Tag Archives: labor

Yoga Positions for Early Labor

The other day my doula visited our home to show us some techniques we’ll use for pain management during early labor.  Our goal is to do as much of the labor at home as possible – we’re more comfortable at home, and thus more likely to be relaxed here – and so these are some moves and positions Jon and I can do to help me get through the pain. If you get a book like The Birth Partner or other books about/that have sections on natural childbirth, these positions might be familiar to you.  I don’t know exactly what they’re … Continue reading →

Some Thoughts on Labor and Delivery

If you are pregnant, you may want to get yourself a maternity tee shirt printed with the words “Keep Your Labor and Delivery Horror Stories To Yourself”. Seriously. If you have not noticed it already, pregnant women are a magnet for people who want to tell their delivery room tales of woe. I am not sure exactly what is behind the urge to disclose embarrassing, painful and/or scary labor and delivery experiences to women who are definitely going to be going through the process of labor and delivery some time in the not too distant future. During both of my … Continue reading →

Encouraging Labor to Begin

When you are near the end of your pregnancy, one thing that you most likely wonder about is when your baby is going to arrive. If you go past your due date, you might wonder about that even more often. Babies have little regard for due dates, they come when they are ready. Near the end of pregnancy, your prenatal care provider is likely to be monitoring you quite closely, whether you are planning to birth at home or at a hospital. That is a good thing, because they can help you to determine whether your labor is beginning in … Continue reading →

How to Push

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My mother-in-law has a really impressive skill. She can whistle so loud, it can be heard above a cheering crowd at a wrestling tournament. (Just ask my husband; he was a wrestler.) But if you ask her how to do it, she can’t tell you. She knows how to do it because she figured it out by chance. As a kid, she just kept trying until it worked. Pushing a baby out during delivery is similar. You don’t really know how to push when you’re a first time mom, and you don’t know whether you’re doing it right until the … Continue reading →

How to “Act” Like You’re in Labor

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Actress Dianna Agron is doing a little personal research for her upcoming birth scene on the show, “Glee.” She has been getting advice from her mom and friends about what she should do since she has never given birth in real life. What advice would you give Dianna? Obviously she could go with the classic Hollywood birth scene. You probably know it by heart. Woman is doing something ordinary and abruptly either 1) howls in pain over her first contraction or 2) displays a look of horror on her face because her water has broken at a completely inopportune moment. … Continue reading →

Choosing a Labor Support Person

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No one should ever have to give birth alone. Whether it is a husband, a mother, a sister, a doula or a friend present – the importance of a personal labor support person is paramount. Labor is scary at times and the pain can make it difficult to speak or think clearly. The new mother needs someone to voice her concerns when she cannot and comfort her when she is feeling distressed, tired or scared. When you are choosing someone to go into the delivery process with you, think about the way you think they’ll respond under pressure. Will they … Continue reading →

The First Stage of Labor

Your doctor or your childbirth instructor may mention the stages of labor. There are three stages of labor. The division between these three stages is clearer cut on paper than it is in real labor; they exist to help describe where a woman is in the labor process and nothing else. They may seem to blend together during the actual experience. The three stages of labor are dilation (and effacement), pushing, and birthing the placenta. The first stage of labor is often the longest, especially for first time mothers. The cervix must completely open and stretch back into the upper … Continue reading →

Celebrity Births

I love hearing labor and delivery stories. Whether I’m talking to friends, relatives, or watching TLC’s “A Baby Story,” I can’t get enough of the different experiences women have. Some go all natural, some get an epidural the second they arrive at the hospital, and many fall in between. Some births are scheduled C-sections, some are induced, and some begin all on their own. Many women give birth in the hospital, while others opt to give birth at a birthing center, or even at home. I often find myself wondering, “What type of labors and deliveries do celebrities have?” There … Continue reading →

When Your Partner Doesn’t Want to Attend the Birth

For the vast majority of couples, the husband’s presence in the delivery room is taken for granted. Gone are the days when the father to be would sit in the waiting room, smoking cigars and waiting for news about the baby. For the past few generations, fathers have been welcomed into the delivery room and have taken an active role in helping their wives cope during labor. There are still some men out there who would love to go back to those days. For a variety of reasons, these men have no desire to witness the birth of their children. … Continue reading →

False Alarms in Labor

As you get close to your due date, Braxton Hicks contractions tend to get more intense. These can begin to resemble real contractions. If this is your first baby, it can be difficult to know the difference. Many women end up at the hospital at least once, thinking they are in labor. If you have a false alarm and go to the hospital, you may feel embarrassed when they send you back home. Don’t feel embarrassed, you are not alone. As most labor and delivery nurses will tell you, many first time moms do the same thing. It happened to … Continue reading →