8 Tips for Comfort in Natural Labor

Let me just preface this post with 3 facts about labor and natural childbirth. First, labor is hard work. Second, honestly, it hurts. Third, YOU CAN DO IT. Now that we have that out there, let’s talk about how you can make this experience more comfortable all around.

When I say comfort, I don’t mean that this could be a spa-like experience.

It is called labor for a reason.

You need to be mentally prepared to do the work. If you are not committed fully and wholeheartedly, you will start to look for a way out when things get tough. And if you find an alternate path, you might regret it later. (Ie. Taking the drugs.) If you commit yourself to do the work you will have an amazingly rewarding birth experience and it will help shape the woman and mother you are destined to become.

Maybe that seems dramatic but it’s true. So let’s crush this! Here are some of my favorite tips that have helped me to achieve a gratifying natural childbirth – Every time!

1. How you show up to your labor matters.

Think about how you feel when you are wearing pajamas. So Comfy right? Now imagine you are still wearing those same pajamas at a party. You probably don’t feel very confident. The same concept goes for one of the greatest physical challenges a woman can face. Wearing a hospital gown probably leaves you feeling exposed, vulnerable, and well, like a patient. Consider instead wearing workout clothes or be like me and opt for a dark-colored dress.

On that same note, fixing your hair and make-up will help you to feel more confident and in control throughout the entire process. How others view you will also play a role in your confidence in your abilities. If your look pre-labor is troll living under the bridge, your health practitioner might be a little concerned that you aren’t ready to be dragged through the mud. The goal is to look like you are ready so that you will feel like you are ready to take this labor head-on.

My first birth, while natural, felt like a fight. I came in at 2 in the morning, hair and face a mess and was immediately put into a hospital gown. After that, voicing my concerns became more difficult as I was slipped into the role of patient. Decisions were suddenly no longer a conversation but the hospital knows best.

My second natural labor and birth started at 8:30 am and ended at 2:30 pm. Immediately after my water broke, while washing my face, I continued to dress for the day. I did my hair (using a donut bun so it hardly counts) and fixed my makeup, eyeliner included. I dressed in a casual day dress with a cardigan and wore pearl earrings. Arriving at the hospital ready for the day ahead allowed me to keep control of the decision-making process. After all, looking at the part is half the battle.

2. Choose a Birth Project in advance

Think about something you enjoy doing that you can focus your attention on when you believe yourself to be in early labor. Work on your project to completion, only giving it up early if your labor becomes too much to bare. The idea here is that you could distract yourself long enough to get through the early stages and not feel as emotionally exhausted when you get to active labor or to transition.

My birth project was sewing a dress for baby. Your birth project could be baking lactation cookies, painting a piece of furniture or completing a deep cleaning task. Keeping yourself busy to keep moving will help keep labor moving without the mental discomfort of just waiting through the labor.

3. Utilize Power Poses

How you stand matters. Literally. Stand up. And keep on moving! I know it is difficult, especially when your deep in it but let gravity help you! Moving around also helps your baby to continually slide into place. Your baby will find the openings during contractions and make their way topside wayy faster than if you were to just lay in one spot and make your contractions do ALL the work.

4. Keep your noises low

Probably the most valuable bit of advice I have learned is to keep your noises deep and low. I kind of sounded like a cow but it truly helped to keep my labor moving. When you make high-pitched noises, it literally pulls up on your muscles, making it difficult for labor to progress. Also, making high-pitched noises, like screaming, is usually a sign of a woman losing control and a surefire way for nurses or doctors to intervene. Making low tones like moaning and grunting will actually help to relax your lower half, allowing for delivery to come sooner. If you want to do this naturally, keep it low and stay in control.

5. Inhale Red, Exhale Blue

Imagining colors can help you to focus on your breathing. I don’t even know where I learned this but it helped immensely in my first labor. Imagine when you inhale the color red and when you exhale imagine the color blue. Focus on the red going in and the blue going out.

6. Cancel the Noise

Silence allows you to get down to the business at hand, without the distractions of your husband asking you if you are okay (NO YOU’RE NOT! DUH), the beeping of machines or bustling of people around you. Wearing noise-canceling headphones while in labor will help you to keep all your attention on your body, which is ultimately the only thing that stands between you and that sweet little baby.

7. Keep it Nice and Dark

Find a dark place. Dim the lights, or better yet turn them off. If you can’t do that I recommend an eye mask to eliminate all the extra sights or just keep your eyes closed. You don’t need to concern yourself with the changing numbers on the monitor screen, the number of nurses coming in an out or the concerned looks on your mother or husband’s face. None of that matters. All those visual distractions are trying to force your brain back into your body. Trying to use your logical brain in labor is useless and will only draw things out even longer. Just close your eyes and focus on whats going on internally.

One of my favorite purchases is the Bucky 40 blinks eye mask. I used it briefly during labor to block out extra stimuli but it was most valuable in the hours after birth and allowed me to nap comfortably in the middle of the day.

8. Get yo’ self a Doula for labor

Doulas are so valuable in labor and childbirth. Not just for you but for your birth partner too. They come stocked with tips and tricks, essential oils and reminders for implementing all those techniques you read about in that birth book like a month ago. Having a doula at my second birth was a game changer. She came in clutch with some sort of essential oil just when I thought I was too exhausted to continue. She also kept ice cold wash cloths on my forehead, neck and chest – because it gets HOT in labor. Also, she helped to remind me to keep breathing, because when your husband tells you to ‘just breathe’ you throw the sink at him. Having a doula present will also help to run interference, especially if your birth partner doesn’t do well with confrontation.

These are my 8 favorite tips for creating a semblance of comfort in natural labor. Try to remember that labor is work but if you show up ready to do the work you will absolutely have the labor and delivery experience you truly want. And at the end, when you have your baby in your arms you won’t be thinking about the journey it took to get there but you will feel a sense of pride of how you arrived.

So now it’s your turn! If you try this, tag me at @goldengluegun