Revisiting the Word “Pain”
“Think of labor as an interesting sensation that requires
all of your attention.” - Ina May Gaskin
A NEW WORD FOR PAIN
May we suggest that before, during and after labor, choose to use a different word other than pain to describe the sensation your body feels ? Our words shape our reality.
Why not choose a word that promotes a greater sense of comfort? For example, replace the word “pain” with the word “pressure” and the word “contraction” with “waves.”
Imagine a labor full of “painful contractions” vs a labor replete with “waves of pressure.”
THE MAGIC OF “LABOR MIND”
Labor offers a unique opportunity to experience your body’s highest levels of oxytocin (a feel good and bonding hormone) it will ever produce! When the right environment is cultivated, labor is a meditative, transcendent experience. It can be a truly awesome and spiritual experience to fully surrender to the process, to go into the unknown full of wonder and curiosity and emerge out the other side a fuller, deeper person.Think about when you are in a very intimate setting about to have sex.
The hormones start working their magic. Inhibitions are let go of and you “lose yourself.” You have tapped into the primitive side of the brain. The instinctual, feeling, NON thinking part of the mind. This is the same state of mind you want to re create when in labor.
You want that primitive side to come out from hiding and the logical, thinking part of the brain to recede into the background.. When this part of the labor happens, mom’s typically go from sentences and jokes to one word answers and not a lot of talking. Encourage and nurture this state of mind.
Reframing the Word “Pain”
P – purposeful A – anticipated I – intermittent N – normal
Let’s talk about pain, how to look at it, the purpose it serves and to reframe it in a way that makes it manageable, purposeful and in the end, not quite so scary.
The “P” in pain stands for the word Purposeful.
When allowed to move freely in labor, pain can help direct your body to adjust itself in a purposeful way. It guides your body to relieve pain and promotes baby’s journey DOWN the birth canal. So you instinctively think it just feels better to put a leg up here, to lean over a chair there, to crawl on your hands and knees, to go into the shower and feel the water on your back.
“Think of labor as an interesting sensation that requires all of your attention.” - Ina May Gaskin
Anticipated:
In labor a contraction is like a wave. It typically lasts between 15 to 90 seconds getting longer and stronger as labor progresses. A mom in labor usually finds what works for her and can use the time in between contractions to recover. A contraction begins and she (and her team) already know which places feel good to press on, where to do counter pressure, where to put the cold/hot wash cloth.
Intermittent:
As mentioned above, the waves have rests and breaks in between. They are intermittent. This is nature’s way of giving mom a rest in between contractions. It’s in these in between periods that mom can feel meditative and very restful.
Think of how you feel after a huge physical effort, like spinning or running. How do you feel when you finally rest and just let yourself “be”? It’s a similar feeling in labor.
Normal:
In normal life, we feel pain and we think something is wrong. In labor, we feel this pressure and discomfort and know that everything is very normal. The pain, or discomfort, or pressure, all different words for the same sensation is normal. This is a huge revelation!
Think about your own life and where you can find examples of how you handle discomfort (like waxing or plucking eyebrows, going for a run, etc ).
How to Use “Gate” Theory to Minimize Pain
“Gate” theory refers to the idea that the brain is only capable of receiving a certain number of messages at a time. We can use this to our advantage!
If you flood it with distractions such as massage, aromatherapy, heat and cool sensations, it will distract the mind from the amount of discomfort it may perceive. We will use this knowledge to our advantage!
MEET THE ROMEO OF ALL HORMONES:
OXYTOCIN
Birth is the time when your body will produce it’s highest ever amount of the feel-good hormone oxytocin. It the feel- good hormone that helps you bond with friends and loved ones and it is present in large quantities during (enjoyable) sex. This is why men and women (especially women) develop such close bonds with the people we give ourselves to in this way. In all it’s wisdom nature gave us Oxytocin to help us cope with the challenge of labor, bond with our baby and encourage milk production. The name of the game is not to have an un-medicated birth at all cost. It’s about letting the woman decide what is best for her. I have found that the best support typically comes from a midwife in a hospital, a birth center or a home birth. However there are many doctors out there who also support the normal birth process (affectionately called MD’s – Midwife in Disguise! These exact same hormones are present when you are in labor and help your birth experience. Endorphins help you to feel good and act as a pain reducer. Oxytocin is that feel good bonding hormone your body produces when you are bonding with a man, or just having a great conversation with friends. This is why we become so attached to a partner after we have sex with them. And its this same hormone that reaches it’s very highest peak in our entire life when we give birth. In all it’s wisdom nature gave us this huge resource to not only help us cope with the challenge of labor but also to bond with our baby and help with milk production as well. (Note: hospital drugs interrupt our bodies’ full potential for oxytocin production).
SURRENDER
By relaxing and letting go completely and fully, you give in to the birth process. The FOUR STAGES OF LABOR Without going into a lot of detail, which will be done for you in a childbirth education class or book, let’s break down the different stages of labor. Early (Mom’s role is to be as relaxed as possible and allow her uterus to do it’s job of opening up the cervix) Active (Same as above: Mom’s role is to be as relaxed as possible and allow her uterus to do it’s job of opening up the cervix) Pushing (baby born) Placental birth
THE FIVE SENSES
Knowing what we now know about the gate theory and how to distract your mind from feelings of pain, think about your five senses and how to take advantage of them.
Touch
Smell
Taste
Sound
Sight
TOUCH
In the beginning of labor, mom’s love light, massage otherwise known as effleurage. This increases the endorphins and “feel good” hormones thus reducing your sensation of pain. This varies from mother to mother. Some women love to be touched in labor and others do not. From experience, slow and soft touches work very well in the beginning of labor. Toward transition (when the cervix transitions from opening from 1 to 10 cm to pushing), stronger counter pressure on the lower back, tail bone area is very effective at reducing the sensation of pain.
What’s Transition?
This is when the body is transitioning from the uterus pulling open to the pushing phase of labor; hurray you are almost there! What’s Counter Pressure? This is placing firm pressure on the outside to counter the tremendous pressure the mom is feeling from the baby on the inside. You push down and firmly toward the tail bone and hold your hand there. Ask your doula to show you what counter pressure is. Another technique that works really well is squeezing the hips together firmly. How is Your Pelvis Like a Clothespin? What happens when you squeeze a clothespin at the top? It opens the bottom. Similar with your hips. During pregnancy your body’s infinite wisdom makes a hormone called relaxin. This hormone helps your bones to shift and be more flexible during labor. Squeezing the hips together allows the pelvis to open up more allowing baby to squeeze through.
SIGHT
Whether in at home, birth center or hospital, lights should be dimmed. Candles – real or electronic, can be lit and placed around the room. Create the same atmosphere as a romantic evening or luxury spa.
SOUND
What music will feel good for you during labor? Create a music play list for yourself. You can play anything that pleases you.
THIRD CHAKRA MUSIC
Something that may be fun to experiment with is that certain tones resonate with your third chakra. There is specific music (NOTE: INSERT LINK HERE TO CD WITH THESE TONES) that vibrates within this field allowing your body to work more effectively.
MEDITATION
In labor you can listen to the meditation music you’ve been listening to throughout your pregnancy. Click on this link: We’ve created a special meditation here for LaMotherhood mammas! These meditations can be very helpful to bring you to a deeply relaxed state of mind where you allow yourself to go into that primitive place of being, birthing, allowing and surrender. Ideally you have been listening to these mediations in the weeks leading up to labor and so your body can instantly go into this deep state of relaxation. The music and mediation acts like an anchor bringing you quickly and easily into this labor ready state of mind.
SMELL
The aromas and scents of your environment reaches a deep part of the brain. Think spa: for example using lavender and other essential oils in a diffuser that can be plugged in either at home or hospital. The great news is that aromatherapy can be used no matter where you are laboring.
If you happen to be in a hospital atmosphere it’s really fun to make the room smell great as it enhances the experience not only for the laboring mom but for her support team as well.
There’s nothing better than seeing a nurse walk into the room and stopping in her tracks to say, “hey, it feels really nice in here.” By creating the atmosphere you desire it necessarily will have an effect on the tone and mood of the doctors and nurses who are working with you.
Here are some ways to incorporate aromatherapy into your labor: For relaxation, sprinkle lavender oil on your pillow or put some in a diffuser If mom is feeling nauseous, make a blend incorporating peppermint oil To help labor progress, create a blend of orange blossom, lavender and clary sage. (Clary sage should only be used when it is safe and healthy for baby to be born as it can induce labor. Please consult with your birth professional before trying this or any other labor inducing technique to make sure it is ok for labor to begin.)
Other ways to incorporate smells from home:
pillow and/or pillow cases from home
Favorite scented lotions / oils
Baked goods
Vanilla
Anything and everything you can think of that would be nice for you to smell
(P.S. Partners, bring toothbrush and toothpaste for both of you and be careful what you eat. Mom will be hyper
sensitive).
TASTE:
Typically mothers in truly active labor will not be eating however it is critical to keep yourself hydrated. Some ideas for foods that help hydrate and give you energy include: popsicles, ice chips, flavored ice chips, coconut water, water, etc.
Tip: Make sure you have lots of straws on hand to help mom sip liquids without spilling.
PRACTICE EACH TECHNIQUE
Something that can be fun to do is to practice this with your partner. Find a quiet spot and make it as romantic and inviting as possible. Now take turns doing light touch (take turns because you want this to be fun for your partner too!). Tell each other what feels good, how you like to be touched. Imagine you are in labor and how it would feel to have your husband lightly stroking your back, tummy or legs with long smooth, SLOW touches. Practice with different positions to see what is most relaxing using pillows, birth balls, chairs, etc. SOUNDING Sounding is making long slow sound such as the OOOOHHHMM that is said in yoga class. There are three main benefits to what is called “sounding.”
1. Relaxation
2. Meditation
3. Good for Baby
High pitched sounds are not helpful to you in labor but deep vocals like the OM in yoga can be very helpful. There is a direct connection between the mouth, cervix and perineum. Sounding gives you a place to focus and direct. High pitched sounds are created when the vocal folds are tight together. (NOTE: Get more description about this from Patricia’s cd) Lower sounds are created when the vocal chords are relaxed thus producing a lower tone. Another way to do sounding is to try saying the vowels:
Aaaaaaa (Pronounced like the letter A such as in the word sAy)
Eeeeeee (Pronounced like the letter E)
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Pronounced Eye)
Oooooohhhhh (pronounced Oh)
Uuuuuuuuu (Pronounced You)
Imagine you are in labor and practice saying one of these types of sounds for about a minute or so. It can be helpful to try this alone so you are uninhibited. Another suggestion is to look up home births on youtube to become familiar with the sounds of labor.