Labor Pain Relief: Massage

Video Transcript

"Another pain coping technique, that women in labor seem to really respond well to, is touch. This is something that your partner is going to need to do more, you can't really do this to yourself. Women in labor usually like a really firm touch. They want to be massaged deep and slow. Most women do not like light touch, they don't like feather weight touch that feels tickly and annoying. They also don't like nervous touch so if somebody is just kind of going like this and not really sure what they're doing, women are going to find that irritating and they're not going to respond well to that. The thing about touch is a woman in her everyday life, loves to be massaged, loves to be hugged on and rubbed, might find that she is way too sensitive while she's in labor and she doesn't want anything to do with touch. Whatever you normally like, might not have anything to do with what you're going to like when you're in labor. You can give a deep massage, getting deep in those muscles and rubbing really hard is usually what a woman likes. A lot of times they're going to tell you "I want my lower back rubbed," or I want a particular place rubbed. If they're not really telling you anything but you can tell they need some help, start really simple, start with the hand. Just rub the hand like this, rub the palm, nice deep long strokes. Also, you can give a foot massage, get in there and just rub it, give nice deep strokes. You can use some massage oil, whatever their favorite scent is, this one's a lavender one but you can use whatever you like. Sometimes, woman want to be rubbed so hard that, literally, your hands and your body are cramping up and you just can't put that pressure on, that they want. So, getting little massage tools, like this, are great because you can rub this along their lower back. You can rub it along their back right here and with this, you can put a ton of pressure, especially, if they just want to be rubbed at one spot and you're not going to wear yourself out completely. Another thing you can use is a soda can. You can rub that back and forth, like this. You can rub it on their back, you can rub it on their lower back, you can rub it anywhere that they feel pain. Again, this puts a lot of pressure on it and takes pressure off of you. Besides just massage, there's also just simple touch. Sometimes putting your hands on a woman's stomach, putting your hand on her shoulder, this simple gesture can show that she's supported, that she's cared about and that you trust in her. When a woman gets to the pushing stage, putting a hand on her forehead, that's going to remind her to relax her face and not have all her pressure here. Don't worry if you're not a masseuse, if you're not great at massaging, you don't have to be. If you can just do those nice long strokes, maybe use some oil, use some tools to help you or just simply touch someone or put your arms around her, hug her, let her put her head on your shoulder, just hold her and that could be all you need for touch. Touch is a great pain reliever and really could help someone relax and feel comfortable and confident, when they're in labor."