Pain Management Techniques

• Ensure lights are dim and noises/interruptions are limited. Orange light is supposed to be especially relaxing.

• Focus in on a white noise in the background.

• Focus on a happy memory. Hang or set up happy photos around you if this will help.

• Play music; have several playlists to choose from since you don’t know what will help you the most (spa or worship music to relax? Rock or rap music to motivate?).

• Do anything else that might help set the mood you’re wanting—bring Christmas lights, your essential oil diffuser, etc.

• Try to fully relax between contractions.

• Visualize the birth canal opening up for the baby.

• Visualize contractions like a wave, with you gliding up and over their peaks.

• Hum or make low noises through contractions.

• Practice slow, controlled, open mouth breathing from the abdomen, not chest (like sleeping).

• Squeeze and then completely release different muscle groups (e.g. toes, legs, fingers, hands, jaw, etc.); this helps your body fully relax.

• Practice horse lips—forcefully blow air out of your mouth, “flapping” your lips like a horse, during contractions.

• Have your husband or birth partner give a back and/or thigh massage or just apply pressure (with hand, tennis balls, or rice sock); many women like counter-pressure on their lower back or tailbone during contractions.

• Have your husband or birth partner press inward on the tops of your pelvic bones; this can also help the pelvis open more.

• Have your husband or birth partner shake your legs or thighs to keep you loose and relaxed.

• Spend time in a warm shower or bath, if available.

Labor-Progressing Techniques

• Change positions frequently—listen to your body and it often will tell you what’s working.

• Lay on your side with your bottom leg straight and top leg raised; your top leg can be supported by a pillow or can be pulled toward your chest.

• Kneel with your torso and arms over a birthing ball or the bed.

• Sit on the birthing ball and rock back and forth or in circles.

• Squat (using a squat bar, holding on to your husband or birth partner, gripping a towel draped over a door, etc.).

• Rest on hands and knees (your husband or birth partner can pull up and back on your hips in this position too).

• Lunge with one leg elevated on a chair or bed.

• Sit, leaning back slightly, and pull your legs back during contractions.

• Sit on a toilet or birth stool.

• Stand and sway your hips.

• Try to pee frequently—a buildup of urine can make things “tighter.”

Pushing Techniques

• Push with your body—wait for contractions and rest in between.

• Attempt three pushes per contraction, but don’t force them.

• Slow down pushing once baby is crowning—this helps everything stretch slowly and minimizes tears.

• Laying on your back is the least effective pushing position as it closes the pelvis. Some of the most effective positions are on your hands and knees, squatting, and sitting on a birth stool.