Here is the thing we all want a peaceful, blissful, and if you are like me natural birth. I am here to tell you that it is actually possible to cope with labor gracefully. Here are my top five tips for a peaceful birth from a five-time mom.
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Tip for a Peaceful Birth #1
Baby’s position matters
The position your baby is in when you go into labor is very important. It can determine how long and arduous your labor is. I believe an experienced midwife can handle a breached baby but that doesn’t mean I want one. Thankfully, there are some simple things I like to implement in my daily routine to help my baby get into optimal position for birth.
- Sitting with your hips higher than your knees. Especially important if you have a desk job.
- 30-minute walk. This aids gravity bring the baby’s head down.
- Mile’s circuit. This is a routine you can start using towards the end of your pregnancy.
- Spend some time doing cat-cows every day.
Tip for a Peaceful Birth #2
Breathing Techniques
In labor, contractions get stronger and longer as your body gets ready to birth the baby. It can be very hard to breathe while you are having those long strong contractions. Often the reaction women have is to tense up and hold their breath. I would like you to know this is the opposite of what you should be doing. Instead, I like to focus on breathing long deep breaths and relaxing and expanding my abdomen.
Here are the two breathing techniques I use the most.
- Destresser Breath- A breath that takes away the breath and helps you relax. It is a deep breath in and a longer exhale. For example, you breathe in for 4 seconds and you breathe out for 6 seconds. The numbers don’t matter as long as you are lengthening the exhale and doing what is comfortable. You can use this breath throughout labor, I especially rely on it during active labor.
- “J” Breathing – This is the breath you will use during the pushing phase of labor. Most moms especially first-time moms tend to hold their breath and push in their throat instead of down into their birth canal. What you want to do instead is send all that energy down and out following the path your baby will take to be born. To do this inhale and as the breath travels down your throat it helps to do a low deep moan and visualize the moan traveling down to your baby, birth canal, and finally out the vagina forming a “j” pattern.
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Tip for a Peaceful Birth #3
Upper Body Relaxation
Every part of your body is connected. During a contraction, there will be a tendency to want to tense up. I start to squeeze my eyes shut, raise my shoulders, and clench my jaw. This not only interrupts my breathing but also tenses my pelvic floor. Did you know that your jaw and pelvic floor are connected? Here are some articles on this subject to help you better understand the importance of upper-body relaxation during birth and postpartum.
To help me remember to relax my upper body I like to lie down on my side with a pillow in between my legs. However, there are other techniques like having someone lightly stroke your face if they see you tensing up.
Tip for a Peaceful Birth #4
Birthing Positions
To begin many birthing positions are useful during birth. I like to switch up what I’m doing depending on the stage of labor. Sometimes your midwife will recommend a specific position to help the baby get into a better position as well. The best positions are the ones that help the baby descend and work with your anatomy.
Any position that opens up your pelvis is helpful. Here are a few common ones. I have personally used all these positions at some point during my births and they all work in and out of the tub.
- Hands and knees- At first I felt like this one might be weird but I found that was the most comfortable position during my fourth birth.
- Squatting- This for me helped push better.
- Leaning- I love to lean on the side of my birthing tub. I still get the water but I can also rest my head.
- The Mile’s Circuit- I specifically find the positions in the Miles circuit useful to cope with prodromal labor.
Tip for a Peaceful Birth #5
Positive Thinking
This is a tip I hold dear to my heart. The more children I’ve had the more important this becomes if nothing else remember that stressing about everything that can go wrong is counterproductive. Pregnancy and childbirth can be dangerous and things can indeed go wrong. However, worrying about things that do not apply to me is not something I do. I like to instead focus on listening to positive birthing stories. I love it when women share their positive and empowering birth experiences to help others realize birth does not have to be scary and can actually be a very peaceful experience.
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My favorite products for a peaceful birth
Check out My Favorite Birthing Tools article for all my favorites and how to use them.
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