whats ur best tip for labour?
Printed From: OHbaby!
Category: Pregnant
Forum Name: Pregnancy
Forum Description: Pregnant! Wanting to chat to other mums-to-be (or dads-to-be)? Share your thoughts, experiences, and ideas... This is that place!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20318
Printed Date: 22 August 2025 at 12:29pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: whats ur best tip for labour?
Posted By: mummytobesep08
Subject: whats ur best tip for labour?
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 9:59am
|
for all those who have done it before- give us some tips!!!
Whats ur best tip? Was it using a particular item? Hoping in the bath? And what was the best thing you had to make immediately after the birth easier? ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
Angel babes '07 & '10- <3 <3 |
Replies:
Posted By: arohanui
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:04am
|
Best tip ever - acupressure. Honestly it's amazing! And anyone can do it. Here's another thread with more about it...
http://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14963&KW=acupressure - acupressure Also to try to relax and stay calm... just ride with it... it makes you feel a lot less pain if you're not all worked up! ETA: linky ------------- Mama to DS1 (5 years), DS2 (3 years) and... http://alterna-tickers.com" rel="nofollow"> 
|
Posted By: mum2emj
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:25am
definalty try to realx as much as you can, try to enjoy it. i laughed and had fun through my last labour it made it go fast 
the bath is FANTASTIC if you love baths. i really enjoyed it in 2 of my labours but you either like it or not, my sister ran the bath and couldnt stand. just go with the flow, be prepared to have your ideal birth plan thrown out the window! lol (like with my first!) oooh the best thing after was the nice warm shower! and feeling clean and warm during it... ahhh... could of stayed in it for ages. |
Posted By: Kelpa
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:31am
|
Suck on the gas! Good for you and good for the baby.......Big deep breaths...he he
Have some nice hand or body cream to smother on after your best ever shower....... -------------  
 
|
Posted By: Henna79
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:31am
stand up as much as you can. I moved around a bit trying to find the best possie for Alex to move down naturally and standing up did it. When I was on bed things slowed down so I did my best work standing up  plus you can use your legs to help push down when the time comes.
|
Posted By: Peanut
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:38am
|
My best tip is don't have a birth plan! Then you can't stress whne its not going to plan and you can't be disappointed afterwards that it hasn't gone to plan. -------------  
|
Posted By: SaLin
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 10:51am
|
This will sound weird - but juggling balls! If you are keen to try for a drug free birth check out a book called "Bith Skills" by Juju Sundin. I never in a million years thought I would use the juggling balls (you use them to hit together) but they were fantastic.
Also my husband - who was completely up to speed with how I wanted things to go and was absolutely brilliant. Afterwards - food :-) and your fav shower products. |
Posted By: 11111
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 11:12am
|
SHOWER forr me was the absulute best. And try to keep moving as much as possible. try to stay off the bed if you can. ------------- Deborah Mum to:   
|
Posted By: Deez
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 11:27am
|
Walking around and standing...when i had a contraction i got JK to hold my weight...i felt good to me...don't know how he felt about that but it was either that or let me fall...hahahaha....try and stay relaxed no matter what is going on around you. -------------  
Lycan and Peyton = Moon and back!! |
Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 11:32am
|
I hated the bath but absolutely loved the shower. Best tip for labour: talk openly about your fears and worries etc with your support team and let them help you. Just go with the flow with what feels right and comfy, don't worry about sticking to the plan.
Best tip for after: pack something yummy to eat (e.g. those muffin bake muesli bars, they are yum!) and try to stay at least one night at the hospital so that you go home rested, and also have had as much latching help as possible during that time. -------------  |
Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 1:29pm
|
Don't have a plan, just talk over with your LMC when you need to go to hospital etc.
Get in the bath or shower, hot towels (apparently, we didn't have time), if you do have to get strapped to the bed, get some good reading material or music (wish I had it). Afterwards.. I think you can take Arnica tablets to help heal stuff? Also yummy food (whatever you want!), I had a freakin disgusting 'risotto' that looked like dog sick, took one mouthful and refused it. Some hospitals (read: most) have disgusting food so get a friend to bring in something you've been craving, like sushi or a cold meat sammy. Have a shower, put on some deodorant, even do your makeup if you want! |
Posted By: james
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 2:08pm
breath do not ffffffffforget to breath makes things sooo much easer ------------- <a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="http://b4.lilypie.com/nLJ5p13.png" alt="Lilypie 4th Birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a> |
Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 3:19pm
|
epis rock ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
|
Posted By: Rachael21
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 4:06pm
| Only take one contraction at a time, don't think about whats coming just go with each contraction and enjoy the break in between. Don't be afraid to yell and scream or tell people what to do. |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 5:31pm
agree, nothing will prepare you for labour,so my advice is dont be rigidly prepared and accept that it often doesnt happen as you want it . I wanted an epidural , and a marching band telling the world how great and goodlooking i was ....i got neither ... (but i found out later the marching band was sent to the wrong place ) |
Peanut wrote:Posted By: busymum
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 5:46pm
|
The food was pretty good here in Palmy, but I needed extra between meals. Feeding is exhausting work! ------------- |
Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 23 August 2008 at 7:57pm
|
I agree with both the long, hot shower and the food for after delivery, my support crew had chocolate muffins and ham rolls, I was starving!
As for during labour, just go with whatever you feel like doing at the time. With Maya I managed a lot of early labour in the bath and by walking around the house. WIth the gremlins I was stuck to the bed and really wanted to be able to move around. With Chiara I had my midwife put a scalp monitor on so I could move around but then discovered I hated being upright and preferred to manage the contractions sitting slightly reclined on the bed pushing against the foot of the bed with my feet when they peaked. ------------- Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
|
Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 24 August 2008 at 9:55am
|
Try and relax and much as you can and breath through your contractions, this really helped me from losing the plot after my 40 odd hours of labour!
I would breath in as deep as I could when the contraction started and then breath our hard and long with the contraction and this rerally helped me keep in control. Good Luck!! ETA-Oh and like jess said, just take each contraction one at a time and think to yourself, Im one more contraction closer to meeting my baby and say good bye to that contraction and welcome the next, Oh and definitly dont have rigid birth plan! I had a birthplan and it didnt go at all to plan as I ened up with an emergency c section after my mammoth labour. If you dont have a ridgid birthplan you wont be upset if it doesnt go to plan, I wasnt, I was just glad my boy was here and labour was over lol ------------- |
Posted By: first
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 9:55am
|
I'll echo what everyone else has said about taking each contraction as it comes then saying goodbye to it and hello to being closer to your baby being here.
Know that your body is in control and let it be. Just do what your body want you to do. I stood and walked around between contraction but as the contractions came I'd full into a squat on the floor either supported by my DH or by a chair/wall whatever I could find. Trust me you'll never view ordinary objects the same way again. Afterwards cuddle your little baby as long as you can with skin to skin. This helped me to recover so much. I wasn't fased so much by the grim of it all I just wanted to relax with my little man. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://pregnancy.baby-gaga.com/"> 
|
Posted By: SJD
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 1:09pm
|
Best bit of advice I got was labour doesn't always end up being really painful. You may be the type of person who has a relatively easy time - people just always want to share the horror stories!!
I also used a TENS machine for the first few hours and found it gave me something to focus on when the contactions came. And the gas and air didn't provide much pain relief for me but forced me to take deep breaths which stopped me from fainting at times!! And as long as you have a healthy baby it was a successful labour no matter what drugs, intervention etc you had. For the first few days (weeks!) I felt that I had 'failed' because Madam was a forceps delivery - how idiotic was that. All because I thought a ventouse was okay but hated the idea of forceps!! |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 3:05pm
|
For me it was going into it relaxed. And also no birthplan as such. We just talked about things and went from there. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: MorgansMum
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 3:16pm
This would be my best tip to no expectations means no disapoinments ------------- Morgan, Libby http://www.TickerFactory.com/"> 
|
Posted By: Roksana
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 3:29pm
|
I think most ppl have covered it all, I walked around, had a shower and bath and each of these items helped. Relax as much as you can and save your energy on other stuff...forget whats happening around you and just go with the flow.
I had a 48 hour labour and I dont remember eating a thing in that time frame so yah good food would have been awesome....I ended up with a CS and liquid liet after...so  ...I wish I stocked up on food while in labour!! 
And yah try not to think about it...just think...my beautiful baby will be here soon!! YAY! Good luck!!  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 5:41pm
|
I'm with lilfatty on the epis - they rock . Don't have huge expectations of what your labour will be like and rigid ideas of what you want/don't want - the baby doesn't read the birth plan!
Afterward - lots of maternity pads, ear plugs and an eye mask. I'm a simple woman! And get the midwives to take the baby out at night if it's screaming - get all the sleep you can get. ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: music_mummy
Date Posted: 25 August 2008 at 6:39pm
|
The shower afterwards was the best ever. DH was a little perplexed when I asked him to pass the shampoo as I'd oinly given birth 20min earlier!
That is the joy of not having an epidural you can be up afterwards and don't feel out of it. I wouldn't have chosen not to have one at the time, in fact I threw quite a paddy about it but we ran out of time. I will definately try to avoid it with #2 just for the recovery time afterwards. -------------   
|
Posted By: mummytobesep08
Date Posted: 27 August 2008 at 10:02am
|
music_mummy: lol, that shower sounds great!!! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
Angel babes '07 & '10- <3 <3 |
Posted By: Roksana
Date Posted: 27 August 2008 at 10:41am
|
Yah I fought about not having the epi...and my DH kept saying "TAKE IT! TAKE IT!"...LOL
I ended up with one when they put the drip on my hand and just as well, I was ready to go wit in 15 min to my CS because I already had it! But if I have VBAC this time, I am going to stay away from any form of medication...and have a nice long shower afterwards! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: happymumma
Date Posted: 27 August 2008 at 1:55pm
|
I agree with the others who've said don't have a rigid birth plan.
THe other things for labour that I found great were: - kneeling - deep, slow, controlled breaths without tension in your face or neck - a warm / hot towel on your perineum (absolute bliss when you get to that point!) For after labour...a hot shower with someone to help you get dressed, and yummy food / hot comforting drink. |
Posted By: MummyFreckle
Date Posted: 27 August 2008 at 4:02pm
|
I agree with pretty much everything here...would only add, that the best tip I have is to trust those around you. Trust that your midwife has your and the babies best interest at heart, if she tells you that you need to do something then she knows what she is talking about. Olis heart rate dropped everytime I pushed, but I never felt scared as my m/w made me feel like everything was under control. I had complete trust in her and DH, which made me feel a lot better about the whole situation. I didnt really enjoy my first shower (I enjoyed my 2nd!!), because the epi hadnt worn off completely but I felt like we were being rushed to get to Birthcare (it was midnight!!)
------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
|
Posted By: Jennz
Date Posted: 28 August 2008 at 12:57am
|
Yeah I agree with those who said not to have a set birth plan- plus I also found the tens was really good. Once I took it off I definitely noticed the difference! Plus its great for distracting you. ------------- Jen, Charlotte 7 & Kate 3 
|
Posted By: Natalie_G
Date Posted: 28 August 2008 at 8:58am
|
I will be keeping my Ipod close to me, hopefully shall be a nice distraction lol. ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
|
Posted By: fivefoot
Date Posted: 28 August 2008 at 3:57pm
|
Be prepared for every possible plan to go out the window
Have spare buckets on hand breath, breath and learn to breath Gas is great Eat a little bit if you can to keep energy levels up (easy said than done!) ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
|
Posted By: xLUCKYx
Date Posted: 29 August 2008 at 10:47am
|
Have something there that reminds you of the baby you are doing this all for - My Mum grabbed out the baby clothes I had packed when it was all getting too overwhelming for me and it gave me the most amazing energy and confidence boost!
Also definitly go with the flow! My partner also made me walk around the wards and I am sure that helped speed up the labour! The yummy food is a great idea - think I will be making yummy rolls and sammies to take with me this time! My midwife was telling me last time to make a cake in early labour to help distract from contractions!! Unfortunately I had to go straight to hosp though cos had meconium in waters but theres always this time! I would love to be able to say I made cake while I was in labour hehe! Good luck to all! |