When I teach my prenatal yoga classes, I like to stress the importance of creating a “tool kit” for labor and delivery. This is a collection of reliable, proven pain management techniques a laboring mother can call upon as she needs. Recently, I was explaining this concept in one of my classes. A student raised her hand and stated that, because she was intending on having an epidural, she didn’t think it really applied to her. I explained that, no matter what your intentions are, you don’t know how your labor is going to unfold. “What if you arrive at the hospital and have to stay in the waiting room for a while? Or the anesthesiologist is not available right away? There can be bit of a lapse between arriving at a hospital and receiving pain medication, and during that time, these tools can really be helpful,” I told her. This explanation seemed to shine new light on the situation, and my student wholeheartedly started participating.
Here is a brief rundown of 10 pain management techniques you may want to consider putting in your own tool kit. It is good to have an arsenal of useful, familiar tools at your disposal since you don’t yet know what will work for you in the moment. Better to be over-prepared then under-prepared!
Breathe. This is by far my favorite relaxation technique and, in my opinion, the best coping mechanism there is. It can be done anytime, anywhere. Long gone are the days of “hee, hee, hoo, hoo.” Now, all you have to do is focus on deep, slow, low breathing.
Here are a few hints to help your breathing during labor:
•Maintain a steady rhythm. This just means that you are evenly inhaling and exhaling. You do not need to create a complicated rhythm.
•Remember to exhale. It may sound funny, but a lot of the time moms inhale and hold their breath.
•For partners: let the mom take the lead, unless she is lost and needs assistance.
•Relax your mouth and tongue by doing horse lips (fluttering the lips), sighing or moaning. Making low, open sounds is a great way to keep your breath moving and your body relaxed.
Rethink the way you look at pain. Labor pain is different than ordinary pain. For one thing, labor pain is generated by the body to serve a purpose: birthing a baby! Most other pain is just an indication that something else has gone wrong with your body. Additionally, the body responds to labor pains by releasing natural endorphins, which help energize a mom during the labor process. Rethinking the purpose of labor pain can make the pain less frightening and help you relax into the experience.
Take a shower or soak in the tub. Soaking in the tub or letting a warm shower run over your body may help ease the pain of your contractions. One tip is to put a birth ball in the bathtub and sit on the ball as water from the shower rains over you. Remember: don’t have the bathwater too hot, and continue to hydrate by drinking water!
Move. When you walk or move around in labor, your uterus works more efficiently. Upright positions use gravity to help bring the baby down, while changing positions frequently moves the bones of the pelvis to help the baby find the best fit through your birth canal. When labor slows, a change in position can help you “find your rhythm” again. If your baby is in a posterior position (this is when the back of the baby’s head is toward the mother’s spine), getting on your hands and knees can help the baby rotate and decrease your back pain.
Use massage and counterpressure. Massage has been credited with helping to reduce pain, anxiety, and fear by increasing endorphin levels in the body. A study referenced in “Mental Health Update” reported that women who received physical touch (light massage and counter pressure) and emotional support during labor had 56 percent fewer C-sections than the women in the study’s control group (who did not receive such treatment). Another study from the Touch Research Institute reported that “women whose partners massaged them felt less depressed, had less labor pain, and had lower stress and anxiety.” These statistics are amazing! So get your partner on board and start practicing some massage techniques while you are still pregnant.
Try hot and cold packs. One of the most useful tools in my doula bag is my hot water bottle. I place the warm bottle on the mother’s lower back and it offers instant relief! Most women prefer heat, but some might respond just as well to a cold pack.
Play some music. If you are the kind of person that can get lost in music, this pain management tool might resonate well with you. Music can help you concentrate, tune out the rest of the room, and relax. If you choose to sing along, it is also a great way to make sure you are breathing steadily. Some moms find a lot of joy in making a labor mix in preparation for the big day.
Be intimate with your partner. Interestingly, the same hormones enjoyed during intimacy and sensuality help move labor along. Oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone,” is responsible for orgasm and contractions. So try snuggling or smooching with your partner during labor! Intimacy can also help a mother feel very loved and cared for and help put her at ease.
Practice active relaxation. There are a few active relaxation techniques that I feel are important to include on this list. The first is called progressive relaxation. It is a system of talking the mother through different parts of her body and asking her to relax each area. I usually start at the head and work my way down. For example: relax your forehead, relax your jaw, relax your shoulders and so forth.
Another method of active relaxation is having your birth partner create a visualization or image of a relaxing, calming place for you to mentally travel to. Perhaps this place is real, like a country you have been to or would like to see, or perhaps this place is imaginary. If this sounds like it could work for you, I would recommend spending some time “rehearsing” this idea ahead of time with your partner.
Use a mantra. A final method of active relaxation is using a mantra. A mantra is just a repetition of a word or phrase that calms or inspires you. I have had moms spontaneously find a mantra and use it for hours. One mother kept saying, “I am okay. My baby is okay” During my own labor, my midwife gave me the phrase, “The breath is the pathway through the contraction.” I concentrated on this mantra for a long time and it really helped me stay focused on my breathing and move forward on my path of labor.
