Natural Childbirth
A natural childbirth is a technique that utilizes relaxation and breathing to control the pain during labor and childbirth. Expectant parents take a class that lasts about 6 weeks in order to learn these techniques. This is a good class to take even if you plan on using medication during childbirth to control the pain because you will also learn about the different stages of labor and delivery.
You will learn to relax various parts of your body by making it tense and then releasing it. This will help you be able to relax your body even though your uterus is contracting during the labor process. It will also teach you how to relax in between the contractions so that you can regain your energy for the next one.
Different types of breathing techniques will be taught in your childbirth class. There are several techniques and you will get plenty of practice at all of them while at the class and while practicing at home with your partner. Three of the more popular breathing methods for natural childbirth are deep breathing, fast but shallow breathing, and the pant and blow breathing technique.
- Deep breathing will be used at the start and end of a contraction when the time comes, helping you to relax and allow the labor to progress easier. Your cervix is dilated and effaced for delivery during this time and you can learn how to allow your body to relax with this breathing technique.
- A fast shallow breathing technique is taught to use at the height of your contraction when taking a natural childbirth class, and should be practiced regularly for when the time comes.
- The pant and blow breathing technique that you will learn in your childbirth class is used not only in the first stage of labor to keep you from pushing before you are ready but also in the second stage of labor in between the contractions when you start to push. This could be the most important breathing technique you will learn as it might save you baby’s life if there is some life threatening position your baby is in and you are told not to push.
Enroll in a childbirth class even if you don’t plan of having a natural childbirth to learn these breathing techniques. Ask your doctor if they can recommend a natural childbirth class to take such as the Lamaze method.
Filed under: Labor & Birth
