How to breathe properly during childbirth: techniques, features and recommendations

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-01 17:06

Hardly any of us think about how we breathe. For us, this process is natural and occurs on a reflex level. Therefore, few people pay attention to it at all. However, there may be times in life when breath control is simply necessary. And if someone has already guessed, this applies to absolutely any woman who is preparing to become a mother. In particular, we are talking about how to breathe correctly during childbirth.

Don't underestimate this, because breathing during the birth process helps to facilitate this process. There are different techniques, and the speed of its progress through the birth canal will depend on the correctness of their implementation. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's begin to understand this issue in order.

Summarized about contraction breathing

The benefits of breathing cannot be overestimated or even underestimated. After all, performing it in the right way, a woman can relax during the first half of childbirth. However, it is better to dodeep breaths that act as a better alternative to analgesics when a woman in labor is experiencing intense, painful contractions.

But before you apply this or that technique, you need to practice in advance. Having trained, a woman can significantly facilitate the whole process of childbirth. To do this, you should study several methods, consult with your doctor in order to choose the best option for yourself. In addition, the breathing technique during childbirth will give the woman more confidence, and the whole process will go smoothly.

What is the need?

Unfortunately, most women are skeptical of many correct breathing techniques. In their opinion, it simply cannot be particularly difficult to breathe correctly. In addition, these techniques will not relieve a pregnant woman from the pain of contractions and attempts.

And they are all wrong, because the condition of not only the woman herself, but also her child depends on proper breathing. At the moment when the contractions begin, many mothers are nervous, trying to somehow alleviate the pain that is growing. Often, they scream or try to hold their breath. In other words, control over the situation is lost.

According to some reviews, how to breathe properly during childbirth does not matter so much. However, this approach is fundamentally wrong, and neither one nor the other does anyone any good. The benefits of proper breathing are clearly underestimated by such expectant mothers:

• The muscles of the genital organ during childbirth need a sufficient amount of oxygen, andoften pain occurs precisely because of hypoxia.
• Performed attempts become more effective. The pressure exerted by the diaphragm on the uterus helps the birth of the baby. If the mother simply holds her breath, this will not help the baby move through the birth canal.
• This is not only the control of attempts, but also the protection of the child from birth trauma.
• The risk of hypoxia is markedly reduced.

In addition, if a woman in labor is focused on breathing exercises, she will have no time to think about pain. It is for this reason that proper breathing should begin to be worked out during pregnancy in the early stages. Daily workouts that will teach a woman how to push and breathe properly during childbirth will allow the expectant mother to be well prepared for childbirth. And if she's lucky, she won't feel any pain either.

Get rid of fear

What is interesting, having mastered this or that technique of correct breathing, you can save yourself from feeling fear. For pregnant women, this is especially important, because the "special status" makes them more sensitive to everything. From time immemorial, mothers have passed on very valuable information regarding childbirth to their daughters. Basically it all came down to listening to your body and breathing properly.

To the above listed benefits of proper breathing, you can add the following:

• the nervous system calms down, which allows a woman to save her strength;
• muscles relax which helpsgently advance the child, eliminating breaks.

Rapid breathing is very effective, which causes hyperventilation of the lungs, and as a result, CO_{2 is removed from the blood, the vessels of the brain begin to narrow, which leads to the activation of the subcortex. At that moment, all feelings go away. Of course, you should not use such breathing exercises on a daily basis, since it is relevant only for stressful situations, which are the birth itself.}

If there is any doubt, it is better for a woman to use special courses for pregnant women, which are available in almost every city around the world. Here, the expectant mother will be best acquainted with how to breathe correctly during childbirth, based on breathing techniques and special postures.

Training period

As noted above, it is necessary to master the technique of proper breathing in advance, and not on the way to the maternity ward. At the same time, the home environment is unlikely to be suitable for this, since breathing exercises have a strong impact and some side effects.

For this reason, experts recommend that expectant mothers enroll in special courses where they will be under the supervision of experienced trainers. Usually they take place in a group, but an individual approach is also possible. At the courses, trainers will help you choose the optimal breathing technique for a woman, taking into account the characteristics of her body. The minimum number of classes that should be completed is 6. Mastering breathing exercises, witheach time a woman gains invaluable experience and knowledge that will help her in the upcoming birth.

There are a great many techniques for how to breathe properly during childbirth, and each of them is aimed at facilitating the entire process of the birth of a child. The expectant mother can only choose the most convenient technique for herself.

Effective breathing techniques

There are a lot of methods of proper breathing, and each of them is particularly effective and is designed for a certain period of labor. With the help of some exercises, you can dull the pain, while others will allow the child to move freely through the birth canal. Let's analyze the most popular and effective techniques.

Breath count

This is the simplest and most easily digestible technique. All a woman needs is to count up to a certain number while inhaling. Let, for example, it will be 5. The same will need to be done on the exhale.

The speed of the exercise, as well as the duration of breathing, it is advisable to purchase individually and until the woman finds comfort. Therefore, this should be learned in advance. Such a technique will not only allow the expectant mother to save herself from an unnecessary panic attack, but also provide the child with enough oxygen.

Syllable breathing

This technique is also quite effective in terms of how to breathe during childbirth. Proper breathing in this caseinvolves the rhythmic pronunciation of a word in syllables. In this case, a simple and easy workout is performed that will allow a woman to keep her well-being under control.

You can choose the word of your preference, take at least this - "baby". Saying it, the mother herself will understand that it is especially pleasant for her. This is done very simply: each time you inhale, you should slowly, as if humming under your breath, pronounce the first syllable - “ma”, while with each exhalation pronounce the second syllable - “lysh”. And you need to focus on the pronunciation of vowel sounds.

You also need to fully concentrate on the spoken word, while breathing should be deep and slow. If the breathing exercise is performed correctly, you can feel the relaxation of the muscles, and the pain will not be so strong.

Candle technique: how to breathe correctly during childbirth

With this technique, breathing should be frequent and shallow, and you need to inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. A simple visualization will help to successfully perform such an exercise. It is enough for a woman to imagine a burning candle in front of her, which she needs to blow out. And you need to try to do it very quickly, but not to the end. There should be no pauses between inhalation-exhalation cycles, and the duration of such gymnastics should be equal to the time of one contraction.

It is worth noting that after 20 seconds a woman may feel slightly dizzy. This indicates that the respiratory center of the brain receives too much oxygen andthe response to this begins to produce endorphins, which are popularly known as "hormones of happiness." They are valuable in that they increase the pain threshold, thereby reducing pain. It is a kind of natural pain reliever or analgesic of natural origin.

Sometimes this method regarding how to breathe during contractions and childbirth is not enough to relieve pain, then an accelerated version will help, in which the rhythm remains the same, but you need to add a certain effort. Moreover, inhalation should be done as if the nose is stuffed up, and it needs to be cleaned, and exhaled through practically closed lips.

Slow breathing technique

When the very moment has come when a woman has to push, you need to completely fill your lungs with air, then hold your breath and push with the lower abdomen. The main thing is not to direct all your strength to the head, as this will not help the child move forward.

Of course, you won't be able to hold on like this for a long time, and therefore, when it becomes impossible to hold the air, you need to exhale, relax, and repeat everything again. Moreover, you should breathe with your chest, which will avoid the pressure of the diaphragm on the uterus. But between contractions, you can use the full breathing technique.

Features of abdominal breathing

It is imperative for any woman not only to know how to breathe properly during childbirth, but also to learn how to breathe with her stomach, in other words, it is her muscles that should move, and not the muscles of the chest. Mastering this skill is notspecial labor. To do this, you need to put the palms of your hands parallel to each other: one is located on the stomach, the other on the chest.

During the breath, the hand that lies on the stomach should rise and fall, while the other should remain motionless.

Breathe deeply

Such gymnastics implies not only the chest, but also the abdominal breathing technique. At the inhalation stage, the lower abdomen is gradually filled with air, rising to the upper lobes of the lungs. When exhaling, the air is released in reverse order. At the same time, the muscles of the chest and abdomen should be in the most relaxed state.

In this case, you can also use your palms, as in the exercise above, only they should rise alternately.

Breathing during contractions

The rhythm of breathing should differ depending on the stage of the birth process. And if the expectant mother has mastered the basic techniques of proper breathing well, then immediately during childbirth she will know what she should do. In a pinch, medical staff will help.

And now the birth is on the way - how to breathe during contractions? The answers to this question are very important. With the onset of the latent phase of labor, the manifestations of contractions are usually rare and weak. At this time, you can apply the technique of economical breathing. That is, you need to inhale sharply and deeply, but the exhalation should be slow and calm. This will allow the woman to maintain her strength. In addition, at the same time, the work of the heart stabilizes and the blood is enriched with oxygen. In between contractions, give yourself a rest.

Ascontractions are growing, the technique worked out earlier by the woman will come in handy. In this case, you need to breathe deeply, measuredly, steadily. At the peak of contractions, if the pain is no longer tolerable, it is better to resort to rapid breathing. Often, many mothers begin to do it like a dog: a sharp breath, followed by a loud exhalation. With the advent of a break, it is worth moving on to the mastered technique.

Breathing while pushing

During attempts, a woman needs to control her emotions, and here it is more important than ever to breathe correctly. As soon as the attempts begin, the deepest breath is taken, after which it is necessary to push into the perineum. The main effort should not be directed to the head or face, otherwise small blood vessels may burst.

How to breathe properly during childbirth, especially during attempts? During the entire attempt, you should try to push at least 3 times. At the same time, it is important to keep breathing under control so that the air exerts pressure on the diaphragm, and it, in turn, would press on the uterus. This makes it easier for the baby to move along the birth canal.

At the moment when the maximum effort is required to push the child out, it is worth using the straining technique that was discussed above. After the head of the baby (or baby) appears, you should stop pushing for a while, starting dog breathing. Then the midwife should give a command, then the pushing continues, and the baby comes out completely.

After the baby is completely out, the woman can relax for a while before making the last effort. This is necessary in order toto "deliver" the placenta.

Finally

The effectiveness of breathing exercises during labor has been proven by many years of experience of specialists in the field of obstetrics. And most modern courses for pregnant women are based on the methods and techniques of world experts. For this reason, such classes enjoy a well-deserved high reputation among many expectant mothers.

After such special courses, every woman will know how to breathe properly during childbirth. Reviews of many women prove in practice the effectiveness of breathing exercises. After that, the matter remains small - to give birth to a he althy child. His cry will be the most desired reward for any mother.