HealthPartners - Preparing for childbirth

RELAXATION A good way to ease labor pains is to consciously relax your body. When you’re scared, your muscles tense up. This creates more pain during labor, which in turn makes you feel more tense. If you can relax, your body will release endorphins. These feel-good hormones can then help lower the intensity of your labor pains. Tension and stress can also cause your body to produce stress hormones that are stronger than endorphins. These stress hormones cause your heart to beat faster, you to breathe faster, and your muscles to tense up. Using relaxation successfully during labor starts with knowing how your body handles stress and where you carry tension in your body. Pay attention to your body while you practice relaxation methods with your partner. Knowing the difference between feeling tense and feeling relaxed will help you during labor. Relaxation techniques to practice • Progressive relaxation – Your labor partner will tell you to tense one muscle group. Pay attention to what this feels like. Try to keep the rest of your body relaxed. Feel the difference when your partner tells you to relax the tensed muscle group. • Touch relaxation – Your partner will tell you to tighten a muscle group. When you feel your partner’s touch, consciously relax that area. Practice this so that when you are in labor, your partner can let you know to relax a part of your body that seems tense.

Comfort Measures “Comfort measures” is a term used to describe natural methods to manage pain and discomfort during different stages of labor and birth. Some comfort measures help your body produce pain-relieving hormones called endorphins. Others naturally create soothing impulses that can reach your brain more quickly and block the painful stimuli of labor contractions. See Gate Control Theory of Pain on page 31. Most prenatal classes teach these effective techniques. You’ll want to practice them at home with your labor partner to help you work better as a team during different stages of labor. 20-MINUTE RULE Here’s why you’ll want to learn and practice several different comfort techniques. Good sensations such as touch, a hot water bottle, or an ice pack can help minimize your pain. Unfortunately, after about 20 minutes, your brain gets used to that good sensation and you may start to feel pain again. When this happens, change to a different comfort measure to feel better for another 20 minutes.

32 Your Guide to Labor and Birth