Childbirth: The most important thing is to learn to relax

For many expectant mothers, childbirth is a time of both anticipation and fear. However, tension is often a catalyst for pain, and some women who are eligible for vaginal delivery give up on vaginal delivery because of the vicious cycle of tension and pain.

Multiple studies have confirmed that the Lamaze breathing delivery method can reduce maternal labor pain and effectively shorten the labor process. Today, many websites have tutorials on Lamaze breathing. However, experts remind that the Lamaze respiratory delivery method is very maneuverable. Even if you follow a complete tutorial, it is easy to understand deviations without professional guidance during the exercises. The most obvious point is that because the online tutorials on breathing commands are too long, it is easy for expectant mothers to ignore breathing – the basic knowledge of relaxing the whole body.

Can help shorten the 4-hour labor process

Zeng Xiaoqin, chief of the health education department and deputy chief physician of the health department of Guangzhou Women and Children\’s Medical Center, has provided prenatal education for expectant mothers many times. She said that factors causing childbirth discomfort include lack of knowledge about childbirth, inability to relax the body, hypoxia in uterine muscles, social and psychological effects, physiological nerve conduction, etc., among which psychological effects are an important factor.

\”Most expectant mothers fear pain the most when it comes to vaginal delivery.\” Zeng Xiaoqin said that many pregnant women are affected by the exaggerated effects of movies and TV dramas. As soon as they lie on the delivery bed, they will develop tension pain syndrome, stiff limbs, shortness of breath, elevated blood pressure, and intensified pain. \”Lamaze\’s breathing analgesic delivery method can help mothers relax, reduce pain and shorten the labor process.\” According to reports, this method was invented by French obstetrician Lamaze in the 1950s. In recent years, hospitals in many domestic cities have begun to promote this method of delivery.

Zeng Xiaoqin and colleagues have studied the effects of Lamaze\’s breath delivery method. They divided primiparas who gave birth naturally at the Guangzhou Maternity and Children\’s Hospital from October 2007 to May 2008 into two groups who had learned and used the Lamaze breathing method. Comparing the questionnaires filled out by these mothers, it was found that the former experienced significantly less pain during the first and second stages of labor than the latter. Not only that, the labor process of the former is also greatly shortened. Under normal circumstances, the first stage of labor for a first-time mother lasts 1112 hours and is the most painful and difficult stage for expectant mothers. For this group of mothers who used the Lamaze breathing delivery method, the average duration of the first stage of labor was 7.8 hours, which was shortened by about 4 hours.

What can an expectant father do?

For the arrival of a new life, the contribution of the expectant father should not be as simple as just one cell. Zeng Xiaoqin said that the Lamaze respiratory delivery method courses offered by the hospital often require expectant fathers and expectant mothers to attend together, because in addition to training expectant mothers, expectant fathers, as \”inspectors\”, also need to be trained to be \”responsible.\” During the class , the expectant father should remember to what extent the expectant mother\’s muscles can be properly contracted and how to completely relax, because after returning home, the expectant father will still have to check the amount of exercise every day.

When it comes time to give birth, the mother may blank out in tension and pain. At this time, the father-to-be can stand aside and stabilize his wife\’s mood. If the expectant mother is reminded that she has forgotten the steps and password of the Lamaze Breathing Method, the expectant father can remind her in a timely manner.

Zeng Xiaoqin reminded expectant fathers to be patient and give their wives adequate psychological support during the delivery process. Especially during the long and painful first stage of labor, expectant fathers should cheer up and encourage their wives.

Self-Practice Lamaze Easy to Understand Bias

The reporter found that many relevant forums on the Internet have tutorials on the Lamaze breathing method available for download. However, Zeng Xiaoqin does not recommend that expectant mothers learn online tutorials by themselves. It is best to practice under the guidance of professionals. \”The Lamaze Breathing Method is highly maneuverable. In previous practical classes on the Lamaze Breathing Method, we found that many expectant mothers have misunderstandings,\” Zeng Xiaoqin said.

Misunderstanding 1: Too busy learning to breathe and neglecting to practice relaxation

\”Although the name of the Lamaze Breathing Method sounds like it teaches breathing, the more important thing is to learn how to relax the body.\” Zeng Xiaoqin pointed out that most of the online tutorials focus on different breathing commands at different stages of the delivery process. Many moms overlook the importance of relaxation. Practicing breathing with stiff limbs and cramped body will inevitably affect the amplitude of breathing and blood circulation. Therefore, the breathing method should be practiced on the basis of relaxing the whole body. In \”actual combat\”, the mother needs to relax her body muscles.

Zeng Xiaoqin introduced that every time an expectant mother practices body relaxation, she first practices tightening her left arm and relaxing other parts of her body. Then the tightened parts gradually become her right arm, right leg, left leg, right arm and right leg. Left arm and left leg, right arm and left leg, left arm and right leg, while keeping the rest of the body relaxed.

Misunderstanding 2: How can you feel comfortable if you don’t take a deep breath?

Zeng Xiaoqin said that for some expectant mothers, a practical class of Lamaze Breathing Method is very difficult, because the clarifying breathing (that is, deep breathing) in the breathing method has requirements on the amplitude, frequency and time of breathing. breathe. For expectant mothers who are over 28 weeks old, their chests begin to be compressed by the fetus and their lung capacity decreases. It is indeed difficult to practice cleansing breathing at first. With the guidance of the teacher beside you, you can gradually adjust and finally achieve the ideal deep breathing effect.

If you practice by yourself, expectant mothers may not know how deeply to breathe, and often don’t know how comfortable their breathing is.

Misunderstanding 3: Preach according to the script and turn breathing into words

Due to the limitations of text description, some expectant mothers often deviate from the ideal results when practicing according to Lamaze\’s Breathing and Delivery Method tutorials. For example, according to the tutorial, during the first stage of labor when contractions are the most frequent and last the longest, when the contractions begin, the mother should first take a breath of fresh air and then follow the \”hee hee hee\” shallow breathing method. Both \”hee\” and \”boo\” here areIt refers to the sound made when airflow rubs against teeth. \”We found during class that some expectant mothers actually pronounce the words \’hee\’ and \’shh\’ directly. The sound is emitted through the vocal cords, which cannot achieve the effect of shallow breathing at all. \”

Moreover, the shallow breathing of \”hee, hee, hee, hee, shush\” is not simply taking four shallow breaths in a row and then exhaling. Breathe in. If you just read the tutorial without expert guidance, you are likely to miss these details. \”

special reminder

It is not recommended that expectant mothers learn the Lamaze breathing method of delivery through online tutorials, because this method is highly maneuverable and difficult to understand just by reading the text. It\’s best to practice under the guidance of a professional.

> ●The Lamaze breathing delivery method is more suitable to be practiced after 28 weeks of pregnancy. Zeng Xiaoqin reminded that there are also taboos in the Lamaze breathing delivery method, and you should consult a doctor before learning it. Among them, high-risk pregnancies include medical complications such as heart disease, liver and kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes, surgical complications such as sprains and falls, and discomforts such as headache, abdominal pain, bleeding, sinus tachycardia, and arrhythmia. Those with symptoms are not suitable for practice.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *