Tell me about Breathing in childbirth - don't get it.

[barbamama]

I keep reading about how to do it but I just don't get it. Last time nobody helped me or showed me how to do it when I was giving birth - which is waht some books say - don't worry about it, the midwives will tell you. I have realised that I hold my breath when in pain which is not good I know. What are the different types for different stages? How do I breathe through a contraction? Is it as simple as just not holding your breath and breathing long and slow?

I am getting nervous, Klaw can you come and be my midwife please !!

Yes - just breathe long and slow (preferably through the G&A mouthpiece )

TBH I forgot all the stuff too (both times). I just pushed as hard as I bloody could.

Important to pant as you're pushing or trying not to push I tihnk

Message withdrawn

Er, am i wierd then? I breathed long and slow during contractions as that was what calmed me down (like when meditating), but since i've never been to one single pre-natal group i didn't really know what to do otherwise...just winged it!

I know, how hard can it be?? I just rememeber feeling my breathing was all out of synch last time and just pushed as hard as I could when apparently you are supposed to pant or something.

I was told that in the earlier painful contractions do long breaths, and as they get more painful to gradually shortern the breaths so by the time you're pushing you're panting.....think it all went out the window in the end though and I was taking the biggest breaths of G&A I could muster

Yes...where were all the instruction booksand support groups 300 years ago - they must have done it all WRONG

i think screaming probably b*ggered up my breating rhythm but ds and i were fine. I think you're body just takes over and when it comes to pushing you can't breath while pushing anyway.

Yes, my breathing got out of sync when I started shouting, "get that fucking anaesthetist in here now!"

it's just rubbish

it's just something to distract you from the big fat baby pummelling your cervix

turn on the telly instead

But not if Alien is showing...

OK, I had a very nice doula showing me some breathing techniques, but it's really hard to explain them in writing! Can you email me and we can exchange phone numvers, I can go through it over the phone. I don't want to be accused of heavy breathing, though!!! email is josee _ mallet @ h o t m a i l . c o m (without the spaces, obviously.)

Breath out when you are having a contraction to push the pain out (in theory)

partly it's just that when you're in pain you tend to hold your breath, and consciously breathing helps relax all the muscles that your tensing (and tensed muscles hurt much more).

and then also like WWW says it helps to control the pushing urge in the final stage as if you're panting you can't hold your breath in the way that you naturally do when you're braced and pushing.

I found the midwives crap. If you want to know about breathing, go to some yoga lessons. Seriously.

mw told me breathing is something to concentrate on so you feel like you have control over something. except panting, which can stop you pushing so baby doesnt come out too fast. although i was told about panting when i was giving birth and my head was a bit fuzzy so that might not be right

I am a huge fan of breathing . I bought a natal hypnotherapy prep for homebirth CD and did one of the breathing techniques in it when having DD and it was brilliant. I was in complete control and the pain of contractions wasn't bad at all. I didn't need any other pain relief (unlike with DS) so I think it's VERY powerful! Anyway, you inhale a "golden light" that washes through your body and exhale any horrid stuff. For me, I breathed in warm, golden air and imagined my DD bathing in it then when I exhaled I let the power of the contraction go with it. It was GREAT and I got a huge buzz off deep breathing. Ok so I sound like a total hippy or something, but I'm not honestly! Oh, when it came to the pushing part I sort of panicked and pushed as har as possible as I wanted to avoid doing it for 2 hours like I did with DS. Only took 6 mins, not sure what I would have done breathing wise if it took longer.

being in control of your breathing can be very powerful, I agree with that.

Just unfortunate I never knew what to try out when I had kids.

My midwives were seriously rubbisho.

I thought controlled breathing was utterly crap. I think, as someone else said, it really is just something to focus on.
I found focussing on screaming just as helpful!

I also did hypobirth-style breathing. The good news is that it got me through 10 hours of first stage without panicking or losing control. The bad news is that the first stage latest 4 hours.
It didn't stop the pain though, I don't know if it would have if DD haven't been OP and huge.

lasted not latest
Blimey, haven't even been drinking

thanks for all the serious responses - seems some find it helpful and others don't - I think I will concentrate on not holding my breath and see if that helps.

I asked exactly the same questions as you when I was expecting DS1 (I could have written this post) and I asked the midwife what all the different types of breathing were. She said was only one (despite what I had read) and that was to breath in deeply and slowly and let it out slowly and not to hold my breath or breath to fast. I think not holding your breath is probably the most important. And it is true - breathing does give you something to focus on, counting to 5 on the in breath and 5 on the out breath.

Don't really know about panting - nobody ever got me to do that and I can't say I did it naturally. I think by the time you get to that stage you will probably be in hospital and the midwife will tell you what to do anyway.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. Worked for me and I'm a total wimp when it comes to pain . I do it even now when dealing with period pains etc