The benefits of breathing through labour & birth
There are many coping mechanisms available to people as they progress throughout birth: position changes, movement, massage, touch, water therapy and medications are some that come to mind. However, today I thought I would share with you the simple and yet effective benefits of breathing.
Rhythmic breathing, often accompanied by low moans, is a universal coping strategy adopted by women across cultures. Birthing people who are coping well with the surges of an increasing labour pattern typically move their bodies more (swaying, rocking, self-massage) and use their voice (moaning, chanting or other vocalizations ) thereby experiencing more effective relief from pain & stress.
There are two styles of rhythmic breathing that are often taught, both in a prenatal yoga class, or childbirth class.
The first is what we call slow breathing:
Slow breathing is best introduced in labour when you can no longer walk and talk through a contraction or surge, especially while at the peak. We teach people to 'sigh' her way through the contraction with full, audible breaths. This type of breathing pairs wonderfully with imagery. 'Each exhale is a relaxing breath' or 'Send each breath in to a tense area in your body and breath the tension out as you exhale'.
The second style is called Light breathing or Modified Breathing:
This style of breathing is best introduced whenever a woman becomes discouraged or finds that the slow breathing is no longer effective in distracting her or diminishing her discomfort.
When we teach light breathing we are teaching her to breathe more shallowly and more quickly, but still at a speed that she finds comfortable. An example may be two shallow breaths followed by a longer breath in between to prevent hyperventilation.
Most birthers respond very well to rhythmic breathing and almost all will develop their own instinctive rituals over the course of their labour, allowing them to cope with the increasing contractions of normal birth.
Rhythmic breathing is also known to quiet the mind, specifically the thinking part of the brain (cerebral cortex), allowing people to be more instinctive. It is also self-calming and encourages the body to release tension and enhances a sense of well-being.
References:
Simkin & Ancheta "The labor progress handbook" (2005)
Simkin "The 3 R's in childbirth preparation: Relaxation, Rhythm and Ritual" (2006)
Lowe "The Pain and Discomfort of Labour & Birth" (1996)
nterested in joining us? Our community is a great way to meet other new parents. Fitmama Strong Durham has been operating in-person classes in the Durham Region since 2010 and we’ve been offering Online classes online from our virtual studio since 2020. Our community is a thriving and welcoming space for you and your littles.
We offer Prenatal Fitness and Prenatal Yoga classes, on-demand from our virtual studio through a special series. Our 30 minute live, online Express classes include a Prenatal friendly Yoga class.
If you’re new to Fitmama Strong Online, try one of our 3 Class Passes! You can use them at any of our Express classes on our live, online schedule. It doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant, your baby was born 6 weeks ago or 6 years ago, we have something for all of our members! Already been to Fitmama Strong classes? Attend and in-person series or grab a monthly membership and keep moving with us. Please note that our New to Fitmama Strong 3 Class Pass cannot be used at our in-person series of classes.
Finally, we offer in-person Stroller Fitness and Babywearing Fitness in the Durham Region and Ottawa locations. We can’t wait to have you join us!
We can’t wait for you to #startwithus and #growwithus. Join us Online or at one of our in-person classes!