Why
& How to Relax During Childbirth
by Samantha Thurlby-Brooks
 Relax...
your body knows what it's doing so you don't need
to do a thing! You don't need to think about what
comes next or what position you should or shouldn't
be in, or whether you've left the iron on! You're
having a baby and your body loves it.
When your baby is ready to be
born it will signal to your brain that large pulses
of oxytocin is needed to start the process of
birth. Oxytocin is a hormone of Love according
to Dr Michel Odent and has been well documented
and studied as such. Not only is it released during
childbirth, but this wonderful hormone is also
released by both men and women during orgasm,
when looking into the eyes of a loved one, when
sharing a candlelit meal and basically whenever
doing anything that makes you feel love and bonding.
It is interesting then that at a time when it
is released in its highest doses (during childbirth)
we relate the experience to pain and suffering.
Surely if this hormone of love can create euphoria
during orgasm, it can create feelings of Joy during
childbirth.
The key to this is the ability
to relax. During sex, if you had the lights on
full, had a cold draught breezing over you, were
trying to have an intelligent conversation and
had a couple of people staring at you, it's highly
unlikely you'll manage to orgasm from the experience!
I suppose it depends on your sexual preference...
but most people, men and women, would agree on
this issue. So then, given that huge amounts of
this hormone are needed during childbirth it is
even more essential to turn the lights down low,
switch off your thinking brain, stay warm and
have some privacy.
Oxytocin is inhibited (blocked)
by the release of the hormone Adrenalin. Adrenalin
is the famous 'fight or flight' hormone that is
released in times of stress and fear. It gives
the body a boost of energy, increases awareness
and allows the muscles to tense and the breathing
to quicken so as to run or fight. Pretty much
the opposite of the Love hormone Oxytocin. When
Adrenalin is released during labour the body thinks
it is in a dangerous situation and will often
slow the labour down so as the woman can either
fight or run and protect her unborn child.
During childbirth, any form of
stress and tension the labouring woman is exposed
to will slow down the whole process. A labouring
woman must feel safe in her surroundings and with
the people she is with in this situation in order
to relax enough for adrenalin to stop being released.
Other causes of adrenalin release, besides feeling
unsafe, are; feeling cold, eating/drinking sugar,
other people releasing adrenalin (it is a contagious
hormone) and moving around too much.
The best way to relax during
childbirth is to breathe.
No matter where you are, who is around or what
birth stories you've heard in the past, breathing
will help you through the contractions and allow
you to stay focused and calm.
Top tips to stay relaxed:
- Keep Warm
- Breathe
- Trust your body
- Keep your feelings positive
The more you practise feeling
positive before labour, the easier it will be
to feel positively during labour. Having positive
feelings will make the whole event seem quicker
and more enjoyable, rather than a struggle. If
anyone around you expresses themselves in a negative
way, either ask them to leave, change their attitude
or turn their negativity into a source of determination
and inspiration.
For example, "you're only
5cm dilated" can make a woman feel like she's
failing, having done so much hard work and her
body still isn't ready. On the other hand, you
could turn the statement around and say/think/imagine
"I'm 5cm dilated, let's imagine my cervix
as 10cm dilated". You'll be surprised how
changing your thoughts, images and statements
will have a direct impact on your experience of
childbirth and can even make physical changes
very quickly.
You're having a baby! This is
the last time you and your baby will be so intimate
with each other, so relish in every moment. Each
contraction brings your baby closer to your arms
and will make you a mother. Bring your baby into
the world as you would like to be brought into
the world. Allow yourself to be born as a mother
as you wish to carry on as a mother. |
