How to Prepare for Labor and Delivery

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

There are many ways you can prepare for labor and delivery, including mental, physical and emotional. Lamaze classes are definitely one way to prepare for your labor and delivery, but there's more to it than just taking a class. It's practicing the breathing techniques and understanding how to push when the time comes.

Learning to breathe correctly is an important part of your preparation process. Whether you take a lamaze class or work with a birthing coach or get a crash course in labor and delivery from your OB-GYN, the following is some information on breathing techniques and how to practice them. This information is hardly the substitute for a class or the expert advice of your physician.

Breath and Your Diaphragm

When you are in labor, you want to breathe diaphragmatically. This is just the technical term for inhaling deeply enough and expanding your belly so that your diaphragm will drop down into your abdomen. When you exhale, your diaphragm rises and your abdomen contracts. This type of breathing can help you ride out a contraction as well as help with pushing the baby out whether you have an epidural or not.

If you want to practice this breathing technique begin by sitting in a chair comfortably. Lay one hand on your chest and place the other hand on your belly. As you inhale, take a deep breath and move the air down to the lower areas of your lungs by expanding your abdomen. You have to be deliberate with both the deep breath and the expansion of your tummy.

When you exhale, suck your tummy in as it were. When your tummy is distended with a baby, this may feel odd, but it does help you contract the muscles you'll need to help with the labor and delivery process. Most physicians recommend that you practice this form of breathing at least five to ten minutes of every day. This type of deep breathing is also great for times of stress and anxiety (of which labor and delivery is definitely one example).

Breathing is a Form of Control

It's important to remember that when you control your breathing, you are controlling your reaction. Considering that most babies come when they feel like it (inducing labor or not) and there are so many things about birth that you have to be flexible about - your own reactions are something you can control. Breathing diaphragmatically is one of the best ways to help cope with stress and anxiety - it's also a great way to learn to control your reactions to stress for after the baby arrives and you are coping with a newborn.

Related Articles:

The Marathon of Motherhood

Dads in the Delivery Room

Hypnosis for Childbirth

Communicating with your Doctors

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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