How to Have a Painless Labor and Childbirth
Natural Techniques for an Easy Birth Experience
Aug 13, 2009
Several established natural birth methods exist, such as Lamaze, Bradley, Hypnobirthing, Birthing from Within, and even Painless Childbirth. Each of these methods promises, or at least hints at, the possibility of a painless labor and childbirth, but what does "painless" mean?
A Painless Labor
A common assumption, borne of the experiences of countless unprepared women, informs each new generation of pregnant mothers to expect a painful labor and birth. These women, the experienced multiparas and the first-time primiparas, might be surprised to discover that the assumption of birth as painful is not a universally held belief.
In their book, The Mother and Her Child (BiblioLife, 2009), Drs. William and Lena Sadler, note that Native American women, for example, experience a minimum of pain during labor and childbirth, whereas American women:
". . . rather belong to that large and growing class of women who have dressed wrong; who have lived unhealthful and sometimes indolent lives; who are more or less physically and temperamentally unfitted to pass through the experiences of pregnancy and the trials of labor."
The physical sensations of labor and birth can be experienced as pain if that is what the mother expects. However, birthing women need not interpret the intensity of sensation and emotion as physical pain. Could birth be interpreted, not only as painless, but as pleasant?
Some women claim to have experienced orgasmic pleasure during childbirth. In her article, "The Don't Call it a Peak Experience for Nothing," (Mothering, Fall 1989) Ruth Claire said:
"I caught the infant who rushed from my vagina into the small world between my legs, in the midst of an extraordinary orgasm from the inside out."
Ten Techniques for a Painless and Pleasant Birth Experience
- Using natural methods of labor induction can give a woman a sense of responsibility for her experience.
- Expecting a pleasant, joyful experience increases the likelihood of experiencing birth as pleasant.
- Slow, deep breathing induces the state of physical and mental calm necessary for a peaceful experience.
- Visualizing calming, energizing, or empowering images and actions, such as flying or floating, can enhance a woman's states of peace, invigoration, or exhilaration.
- Accepting and embracing the physical sensations of labor and birth allow a woman's body to progress unhindered by any struggle against the process.
- Releasing negative thoughts that inhibit a joyful mood allow positive thoughts to grow.
- Moving and vocalizing freely support the state of openness that allows a woman to transform the intensity of labor into a joyful, painless experience.
- Laughing loosens up tight muscles and eases the birth process.
- Dancing loosens up muscles, eases the birth process, and can lighten a woman's mood.
- Giving birth in a safe, comfortable place enhances a woman's state of peace necessary for a comfortable, productive birth experience. Additionally, a baby's place of birth may have symbolic and empowering meaning for a mother.
A host of practices, including those listed above, from various methods of natural childbirth and from individual women's experiences can prepare a woman to have a joyful, painless, and pleasant birthing experience.
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