Six Secrets For An Easier Birth
January 20, 2009
Being pregnant is a wonderful feeling. Knowing that you are carrying a life in your womb can be the most fulfilling and the scariest of all feelings. You might have been waiting anxiously for the time to pass so that you can touch and hold your child. As the time draws near for the birth, you start to get tensed in anticipation.
It is true that giving birth is not an easy thing to do. However, you can follow some rules and make this experience problem-free. Here six steps or thumb rules or whatever you may call it, are presented to make the delivery of your baby as easy as it gets.
1. Relax at home
If you stay in a familiar environment then the chances of an easy birth are much higher. You do not need to come running to the hospital at the first pang. Stay at home and relax for a while.
Do not worry because babies do not tend to ‘fall out’. Therefore, stay for a while at home and relax. Keep your cool, things will do fine. Consult your midwife so she can advise you on this.
2. Get a massage
You will find this very relaxing and relieving. Your ideal birth partner can feel all important here because he will be needed here. A firm massage on the lower back will be a great help.
You can also opt for aromatherapy oils. They have proved to be particularly useful for shorter labor and safe deliveries. However, you will need to consult a professional before using these oils.
3. Use a ball
When you are in labor, instead of sitting on a chair, you can use a birthing ball. This is much more comfortable for you and if you lean over then you can also cope a lot better with your contractions.
You can use this ball not only for the delivery but also during the last few weeks of pregnancy. This will help to put your baby in the ‘optimal fetal position’ by enabling your hips to be higher than your knees. It is also easy to get. Simply log on to www.birthease.com
4. Take a bath
Water is helpful at any stage of your delivery. If you are at home, you can take a bath at any stage of the delivery. Being in warm water relaxes anybody, pregnant or not, so why should you be any different? Warm water will help you relax during labor. Also, when you are in water, it is easier to shift positions to enable the birth better because water will support your body.
5. Stand, sit, kneel, squat
Traditions are not always good. Same goes for the lying on your back position. This is certainly not the best one. Standing upright will allow your baby to move downward more easily because of gravity, particularly in the wee hours of labor.
Although standing can be tiring, so you can opt to kneel or squat, both of which will keep your pelvis flexible and open.
6. Get all the support you can
You can have more than one birth partner. Hence, go ahead and ask your mother or friend or someone who knows the stuff to be with you. Mostly women prefer the baby’s father to be with them during labor. But if there is also a woman, you can have more support.
Also, both of them can take turns to massage you and can relieve each other. Also, studies say that if you have a woman with you during labor, you have a reduced risk of having a Caesarean.
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