Coping with pain during labour and birth

Usually, pain is a signal that something is wrong and needs fixed.  Pain in labour is a bit different. It is somewhat purposeful, a sign that your body is working hard to birth your baby. Your uterine muscles contract to shorten the cervix, build up power in the fundus and evict your baby 💨 There are of course times that pain during labour is a sign that not all is well; listen to your body, your baby, and your intuition and seek medical advice if you are ever worried.

Some degree of pain is to be expected during birth (I'm not going to lie). But if the pain starts to make you feel scared, this can cause you to tense up and create even more pain: the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle 🔄 Understanding how you cope with pain and knowing what helps you calm down can help you avoid this.

💜 Top tip - take each contraction one by one. Try not to think about the ones you've already done, or how many you've got left to go. You can and you will cope with each one, even when you think you can't do it any more 💪

📝 Birth Prep Activity

Think about how you coped with previously stressful or painful circumstances e.g. previous births, operations, stressful job, relationship difficulties, broken bone, marathons, depression, anxiety - anything that was intense or challenging physically, emotionally, psychologically.

- How did you feel?
- What did you do that was helpful?
- What did you do that wasn't helpful?
- Do you need other people or do you retreat into yourself?
- Do you like physical contact or do you want to be left alone?
- What do you like doing to relax?
- Does your partner know how to support you in difficult circumstances?
- How easy do you find it to ask for help?

Consider how this all could impact what you need during the birthing process, but bear in mind it might also be the complete opposite of what you expect 🙃

💜 Here are some pain relief/comfort measures to consider for your birth preferences:

• Breathing techniques,

• massage,

• TENS machine,

• bath,

• shower,

• birth pool,

• movement,

• double hip squeeze 🤤,

• rebozo,

• gas and air,

• morphine,

• epidural,

• aromatherapy,

• birth ball,

• affirmations

Anything you'd add…?

Click here to have a look at my recommended products for some ideas for dealing with pain after birth.