How to breathe during labor and delivery: relieve pain and speed up the process

Childbirth is a very responsible and complex process requiring tremendous effort and willpower from a woman . It is extremely important to do everything that the doctor says in order to avoid negative consequences. Among such indications, there are quite often requirements to breathe correctly. What is meant? Future mothers should learn how to breathe during contractions and childbirth.

Importance of breathing

It would seem, no matter how, exactly, the oxygen will enter the body of a woman. But in fact, this opinion is erroneous. If you know how to breathe during contractions and childbirth, you can speed up the process and help yourself and your baby. So, what gives proper breathing?

1. During contractions, the uterus contracts, due to which the baby may experience oxygen deficiency. Therefore, it is very important to ensure a constant supply of sufficient air.
2. Breathing will help relieve pain during labor. And if this succeeds, then you can save energy on attempts.
3. Stress exacerbates the pain and exhausts, so it is impossible to be nervous about a woman in labor. And if you breathe correctly during childbirth, you can relax and recover, keep your mind sober.
4. Attempts are a very important period. Breathing at this stage will help to avoid breaks and speed up the process of giving birth to a baby.

How to do it right

An experienced obstetrician should give recommendations to the woman in labor and tell how and what to do. So, how to breathe during labor and delivery?

1. When the contractions are just beginning and not too intense, everything must be done so that a sufficient amount of oxygen enters the body and, therefore, the fetus. So you can apply this technique: inhale through the nose, then exhale through the mouth. In this breath to be shorter. For example, you can count to 4. And on the exhale, count to 6. This, by the way, helps to get distracted.
2. How to breathe during contractions when they become more intense? The goal is pain relief. You can use the technique of shallow breathing ("dog-like"). It's simple. It is enough to open your mouth and breathe often, like a dog (you can even stick out your tongue). This may seem ridiculous to some, but such manipulations really help.
3. In between contractions should relax. You need to breathe deeply, slowly and evenly. Oxygen must spread throughout all tissues, reach the brain.
4. If attempts have begun, but the cervix has not yet opened, and the fetus has not lowered low enough, it is important to restrain your desire to push. To do this, take a deep breath, then breathe often (4-5 shallow exhalations and inhales), and then exhale all the air.
5. When the obstetrician gives the command to push, you should put maximum effort into this. To do this, take a very deep breath, as much as you can. Hold your breath and begin to push at the doctor’s command. When the effort passes, exhale very slowly so that the fetus does not go back, but remains where it was promoted.

If you know how to breathe during contractions and childbirth, you can help yourself and your baby (after all, it is also very difficult for him!). It is very important to gather all your strength into a fist and maintain clarity of thought. Be sure to obey the doctor, since only he can determine at what stage the process is and what the woman in labor must do at one time or another. Let everything go easy!