Best Birth Positions
Being fully prepared for your baby's birth may seem like an impossible task. Certainly there are portions of childbirth that are beyond any woman's control and that's okay--it's natures' way of doing what it has to, and it will do that regardless of what's going on around it. Because the force of labor cannot be stopped, mothers might as well make the best of it. Knowing how to help your baby down and out more easily can speed labor, and reduce pain as well as the need for some types of invasive medical interventions, but having the confidence to labor outside the normal flat-on-your-back method can be hard for some mothers. Not every position is going to be right for every woman, so knowing what options will work and assist you toward the easiest labor and delivery possible will be of the utmost importance.
Some women love the traditional hospital birth--flat on the back in a bed with wires, tubes, IV's and monitors. Epidural in place as early as possible and this is the picture of childbirth in many developed countries. In reality, nature couldn't have planned it to be any different though. Women have delivered walking, squatting, or sitting for centuries and yet many women shun the idea-believing it appears too primal, or uncultured. Child birth is truly a cultural experience, and there is no one with the right answer. Child birth is what feels right to you. Child birth is not an illness.
So what are the best labor positions? Honestly, it's going to be a personal decision. For some, it's laying on the back. Logic and common sense tells you that lying flat on your back is completely counterproductive when you need to move a baby down and out. Without the help of gravity to bring the baby down and a pelvis that may not be open wide enough to accommodate a baby as it moves through the birth canal, this position can be the most problematic.
Squatting is a great method for many women. If you are preparing to deliver and want to deliver without an epidural, or other pain control that would cause you to lose feeling in your legs, then talk with your doctor and nurses about alternate birthing positions. A squat bar, your birth partner, or even a birthing ball may be used to assist you to a sitting position where your pelvis can open and your baby can descend more easily. Many American women shy away from this position-viewing squatting as primal, or too inappropriate, thanks to years of being told they must lay down and they are often afraid to ask for something different.
There are many alterations on the squat--side lying, seated in a chair, and even standing if you can do it. Remember that no matter what, you must do what feels natural and right for you. Some women want to be involved in reaching down and assisting with the delivery...some women wish for a blindfold. Either way, just remember that this is your baby, your birth, and it will only come by this way once. So work to make it yours.
|