Does "breathing" through contractions really help???

[Paranoid1stTimer]

Never done the birth thing before and am just wondering if breathing through the contractions helps or if this is all just a ploy to keep your mind off things and to concentrate on something other than the pain?

I understand the technicalities of oxygenating your blood supply and how this helps muscles relax and the baby and all that but I have never been one of these people who can just relax when you are really freezing out in the snow because "if you tense up you will just feel colder"

I am a stubborn b!tch sometimes so am worried about not being able to calm myself down when the actual labour part starts...

THanks for any feedback xxx

It does help and it makes you feel that you have some say in the whole thing which is a good thing too. Is certainly good in the early stages and then keep an open mind about other help you may need.

It helped me, but the gas and air was better.

Yes, IME it helped. I used G&A too and found it gave me something to focus on. I sort of zoned out and put all my efforts into breathing through the contractions early on, then used the G&A when they were more intense.

The thing I liked about the G&A was making a weird noise when breathing out through the mouth piece. Strange but it helped me

partly it's a ploy
partly it's to stop you a) holding your breath or b) wasting lots of energy screaming

have you got an antenatal yoga class near you? I found it a bit new-agey and I don't know how much it helped during the actual birth, but it was genuinely helpful in late pg wrt relaxing me, allaying anxiety and encouraging me to trust my body and feel positive about the birth.

I did hypobreathing (I bought the Mongan book and CD). You may hear people on here talking about wonderful birth experiences due to hypnobirthing - sadly I wasn't one of them. However, while nothing would take the pain away, the breathing through contractions did help my maintain my self-control for longer than I normally would have, I think. I did have a bit of a panic at transition, but I lasted for many hours just by focusing and breathing, and DD was very badly positioned, so labour was long.
So in short - no miracles, but some help. And I am stubborn too.

I think it helped me... No idea whether it was just because I was concentrating on it rather than the pain or whether it was a more physiological reason...or perhaps a bit of both. I am the world's biggest wuss when it comes to pain and I was surprised how well I coped with contractions.

I breathed "Relax" Breathed in to "Re" and out to "lax.."

It was worked really well until dp kept asking me "Is that one ? Are you having a contraction ?" and expecting me to answer ! FFS - I'm breathing deeply and swaying around like a cow with a grimace on my face - what do you think dumbass ?!

Absolutely yes. Well it did for me anyway, everyones labour and contractions are different. I had done yoga for some time and it was the breathing I'd been taught to do in yoga.
I breathed in as the contraction built up, then blow it out slooooowly as the contraction subsided.

Only worked during the early phases though, after that the breathing seemed to work better with a gas and air thingy clamped between my teeth

I found that it helped quite a lot, kind of like meeting the pain half-way rather than beong overwhelmed by it, if that makes sense.

Ooooo, I am so of everyone else on this thread! Gas and air did nothing for me. When the MW went out of the room, DH tried it and it didn't do anything for him either. I wonder sometimes if they switched it on.....

Brilliant thanks!! I didnt go to my antenatal classes cos I was really really sick with upset tummy for last few weeks and feeling really low so I am panicking now since I never learnt the breathing exercises. I wasnt going to tell anyone that but f*ck it. It's the truth.

I have had hypnotherapy although not hypnobirthing and was taught breathing exercises then. I also did a lot of yoga before I got pregnant and a little throughout so will just utilise those breathing techniques like you did Flibbertyjibbet as I really feel they help you get right into a posture so must surely relax your muscles!!! Fingers crossed...

I think so, because to get the full benefit of G+A you have to breathe deeply and evenly.

So that helps you et throuh the contraction, IYSWIM.

I loved G+A. Truly marvellous stuff [rin]

Message withdrawn

controling breathing when crowning v v good and prevented me from tearing all 3 times
breathe that baby out

Yes, it helped me, hoping it will help again!! Although it was more breathing out and down that was most effective it that makes sense, rather than just deep breathing, feeling that the breathing is actually doing something and helping you through the contraction will help too, rather than thinking its just something to occupy the mind! Good luck!

I did the breathing thing with both of mine - plus a bit of gas and air apparently (which I wasn't using properly anyway)

Unlike Piffle I couldn't do it right towards the end so I did end up tearing with ds (which didn't hurt btw - I had no idea!)

yes it really does help.The best thing I did.

Yes. As doing mooing like a cow

yes,absolutley.the diastraction side of it does help as well,as does feeling in control.

i screamed and fought against the contractions with my first 2,and they kept giving me more and more drugs which made things worse,but with my last 3 i remained calm and breathed through the contractions(gas+air helped as well)and i felt in control and had lovely experiences.

Yes it was great, and made me focus on my dh's eyes and we breathed together (until I told him to clean his teeth cos his breath smelt) Yes even in the throes of delivery I can be a cow...

Hypnobreathing definitely worth learning and doing - made my third birth significantly easier to cope with and was also subsequently useful during gallstone attacks!

Yes it helped me, something to focus on and stay as relaxed as situation allows!
I also used TENS machine which was fantastic as gas and air made me feel sick.
Wriggling your toes and fingers also helps, can't be tense whilst doing that!
Good Luck

Yes from me, too

Just make sure that you remember to breathe all the way out. The breathing in happens on it's own.

Another vote for breathing from me here. Think that it was the only really really useful thing I learnt from my antenatal classes. The "candle breathing" thing really helped me to get through my contractions - where you imagine there is a wide semi circle of candles in front of you and you need to breathe out a long stream of air, just enough to make each flame wobble in turn. Or summat

I had hypnotherapy and it definitely helped me to breathe through the contractions. I found closing my eyes and counting to 10 mentally really helped too.