What preparation helped you cope best when you were in labour?

[mameulah]

Sorry for posting on aibu but I am getting closer and closer to my due date and am getting a bit nervous.

And this is our second baby. I feel like I know less this time round than last time.

Any practical (or any at advice at all) advice would be much appreciated.

tia

Another vote for natal hypnotherapy CDs.
Second time I had the birth companion on loop on my MP3 speakers. The MW later asked me what it was, she loved it as it kept her relaxed.

Avoid the bed. Use birthing balls and get a mat to kneel on. I had SPD and crutches so needed all the help I could get to be fairly mobile.

My birth plan was detailed and helped me get the starting points I wanted. I knew exactly what I didn't want after my first birth.

Yes to staying on your feet as long as possible. I positioned myself so I could see the monitor. There us quite a slow build up to each contraction before the pain hits. You can see the numbers going up on the monitor. I found it helpful to watch the monitor and prepare for each contraction that way.

Natal hypnotherapy birth preparation CD and book.

Also stayed upright all the time.

Read Ina May Gaskin's book about childbirth.

Was completely different from first birth and felt much calmer.

I'm surprised to read all the positivity about tens machines - not that I don't believe you, but I found mine next to useless. My contractions were all low down at the front, though, where you get period pain. I had nothing in my back so perhaps that's when tens help? Maybe I just didn't have it on right?!

Sounds lame but a hot water bottle really helped with number 3. That and a water birth.

blow out when you need to scream. big blows. seriously. helped me hugely with my son. wish i'd know that for my daughter.

take yourself a ice cold diet coke/similar/lives in candy crush/kit kat/etc for a treat when it's all over.

good luck :O) :O) :O) :O) :O)

Becca my pains were mostly my back so maybe that's why I found the tens helpful? It was more that because the Tens sensation was quite unpleasant when turned up high I could focus on that pain (and control it) rather than focus on the contractions!

How long do you have? I did Daisy Birthing classes with my second, loved them and had such a brilliant second birth :)

I never did hypnotherapy before labour but there was a CD someone had left in the room and I used that along with a CD album I knew really well - I think it was Dido but can't remember

Water pool was amazing but I didn't give birth in the pool. TBH it got a bit stressful when I got out.

A TENS machine was useless to me too. I just found it annoying, it did absolutely nothing for the pain and when the contractions ramped up it seemed to be making them worse, I threw it across the room

Remembering that it is just one day (or few hours hopefully) and as soon as its over, the pain stops straight away. I took one contraction at a time and used gas and air - God help anyone who tried to get that tube off me!

Also, remembering that when you think you can't go on, that you might in fact die, you are probably in transition. I hated the pushing stage but tried to concentrate on the fact that the harder I pushed, the quicker it would be over.

I have 4 by the way, all large (last 2 were 10lb and 11lb), and last 3 births virtually no pain relief (not by choice I may add!)

Hope it goes well for you.

Concentrating on breathing, trying to stay calm and being mobile all helped.
What would of helped more was if I'd asked the midwife to let me know when I was close to the point of no return with regard to pain relief. I didn't want an epidural with dc 2 and 3, labour went quite quickly anyway but by the time I thought - 'oh hang on, I could really do with some diamorphine right about now' It was too late.

Another vote for Birth Skills by Juju Sundin.

Stay upright, gravity helps baby move down = more effective contractions

Get a Tens machine and practice using it every day for 2 weeks b4 due date.put it on as soon as a hint of labour.

Count through contractions, helps you feel in control and know it will be over soon.

Going in to labour two weeks early, very suddenly and rapidly helped me. Just no time for anything else. ds2 was born 15 mins after arriving at hospital. Unintended natural birth.

I had a terrible first labour so it was very glad I never had time to think about the second one.

My top tip was to stay calm. I don't mean passively I mean assertively. You are going to do this the way that suits you and if that appears to inconvenience anyone you don't care! Ring the bell if you need to, ring it again if need be - and again! Be resolute in your wishes, you don't need to be rude, that will ruin your calm, just quietly insist.

In advance discuss your wishes with your birth partner or your midwife so they are aware of what you want and what you will compromise on and when - arrange a code word so they know the difference between transition help me and genuine "give me drugs"!

H

Hypnobirthing course. I'm still a little bit in love with the instructor. It has honestly changed my life, not just labour.

And no, it doesn't have to hurt. It might, but presenting it as fact is not very helpful.

Accept that things might not go as you had hoped or planned, as long as their is a healthy baby at the end of it all is all that matters. Not being able to have the perfect birth does not make your baby any less perfect.

Stay focused you will get through it.

Low expectations. It is going to hurt. Lots.

I assumed a long, painful labour, failure to progress andeemergency section.

I got a fast labour, mostly very manageable at home. 2 hours of bad pain, 1 of those in rush hour traffic.

Hypnobirthing cd's were awesome. I used the prep one while pregnant with my 2nd and I managed to stay calm and in control the whole time, utterly awesome. Didn't use any music or anything during the birth but managed to keep myself from becoming overwhelmed like the first time by repeating the phrases from the cd. Didn't with my third and it wasn't such a nice birth.

Believe that your body can produce a baby (it's done it once, after all).

Stay upright and make the best possible use of gravity: not until my last labour did I discover that hooking my hands over the top of a door and just dangling really helps (well, it helped me: the door didn't like it much, squeaked for weeks afterwards!)

Remember, if it comes to it, that squatting widens the birth canal. I was kneeling in the final throes of delivering my last child when I remembered this. I got one foot flat to the floor in the lull between two contractions, and planned to get into a full squat in the next lull - but the baby pretty much fell out before that lull came.

Keep focused on meeting your baby: that's the point of the whole palaver, after all.

I found that remembering you can't overdose on gas and air helped! Take what you need to get through it - it won't do any harm. I told dh I'm going to be pretty out of it and then stopped worrying when I zoned out a bit...

With first labour I had to keep moving through contractions and stayed upright for a long time. That was best for me then. Second time contractions got really intense really quickly and I could bear to to anything but lie still on my side. So what I'm saying is find the best way for you as it is different for every labour.

Tens machine, staying at home as long as possible, rectangular breathing learnt from pregnancy yoga, leaning on something and swaying through each contraction and staying upright, let gravity help! Good luck x

Personally I found the general anesthetic was very helpful...

Get as much rest as you can in the early stages of labor is my top tip.

It's very exciting (and worrying) when you start those first little twinges and it's easy to tire yourself out by stressing about getting to hospital or not, checking bags, doing certain excercises, texting, phoning people, staying up late, etc.

But remember labor can go on for hours and hours and you'll need all your strength to get through it if it's a tough one.

Another tip is to get your birth partner to really understand how to help you focus on their eyes/voice when you're in the real thick of it. In the hours when my pains was at it's height with DD4, DHs soothing voice and his eyes and hands on me were all i could see and hear. It got me through.

Best of luck OP :)