With the approach of the birth day, every pregnant woman increasingly thinks about how everything goes. Particular stress is caused by thoughts of impending pain. It happens that girls giving birth for the first time, literally bring themselves to a half-fainting state. Communicating with their friends and attending a antenatal clinic, they eagerly absorb experienced stories about how terribly and painfully childbirth is.
In fact, there are many ways to survive pain-free labor. The reviews of specialists and women who successfully coped with the situation will be very useful to primogenous young ladies.
Causes of pain
Before discussing how to survive childbirth and labor, you should understand what causes painful sensations. By the time of birth, the uterus, without exaggeration, becomes the largest internal organ. Moreover, it does not grow, but simply stretches. Thus, its sensitive surface increases by about 400 times. Panic and literally animal fear of a woman in labor are adding “pleasant” sensations.
Several factors that provoke pain:
- maximum ligament tension;
- pelvic muscle resistance;
- disclosure of the cervix;
- inability to psychologically control contractions;
- tissue ischemia;
- curvature of the vessels that feed the uterus;
- increase in surface area having highly sensitive receptors.
How to survive fights? Reviews of experienced women in labor come down to the fact that they simply do not need to concentrate. There are many ways and techniques to help alleviate the condition. But giving birth without pain will not work anyway. The main thing is to learn to control it.
If a woman concentrates only on pain, is waiting for them and is afraid, complications in childbirth are guaranteed. Such behavior leads to a violation of metabolic processes in the plasma and can harm the fetus. How to survive fights? You just need to prepare for them.
Process start
To understand how to survive contractions without pain, you need to study several positions that will help alleviate the condition. At the initial stage, you need to try to relieve stress from the pelvic area as much as possible and provide the main body involved in the process with maximum freedom.
You must sit on the edge of the bed or chair, firmly resting your feet on the floor. Try to keep your knees as wide as possible. In this position, the lower back bends slightly, and the stomach relaxes. For greater stability, you can rest your hands on your hips.
If you can’t sit, you can stop and stand. For example, spread your legs a little and lean on the edge of the bed. Try to bend your back slightly and relax as much as possible.
Active phase
Over time, the active phase of contractions begins. How to survive this moment and help yourself relax?
During this period, the woman in labor is difficult to stay upright. But to go to bed during this period is not recommended. Especially when there are no medical prerequisites for this. The best option during this period is considered to be a kneeling pose. You can, for example, get on all fours and let the stomach sag a little under its own weight.
Some women in labor adjust to fitball - a large elastic ball. You can take different poses with him. The main task of the woman in labor is maximum relaxation. The only thing that does not need to be done is to sit firmly on a hard chair or couch.
How to help yourself before childbirth
The last prenatal phase is characterized by the opening of the uterus. How to survive contractions during this period? Here it is important to relieve tension not from the abdomen, but from the legs. To do this, you can use the same fitball. You can lean on his lower back, and knees to push apart. Feet better to stretch forward. Instead of the ball, you can use the help of a partner.
During this period of contractions, doctors are also advised to stay on their feet. This will enhance the birth activity in a natural way. Facilitates the situation and proper breathing.
Application of anesthesia
Medicine has stepped far forward. Therefore, many women in labor prefer to get rid of suffering using anesthesia. There are various drugs that allow a woman not to feel pain, but still feel everything. Some medicines, by contrast, can make a woman feel nothing at all. It all depends on the dose and professionalism of the anesthetist.
To use anesthesia or not - the doctor decides. A woman’s body, tormented by pain and fear, can behave as it pleases. For example, labor can weaken or stop altogether. Having a little rest, the woman will again be included in the work.
At the same time, an improperly selected drug can provoke pressure surges, allergies, cause drowsiness or other side effects. All this can adversely affect the health of women in labor and the child. Therefore, anesthesia is best used as a last resort.
In some countries, acupuncture is used to relieve pain during contractions. This allows you to stimulate special points and reduce pain. In our country, acupuncture is rarely used. It is not easy to find a good specialist who is familiar with oriental techniques.
Massage and Aromatherapy
One option for making it easier to survive contractions is special massage techniques. This method perfectly helps from the very first uterine contractions and before the start of attempts. For additional pain relief, you can use special creams, oils or gels. It is important to remember about possible allergic reactions. Techniques can be different:
- Point. To relieve pain, simultaneously press the ankle bone and the groove between the index finger and thumb from the inside. Exposure time is approximately 40 seconds.
- Lumbar. Using a vibrating massager or with your bones of your fingers, massage the sacrum and lumbar region for 40 seconds. Perform intense circular movements. During breaks, gently press with your fingers on the sacrum and the upper part of the buttocks.
- Rubbing. In the supine position, bring the legs together and bend a little at the knees. With a convenient hand, rub the inner surface of the thigh in the direction from the knee to the inguinal zone. Each leg should account for 30–40 reps.
- Stroking. Put your right palm on the lower abdomen. Place the left one on top. Gently stroke the stomach with the fingertips from the center to the sides. In the final phase of the bout, the pressure can be slightly increased.
You can attract a partner to the massage. With the bones and back of the phalanx of the fingers, the partner can massage the sacral zone of the woman in childbirth. You should perform rubbing circular movements and move from the coccyx up to the lower back. Some help gently rubbing the side of the abdomen, massage the neck. It is important not to press too hard so as not to damage the child.
In addition to massage, aromatherapy can also be used. Naturally, the lamp itself will have to be stocked up in advance. Also during pregnancy, you should test the reaction to various odors, make sure that there are no allergic manifestations or other negative reactions. In many cases, the aromas of lavender, bergamot or lemon are excellent. Inhaling them, the woman in labor will be able to calm down and relax a little. The smell of jasmine, on the contrary, stimulates labor.
Breathing exercises
What to do if you are in full swing contractions? How to survive this condition and ease pain as much as possible?
The first thing you can learn in preparatory courses for women in childbirth is proper breathing. This can actually relieve pain during contractions. But the main thing is that a woman can do everything herself. She does not need anyone for this, and she will not have to ask for help from anyone. Trying to properly perform a breathing exercise, a woman is distracted from pain and tensed muscles. In addition, at this moment the blood is additionally enriched with oxygen, which is very useful for the baby.
There are several breathing techniques that can relieve discomfort during contractions:
- Intermittent. This method can speed up the process. You need to breathe through the mouth, quickly alternating inhale and exhale. This is how a big dog breathes on a hot summer day. This may seem ridiculous. However, there is no room for shyness in this case. Believe me, nobody in the maternity hospital is interested in what a woman in labor looks like. Everyone was seen there.
- Sobbing. You need to inhale the nose, and exhale through the mouth. In this case, 2 long breaths should account for one long exhale. This is how a person breathes when he begins to calm down after bitter sobs and lacks a little air.
- Pipe A deep breath is carried out by the nose, and exhalation through the mouth. In this case, the lips must be folded, as if you are trying to blow out the candles on the cake or play the pipe. With this method of breathing, the diaphragm tightens, and the stomach is rounded as much as possible. So it will be easier for the child to move, and mom will be able to relax a little.

Comfortable poses
If the doctor does not insist that the woman in labor is lying, the best way to relieve pain during contractions is movement. In this case, you can not curl into a lump or lie on your back. So it will be difficult for a child to be born. The best solution would be a pose that allows you to relax as much as possible.
Here are a few options for poses and movements to relieve pain:
- on fitball - you can roll from side to side, gently spring;
- squatting - squat, holding on to the support;
- on your knees - slightly spread your legs and lean on a chair or bed in front, bend your lower back;
- lotus - sitting on the floor, pull up your legs bent at the knees and close your feet;
- on all fours - bend the lower back in different positions, simulating the movements of a cat;
- standing, leaning forward - rest your hands on an object standing in front and draw a figure eight with a basin;
- in the same position - swing your hips in different directions;
- roll from heels to socks;
- “Saddle” the chair and at the time of the fight deflect the body to the sides;
- hang slightly on the support fixed at the top or on the shoulders of the partner.
Water and thermal procedures
This is a great option for surviving labor pains. Warm water reliably relieves muscle tension. However, it should be just warm (not higher than 37.8 C), but not hot at all. If possible, lie down in the bath or take a shower. Stay in the water for as long as necessary.
If this is not possible, it is good to attach a warm heating pad to the lower back. It can be filled with water. And you can take a small linen bag, stuff it with oats, wheat or salt and heat in the microwave to a pleasant temperature.
As you can see, there are many ways to relieve pain during contractions. You just need to listen to your body, learn the necessary techniques and techniques. A great help in this matter will be courses for pregnant women, which should not be neglected.