Gotta move, gotta rock, gotta sing! Comfort Measures and Coping Techniques for Labor

By Milon Nagi

At a recent Healthy Birth Choices Workshop, we gathered to hear three new moms share the comfort measures and techniques they used to cope with labor. We were also joined by Zoe Kogan, licensed acupuncturist, who took us through some acupressure points and massage techniques which can encourage labor. It was striking to hear, coming through the unique and individual nature of each story, the common themes that emerged as each woman found her way through to the birth of her baby.

Milon Nagi and Laure Sinnhuber-Giles, members of CiC’s Program Committee, practice a double hip squeeze used to help women cope during labor

When Vicki began to feel the sensations that led to her baby’s birth, she didn’t at first recognize them as labor – she thought it was heartburn. Having known for over a week that her cervix was already 3cm dilated, she had learned through experience that “that effacement, that dilation doesn’t mean anything until labor really happens.” She went about her day, downloading songs from iTunes for her birth playlist and, as her contractions grew closer, checking in with her midwife, who told her it didn’t sound like labor yet. “She told me, ‘Call me when you can’t stand it anymore’,” Vicki recalls.

To ease the discomfort, Vicki got into her tub. And, when the sensations became more intense, she asked her doula to come over. She remembers feeling “huge relief” when her doula arrived, thinking “I can finally relax, I’m just going to do whatever she tells me to.” Her doula, realizing that Vicki was experiencing a back labor, recommended that she stand in the shower with the hot water raining down on her back. It felt good and there was a possibility it could encourage her baby to change positions. She stayed there for 45 minutes and, in the meantime, her doula encouraged her husband to take a nap. Emerging from the shower, Vicki followed her urge to lean forward onto the bed through contractions. She moved to laboring on the birth ball to help her baby come down. Eventually, her doula suggested now may be a good time to go to the hospital. “I don’t know how she knew,” Vicki says, “she recognized from my face or something that I was ready – I didn’t even know that.”

Her doula helped her dress and they moved to the hospital. During the car ride, especially, Vicki’s music helped her to stay present and cope with her labor. She remembers laboring without a room for a while, until a nurse noticed her squatting and “corkscrew walking” through contractions in the hallway and she was finally checked and put into a labor room. Vicki recalls noticing that it was dark when they arrived (around 6am) and seeing more light as time went on. Having arrived pushing, she expected to have her baby before breakfast. Her baby’s unusual position, however (his head was tilted to one side and he was “sunny side up”) meant that it took a while for him to make his way out. With her midwife’s and doula’s support, Vicki pushed for several hours in different positions, fending off threats of a cesarean section from the attending OB (who later returned with students to observe her, impressed with her progress!) and at one point accepting some Pitocin to keep her contractions strong. Her birth team encouraged her and reminded her how strong she was, her doula massaging and shaking her tired legs between contractions. With their “incredible” support, she gave triumphant birth to her baby son, River, just as she had hoped to.

“So Seamless” – Choosing to Birth at Home

Photo Credit: Nicole Heidbreder
www.gracefulfusion.com

We opened this year’s season of Healthy Birth Workshops with a full room of first and second time parents-to-be, gathered to learn more about home birth. While some were already planning to give birth at home, many more were there with questions, wondering whether home birth might be the right option for them. We were honored to be joined by four new moms who shared their birth stories and home birth midwife Kimm Sun, CNM who answered questions and shared her expertise with our expectant parents.

Since 2004, the number of home births nationwide has risen by almost a third, to just under 1% of all births in America. Research shows that women choose home birth for a variety of reasons. For some a close, trusting relationship with their midwife is a big draw. Home birth midwives often provide especially personalized care, with at least some prenatal visits taking place in your own home. Lying back on your own couch while listening to your baby’s heartbeat can be a magical experience. Other major factors include the desire to avoid unnecessary interventions and to be fully involved in decision making during labor.

When Natalie, the first speaker, was pregnant with her first baby, she and her husband decided to give birth at a freestanding birth center. At six months pregnant, however, Natalie experienced preterm labor, and was on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy. Reflecting on her experience in the hospital, she realized how unsupported and afraid she had felt: “I felt really invisible that night.” As time passed, she began to realize how much she craved an intimate labor and birth, in which she and her wishes were honored. As she noted, “some of the things that come up during birth are really, really personal.” She was thrilled when she made it to full term and gave birth at home with her chosen midwife.

For her second baby, the decision to have another home birth “felt so natural.” She and her husband carefully prepared their home for birth, choosing candles and music to support the ambience they wanted. When her Braxton Hicks contractions started to feel different one night, she realized this was it. Her labor moved quickly – her contractions going from 10 to 4 minutes apart in the space of just 10 minutes.  However, she says, she felt calm and safe. “It was so seamless the way my doula and midwife came and honored the space that we had created in our home and the way that my husband was supporting me.”

An hour after her midwife’s arrival, Natalie gave birth on her hands and knees. Her midwife passed her new son between Natalie’s legs and placed him gently on the floor in front of her. It was their chance to meet their baby. “That stillness and that silence were so profound”, says Natalie. With no hospital staff rushing around and no distractions, “we were able to just really get lost in him and wrap him up in our attention. It was such a gift.”

Photo Credit: Sarah Tew
http://www.sarahtewphotography.com

Workshop Wrap-Up: VBAC and Cesarean Birth

CIC’s Healthy Birth Choices Workshops on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) and Cesarean Birth are often particularly personal and powerful. Every expectant or prospective mom in the audience has either faced or is facing a birth which did not go the way she had hoped. All are seeking support, information and resolution as they prepare for their next baby’s birth.

Those who came to our most recent meeting brought with them many questions, all closely focused on the logistics involved in a successful VBAC.  Is there a correlation between epidurals or induction and cesarean sections? How can I increase my likelihood of success if I am induced? Which special hospital protocols may apply for VBAC and are they necessary? These were addressed by home birth midwife Joan Bryson CNM and family physician Dr Marc Levin, who kindly joined us to answer questions and provide a care provider’s perspective on the VBAC. Our three mom speakers all shared powerful stories of difficult decisions during their pregnancies and births, and their journeys to find peace with and take ownership of their birth experience.