How to prepare for an easy and gentle labour.
- Rhian Hamilton-Shaw
- Oct 29
- 5 min read
How to prepare for a quick and easy labour.
Firstly, let me preface this by saying that not one birth is the same. There is huge variation in how we experience pregnancy and birth because we are genetically different, our anatomy differs and how we move and hold our bodies varies. People experience childbirth pain to varying degrees; some feel nothing at all, some describe birth as being painful or intense and then there are births people describe as being orgasmic.
What we can do is prepare well in pregnancy. Birth is similar to a long distance run or a marathon. Runners put in the time to prepare their mind and physical body for the big day months in advance. Then all of the energy needed for the big day - be that race day or birth is going to be needed, so eating well and nourishing your body in pregnancy and labour will massively benefit the energy expenditure the muscles use in labour.
Body Balance
There’s so much change happening in a pregnant body and its demands increase as blood volume doubles impacting how we breathe and how blood moves around the body. As the baby bump gets bigger and weighty it puts more strain on the the back, relaxin hormone is released as joints, muscles and ligaments get lose and can cause some pain and discomfort. Also, how we sit and habitually move in pregnancy can impact how we feel in pregnancy and how we birth our baby.
Think about how we sit in pregnancy, do you slouch in the chair or sofa, do you cross your legs? Doing this regularly can position the baby at an awkward spot where there is discomfort and pain, later leading to baby being in an award position for birth and making the birth more painful and long.
What can we do?
If you are sitting as a desk, you may like to sit on the edge of a pillow or block keeping the spine upright and uncrossing the legs so the feet are resting comfortably on the floor. You may like to rest over a birth ball or even sit on top of one , you may like to lay on your side. Because the back of a baby’s head is the heaviest part, typically this will move into the spot in your uterus or pelvis where there is more space and less resistance.
Movement in pregnancy is important to help balance the muscles and ligaments which support our body during pregnancy. I like to combine strength to areas where there’s more lax, and length and flexibility to muscles and ligaments where there’s tightness by combining yoga and pilates into my classes, so that there is the perfect balance of strength and flexibility where needed.
Movements to help strengthen the legs and glutes
Movements to lengthen the back muscles and pelvic floor
Practice breathing for birth
Inspired by the hypnobirthing breath, breathing in for 4 and out for more, making the jaw soft as you breathe out and practicing ‘’AHHH’ sounds or sighing out of the mouth. This breath is amazing. It keeps your mind calm and the muscles relaxed, especially the uterus which is working hard in labour and needs all the blood flow to do it’s work of gathering the muscles at the top, ready to push your baby out.
You can use movement with the breath - lunges using the ‘AHHH’’ sounds, relaxing pelvic floor, goddess pose moving the arms quickly and using the breath to relax the muscles. Lunges can be great to come into to help bring baby down and you may instictively want to do this - maybe lifting a foot up on something to help.
When we exhale there will be a natural lift of the pelvic floor, but when the time comes to push our baby out we need to soften the pelvic floor to make way for the baby. The downward breath is used to help this action - breathe in for 4, exhale to send the breath down keeping the jaw soft and letting any sounds that instinctively surface release - usually these are deep sounds rather than the soft ‘’AHHH’’ or sighs. You may like to visualise the petals of a rose bud opening or gently lowering a feather down.
Recognise your fears
It’s normal to have some worries or fears creep up in pregnancy and even during birth, but if these aren’t addressed it can stall labour making it longer. These journal prompts enable us to do the inner work to work, bringing anything that may cause disruptions to the surface.
Here are some journal prompts:
What are your own beliefs about birth? You may like to think about the conversations which may have influenced your beliefs with other parents or family, how you were born, your previous birth experiences.
What are the fears underlying these beliefs?
What are your cultures beliefs? You may like to think about what you read in the media and see on TV.
What are the fears underlying these beliefs?
Write down specific affirmations turning your fears into a positive.
Do your research then trust your instinct!
You don’t know what you don’t know. If you are curious, have worries or concerns it’s important to ask the right questions and seek out the information from your midwife or obstetrician. However be aware that some of the research that gets used to quote statistics might be hiding the bigger picture, so understanding the relative risk ratios and what they means vs absolute risk can help you make a better informed choice. Additionally only 1 in 10 (9%) maternity care guidelines are based on gold standard category A evidence, and 43% are based on expert opinion. Sara Wickham is a research midwife who writes about evidence based information in midwifery care and has fantastic books and blogs on many topics where you will find trustworthy information.
Once you have done your research and looked into all of the information it can feel pretty overwhelming so let the information sink in and then check in with your mother’s wisdom - your instinct or gut feeling. If you have any further questions or need a sound board to reflect your thoughts you are welcome to get in touch with me and chat through them.
Best wishes
Rhi x
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