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| Home > Preparation for Child Birth > Techniques for relaxation
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| | Techniques for relaxation
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 Various techniques for relaxation, comfort measures and patterned breathing are there to ease the pain you will have to go through during labor and child birth.
The use of these techniques cannot guarantee a pain-free childbirth, but they can certainly reduce pain and stress and give you some control over the experience. Along with the support you will receive from your family, these techniques and your applications of them will be your own physiologic resources for coping with the difficult situation called labor. You may use these techniques with or without medical interventions. Your giving birth will be rewarding, exciting and fulfilling experience - one to look back on with satisfaction and joy.
In the 1970s, the scope of childbirth preparation became more holistic by expanding beyond methods of pain relief to include movement by the mother during labor and the use of the upright position to enhance the progress of labour, gentler pushing techniques for birth, bonding between parents and newborn and gentle birth procedures for the benefit of the newborn. The exercises and techniques offered in the following pages are drawn from the approaches described above and are relevant to childbirth today. In addi-tion you will learn ways to adapt these skills to suit your own individual needs and expectations.
Relaxation techniques will teach you how to relax and control specific muscles at will. In the process you will learn to relax the muscles not use during labor and thus conserve energy. They will also help you calm your mind and prevent you from getting unduly stressed during labor.
You must develop your own comfort measures to be utilized during labor. Every woman will have her own unique way to respond to labor. Find the best way that is most suited to you, like a soothing music.
Every woman will also have her own method of coping with pain. You must accept pain as a part of the ongoing process of labor. Then put some thought to how you are going to cope with it. You may use diversion technique or you may use focusing technique. The methods described here will guide you in your choice.
Massaging during labor also reduces pain, divert attention and on the whole makes labor more acceptable. Warm water bath, hot wet compresses etc. in the low abdomen, back help reduce pain. Even a cold ice pack helps. Moving around during labor also helps. Changing into various positions help reduce pain as well as give the benefit of gravity.
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