Relaxation

Learning relaxation techniques like yoga will help you deal with labour pain.

Relaxation is vital to your childbirth but it is also a life skill that, once learned, can help reduce stress and create a sense of well-being in any situation.

Before you relax, check that nothing will get in the way of your comfort. Loosen your belt, take off your shoes and glasses, and assume a position that allows your whole body to let go. Once learned, relaxation can help in any situation that creates tension. This may be:

• a visit to the dentist
• being stuck in a traffic jam
• public speaking
• labour
• a cesarean section
• coping with a crying baby

The more you practise, the faster you can ease your tension and let your body relax.

Here are some examples of techniques that are commonly taught during prenatal classes. To learn more about each technique, talk to your prenatal instructor or your midwife. For more information about prenatal classes offered by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, at Women’s College Hospital, in Toronto, call (416) 323-6030.

Progressive Relaxation

Progressive relaxation involves tensing and then relaxing each muscle group in your body. Start in a comfortable reclining position and wrinkle your forehead, then relax those muscles. Scrunch up your whole face, then let those muscles relax. Gradually work your way down through each muscle group in your body, including your hands and feet, tensing the muscles and then relaxing them. When you get to your feet, relax and enjoy the release of tension for a few moments. Get up slowly to avoid dizziness.

Passive Relaxation

Passive relaxation is similar to progressive relaxation (described above), except it focuses more on breathing and deep relaxation. Keeping your breathing slow and rhythmic, focus on each part of your body, encouraging the muscles to relax and the tension to melt away.

Visualization

Visualization techniques can help women take thoughts and memories and translate them into mental images that help them relax, focus and reach their goals. The idea of picturing or imagining something to manage your physical reality may sound abstract, but think about how imagining fresh baked cookies or some other yummy food can make you hungry. When you are pregnant, you can visualize a safe place, either a place you remember or one you imagine, that gives you a sense of well-being. When you are in labour, visualizing the cervix opening, or flowers blossoming, or ripples in a pond can help labour progress.

Touch Relaxation

Touch relaxation involves working with a partner to identify and relax tense areas of the body. Most people have a certain area where they tend to store tension. Learn where yours is. You may clench your jaw, or rub your temples or make fists. Many people store tension in their shoulder and neck area.

Once your partner or doula has helped you identify these areas, have him or her touch or stroke you there, to encourage relaxation. Many women respond well to a light touch; others, to a firmer touch. Your partner may want to move slowly from one tense spot to the next – from your shoulders, to your hands, to your abdomen, say. Don't criticize. It takes practice to learn to relax.

If you do not respond well to touch, find a cue (verbal or non-verbal) that you can agree to use instead of touch. The least relaxing thing in the world is when someone commands you to "RELAX!" It may be helpful if your partner, in a soothing voice, uses words to prompt those tense spots to release tension – words like soft, melt, flow, warm, loose, floppy, cool, smooth, and anything else you can think of.

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