Labor Pain Relief: Music & Sound

Video Transcript

"So another thing that comes up when women are thinking about birth environment are music and sound. When we think of sound, it can just be sounds of nature so sometimes just walking outside in your backyard can nice. So it can be really nice, you just get outside and enjoy nature and listen to the sounds. You can hear the birds sing, you can hear the wind through the trees. If you have a hammock or something like that, sit in the hammock, relax, let yourself just be taken over by labor. Also if you have kind of an outdoor seating area, anyplace that might be comfortable, you can come, you can sit down outside, you can relax, you can just listen to the sounds of nature, breathe in the fresh air and just really enjoy this time because you need to relax and this is definitely a good birth environment. If a woman doesn't want to be outside, maybe it's raining that day, open up a window. Let in the sounds of nature, you can listen to the rain, you can still listen to the birds, you can hear still, hear still everything but you're inside in your environment. You also, if you like those sounds, you can get a nature CD and play that indoors. Also you can bring that into the hospital. Most hospitals have sound systems that you can use. Maybe you want to get your favorite CD's, put it together, bring that with you, if they have a CD player, which most usually do. Also a lot of hospitals now have a place that you can plug in your iPod. So if you have an iPod, get it, load it up with your favorite music, your favorite nature sounds, anything at all and bring that with you too. Other things that you might want to think about, is if you are feeling really tired and really lethargic, if you have on really relaxing music, that might not be the most effective music to listen to. So don't just bring music that's relaxing, bring your favorite upbeat songs too, bring some music that helps you get moving or bring some music that helps you focus away from the pain. Maybe something with a drum beat, or maybe just your favorite songs, it doesn't have to be relaxing music, because if you're feeling tired and lethargic, you want to listen to something that's going to try to kind of bring you up and get you in a different attitude. Making sounds can be a huge pain reliever, women should feel free to be able to moan, to be able to groan, to be able to sing, to be able to make any sound, because sometimes when you make a sound, you then release the pain. Usually low moaning sounds are most effective. The only time I get concerned about sounds is when women are making shrieking sounds or sounds that really make them sound helpless, because that usually is them being tense and then they're holding onto that pain, rather than releasing it. So one of the things that is also great for a birth environment is to think about music and sounds."