Positions for labour/birth will greatly impact the circumstances in which you give birth.
When we see women giving birth on tv or in films they tend to spend their entire labour lying on their back on a hospital bed. For me this a total facepalm moment, shouting at the tv! If you’re able to move around, I strongly advise getting off the bed and moving about! Lying on your back during labour can be very uncomfortable and will make it much more difficult for your baby to get through your pelvis.
Most women will actually move around a lot during their labour and will frequently potentially change positions as their labour progresses and the baby moves downwards. Listen to your body, there is no right or wrong position for labour, experiment with different positions and movements and do what makes you feel good. You will likely manage contractions better if you can move freely as and when you want to.
Staying at home for as long as possible once labour has started will be helpful as long as you’re comfortable. Spending the early part of labour in your own comfortable surroundings and getting on with normal everyday activities as much as possible will all help you to feel as calm and as relaxed as possible.
When your contractions begin, you could go for a short walk, have a shower or bath, eat, watch something funny on tv, these are all things you could do to help you go into labour feeling calm and self assured.
What you can do to encourage a straightforward birth…
In order to stay in a comfortable throughout labour, it is advised to keep moving around, staying upright and changing positions as this will:
- Ease discomfort.
- Make you feel more in control.
- Increase chances of a shorter labour.
- Encourage the baby to move downwards
- Encourage the pelvis to open.
- Help you to find the best position for giving birth.
Positions for labour.
We recommend warm water, regularly changing your position, massage and a calm, positive birth partner to help you along but some positions we recommend are:
- Rocking/swaying/rotating your hips – this can be incorporated into many labour positions.
- Sitting on a chair, leaning forward onto a table.
- Straddling a backwards-facing. chair.
- Sitting on a birthing ball and rocking backwards and forwards. Also gently bouncing on the birthing ball. Make sure that your birthing ball is pumped up correctly to keep your knees below your hips.
- Standing/leaning forwards over a bed, table, onto a wall or against a birthing partner.
- Standing/leaning over a birthing ball on the bed.
- Walking up and down the stairs sideways.
- Kneeling on the floor cradling a birthing ball.
- On all fours – this will ease any backache.
- Knee supported squat (a runners lunge) – kneeling on one knee with the other knee in front of you in a lunge position.
- Kneeling on the bed, leaning up at the head end, or over the foot end.
- Lying on your side with one of your legs elevated using a peanut ball.
Some of these positions will make it much easier for your birthing partner to massage your back and hips and massage is a brilliant technique to use during labour as it helps to release endorphins and pain-relieving hormones which will ease discomfort.
It is important to remember that you need to rest in-between contractions, try to close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Follow your instincts to help you find the right position and movement for you. To help learn these techniques you could come along to one of my antenatal or hypnobirthing classes and you can find more top tips on my Instagram page: Pregnancy Yoga & Hypnobirthing (@sallyjustexhale) • Instagram photos and videos
