28- Six Healthy Birth Practices

Transcript:

This is episode 28.

Most of last season, we focused on post-partum issues. Today I want to come back to the time of pregnancy and share with you six healthy birth practices. These come from Lamaze International and sum up years of research in order to promote the safest, healthiest birth possible for both mama and baby. I’ll briefly talk about all six today but there’s so much more that could be said about any one of them. Some of them, I’ve already talked about in previous episodes. When that’s the case I’ll mention it and link to that episode in the show notes in case you want more information now. Others, I’ll come back to and talk about more in future episodes.

Let me start by telling you a little about Lamaze International. This organization has been around a long time. Since 1960, in fact. Lamaze International is a non-profit organization, a trusted global leader, with a mission to advance safe and healthy pregnancy, birth and early parenting through evidence-based education and advocacy. One of the things I really love about Lamaze is the focus on evidence-based education.

Because Lamaze recognizes that birth is a transformative experience for families, there is also a focus on teaching parents how to ask good questions in order to be able to make informed decisions and participate in setting the path for their own journey through childbirth.

As of January 2023, I have been a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator. And I’ve benefited from Lamaze international resources for much longer than that.

Many people think of breathing techniques when they think of Lamaze and honestly, that was my first introduction to Lamaze. When I was pregnant with my first baby, I learned the Lamaze breathing techniques from my mom who was also a childbirth educator, and practiced them religiously and used them with much success – with a little help from a providentially placed labor and delivery nurse who also happened to be a Lamaze instructor.

Now Lamaze is more known for the 6 healthy birth practices. And that’s what we’re talking about today. Here they are:

• Healthy Birth Practice 1: Let labor begin on its own.
• Healthy Birth Practice 2: Walk, move around and change positions throughout labor.
• Healthy Birth Practice 3: Bring a loved one, friend or doula for continuous support.
• Healthy Birth Practice 4: Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary.
• Healthy Birth Practice 5: Avoid giving birth on your back and follow your body's urges to push.
• Healthy Birth Practice 6: Keep mother and baby together — it's best for mother, baby and breastfeeding.

Ok, let’s go back and talk a little bit more about each one.

Healthy Birth Practice 1: Let labor begin on its own.

If you’ve listened to my podcast on the story of birth, you’ve heard me talk about how hormones work in a woman’s body to orchestrate the flow of labor. And the body is preparing to receive and produce these hormones right up to the onset of labor. Baby is also continuing to mature and prepare for life outside the womb. This is why it’s so important to let labor begin on its own, if at all possible. In addition, the slow lead-in to spontaneous labor that first time moms usually have (it happens for many subsequent labors, too), just seems to help with the mental and emotional transition as well.

When labor starts on its own, you can spend much of your labor wherever you choose. Early on, you might prefer walking outside in your neighborhood or a park or even at the mall. Or maybe you prefer relaxing in the comfort of your own home where you can enjoy being in a familiar and comfortable setting that promotes the release of oxytocin (the hormone that’s responsible for getting those contractions going). If you’re planning to give birth in a hospital, sometimes there’s concern about how to know when to go in. Well, if your pregnancy is low risk with no complications, there’s really no need to go in until your contractions are coming about 4-5 minutes apart and lasting about a minute each. And this has been going on for about an hour. That’s called the 5-1-1 rule (5 minutes apart, 1 minute each, for about 1 hour). You know there are exceptions to every rule but in general this is a good rule to help you know when to go in. (I talk more about that along with some of the exceptions to consider in my preparing for childbirth classes.)

For now, the important thing to remember is that being patient and letting labor begin on it’s own sets you up best for a normal physiologic birth. By that I just mean it’s the best way to work with and support your body to do what God has designed it to do.

Healthy Birth Practice #2: Walk, move around and change positions throughout labor.

Let me read you a quote from the paper put out by Lamaze on this healthy birth practice: “Women who use upright positions and are mobile during labor have shorter labors, less intervention, fewer cesarean births, and report less severe pain, and describe more satisfaction with their childbirth experience than women in recumbent positions.” End quote.

If you’re not familiar with the word Recumbent, it just means “lying down.”

Wow, shorter labors, fewer c-sections, less severe pain, and more satisfaction. Yes, please. You may be thinking…Can movement really do all that? Remember I told you that Lamaze is all about evidence-based education. So yes! Studies show that all those things are real benefits of movement in labor. I’ll put links in the show notes so you can go look for yourself if you want to.

Now, walking and moving around is much easier to do when labor starts on its own and you’re able to do much of your laboring at home. Movement is so important for a couple of reasons. One – it helps mama cope with the contractions that will become increasingly stronger and more painful as labor progresses. And two – it helps baby move down into and through the pelvis where she needs to be to make her entrance into the world. This is also why movement helps to shorten labor as well. You can go back and listen to my podcast on the benefits of movement during labor for more info on this one.

Healthy Birth Practice # 3: Bring a loved one, friend or doula for continuous support.

Studies have consistently shown that mamas who receive continuous labor support experience more positive outcomes…

Things like… more spontaneous vaginal births, slightly shorter durations of labor, fewer cesarean surgeries or instrumental vaginal births, decreased use of epidurals and other pain medications, and a greater satisfaction with their birth experiences.

One of the reasons continuous labor support is so effective is that it helps mama feel safe, cared for, and protected, which reduces fear. That allows for an increase in oxytocin and a decrease in stress hormones which promotes the progression of labor rather than hinder it. Fear can interfere with the progression of contractions and cause them to feel more painful so it’s really important to help mama feel safe.

We’ll spend a whole podcast talking about this soon as the benefits of good labor support are really tremendous. A good place to start is having your husband and/or another support person prepare with you for your birth. That way you can learn together and be on the same page about what you want and what your priorities are if things don’t go according to plan.

If it’s possible to have a trained doula with you for your labor, that’s also a great idea. Like I said, we’ll talk more about this soon.

Healthy Birth Practice # 4: Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary.

Many hospital births around the world today are intervention intensive. Unfortunately, this doesn’t line up with evidence that shows using routine interventions which are not medically indicated actually increases risks for both mamas and babies.

When I say interventions, I’m talking about things like… Continuous electronic fetal monitoring, Restrictions on eating and drinking, IV fluids, Epidural anesthesia, artificially ruptured membranes, Artificial oxytocin augmentation, Episiotomies, and the list could go on. All of these things have their place, and we can be thankful for them when used appropriately but when they are not really needed they actually hamper the body’s normal physiologic process of labor and birth.

All of the healthy birth practices I’m mentioning today are in fact practices that promote the normal physiologic process of labor and birth rather than hinder it. God designed a woman’s body just so to grow and birth a baby and how that happens is fascinating (I talk about that a bit in the podcast I mentioned earlier called the story of birth if you’d like to hear more.) Of course, in a fallen world, our bodies don’t always work properly and that’s when we’re super thankful for medical interventions that can help. However, it’s best to support our body’s normal physiologic process until there’s a need to step in rather than stepping in too soon and disrupting the amazing way our bodies work.

Healthy Birth Practice # 5: Avoid giving birth on your back and follow your body's urges to push.

While giving birth on your back is super convenient for the doctor, it is rarely the best position for mama or baby. It has you working against gravity, after all. Even just rolling to your side allows room for the tail bone to push further back out of the way for baby to come through. Squatting allows for a wider open pelvis and gravity aids in bringing baby down and out. Many women find all fours a more comfortable position for pushing. There are many options and the best one for you is the one that feels right and works best. If baby is taking a while to come out, trying a different position every 15-20 minutes is encouraged.

And as long as there are no complications, mama should follow her body’s urges to push. Sometimes, there is a rest period after the cervix has fully dilated and before the contractions pick up again for pushing. If that happens you can be thankful for a bit of a break and rest. Then when the contractions start again, it’s usually best to let mama push as she feels the urge, perhaps with a reminder to focus low and maintain deep tones as she vocalizes. The traditional coaching to hold your breath and push to the count of 10 has not been shown to improve outcomes and often leads to maternal fatigue and less satisfaction with the birthing experience. This satisfaction piece is being increasingly recognized as important to mama’s overall wellbeing and a smoother transition to motherhood.

Ok, last one…

Healthy Birth Practice # 6: Keep mother and baby together — it's best for mother, baby and breastfeeding.

Let me read this quote from the Lamaze article: “Based on decades of research, experts worldwide recommend that all healthy mothers and newborns, regardless of feeding preference and method of birth, have immediate and undisturbed SSC for at least an hour or more.” End quote

Research has shown and continues to show that not only is it beneficial for mamas and babies to have that uninterrupted skin to skin time immediately following birth but separating them can actually be harmful as it negatively effects short and long-term health outcomes and breastfeeding success.

The interplay between mama and baby during that skin to skin time is so amazing and sweet. Mama’s heartbeat helps regulate baby’s. Mama’s warmth perfectly warms baby. They even share hormones that facilitate the breastfeeding process for both mama and baby and it can be calming to both. It’s really special and should be prioritized if at all possible.

That’s a lot of information packed into a short time and I’ve only just touched on all the benefits of these healthy birth practices. Like I said before, I’m including lots of links in the show notes today if you want to go find more information on any of these.

Show notes:

In this episode we’ll talk about six healthy birth practices that promote the safest, healthiest birth possible for both mama and baby. These healthy birth practices come from Lamaze international and sum up years of research.

Resources:

Links to Lamaze articles in multiple languages for each of the Healthy Birth Practices

Click below for short videos put out by Lamaze on each HBP:

• Healthy Birth Practice 1: Let labor begin on its own.
• Healthy Birth Practice 2: Walk, move around and change positions throughout labor.
• Healthy Birth Practice 3: Bring a loved one, friend or doula for continuous support.
• Healthy Birth Practice 4: Avoid interventions that are not medically necessary.
• Healthy Birth Practice 5: Avoid giving birth on your back and follow your body's urges to push.
• Healthy Birth Practice 6: Keep mother and baby together — it's best for mother, baby and breastfeeding.

Previous podcasts mentioned:

· Episode 3 – The Story of Childbirth

· Episode 4 – Thinking about Labor Induction (for more info re: HBP1 & 4)

· Episode 8 - Benefits of Movement During Labor and Tips on How to Do it (for more info re: HBP2)

· Episode 22- Preparing for Breastfeeding w/ Christine Macharia (for more info re: HBP6)

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