March 21, 2023 | by: Cara Terreri
Adapted from Giving Birth with Confidence, 3rd Edition.
Moving in labor serves two very important purposes. First, it helps you cope with increasingly strong and painful contractions, which signal your body to keep labor going. Second, it helps gently wiggle your baby into your pelvis and through your birth canal.
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June 22, 2022 | by: Cara Terreri
A very fast labor and birth (also known as "precipitous" labor), which is a labor and birth lasting less than three hours after contractions are established, seems like every pregnant person's dream. After all, I can't think of anyone I know who longs to spend hours and hours in labor! But a very fast labor has drawbacks, too. Many people who have experienced precipitous labor (myself included) will tell you it felt overwhelming and they wish they would have had a little more time to ease in (and out) of labor and birth.
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February 25, 2022 | by: Lamaze International
Most of life's big events require preparation and childbirth is no different. It's not about having an "easy labor" (labor always takes hard work and focus), there are steps you can take, both throughout pregnancy and during labor, to make your experience less stressful, fearful, and clinical, and more comfortable, peaceful, and enjoyable.
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August 31, 2021 | by: Cara Terreri, LCCE, CD(DONA)
When to go to the hospital - it's the million dollar question for almost all first-time pregnant parents. Knowing when to leave for the hospital in labor so that you don't arrive too early and not too late is hard to determine. And while the answer isn't a perfect science, there are some general guidelines.
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August 20, 2021 | by: Cara Terreri, LCCE, CD(DONA)
Many years ago, one of the primary focal points of Lamaze childbirth education was a style of breathing in labor (hee-hoo, hee-hoo sound familiar to anyone?). Today, Lamaze is a comprehensive approach to childbirth that includes many comfort measures for labor, of which breathing or breath work is a part.
So what does it mean to "breathe" in labor and birth? Below is a summary, adapted from The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence by Judith A. Lothian and Charlotte DeVries.
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