Breathing Techniques
Part of your time in antenatal classes will be spent learning how to relax and master the various breathing techniques. Its important to learn different types of breathing; you can use each one at different times during labour to help you to relax, conserve energy, control your body and pain, to calm you and stop you being afraid.
Realising that you can exert some control over your body through breathing techniques will give you more confidence during labour.
Here are three basic levels that will help you. Practice them with your partner or whoever will be with you during the birth, so you can both learn the techniques to help you through the labour.
Deep Breathing
When you breathe in you should feel the lowermost part of your lungs fill with air and your lower ribcage expand outwards and upwards. Drop your shoulders. If someone places their hands on your lower back, you should be able to move their hands with your inhalation. It feels like the end of a sigh and is followed by a slow, deep exhalation.
This produces a calming influence and is ideal for the beginning and end of contractions.
Light Breathing
Aerate only the upper part of your lungs so that the top part of your chest and your shoulder blades lift and expand. Your partner can feel this if she places her hands on your shoulder blades.
Your breaths should be fast and short with your lips slightly apart. Draw the breath in through your throat. After 10 or so light breaths you may need to take a deep breath - do so.
This level of breathing is useful when used in labour at the height of a contraction.
Featherlight Breathing
This involves taking shallow breaths and resembles what you see and hear when a dog pants. Think of this as a "pant, pant, blow". One of the times when you will be asked to pant is during transition to stop you bearing down before the cervix is fully dilated.
When you're taking short, rapid, shallow breaths, the diaphragm is contracting and relaxing quickly and this prevents you from making a downward, concerted push.
It's also useful to pant right through a painful contraction as you wont feel out of breath at the end. To stop yourself over breathing or hyperventilating, pant 10-15 times and then hold your breath for a count of five. |
