5 things i bet you never knew about labour & birth…
Before I did hypnobirthing I had so many thoughts and beliefs about labour. Mostly they were all negative and horror stories. The education part of hypnobirthing blew my mind. It was crazy to me, that, in all the pointless stuff we are taught in school, how something that the vast majority of women go through (birth) is not really touched on! Click HERE to find out more on the courses I offer where you too can learn about how the body works during labour and birth. I would say the education and understanding of the body was a key factor in changing my mindset and starting to rewire birth to be a positive thing rather than negative thing in my mind.
Anyway, whilst learning about the body’s functions I learnt some pretty cool facts along the way that I was so not expecting… keep reading to find out too!
1) Nipple stimulation encourages oxytocin production which is the key hormone driving labour forwards.
I had heard that you could bring on labour by having sex (myth or fact? - find out on my full hypnobirthing course HERE), but stimulation of the nipple was news to me!! It doesn’t matter if this is done by another person or yourself! It’s funny because nipple stimulation is a sensation I had experienced prior to pregnancy, and it had given me a warm and fuzzy feeling - but I never really knew what it was. This is just the release of oxytocin. Our happy hormone! It helps progress labour and also encourages lactation to feed your baby.
2) Paracetamol can actually stall your labour.
This is a bit of a controversial area, especially when a lot of the NHS websites encourage the use of it in early labour. I’ve heard stories about some women being refused entry to labour wards because of wanting support with pain management. But they haven’t had any paracetamol so clearly aren’t in ‘enough’ pain to warrant admission to hospital. This is quite alarming and disturbing to hear. * Especially when there has been new information about the impact on paracetamol in labour. There is evidence to say that paracetamol actually stops to production of prostaglandin which is a key hormone in helping spontaneous labour. This can actually slow or stop labour. Read more about this hot topic in this brilliant blog post from ‘The Undercover Midwife’ http://undercovermidwife.blogspot.com/2015/03/paracetamol-and-labour.html?m=1
*To clarify you should be allowed entry to labour wards at any stage if you feel your pain is not controlled.
3) Floppy face, floppy fanny!
I love this one! You would just never even think that this is a thing! So get this… the muscles in our face, are actually linked to the muscles in our pelvic floor, vagina and vulva. Mental right. Check out this blog that has some pretty cool images to help explain this more! https://www.wombseedwisdom.com/post/the-profound-connection-between-the-jaw-and-the-pelvis
If the vagina and perineum are tight then you have a higher risk of tearing. So basically relaxing your face and your jaw can help you relax your vagina allowing it to stretch to accommodate your baby being born! The female body never stops amazing me! You can learn how to relax the face with the breathing techniques taught in my hypnobirthing course.
4) When you transition from active labour to the birthing stage you get a needed hit of Adrenalin.
We talk about Adrenalin being the vilan of birth and this is true to the vast majority of our labour. However, in the transition stage, Adrenalin is welcomed! Adrenalin plays a key part here because it ‘wakes’ us up. It’s gives you that boost of energy that is needed to birth your baby and be able to care for the baby after their birth. It is really common in the transition stage for the you to feel like you ‘cannot do it’. If they you are at home, you might request to go to the hospital. If you are in hospital, you might be asking for more pain relief, or caesareans or for some intervention to take the pressure off yourself. This stage is NORMAL. In fact, midwives often welcome these things because it’s a sign that you are transitioning to the birthing stage where you will push your baby out and get to meet them! If you’re caught off guard and don’t know about transition, this stage can feel very scary. By educating yourself about this, you can prepare for this and know it is a good sign when it occurs. This is discussed more in the full course I teach, HERE.
5) When pushing your baby out, it is normal for the baby to move back up the birth canal after each push.
It feels a bit like ‘two steps forward and one step back’ but actually when you push your baby out, it is a really important part that for each bit they move down the birth for canal, that they move back up a bit too. Why? This is because it gives your body a chance to stretch to accommodate your baby. It allows your perineum to stretch to your babies size to birth them. Baby moving back up allows your body to react and then when you push next time baby can move a little further down the birth canal. This helps to reduce the risk of tearing too. It’s highly recommended that you listen to your body telling you to push instead of coaches pushing. This is because your body knows when it is ready for the next push. It gives your body time to move and to stretch as baby comes down. Coached pushing can force the body to do something it isn’t ready for which can also increase the risk of tearing. So if it feels like your baby isn’t making progress when you’re pushing, it is and your body is just reacting to this to allow babies safe birth.