. In effect, mental relaxation is training your mind to work better.
It is very easy to get distracted while you labor, and being distracted can cause you to loose your physical relaxation. If you loose your physical relaxation you will feel more pain. So to prevent this distraction, you must learn to focus your attention.
It does not matter what you focus your attention on, simply that you are able to focus it. There are various techniques you can try to, some that you can do alone and others that require the help of a coach.
The most common technique that is taught in childbirth classes is visualization. This is when you close your eyes and imagine a scene being played out in your head. The scene may be a vacation you enjoyed, your favorite movie, you holding your baby or even you sitting at the feet of the father basking in His glory. It should be a scene that is relaxing to you, and that you enjoy.
Another technique would be to listen to music or to sing yourself. Some women enjoy having a coach sing or read to them and focus their attention on the voice. Other women enjoy having their coach relate a story about their lives together, or simply tell them how much they are loved. Learn to shut out the other noises in the room as you focus only on the voice of your coach.
Some women find it helpful to make an audio tape of favorite songs or poems and use that to focus their attention on. Other women enjoy watching a favorite movie or television show to hold their attention. Some women find it helpful to focus on a picture. There is no right or wrong way to keep yourself mentally relaxed, but it will take practice.
After going through the steps to achieve physical relaxation, spend five minutes trying to focus your attention on something without allowing the surrounding environment to distract you. Try a few techniques to see what works best for you. You should find that certain songs, stories or visualizations keep your attention better than others.
Don't worry about increasing your ability to focus beyond five minutes. Five minutes should get you through two contractions and the rest between them during the hardest part of labor. You will most likely find that it is easier to focus your attention during contractions if you allow yourself to pay attention to what is going on around your between contractions.
Like the rest of the relaxation, this will be difficult to learn, but is a very useful tool to have while laboring. Hospitals are busy places with lots of smells, sights and sounds that are unusual. Even if you are planning a homebirth, those who are with you will not be able to keep the house silent. Your goal is to be able to ignore what is happening around you while you relax through a contraction.
It is important that you don't wait for labor to start to try to figure out how to focus your attention. It takes time to increase your ability to not be distracted, and you won't have the time you need once labor starts. Begin practicing this now, to allow you the most benefit in labor.
Learning to Use Relaxation In Labor
Having mastered the techniques to relax, you will also need to understand how to use these techniques once labor begins. There are no hard and fast rules that you must learn to apply, because there are no hard and fast rules about how a labor will proceed.
For most women, labor begins with mild to moderate contractions that range from painless to uncomfortable. These contractions will build in frequency and duration as the labor progresses and their intensity will also build. The key to using relaxation is to match the intensity of your relaxation to the intensity of the contractions.
You may find that at the beginning of labor you do not need to relax, the contractions are not intense or painful and do not demand your attention. That is fine, ignore the contractions and continue on about your day. You will know when to start paying attention.
When the contractions begin to get uncomfortable you can begin to relax appropriately. This may mean that you relax only your abdominal muscles during the contractions, or that you relax only during the peak of the contraction. The amount of relaxation will depend upon the intensity of the contractions. You will have to determine the amount of attention the contractions are demanding.
Eventually, you will get to a point that you have to relax through the entire contraction, and you may find it more comfortable to sit or lie down. That is fine, do what is most comfortable for you. Understand that it may be easier to relax during a contraction if you stretch your muscles or change your position a little between contractions. You may also find that it is easier to relax in certain positions rather than others. You may find that towards the end of your labor it is uncomfortable to be disturbed between contractions and so you continue to actively relax even between contractions. Listen to what your body is telling you, where the pain is most felt and how intense the contractions are to guide your relaxation.
To help you prepare for using relaxation in labor, it is important for you to practice your relaxation in various positions and situations. Try to relax through a few "contractions" while standing up to see how it feels to lean against the wall or a counter top. Try to relax while being supported by a coach. Try some relaxation while sitting in various chairs, or kneeling over various chairs. Try to relax in your car or while walking around the block. Try to relax while in the bathroom or in the tub.
You will find that certain positions are more comfortable to you than others. You will also find that certain positions cause you to tense parts of your body to support your weight. This does not mean that you should or should not use these positions during labor, simply that you and your coach will need to be aware of the extra tension in certain muscles and work to keep them as relaxed as possible if you choose that position for labor.
After running through a few "trial labors" you should be prepared to use your relaxation skills when the real labor begins. Having tried out various positions should help you respond quickly and accurately to the cues your body is sending, allowing you to remain as comfortable as possible while your contractions continue.
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/birth/relax.html
Comments:
Labor Massage
What is labor massage?
Massage is a term given to a variety of physical relaxation techniques that use pressure and movement to help stretch and loosen muscles.
Why labor massage works:
During labor, tense muscles can cause excessively painful contractions. Massage techniques help to relax muscles, decreasing the sensation of pain.
Massage also promotes an overall bodily relaxation, combating the effects of the FEAR-TENSION-PAIN cycle.
How do I use labor massage?
There are numerous reference books written about massage techniques. Additionally, you may be able to find a Licensed Massage Therapist who is able to teach you a few touches that are helpful for labor. We will cover a few basics here.
First, it is important to remember that a laboring woman does not want you to start touching her after the contraction has begun. Nor does she want you to rub her back for a few seconds, then rub her arm, then move back to her neck. Both of these mistakes will cause her to become distracted and she will feel more pain than is necessary. Choose a touch pattern and a part of the body and continue that touch through several contractions.
Second, let the woman find a position that is comfortable for HER, then contort yourself to reach which ever areas of her body are most tense. By forcing her into a position that allows you easy access to her back or legs, you may be defeating your goal of a relaxed body.
Third, if a part of her body is tickled by your touch, consider that to be an indication of tense muscles. Simply apply deep pressure until the muscle is relaxed, and then you will be able to use lighter touches.
Try these specific types of massage:
Sample labor massage Touches:
Hold her arm with one hand, while kneading and the arm with the other hand. Use firm pressure, but do not hurt her arm.
With her hand palm down, support it with one hand while using the other to apply pressure and knead down her index finger. When you reach the end of the finger, stroke from the tip of the finger to the base and then squeeze the whole finger.
If she is in a position that gives you access to her face, place your thumbs on the bridge of her nose. Gently stroke under the eyes and up toward the temples. Repeat the motion moving higher each time.
Place you hands on either side of the thigh. With your fingers pointing away from you, pull your hands up the sides of the leg. When you reach the top, glide your hands to the other side and pull them down to the knee again.
Using Touch
Hip Squeeze
Nipple Stimulation
Perineal Massage
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/cn/technique/massage.html
Positions for Labor
When it comes to positions in labor, more is better. Changing your position can help align your baby properly, speeding the labor process. Some positions can help reduce specific types of pressure or pain, so be willing to use whichever are necessary when labor begins. Being familiar with how the positions feel before labor begins is helpful, so take some time to try them out and decide which ones are most comfortable to you.
During the labor, what you prefer may change as the baby's position and your energy level change. A position that wasn't comfortable a few hours ago may be perfect now. Stay flexible and choose positions for comfort and effectiveness in labor.
Movement in Labor
Combining movement with positions can help encourage a productive labor while helping you cope with the stress and pain of contractions. Walking, swaying and rocking your hips are especially helpful because they make it easier for your baby to move through your pelvis.
Specific movements can be used to achieve specific goals. For example, pelvic rocking can reduce the pain of a sore back. Understanding which movements and which positions help to encourage specific outcomes can help your labor move as quickly as problem free as possible
Choosing the Right Position
Knee-Chest
Dangle
Hands and Knees
Labor Dance
The Lift
The LungeRecliner Chair Sitting
Rocking
Side Lying
Squatting
Toilet Sitting
Tug of War
Walking and Swaying
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/cn/positions.html
Choosing a natural childbirth lets you create the birthing environment you desire and liberates you from the restrictions caused by many hospital interventions while still ensuring safety for both mom and baby. More women are choosing natural childbirth each year.
When birthing moms are allowed to move freely, spend time in the water, and eat and drink while in labor, they find it easier to relax. Increased relaxation helps make labor go more quickly and safely for both mom and baby.
Your posts are always so informative! You had so much to say you had to add to it in comments lol!
You're great and so positively helpful. What a beautiful gift you have! I have to buy the script. I don't know if I'll have time to really get them embedded in me though. But I'm thinking positive. Thank you!
I love to see that not all women think labor is "horrible"! I think that every woman could have a wonderful experience if they just "know" and believe that they will! Knowledge is the key. Ignorance leaves you open for interference. I think that giving birth was the most awesome thing I have EVER done. I can't wait for the next one. Thank you for posting such wonderful posts!
Relaxation is the key!
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Why is there Pain in childbirth?
The pain a woman experiences during childbirth is created by a dynamic of three individual yet related causes of pain. Each cause will create pain on its own, however it is the relationship between these causes that can create an overwhelming and dissatisfying experience for the woman in labor.
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/pain.html
- doulala
Message Friend Invite (Original Poster)