Early Labour Homework
So you’ve probably been working on your birth plan which is amazing and hopefully feeling confident, excited and as ready as you can be for baby’s big birthday.
I think the most important part of labour, the part that is the most difficult but perhaps the most impactful is early labour. The way that a birther and a family is able to move through this latent phase is often quite indicative of how well they’ll be able to cope through the rest of labour. For families who have the intention of trying to birth without medical pain management, early labour is everything.
Now, this video really only pertains to those folk who go into spontaneous labour on their own at home. Now this could look a few different ways: maybe your water broke and you don’t have any contractions or maybe you are having contractions but your water hasn’t broken yet, or maybe your water has broken and you’re feeling some surges. And then maybe these contractions have come on on their own, and maybe they’re a result of the gel or the balloon or a stretch and sweep. Regardless of how you got to early labour, this video is for those who are experiencing it at home.
We know that early labour can last anywhere up to a couple of weeks, but for most first-time birthers generally anywhere between 12, 16, 24, 36 hours. Huge range, I know, but it takes time for the contractions to build in intensity, to grow in duration, and to get closer together. So as you’re waiting these 12, 16, 24, 36 hours, what are you doing? Hopefully anything other than waiting! And here is where your homework comes in.
Your homework is to create a list of 10 things that you’re doing to do when either your water breaks or you begin to feel contractions, and you’re also going to do all of the 5 things that I have put on the list for a total of 15 to-dos during early labour. The idea behind this is that all we need is time -- early labour just takes time so these activities on your list should get you from here to there.
These activities should all put you in or keep you in a rested relaxed state and should also be oxytocin-producing. Remember, oxytocin is the hormone that your body makes during snuggling, orgasming and falling in love and it’s THE hormone that will build your contractions, making them strong enough to get you into early labour.
So ideas for activities would be taking a yoga class, watching your favourite romcom, calling your best friend and maybe a motherly-figure that makes you feel really good, taking a nice long warm bath potentially with half a glass of wine, packing the hospital bag, bake something sweet for the hospital, go for a stroll in Allen Gardens or outside by the lake or a nice park, play a boardgame with some friends, put around in the garden or backyard or with the plants, do a deep-full body hour-long roving relaxation meditation, go to your place of worship if there’s a service availableIt would be amazing if you could go and hang out with a baby if you have access to one… Anything that you love to do, any hobbies or ‘things’ that you do with your loved ones -- this is the time for it. And there’s really no limit; maybe you love golfing, go for a round. Go to your coworking space and clean out your inbox. Maybe you love to bowl, I don’t know. Get your last blowout before baby gets here, a little mani-pedi… Whatever you love to do, put it on the list.
These are activities ideally the birther can do either alone or with a loved one, depending on what they’re feeling like they need. Some birthers want privacy and quiet and go inwards, and others want to be surrounded by people to feel that they’re supported and seen and simply being near people helps them to relax and unwind. Ideally each of these activities will last at least an hour because remember that the point of this is to boost oxytocin and run the clock down.
Now you might be wondering about why I’m asking you to do so much because classically early labour is a time for rest and sleep and eating, which it totally is, but asking a birther to try and sleep for 12, 16, 24, 36 hours is wildly unrealistic. Being up and moving can help cope with the contractions differently, often the birther’s mind isn’t so focused on them. Ideally, then, a birth will do two things on the list and want to take a little rest or nap. Then they eat and continue on with their list until either they’re getting into such a deep labour that they are unwilling and unwanting to do the things on their list because they need to focus on their labour or until it’s time to go to the hospital or place of birth for x, y, z reason.
Instructions and guidelines for this early labour to-do list can be found in the document below and I will be asking to see your list in one of the prenatals so please do take some time and get this done.
So you’ve probably been working on your birth plan which is amazing and hopefully feeling confident, excited and as ready as you can be for baby’s big birthday.
I think the most important part of labour, the part that is the most difficult but perhaps the most impactful is early labour. The way that a birther and a family is able to move through this latent phase is often quite indicative of how well they’ll be able to cope through the rest of labour. For families who have the intention of trying to birth without medical pain management, early labour is everything.
Now, this video really only pertains to those folk who go into spontaneous labour on their own at home. Now this could look a few different ways: maybe your water broke and you don’t have any contractions or maybe you are having contractions but your water hasn’t broken yet, or maybe your water has broken and you’re feeling some surges. And then maybe these contractions have come on on their own, and maybe they’re a result of the gel or the balloon or a stretch and sweep. Regardless of how you got to early labour, this video is for those who are experiencing it at home.
We know that early labour can last anywhere up to a couple of weeks, but for most first-time birthers generally anywhere between 12, 16, 24, 36 hours. Huge range, I know, but it takes time for the contractions to build in intensity, to grow in duration, and to get closer together. So as you’re waiting these 12, 16, 24, 36 hours, what are you doing? Hopefully anything other than waiting! And here is where your homework comes in.
Your homework is to create a list of 10 things that you’re doing to do when either your water breaks or you begin to feel contractions, and you’re also going to do all of the 5 things that I have put on the list for a total of 15 to-dos during early labour. The idea behind this is that all we need is time -- early labour just takes time so these activities on your list should get you from here to there.
These activities should all put you in or keep you in a rested relaxed state and should also be oxytocin-producing. Remember, oxytocin is the hormone that your body makes during snuggling, orgasming and falling in love and it’s THE hormone that will build your contractions, making them strong enough to get you into early labour.
So ideas for activities would be taking a yoga class, watching your favourite romcom, calling your best friend and maybe a motherly-figure that makes you feel really good, taking a nice long warm bath potentially with half a glass of wine, packing the hospital bag, bake something sweet for the hospital, go for a stroll in Allen Gardens or outside by the lake or a nice park, play a boardgame with some friends, put around in the garden or backyard or with the plants, do a deep-full body hour-long roving relaxation meditation, go to your place of worship if there’s a service availableIt would be amazing if you could go and hang out with a baby if you have access to one… Anything that you love to do, any hobbies or ‘things’ that you do with your loved ones -- this is the time for it. And there’s really no limit; maybe you love golfing, go for a round. Go to your coworking space and clean out your inbox. Maybe you love to bowl, I don’t know. Get your last blowout before baby gets here, a little mani-pedi… Whatever you love to do, put it on the list.
These are activities ideally the birther can do either alone or with a loved one, depending on what they’re feeling like they need. Some birthers want privacy and quiet and go inwards, and others want to be surrounded by people to feel that they’re supported and seen and simply being near people helps them to relax and unwind. Ideally each of these activities will last at least an hour because remember that the point of this is to boost oxytocin and run the clock down.
Now you might be wondering about why I’m asking you to do so much because classically early labour is a time for rest and sleep and eating, which it totally is, but asking a birther to try and sleep for 12, 16, 24, 36 hours is wildly unrealistic. Being up and moving can help cope with the contractions differently, often the birther’s mind isn’t so focused on them. Ideally, then, a birth will do two things on the list and want to take a little rest or nap. Then they eat and continue on with their list until either they’re getting into such a deep labour that they are unwilling and unwanting to do the things on their list because they need to focus on their labour or until it’s time to go to the hospital or place of birth for x, y, z reason.
Instructions and guidelines for this early labour to-do list can be found in the document below and I will be asking to see your list in one of the prenatals so please do take some time and get this done.