How Can I Prepare my Body for Labour?

There are many websites out there that will give you lots of natural remedies on how to go into labour - drinking rasberry leaf tea, having sex, stimulating your nipples, eating a hot curry, drinking castor oil (yuck), having acupuncture. We’ll have a look at all those in a little bit. However, the truth is, you can’t make yourself go into labour but there are things you can do that can help prepare your body for birth and support your body to go into labour.

How Does Labour Begin

The process of how labour begins is not yet completely understood. It is believed that the baby releases cortisol (a steroid hormone) at the same time that the mother’s production of estrogen increases. Allowing this process to unfold on its own means that you and your baby have the best chance for having a smooth and healthy labour and birth.

By the time most women get to the last few weeks of pregnancy things are getting quite uncomfortable and it is very understandable that many women just “want this baby out”. But, you also know that a due date is not an expiration date and that 40 weeks is only an average of how long a pregnancy lasts.

When Will I Go Into Labour

According to Chinese Medicine Theory you can determine the length of your pregnancy based on your menstrual cycle. If you’re around 28 days then pregnancy is likely to be approximately 40 weeks. If you have a shorter cycle then you may be more likely to go into labour earlier than 40 weeks. If you have a longer cycle then (sorry everybody) you may be more likely to have a longer pregnancy. No matter the length of your menstrual cycle you can begin to prepare your body for birth from 37 weeks.

Pregnancy is a yin energy and the flow of energy through the body has a more upward quality in order to hold the baby in. Labour and birth is a yang energy and the flow of energy changes to have a more downward quality to support the body to give birth to the baby. From 37 weeks it is possible to support the change in energy from yin to yang and the flow from upwards to downwards.

Preparing Your Body For Labour

“How do I do this?” I hear you desperately asking. If your partner is willing you could ask him/her to give you a massage. There are acupressure points throughout the body that are generally contraindicated in pregnancy as they have a stronger ability to move energy downwards. The points are located on the top of the shoulder (Gall Bladder 21), in the webbing between the thumb and index finger (Large Intestine 4), on the inner aspect of the lower leg about 3 fingers above the ankle bone (spleen 6), on the outer side of the achilles tendon behind the ankle bone (Bladder 60) and on the top of the foot in between the bones that go into the big and second toe (Liver 3). During the massage he/she could connect into each of the points making sure they have a relaxed intention to support you and your body for labour and birth.

Another area of the body they could give massage to is the sacrum. It’s the triangular shaped bone at the base of the spine. There are bone holes in the sacrum in a V shape. Putting gentle thumb pressure into these holes can help to open the sacrum for birth and help draw the energy downwards. It’s nice to have this done whilst you’e resting over a ball and is also a technique that can be used during labour.

Practing labour exercises is also a great way to prepare your body for labour. Stand in mountain pose and lengthen through your spine by drawing your coccyx down and the crown of your head up as you inhale and as you exhale place your hands on your belly and hug your baby in. After you’ve connected more into your midline through this exercise begin figure of 8 circles, circling your hips inwards. Again you want to feel as though you are drawing your energy inwards and downwards. Other exercises include those that take you into a squat (don’t do these if you have any pelvic instability), gentle rocking and circling on all fours, stretching into a cat pose as you exhale.

For my 2nd child’s birth I used Hypnobirthing and had a very different and much more empowering experience than with my 1st child’s birth which was a lot more traumatic. If you’re reading this early in your pregnancy then I highly recommend doing a hypnobirthing course as the techniques will help you prepare for labour. Spinning babies also have great techniques for geting bubs into the right position and exercises for pregnancy and labour.

If you’d like more hands on work with a therapist then a Birth Preparation Shiatsu massage is the way to go. From 37 weeks a birth preparation Shiatsu helps to deeply relax the mother and take her into the meditative state required for a smooth and healthy birth, makes sure that all the energy in the body is open and flowing correctly and supports the mother to connect with her baby.

Each birth preparation treatment incorporates exercises and breathing techniques for labour, shiatsu massage with the mother resting over a ball and also lying on her side propped by cushions incorporating the labour focus points mentioned earlier, visualisations for moving the baby deeper into the birth canal and connecting into the birth experience. The treatment lasts approximately 90 minutes and if the mother chooses her partner can be involved so he/she has some hands on experience to help her during labour. It is my experience that it is much better for the partner to have specific things they can do during labour. It makes them feel involved and less nervous.

Natural Remedies

Now back to those natural remedies mentioned earlier. Raspberry leaf tea is a great tonic for the uterus. But, you would need to drink at least 8 cups of this a day for the Raspberry leaf to have an impact. The better option is to get Raspberry leaf in tablet form from your health food store. You can start taking Raspberry Leaf from 2nd trimester.

Having Sex can be beneficial as it can help to promote oxytocin - the love drug :). Oxytocin is the hormone the body uses during labour and is also the hormone that helps with the bonding process between mum and bubs. The nipples have a direct connect to the sex organs so stimulating may lead to sex and that wonderful release of oxytocin.

The hot curry. This one I’m not so sure about. If you’re experiencing reflux/heart burn then this possibly isn’t an ideal option. Same goes for the Castor Oil. I was told to use this by an obstetrician but my midwife wasn’t so keen. The main reason is it’s a rememdy for labour is because Castor Oil has an affect on the intestines causing them to contract which may then stimulate the uterus.

Acupuncture will, similarly to shiatsu massage, help bring about relaxation and an acupuncturist will insert needles into the acupressure points mentioned above as well as the sacral bone holes to try and stimulate labour. I’m a big fan of acupuncture so if you have been working with an acupuncturist during pregnancy you can speak to them about induction acupuncture.

Just remember, no matter how you support your body for labour and birth, your baby will come when he or she is ready. The last weeks of pregnancy are really really tough. Been there, done that twice. So be compassionate to yourself. Speak to yourself as a kind and caring friend. You will get there in the end but it is okay not to feel so great about it. Try and get as much help and support as you can especially if you are already looking after other children.

To book a Birth Preparation Shiatsu contact Marian on 0403 550 695, email soulbodyshiatsu@gmail.com or making a booking on the Booking and Contacts page of this website.