How to Manage Pain During Labor

Labor is different for every woman and every pregnancy. Learn about the natural process your body goes through during delivery and decide how you want to birth your baby.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Men's Bathrobes
• Nightgowns
• Women's Bathrobes
• Aromatherapy Candles
• Massagers
• Toothbrushes
• Toothpaste

1. Listen to your body. Pay attention to your contractions and see if they develop a rhythm. Most contractions start as a tightening in the lower back and radiate to the front of the abdomen. Some contractions start at the top of the uterus and travel down the abdomen.
2. Adjust your environment. If you are able to stay home for the first few stages of labor, make sure you are in a quiet and peaceful place. Have someone take care of older children - out of the house if possible.
3. Have your birthing plan ready for the facility's staff so they know what type of environment you prefer.
4. Move around. Gravity is a great aid in birthing a child. Walk around your house or, if you feel up to it, go for a walk outside. Walk the halls of the hospital if you are not hooked up to monitors. Make sure your birthing partner is with you at all times.
5. Experiment with positions. Have a list of possible positions you would like to try. Get on your hands and knees and rock back and forth. Squat at the edge of the bed. Lie on your side. Sit in a tub of warm water or in the shower. Rock in a rocking chair.
6. Have your partner massage you. Counterpressure on your back helps alleviate back pain during labor. Heat and ice packs can help as well.
7. Roll an unopened can of soda or a tennis ball on the lower back. Learn some techniques in birthing class or from birth books.
8. Focus. Have a favorite object to focus on. Look into your partner's eyes. Stare at a light. Close your eyes and do visualization exercises. Concentrate on something until the contraction (pain) passes.
9. Breathe. Moan. Let refreshing, relaxing vibrations move up from your diaphragm and into your vocal chords. Keep your tone and pitch low.
10. Monitor your contractions. If you are hooked up to a fetal monitor, have your partner tell you when the contractions peak and descend so you know when the worst of it is over. Concentrate on one contraction at a time.
11. Eat and drink. Keep your energy up and urinate frequently. Stick to light, high-energy foods and clear liquids. Some birthing facilities will only allow you ice chips until after delivery. Check with them before you start munching in the labor and delivery room.
12. Take pain medication. If you have tried and cannot endure the pain of birth, ask your provider about pain medications. It is wise to know which medications are available prior to labor and your feelings about taking them. Even if you have opted for natural birth, you will not know what to expect from your body and mind until you are in the delivery room. Every woman has a different threshold for pain. Listen and respond to your body.

Tips & Warnings

• Take a birthing class. You will learn vital information about how birth occurs and what to expect from your body.
• Make a birth plan. Anticipate the things that make you feel comfortable and the things that don't. Give a copy of the plan to your provider and have your partner give one to the nurses upon arrival. Keep one for yourself.
• Expect the unexpected. If you thought you would like a certain position, scent or song, and now you don't, go with it.
• Tell your partner and provider what you want. If you want quiet and dark, demand it. If you want your partner to stay off the phone and by your side, tell him to get off the phone. This is about you and your baby.
• It's a good idea for you and your partner to be knowledgeable about how to perform an emergency birth, should the need arise at your home or on the way to the birthing facility.