World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that for the best outcomes for women and babies only 5%-10% of births should be by caesarean section...
What is happening in the pre-labour or latent phase? Well this is all about your cervix getting soft or “ripening”. Yes it is at this point that your cervix changes from the consistency that is firm and muscular like the end of your nose to wonderfully soft like your ear lobe.
Better informed is better prepared. Partners are often unsure of their role when it comes to preparing for childbirth and how they can help. I am often asked how men can prepare in order to support at the birth,
You might think it is odd that I have called this blog “silence” when most people’s idea of birth is anything but silent. However I am are here to introduce you to a wonderful hormone called Oxytocin. It is produced by the pituitary gland and it is the driving force behind natural birth.
I have only been working for the UK Birth Centres for a few months but have been a midwife for well over 25 years and in that time I have realised that in Britain we have to overcome many social phobias that stand in the way of breast feeding being successful.
As we define what it is that we are wanting to achieve, if only with our thoughts, our attention follows. Our creative mind begins to look for the reality that matches our thoughts, and we begin to naturally notice the opportunities that can help lead us to our goals.
Continuing with a series of blogs here at UK Birth Centre Ltd on preparation tips for your birth and beyond here we are discussing hypnotherapy.
Hypnosis is "a state of deep physical relaxation with an alert mind producing alpha waves, in which the subconscious mind can be more readily accessed" ( Mantle 2000 ) Hypnosis used for childbirth is almost always self-hypnosis: the hypnotherapist teaches the woman to induce the hypnotic state in herself during labour.
The Birth Ball for movement and pain relief in labour is a large inflated exercise ball that has been adopted into maternity care to aid relaxation and movement (Perez .P 2000). The woman can sit on or lean against the ball, which provides soft support.
Water birth enables women to give birth in the way their bodies were designed. I feel that birth pools have brought a special quality to the environment of birth, helping midwives get back to the roots of being with women.
The alternative approach to pain management includes a wide variety of techniques that address not only the physical sensations of pain, but also attempt to prevent you suffering by enhancing the emotional and spiritual aspects of your care. In this approach, pain is seen as normal but is separated from suffering and made acceptable.