Posts Tagged ‘delivery’

1) Position. Vertical positions are less painful and ease the delivery. Lying on the back is a sure way to improve pain and have a longer delivery. It’s really necessary lying down, choose your left side.
2) Environment. The more personal, silent and respectful ambiance, the easier and happier birth is. Nothing can substitute the lack of freedom and warmness. A woman should have at her disposal music and any personal object. And most important of all, the people she wants by her side.
3) Massage. A relaxing massage can improve enormously the back pain during labor. Circular massage on the lower back can be done by the partner or the doula.
4) Movement. Walking is an important ingredient in any delivery. It facilitates the delivery and lessens the pain of contractions, besides controlling anxiety.

5) Breathing. The breathing should be deep and slow, up to the nose inspires and out the mouth. It improves the supply of oxygen to the baby.

6) Tools. Water is a wonderful tool to sooth and/or accelerates the birth process. Being immersed in a bath tub or under a shower it provides much relief.

There are three criteria to define how good a delivery is from the woman’s point of view. These tree criteria also represent three different levels or stages in the experience of birth:

- safety
- satisfaction
- empowerment.

A safe delivery means the presence of minimal risk for the mother and the baby. We cannot deceit ourselves about the total absence of risk. Any delivery involves some risk and it is with this small margin of adverse possibilities that we must learn to deal with.

A satisfying childbirth is the one in which a woman reaches a balanced emotional condition. Despite the fact that seeing her child for the first time is a deeply moving experience, she has to cope while giving birth with her own conflicting emotions (anxiety versus safety, desire versus fear, etc.) plus the medical and hospital stress, the lack of privacy, noises, bright lights and unknown people.

An empowering childbirth is the one that brings a profound transformation in the woman’s inner identity. It’s a rite of passage.

Unfortunately nowadays delivery is conducted in order to be more dangerous than it is, causing more risks than those associated with the inevitable fact of being alive. Therefore, the birth experience is rarely empowering for women.

• Company during labor and delivery – Write who you want to be with you. Positions for labor and birth – Mention which position you would like to use and how active you’d like to be.
• Pain relief – Tell what kind of pain relief you want if any. Water – You may choose to use the shower or a bath tub during labor or delivery. Write it. Monitoring the heart of your baby. Write if you want the doctor hear the baby’s heart intermittently using a handset or if you want an electronic monitoring using a band strapped immobilizing your waist.
• Birth attended – You may want to express your preference for forceps or extractor if you need help with the delivery.
• Position for birth – Say if you want to give birth in bed, or kneeling, standing or squatting.
• Third stage (delivery of the placenta) – You can choose to take your placenta home. There are interesting uses for it.
• Feeding Baby – Be clear about breastfeeding. If you do not say anything, at the hospital they will probably give him the bottle.
• Unexpected situations – Some women write what they want to happen if their babies need special care. They may want to have permission to be with him as much as possible and to be transferred with him to another hospital if the transfer is necessary.
• Special Needs – If you have a disability, write that kind of help will need during childbirth. If you have special religious needs, be sure to include them. Or you may need some rituals or a special diet while in hospital. Write all.