During labor, different kinds of pain require different forms of treatment. For example, if you tend to have back labor (which is generally caused by posterior babies), using warm compresses and certain positions may help you tremendously. Comfort measures are anything that will help reduce labor pain.Below are some comfort measures your doula might suggest using during your labor, and when they might help. 1. Hydrotherapy - Shower, Jacuzzi or Birthing Tub. *Water during labor can either help or hinder depending on when it's used. Unless planning a water birth, avoid spending too much time in the water, as it can slow down labor if used too soon.* Warm water in the form of a shower stream on your belly or back is great for back labor, or if the mother can't relax. Getting a washcloth wet with either cold or hot water can help a lot too. 2. Birth Ball
Many moms can testify to how much a birth ball can help! You can try just sitting and rocking on it, or leaning (with it on a bed) and slowly swaying on it during a contraction. 3. Massage Massage doesn't have to be just using your hands. Be creative! Try tennis balls, rolling pins, dryer or dog balls (that have soft spikes), or paint rollers. If the mom wants cold, try a bag of ice, or a soda can from the fridge (just remember it will explode when opened!). 4. Music Sometimes the sounds can be annoying and sterile, especially at a hospitals. Having music playing in the background can help. Try playing upbeat music during the beginning of labor to encourage contractions, then switch to something relaxing when they get more intense. 5. Guided Breathing Guided breathing is most helpful during the most active and pushing stages of labor. The mother will generally start a breathing pattern by herself, then it's only necessary to guide her back to it if she gets overwhelmed by the contractions. If she doesn't, help her to breathe in and out naturally in between contractions, then suggest a pattern for the peak of a contraction (he, he, whoooo. he, he whoooo or other pattern). Try not to let the mom hold her breath or . 6. Focused Relaxation There are many methods that fall under this category. Visualization, meditation, and imagery are just a few. In all of these, the main idea is either distracting or focusing the mother from or on a certain object, image, or idea. For distracting, try describing one of the mother's favorite locations or a longed for vacation destination. Or read to her from a favorite book or watch a movie. For focusing, have her focus on you (or an object you are wearing) or an object, such as a picture, baby blanket, stuffed animal, etc. Try touching a body part, and asking her to focus on relaxing that part, such as arm, shoulder, neck, leg, head. Practicing this before labor can also help. It's especially important to relax the jaw and mouth, as that has a direct effect on the cervix. 7. Position Changes This category may be the most important of all comfort measures. Depending on the mother's position, it can speed up labor or slow it down, increase back pain or decrease it, relax muscles or tense them up, bring baby down or up, increase pelvic opening size, and/or turn baby in all directions. A few positions are :
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