How Should I Breathe During Labor?

One of the more common concerns women have about labor and birth is, "How do I breathe?" From the outside, that seems like a silly question -- after all, we all know how to breathe! But what women want to know about is the kind of breathing that offers maximum relaxation and comfort during labor. When a person panics, one of the first things to happen is out-of-control breathing, along with tensing up her body. Both of these are counterproductive to finding comfort during contractions. When you are able to control your breathing, you are more able to increase your comfort level and calm. The following information, excerpted from The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence, answers some of the most-asked "breathing" questions from expectant moms.

Breathing: Finding Comfort in Labor

When allowed and encouraged to, a woman will naturally move, moan, sway, change her breathing pattern, and rock to cope with contractions, eventually finding the right rhythm for her unique needs. Such active comfort-seeking helps her baby rotate and descend and helps prevent her labor from stalling. As her contractions get stronger, her body releases endorphins nature's narcotic to ease her pain.

Conscious Breathing

Conscious breathing (especially slow breathing) reduces heart rate, anxiety, and pain perception. It works in part because when breathing becomes a focus, other sensations (such as labor pain) move to the edge of your awareness.

Conscious breathing is an especially useful labor tool because it not only keeps you and your baby well oxygenated, it's also easy to learn and use. It's naturally rhythmic and easy to incorporate into a ritual. And best of all, breathing is the one coping strategy that can't be taken away from you even if you're stuck in bed attached to an electronic fetal monitor and intravenous fluids.

Conscious (or patterned) breathing used to be the hallmark of Lamaze childbirth education. For many women, it's still an important way to stay relaxed and stay on top of their contractions. It's true that conscious breathing can help you relax and feel less pain during contractions. There's no right way to breathe in labor, despite what others may tell you. Slow, deep breathing helps most women manage the pain of contractions. But the right way for you to breathe is whatever feels right to you. Issues like your number of breaths per minute, breathing through your nose or your mouth, or making sounds (like hee-hee) with your breaths are only important if they make a difference for you.

It may help you to have a visual focus to accompany your conscious breathing. You can recall an image with your eyes closed, focus on a picture or special object from home, keep your eyes on your partner, or simply stare at a spot on the wall. You may also find that as labor progresses, faster, shallower breathing like a dog gently panting feels better. You'll figure out what works best for you. And what works best will probably change as you move through labor.

Many women practice breathing during pregnancy by using conscious breathing when everyday life presents stressful situations, like being caught in traffic, running late for an important meeting, or worrying about any number of things.

Find Your Rhythm

At some point in labor, you'll find your rhythm or get in a groove, much like a marathon runner does. You'll be living in the moment, doing without thinking. To others you'll appear to be in another world. Your movements will be rhythmic; you'll relax between contractions; you'll respond to contractions in the same way over and over again, perhaps shaking your arms, rolling your head, breathing slowly, chanting, or praying.

You'll be totally focused, but you won't necessarily look comfortable. You'll look like you're working very, very hard which you are. When this happens, you'll know endorphins are working their magic dulling your pain and helping you ride your contractions intuitively. You'll be doing exactly what you need to do. You won't need to be rescued; in fact, the worst thing that could happen to you at this point is to be disturbed or interrupted. A healthy dose of encouragement, support, and respect are all you'll need from your support team.