_Positions for coping in active labor
The following list includes the positions that I usually teach my clients in a childbirth preparation class. I recommend practicing these positions at home long before labor begins, just to get used to them and to feel as natural as possible doing them . When labor does begin, you'll be able to go into one position and change to another effortlessly. By practicing you can also figure out which positions you like better and which don't really work for you. You are teaching yourself coping tools in order to be in control of your labor, thus minimizing stress and fear. Less fear, Less tension/stress, Less pain !
If there's something I would like you to take from this blog post at the end is that breastfeeding should NOT hurt. Not at all! Ultimately, it should be an enjoyable time you spend with your baby while nourishing him/her with the best nutrition you can ever offer.
The first few days of breastfeeding are crucial, because the sooner you get off to a good start the better off you and your baby will be. You, will be able to produce enough milk to provide for your baby, avoid common issues like sore nipples (and if not addressed in time.. ..cracked nipples, blocked duct, mastitis and more). Your baby, will learn how to latch on to your breast properly and by that ensure sufficient milk transfer for him to grow, gain weight and thrive.
It is so important that your baby latches on to your breast properly. If this doesn't happen you may experience an uncomfortable sensation and even pain.
Many expectant parents feel that enrolling in a childbirth education class is going to be time consuming and torturous (especially the fathers).
Little do they know that childbirth education classes, especially today, can be very informative and interesting.
First time parents are the ones who are in need the most of this guidance before they find themselves in an unknown territory. In these classes they can be given tools to help them navigate in situations they've never been before.
Most babies turn to a “head down” presentation more accurately known as a cephalic presentation spontaneously. 57% of babies turn at 32 weeks gestation and 18% do so at 37 weeks gestation. These babies who are called stubborn and decide to stay in a breech presentation can be turned using different techniques, medically or by alternative therapy.
The medical technique used is called external cephalic version (ECV). ECV is a procedure that externally rotates the fetus from a breech presentation to a vertex presentation (2). ECV from 36 weeks reduces the chance of breech presentation at birth and caesarean section (4).
There are a lot of methods to teach childbirth education classes, but there are two main groups : natural preparation classes and standard antenatal preparation classes.
On May 27 ,2009 , an article was published online in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology that wanted to compare these two groups and their effects on epidural rates, experience of childbirth and the parental stress of women and men.
It was surprising to found out that the results show no difference between the two groups of epidural rates, experience of childbirth and feelings about parenthood.
In Nursing School I was taught to follow the Law of the 3 P's. The baby is the Passenger, the pelvis and vagina are the Passage and the uterine contractions are the Powers.This is how the pregnant woman is assessed and the OB determines her capacity to give birth naturally. This is how the diagnosis of CPD ( cephalo-pelvic disproportion) is determined.
After reading the chapter about The Sphincter Law in Ina May Gaskin's book Guide to Childbirth I've come to an understanding how the Law of the 3 P's can blame women for what is medically called a dysfunctional labor. If a labor doesn't progress in a specific time frame, doctors can then say that the problem may be the small size of the pelvis for the baby, or the baby grew too big inside the womb or that the uterine contractions are not effective enough to push the baby out. This is how a woman can then be told she needs to undergo a c-section or have a vaginal birth but with the use of forceps or vacuum extraction.
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