WELL WELL! I can see you have been doing a lot of preparation for the big day. I am sure you have been tracking everything — what you eat, drink, sleep cycles, medicines you take.
You might also have read every article, every book and a lot of blog posts about taking care of your new bundle of joy. Am I right? Well, the mama-to-be has to be prepared for everything.
Pregnancy can be pretty hard and amazing at the same time. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first pregnancy or the third, it’s still going to be a challenging life change. But no need to worry! Challenges just mean that you need to prepare in advance.
By now, you must have heard the scary stories out there about labour pains. But let me tell you something, every woman’s birthing story and birthing experience is unique.
But sooner or later, your due date is going to be here and you need to be prepared to manage the discomfort and pain. Want a hint? JUST BREATHE!
In this blog, we will discuss breathing exercises for labour. Let us start by taking a closer look at the importance of breathing exercises during pregnancy!
Breathing exercises during pregnancy
The hormones, emotions, cravings, stress, aches and those nine months can be stressful. The only way to manage the stress is to stay calm and just breathe your way through this phase. Remember to take those deep deep breaths!
- Your baby needs oxygen too. As your baby grows, the body’s need for oxygen increases and shallow breaths cannot compensate for this need, so you need to sit back and take those deep breaths.
- We all know that deep breathing exercises have been found beneficial in de-stressing and relaxing and since the pregnancy experience is a little stressful, pregnant women can feel anxious easily. These breathing exercises can really calm your mind and help with anxiety.
- Achy joints and muscles are common in pregnancies. Yes, you need to take breaks and relax. While you do that, try deep breathing too as it has been found to be beneficial for these aches.
- Women fear labour pain and contractions. But if you practice breathing exercises regularly, you will be able to manage through the intensity of the pain and it won’t be such a battle.
Find yourself wondering about what prenatal exercises you require? For further reading, you can check out our blog post on the “importance of pre-natal exercises”. If you’re planning to conceive then Zyla can provide you with the right guidance and treatment. Feel free to download the Zyla app or visit our website-Zyla.in.
Now that we know that breathing exercises can help us deal with the stressors of pregnancy, let’s read further to find out how we can use these breathing exercises for labour.
Breathing exercises for labour
The human body has been equipped with a FIGHT or FLIGHT mechanism in response to any stressful situation. With this response, the body prepares itself to either fight or avoid the stressful situation in order to survive.
When you are stressed or anxious you might start hyperventilating, your heart might start racing and a state of panic could overwhelm you. Although this is your body’s natural response to any stressful condition, the body cannot deal with the stress for a prolonged time and therefore it results in exhaustion after some time.
Labour is a stressful condition for women and can continue for many hours. You might naturally start to feel stressed and exhausted during that time and can lose control.
But if you start practising deep breathing from today, you will be able to cope better when the situation actually arrives.
Practising breathing exercises for labour is essential as it holds a lot of benefits such as:
- Childbirth is an energy-consuming process. Practising breathing exercises for labour will help you conserve and direct your energy in a beneficial way to experience a stress-free birthing process.
- These are so powerful that they can delay or even eliminate your need for pain medications during labour. It can literally make you a SUPERWOMAN!
- These can help you reduce your increased heart rate and blood pressure which are induced by stress.
- They will help you inhale more oxygen with every deep breath. The higher the oxygen, the better your body can function during the birthing process.
- They can help relax and calm your mind in this painful situation.
How important is vitamin D for a healthy conception? Read our blog “Keeping vitamin-D under check for a healthy conception” to find out more! For more guidance, feel free to download the Zyla app or visit our website-Zyla.in.
Well, that was an interesting read. But we aren’t done yet! Let’s look at how Lamaze breathing can help with labour pain!
Lamaze breathing exercises for labour
Connecting to yourself and to your baby is important during pregnancy. Taking the time to bond with your baby is sacred. This is something that you can practice by finding a quiet place to connect with yourself emotionally, mentally and imagining a positive future with your healthy baby in a peaceful place.
Art of meditation for pregnant women, Lamaze is something that all pregnant women need to know and practice. Lamaze (pronounced as LA-MAAZ) is not just about breathing!
It is a combination of exercises, massage routines, deep breathing, movement, and relaxation techniques for labour- all of which will help you master the pain on D-day- delivery day!
The Lamaze approach was first introduced in the 1950s in France, by a noted physician called Dr Fernand Lamaze, and in time, it spread across the world as a preferred childbirth preparation programme.
With Lamaze in your life, you can stay active and healthy during your pregnancy.
A healthy pregnancy helps ensure healthy labour and a healthy baby. Both partners can be equally involved in Lamaze breathing. Your partner can learn the relaxation techniques for labour and breathing techniques for labour, which will help them guide and support you through labour.
It can actually be a great bonding experience for the expecting parents. Once you learn how to tune your body in response to the contractions during the exercises, you will naturally be able to cope with the real contractions, find your rhythm and let your body guide you.
You will be aware of conscious breathing and relaxing between contractions. You will also be focussed and experience your endorphins (nature’s narcotic — dulls the pain and are released in response to contractions) working their magic.
Some of the important techniques for controlled breathing exercises during labour include:
- Slow and deep breathing
- Maintaining a rhythm
- Breathing through your mouth or nose
- Keeping your eyes open or closed
- Focusing on one simple physical item, such as a photograph or your partner
Lamaze should be taught by a certified Lamaze instructor or coach.
1. When the contraction begins
Take a deep breath at the beginning and end of each contraction. This is often referred to as a cleansing or relaxing breath.
2. During the first stage of labour
- Take a slow deep breath as your contraction starts and then slowly breathe out. Imagine releasing all the physical tension from your head to your toes. This is often referred to as an organising breath.
- Inhale through your nose and then hold that breath for a moment. Then exhale slowly through your mouth. Each time you exhale, imagine that every part of your body is relaxing with it.
3. During active labour
- Start with an organising breath and breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Keep your breathing as slow as possible, but speed it up as the intensity of the contraction increases.
- Keep your shoulders relaxed and as the contraction peaks and your breathing rate increases, switch to light breathing both in and out through your mouth — take about one breath per second.
- As the intensity of the contraction decreases, slow your breathing and go back to breathing in with your nose and out with your mouth.
4. Transition breathing
As you switch to light breathing during active labour, transition breathing is important to help you control feelings of exhaustion. For this:
- Take an organising breath, focus your attention on one thing — a picture, your partner, even a spot on the wall.
- During a contraction, breathe in and out through your mouth at a rate of 1 to 10 breaths every 5 seconds.
- For every fourth or fifth breath, blow out a long breath.
- When the contraction is over, take a relaxing breath. If you prefer, you can verbalise transition breathing with a “hee” for each of the shorter breaths and a “hoo” for the longer breath.
5. During the second stage of labour
- Take an organising breath and focus on the baby moving down and out.
- Breath slowly, guided by each contraction and adjust your breathing for comfort.
- When you feel the need to push, take a deep breath and slowly release it.
- When the contraction is over, relax and take two calming breaths.
Now that we have seen how Lamaze breathing exercises for labour can help with the pain of labour, you must be wondering about how to involve your partner in the process! Let’s find out!
How to involve your partner in the birthing process?
When you are in labour you might feel exhausted and feel that you are not able to follow the breathing techniques for labour. That’s where your partner steps in.
You can maintain eye contact with your partner, mirror his actions and he can guide you back into that breathing rhythm by breathing with you.
Support is all that you need to get through this and your partner being there can actually provide you with the needed support. Co-breathing can actually act as one of the breathing exercises during labour when you think that labour is endless!
There is no doubt that labour is a challenging part of the motherhood journey. While every birth story is unique, we hope that by learning and including these breathing exercises in your motherhood journey — you can deal with this challenging stage, with the right tools to make it an easier experience.
We encourage you to reach out to the women in your life for support, be it your family or friends, to ensure you have a strong support system while you tackle this difficult stage.
We also recommend, you consult a certified Lamaze coach/ instructor and consult your treating doctor before starting any new exercises.
If you require guidance during your pregnancy journey, Zyla can help you. You can enrol in our Ova Pentacare Pregnancy Program where Zyla’s team of 50+ medical experts guide you through pre-conception to post-delivery management and counselling.
Zyla has doctors, nutritionists, psychologists and physiologists to provide you with a holistic approach through personalised care and treatment. Feel free to download the Zyla app or visit our website-Zyla.in.
For more information, you can visit here
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