by Anne Stone

Created on: May 20, 2008

I truly believe that you should not have too many expectations for childbirth. Nature will have it's way. Of course you should write your birth plan, it's always good to to hope that your birth will go the way you want, but don't expect your birth to go to any plan.

The intensity of labour hits quickly and hard, and it can last for such a long time. It is tiring and hard work and most women go through a stage of wishing or even begging for it to be over already. So it's quite normal to want to reach out for the painkillers to ease the struggle, but I truly believe that childbirth is the only time when painkillers can be detrimental rather than beneficial. Painkillers slow down the natural progress of labour. The pain is there for a reason, to bring your baby into the world and it's worth trying to work with the pain rather than against it.

So should you just shut up and suffer? No, of course not, there are ways to make the whole experience much better. Start thinking early in your pregnancy and give alternative methods a try. Hypnobirthing is a brilliant technique. It teaches you to focus away from the pain and on what your body is telling you to do. Often during labour you can feel out of control but hypnobirthing techniques help you to focus and regain that control. It is fairly simple to learn but best learnt properly and well in advance of the pending birth. The key is practice, practice, practice so that by the time labour begins you will be able to cope straight away and keep in control.

Another drug free method of pain relief is the TENS machine. TENS stands for Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. It works in two ways, by selectively stimulating certain 'non pain' fibres to send signals to the brain to block pain signals and by stimulation endorphins, the body's natural pain relieving hormones. The device is connected by sticky pads to certain areas of the back and is controllable by hand. Most have a special button that can be pressed during contractions to give an extra boost. The TENS will not completely remove the pain of labour, but it will help you to cope and work with the pain.

Or you could consider a water birth. Being in water helps to relax you and encourage the release of endorphins to help with the pain. Being relaxed helps you to pace yourself and conserve your energy throughout your labour for when you really need it, when you give birth. It does not take away the pain, but helps you to cope with it.

From my personal experiences of labour and birth I can honestly say that I much prefer drug free methods of pain relief. The only time I did have drugs I found the labour very long drawn out and the birth complicated. The other times where much more rewarding experiences, and a lot quicker too.

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