“Help! I’m Scared of Labour and Birth!”
I get it, labour and birth is scary. But why is it and what can we do to make it less scary?
Have you ever heard of the fear-tension-pain cycle?
There’s a good chance whether you’ve heard of it or not you’ve probably experienced it at least once in your life.
This might have been during childbirth or another painful experience such as breaking a bone.
So, what is it?
In the late 1800s and early 1900s two doctors, Dr Jonathon Dye and Dr Dick-Read were investigating why poor, uneducated women were able to birth their babies without fear and often without medical intervention when more educated and affluent mothers typically had to be anesthetized, requiring their deliveries to be medically managed.
Their conclusions were that because the poorer women did not have the same levels of fear around labour and birth, they had better experiences and healthier outcomes. They explained that the more fear a mother had about the labour, the higher the likelihood of complications and a painful experience.
They called it the Fear-Tension-Pain Cycle.
The Fear-Tension-Pain Cycle begins with the fear the mother feels about the labour and birth, this fear stresses the mother’s body triggering the autonomic nervous system into releasing adrenaline and sending the mother into her fight, flight or freeze mode. Adrenaline and related stress hormones are released into the bloodstream and act to redirect blood flow from the less vital organs (in this case the uterus) to the areas of the body that help get us away from danger (such as the legs). The mother’s muscles tense up ready for a fight, as her body readies itself to literally fight the contractions. This results in the mother’s contractions slowing right down, extending the labour and leading to more pain/greater pain perception which creates further feelings of fear in the mother leading to more adrenaline being released, slower labour, muscle fatigue, more pain and back to more fear.
The cycle continues.
STOP! It doesn’t have to be this way.
It is perfectly natural to feel some level of uncertainty and anxiety about giving birth to your baby, particularly for those giving birth for the first time or those who had a traumatic previous birth story.
All of these feelings can be managed. With a little bit of understanding about what is happening to our bodies during labour and birth and practicing the right techniques, you can take control of your labour and birth.
At the top of the list for me has to be the breath , as soon as we start to feel overwhelmed, pain or stressed, in any situation, our breath starts to shallow. This kickstarts those stress hormones and we dive straight into the Fear/Pain cycle.
By keeping control of the breath, slowing it down, keeping it deep and even we can help our parasympathetic nervous system do its job, reducing the stress hormones and those feelings of anxiety. It’s also a great focus point for your mind during labour.
Try it now, wherever, you are. Sit back, close the eyes and consciously take 3 deeper, slower breaths. In and out through the nose.
How do you feel? Chances are you feel calmer, even if you weren’t ‘stressed’ to begin with, pretty amazing stuff, right?
The breath is so powerful, and there is a variety of different techniques you can learn to utilise during your labour and birth to take control and have the best birth experience for you.
You can learn all about them, and other techniques such as massage, positions for labour and relaxation techniques, as well as the science behind birth on one of my Hypnobirthing Courses. These workshops are designed for you and your birth partner, to enable you to work as a team and ensure they know how best to support you. I’d love to share with you my knowledge and experience and help you break that cycle and have the best birth possible.