Although the end of pregnancy is usually eagerly awaited, especially when even the lithest woman feels like a whale, there is also often a hint of fear about the oncoming pain of childbirth. One of the biggest fears is related to the length of the labor – too long and the mother may end up exhausted and need medical intervention. Here are some ways to decrease your labor time, however please remember the following:
- Try these at your own risk. If you have a high risk or complicated pregnancy, it’s always best to seek medical advice before trying any type of natural or homeopathic remedy.
- These are not guaranteed to work. Although many women have found these to be successful, unforeseen complications such as pelvic position, medical problems or baby’s position (for instance a posterior baby can take longer to birth) can result in a longer labor.
Evening Primrose Oil
Evening primrose oil can be used from from 35 weeks. The oil contains prostaglandin, a natural form of the gel that is often inserted during a medical induction of labor. Its main function is to soften the cervix, meaning that your body will have to do less work to dilate you to the full 10cm required for birth. HOWEVER studies indicate almost no benefits and it has a range of side effects including increasing the risk of hemorrhaging Read more.
Raspberry Leaf Tea or Pills
Raspberry leaf has long been used to treat a variety of women’s problems including menstrual problems; it also has the added benefit of strengthening the uterus and decreasing the risk of bleeding and haemorrage during and after birth. Stronger uterus muscles achieve more with each contraction, which generally shortens labor times.
The best option is to take raspberry leaf in the tablet form, as it is far stronger than the tea and therefore more likely to have the desired effect. You can start taking the tea or pills as early as 32 weeks – starting too late will decrease the chance they will help when labor begins. Read more on raspberry leaf.
Fresh Raw Dates
Studies have indicated that eating fresh (not preserved and processed sugar rich) dates can reduce the length of early labour by up to half! In the study, women ate 6 dates per day for the 4 weeks leading up to labor. You can read more here.
Good Posture
Try your best to sit up straight and with your legs as wide as possible – slouching can be bad for two reasons:
- Baby is more likely to move into a posterior position if you slouch, causing painful back labor.
- Correct posture helps your body open up, push baby into the correct position and align your pelvis correctly.
- Do a daily inversion to help get baby into the best position to push on the cervix at the best angle.
Don’t Have A Bath or Shower
Although hot baths or showers are a common recommendation to help speed up labor, they can actually have the opposite effect in early labor. It’s important to not have a bath or shower till you are in full established labor – otherwise labor can slow down or in some cases, stop altogether.
Don’t avoid showers altogether though – you may get a bit smelly! But if you are having intermittent contractions or think you are in early labour, hold off for awhile.
Kissing
Yes, that’s right! During contractions, kiss your partner. It may be the furthest thing from your mind, but it can help! Kissing releases oxytocin (incidentally the same hormone that is involved in birth).
Avoid Labor Pain Relief
Although the idea of labor without pain relief can be quite scary to many women, if you’re able to manage it, it can help shorten your labor. Drugs can interfere with the body’s natural ability to contract properly and therefore increase your labor time. But if you can’t go without pain relief – don’t stress. Sometimes you need it to help you get through the most painful parts of the labor.
Don’t Birth On Your Back!
One of the worst positions to labor in is lying down – the pelvis is closed off and the body doesn’t have the power of gravity to push baby down.
During labor, walking around and squatting help the baby move down into the birth canal and allow gravity to assist with speeding up the process. Although it’s not always possible, try and remain as active as possible during labor to decrease its length.
Here is an article on 10 Reasons Not To Birth On Your Back
Position, Position, Position
The optimal position for delivery is occiput anterior – basically bum up, head down, their spine facing your stomach.
If your baby is breech, sideways, transverse or posterior it can slow the labour or cause complications because the baby can’t press down on the cervix correctly. If you know your baby isn’t in the best position, I highly recommend visiting Spinning Babies for advice on baby positioning.
Uterine Muscle Exercises
The uterus is made of muscles – and these muscles need to be at their best to push your baby out successfully. Like all muscles, you can work them in a variety of ways to increase their tone and strength.
It’s best to work them in some way a minimum of once per day. The two best ways are kegel exercises and orgasms (either by yourself or with a partner.) Both of these also help your pelvic muscles stay toned so you have less issues with ‘accidents’ after baby is born!
Acupressure
There are certain pressure points on your body which can put you into labor – this is why many massage practitioners won’t give massages to pregnant women without special training.
Although often used to induce labor, these acupressure points can also be used to help baby engage or help slow and intermittent contractions speed up. The video on the right shows some of the main acupressure points that can be used.
Lower Your Stress Levels
Stress is one of the leading causes of labor slowing down. The two most common causes of stress during labor are:
- Changes in environment (such as journeying to the hospital).
- Being unsure of what’s happening (a doctor or midwife who doesn’t full explain what’s happening.)
- Being made to do feel like you are going against your own preferences (such as be in a position you’re uncomfortable in, or taking drugs you don’t really want to).
This is one reason that women are told to wait at home as long as possible before going into the hospital birthing suite – often contractions will happen further apart when they arrive and in some cases they are sent home to continue laboring until the contractions are closer again.
To avoid stress during labor, there are several things you can do:
1. Stay home for as long as possible, in a familiar environment.
2. Have a birth partner who knows exactly what you do and don’t want and you trust to make the right decisions for you when needed.
3. A birth plan which outlines what your preferences are in different situations.
4. A discussion with the doctor or midwife about hospital and birthing procedures so you’re aware of what to expect.
5. Requesting that as few people as possible be present during labor and that there is minimal noise (or bring some calming music) and the lights are turned down so you can relax and concentrate on the labor and impending birth.
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I was induced for my boy, overdue about 2weeks. Traumatized.
One thing I was annoyed about later is the midwives encouraged me to get in a bath during early stages. This then slowed my labour right down and they said oh yeah that happens sometimes. I was so very annoyed! I wanted to have a water birth and now it meant I needled all these other stronger methods requiring constant monitoring in a bed.
Gr.
Bxx
I wasn’t induced but received the same advice and same outcome,I have in my birth plan this time that I don’t want to be offered the pool until I am at least 7cm this time.Although I am hoping to manage to stay home until well in established labour this time so hopefully it won’t be such an issue.
good read!