Tips for Coping with Contractions

Whether you will give birth naturally or use pain medications, you may experience the pain of contractions at some point throughout your labor. Here are some tips to help you cope with contractions.

Tip #1: Breathe
A common reaction to pain is to take a deep breath in and hold it. You should not do this while you’re in labor. Try to remember to breathe. Take a deep breath in, the slowly release it. (Don’t forget to take Lamaze classes, as this will help you learn breathing techniques to use during labor!)

Tip #2: Relax
As difficult as it sounds, you have to relax. Think about your favorite vacation spot. Concentrate on a time when you feel most relaxed. Take yourself to that place or time in your mind to help you relax. The more you tense your body the stronger your pain may feel.

Tip #3: Don’t Watch the Clock
Your husband needs something to do, so assign him clock duty. Let him time your contractions. Let him keep up with how many minutes apart they are. You stay focused on remaining calm and breathing and let him worry about the clock!

Tip#4: Rest
The last thing you should do while you’re having contractions is do last minute preparations in the baby’s room or clean your house. Try to resist the nesting instinct at this point and start mentally and physically preparing yourself for the labor ahead. You will need every ounce of energy you can muster when the time comes to push.

Tip#5: Distract Yourself
Keep something small at hand to distract yourself. You will feel anxious and nervous, so have something to keep your mind distracted. If you like to craft, work on a small needlepoint project. If you enjoy reading, catch up on that novel you’ve been waiting to read. Having friends or family around during early labor may help take your mind off the mild contractions.

Tip #6: Be Patient
When you begin to feel contractions, you will most likely start to feel excited. However, many labors, especially first-timers, tend to last for several hours. If your labor is slow, just be patient. Before you know it, you will have your beautiful baby girl or boy in your arms.