HealthPartners - Preparing for childbirth

CLEANSING BREATH Taking a deep breath can relax you through an entire contraction. Here’s how to do it: • When a contraction starts – Take a deep breath in through your nose, then let it out through your mouth. This gives you and your baby more oxygen, reminds you to relax and focus, and lets your partner know that a contraction is starting. • When the contraction ends – Take another deep breath to get rid of any leftover tension and remind yourself to relax until the next contraction begins. FOCUS AND DISTRACTION When you focus all of your attention on one thing, your brain can ignore distracting thoughts, including physical discomforts such as labor pain. You can pick anything to be your focal point — a special photograph or a familiar object that makes you feel calm. It can also be a repeated word, sound, or phrase. The key is to keep all your attention on your focal point to distract your brain from discomfort, fear, stress, or other unpleasant feelings. Visualization is another way to avoid thinking about labor pain. Imagine you are in a place that soothes and comforts you. Listen to the sounds, see the colors, and smell the pleasant scents. You can also picture the safe, easy birth of your child and what it will be like to gaze into your baby’s eyes for the first time.

COMFORT

PAIN AND

BREATHING TECHNIQUES Breathing is an important part of relaxing and lowering your pain level during labor. Focusing on your breathing distracts your brain from thinking about the discomfort and ensures you aren’t holding your breath. You can breathe through your nose, your mouth, or both. You can even make sounds if you feel like it. What’s most important is that you stay focused on your breathing instead of anything else that’s happening to you at the time. Breathing patterns to practice • Slow breathing – This is a relaxed and comfortable pattern that may work well in early labor. Simply breathe in slowly and deeply, then relax your face, shoulders, arms, hands, back, legs, and toes as you slowly breathe out. • Light, quick breathing – This can be helpful when your contractions get stronger and longer. Take a cleansing breath when a contraction starts, then breathe in and out slowly. When the contraction is more intense, take quick shallow breaths in and out, followed by another deep cleansing breath when the contraction is over. • Pant-pant-blow – Try this pattern when you feel like pushing but your cervix is not fully dilated. Take in a deep breath, then breathe out with short pants, followed by a longer blow during the contraction. Take a cleansing breath at the end of the contraction.

Chapter 3: Pain and Comfort 33