Medication-Free Comfort Measures for Labor
Written By: Best Start Birth Center of San Diego
If it is your intention to labor without medical pain relief, there is no shortage of other comfort measures to try. Medication-free comfort measures are sometimes referred to alternative or complementary medicine, but don’t be mistaken — these methods have been used for many years and their efficacies are backed by evidence. There’s a large spectrum of options, and it surely is not as dichotomous as “epidural or no pain relief.” Choosing to forgo pain medication does not mean you have to give up your comfort.
Complementary pain relief methods are used across the globe. Nitrous oxide, a 50/50 mixture of nitrous gas and oxygen is commonly used during labor countries such as Canada, Australia, and Sweden, and is now growing in popularity in the United States, too. The gas is similar to “laughing gas” used by dentists and is <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1542-2011.2011.00122.x target="_blank"">highly regarded as a safe method of reducing labor pain. It dulls, but does not numb, your pain, so you can still move freely during labor. The gas is self-administered, so you’re in control of when you breathe it in, and if you find you don’t like the feeling it produces, the effects are gone with a few normal breaths.
Laboring in water is officially backed by the American College of Nurse-Midwives and does not increase risks for healthy moms or babies. The warmth and weightlessness of the water can safely offer reduced pressure on your joints and muscles, allowing you to relax and labor more comfortably. Even if you do not labor in a tub, you can still get the benefits of warm water. A warm shower, especially in early labor, can offer you moments to relax and prepare for what’s to come.
While water can take the pressure off your back and hips, sometimes a little pressure is exactly what you need. Acupressure: Based on the same theory as acupuncture, utilizes pressure points to relieve pain and induce relaxation.
Massage can help lower stress levels and release endorphins, our natural “feel-good” pain-relieving hormones. The best part? It comes without dangerous side effects.
Aromatherapy is another noninvasive and affordable option. Essential oils have been found to reduce nausea, anxiety, and pain during labor. Oils may be put into the tub for water births, rubbed on your skin, or simply sniffed from a bottle. Aside from the specific benefits essential oils may offer (like peppermint reducing nausea and lavender reducing anxiety), you may just choose to use essential oils that you enjoy the smell of to create a relaxing ambiance.
Truly, sometimes it’s not what method you have, but who you have. Surrounding yourself with birth-workers and loved ones that make you feel safe, strong, and empowered in your choices can be the most important comfort. At Best Start Birth Center, it’s your birth, your way, and we support you in creating a comfortable and satisfying birth experience.
Very often, I have seen people around us asking how are the kids, how are things but how many of them take the pain of really knowing how are we doing? A couple of months ago my hubby was on tour, my little guy was down with a fever and I was left alone juggling between work and household chores with a sick, cranky kid. I was getting calls asking how’s the baby? Do you need any help? But what stirred my heart was when I got a text from my sister asking, ’how are you doing mommy?,… nobody ever asks that?’ It was such an overwhelming moment cause I was wanting someone to ask me that. I needed to feel that someone was interested in knowing how I the mommy doing? Maybe it was a selfish thing to feel so but we mommies too are humans and we are allowed to have such feelings too from time to time. That was a moment of a mommy reaching out to another mommy and that feeling stayed with me. I can still feel it and it makes me feel a thousand things at the same time. It was that one line that has inspired me to write today's letter to you all.
When we become mothers we give a huge chunk of ourselves emotionally and physically and we love it. But raising kids is like laying the groundwork for a new battle every day and it is overwhelming. In those times we need someone asking us ‘How are you doing?’ Getting asked that question is a beautiful thing. It makes you feel like you matter, that you exist and above all, someone is ready to give you their ear, another person is ready to listen. And I believe keeping things in your heart does not do you any good, maybe you just want to vent - so do so! Mind you nobody is going to judge you, we all have had OFF DAYS or one of those days we just want to rant. It doesn’t make us any less of a mama. It makes us even better mamas cause we are ready to take that extra step. Keeping those negative feelings in is not doing you or the kids any good.
And mommies please never have that MOM GUILT. Mom guilt has become so common in our society and we all go through this guilt stage from time to time. Therapists often link that with the mental health of the mommies. When we always have that persistent nagging feeling in our mind that we are not doing enough as mothers it’s the mom's guilt. We all make mistakes, we all want to do the best for our kids but we too are human and we need to accept that. There are only so many hours in a day. The first step is accepting the situation and the second is what we can do about it? There are going to be days when you are going to miss out on a soccer practice or a dance rehearsal cause of some unforeseen reason or maybe you fell asleep out of exhaustion without feeding the baby. Acceptable! But don’t let ugly claws of guilt creep into your mind. Try to overcome it.
“There will be so many times when you feel like you’ve failed. But in the eyes, heart, and mind of your child you are super mom.” - Stephanie Precourt
Don’t you all agree with that? It is true. We all are navigating our boats through unchartered waters and it's tough and we don’t know whether we are stirring it in the right direction and it scares us. All the more reason to have someone asking us, How are you doing mommy?’ So tell me mommy dears How Are You?
When my little guy was two I started taking Reiki healing lessons and got intonated as well. In one of the lessons, my Reiki Master (Guru) made me practice the vent out therapy. We used to shout at the top of our voices for a good few minutes. The trick was to get those negative feelings, the anxiety we have in our minds and get them out of our system by yelling. We were to think those negative feelings were then absorbed by nature. Ladies it works. I still practice it from time to time and it relaxes and calms you. It is serene even though it is physically exhausting to shout. Try it – yell into a pillow – it’s just a quick fix when nobody is asking How are you, mama?
One thing I have observed is that we mommies are wired differently as compared to daddies. Those constant worries and that anxiety which we feel, dads generally don't. I am not saying they love or care for our kids any less but it is just how mothers are. Maybe that’s why it's said we belong to different planets. Daddies seem to have a different, cool fun approach and moms have that emotional approach.
Imagine the scenario of a kid fetching an ice cream for his father and then he trips on something. What would the mom say,’ Are you ok, honey? And the Dad would say something like,’ I hope you didn’t drop my ice cream.’
That’s how different we are and the major emotional needs of our kids are taken care of, by us mothers which at times get exhausting, and at a certain point, it starts taking a toll on our emotional well-being. Worrying is like second nature to moms. Someone rightly said, ”behind every kid is a mother who constantly thinks she is gonna screw up.” But it only proves you are doing a super job.
Here I am signing off for now. Much love & kisses, A Mamma just like you.
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At Best Start Birth Center, it’s your birth, your way, and we support you in creating a comfortable and satisfying birth experience.