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Relaxation

By Natalie Burgess

Relaxation is a skill that requires practice.  Some women spend the time of pregnancy choosing nursery equipment and reading baby books, but not taking the time to prepare themselves psychologically for labor and birth of their beautiful baby. 

Research studies have shown that relaxation reduces a laboring woman’s perception of pain as it works to decrease tension and anxiety, promoting a calm and relaxed woman, therefore reducing the release of adrenaline and promoting the release of endorphins.  A relaxed woman breathes more effectively, promoting optimum oxygen levels for the uterus and baby, and reducing muscle tension.

Before we can learn to relax we must first become aware of how we breathe, and this is where I find the practice of yoga is beneficial as it creates awareness of the breath.  Remember we need to breathe to oxygenate the uterus as it works (in labor) and also breathe to oxygenate our baby.  If the breath becomes short, shallow and sharp, as it often does when we are feeling anxious or fearful, the baby is deprived of oxygen, resulting in dips in your baby’s heart rate.  If this occurs when you are in labor, it will more than likely result in a cascade of intervention to monitor your baby more closely and potentially limit your ability to move around to find positions of comfort, reducing your feelings of control and involvement.  The uterus also suffers from a decreased blood supply, and like all muscles, the uterus will suffer as a result of decreased oxygen.  The uterus will continue to rhythmically surge and retract, as it is designed to, but will do so in less than optimal conditions…resulting in discomfort as the muscle strives to do its job.  Additionally when we don’t breathe efficiently, our ability to make decisions and remain ‘feeling’ in control is somewhat lessened, and for the laboring mother-to-be takes away her confidence in her ability and positive interpretation of the birth experience.

Breathing, we all do it, everyday without thinking.  It is a natural and necessary function, but how often do we actually think about the inhalation and exhalation of the breath.  First take a look at your posture.  Poor posture does not facilitate the expansion of the lungs.  Sit or stand, keeping the torso upright, activate the pelvic floor and draw the navel back to the spine, open the chest and relax the grip of the shoulders, allow the neck to lengthen.  Now you can take in a breath.  As you inhale enjoy the sensation of the cooling air working its way from the nostrils, down the back of the throat and into the lungs.  Feel the chest expand.  Pregnant woman can sometimes feel a little inhibited opening the chest, as the breasts are fuller and larger.  Don’t feel inhibited in pregnancy, there are not many times in your life when you can proudly stick out your well formed breasts and poke out your beautiful round belly, do not shy away from it, welcome it, embrace the feeling of being pregnant.  As you exhale, feel the chest release, the warmth of the breath as it moves out of the nostrils.  Do not attempt to hurry of force the flow of the breath, and take a moment to pause in between the inhalation and the exhalation.  Take care also to not hyperventilate, limiting this breath cycle to 2, and building up to 5 cycles with practice.

It is important to take the time to practice this quiet awareness of the breath on a daily basis, so that it is a familiar process and one that you feel comfortable with.  Learning how to relax in just a few moments is certainly an essential tool that I have found invaluable in the day to day life of motherhood.

Once you become comfortable with your breath awareness you can then move onto effective relaxation, and also find more enjoyment in the yoga sequences.  Use the yoga sequence for pregnancy to adopt breath awareness, and you will discover with regular (daily) practice that you can find a comfort in the yoga poses, interpreting the stretch not as discomfort, but rather as a wonderful release.  Once you learn how to embrace the release of the muscles, then you are well on your way to a relaxed working state (as you are when laboring).

Of course you do not need to practice yoga to learn relaxation.  You can practice relaxation simply sitting down at the end of the day, and take the time to close your eyes, not to fall asleep, but to bring your thought to the present, the feeling of the breath, and awareness of body.  Let your minds eye wander around your body, starting from your head and working down to the toes, releasing muscle tension, identifying areas of the body that are fatigued, tight or feel wonderful.  Take the time to practice this simple technique for 5 minutes everyday, and when you feel comfortable with the simple quietness that this relaxation practice brings, challenge yourself.  Perhaps try the relaxation technique standing in the shower, focusing on the feeling of the water beating on your back or belly, or perhaps if you are constipated try as you sit on the toilet to release and relax the pelvic floor muscles to help empty your bowel.

In the late stage of pregnancy, you may start to experience aches and irregular uterine tightenings (Braxton Hicks) as your uterus prepares itself for labor.  Take this opportunity to visualize the tightening of the uterus, the muscle embracing your baby, and relax the body and the breath.  Gentle energizing inhalation, gentle releasing exhalation. 

Another simple form of relaxation is to visualize the body in 5 sections (of your choosing), and, with the eyes closed, as you exhale visualize those 5 areas relaxing as you mentally count 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  This is also a useful technique that you can practice with your partner or intended labor support person, as a means of encouraging you to focus and relax during labor.

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