The benefits of being upright include a reduction in the length of pushing time as gravity can help bring the baby, there is better supply of oxygen to the baby, the baby can get in a better position and less pressure on the pelvic floor.  In the active birth classes we practice the positions that widen your pelvis.

Midwives know that when a labouring woman feels safe, private and unobserved she will move unrestrictedly, make sounds uninhibitedly and will more closely follow her instincts. Making sounds during labour helps you to shift your consciousness into a deeper, calmer state of mind thus optimising your birthing hormones helping you labour more efficiently. There is also a physiological connection between the vocal cords and cervix.

Your partner can play a vital role in helping you to focus on your breathing during labour & birth.  Your breath is your focus for assisting you to adapt to the sensations of labour.  Here are three exercises can practice in the lead up to your birth experience. 

1. Yogic breath: When you practice the yogic breath during contractions you will be signalling to your body that you accept the bodily sensations as healthy & safe! This will make all the difference between tension and relaxation. 

The ability to squat with both heels flat on the ground indicates good pelvic movement for labour and birth. While relaxing is important, learning to untuck your tail bone will assist you to breath your baby out, letting gravity do the job rather than having to push your baby out.  To learn to release the tail bone, we need to start sitting on our sit bones more, walk more, squat more and do more yoga! Learning to squat is a regular practice in our Active Birth Yoga classes.

The TENS machine is really good to start in early labour to help you relax and find a rhythm with your contractions.  When labour gets stronger and more regular you will probably find you will need other comfort measures like massage and shower/bath

During labour, listen to, be patient and trust, your body will let you know what to do.  I have found that while women draw heavily on the birthing skills we learn in the Active birth yoga classes, the one’s that cope well usually do more than what they have learned in class. They discover their own ways of adapting spontaneously to the increase of physical demand that active labour brings.

Your own postural awareness and habits in your last trimester can potentially encourage your baby to lie with his or her back to your left front/side (occipito anterior) so that the baby's head engages in the pelvic brim in this position. This will increase the potential for a normal and straightforward birth.

A birth ball is simply an exercise ball that helps baby to rotate in labour. In pregnancy it is good to strengthen & balance and in labour it can help strengthen contractions.  It's good to sit with your knees slightly lower than your hips so your in an anterior position with the pelvis.  You an then make figure 8, circles, rocking and swaying movements to open the inlet of your pelvis so your baby can engage in the last weeks of your pregnancy.