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As a doula and childbirth educator, I find that the burning question in all couples' minds is How do I cope with labor?' I will try to answer that question here.

Breath
First and foremost is your breath. Breathing is one of the most important aspects of labor. There are basically two breaths for labor: deep, slow breathing and shallow breathing.

Do you need a pattern? Do you need to memorize what breath goes where? Do you need a special breath for each stage of labor? Do you need hypnobirthing or other structured breathing patterns? The answer is a resounding NO.

Can you have great benefits from these programs? Will they help you? Of course. Anything you practice and have faith in will help you.

Breathing during labor is very important. You breath as you would for any athletic event. You breath to bring relaxation to your body. You breath to bring oxygen to your baby and your own muscles. Most importantly you do this to keep your baby healthy through labor and so that you feel less pain. You do all this by breathing deeply, slowly. You do this by keeping your muscles relaxed.

Your breath is the key to your relaxation. While it is similar to breathing that you do during athletic events, it's not totally the same.

Practice relaxing your muscles. Imagine a contraction building and practice breathing while relaxing all your other muscles.

You can practice with ice. You hold an ice cube for 60 seconds. Focus on your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Another focus is to listen and/or observe everything in the room except the Ice. Another way is to use distraction-read a book or watch TV.

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I cannot over emphasize the need for you to practice. I understand that everyone is busy. However, the practice is important in teaching your body to relax around the contraction of your uterus. Your uterus is contracting with increasing intensity. A common reaction to this intensity is to contract other muscles in your body in response. Your shoulders tighten and rise. Your jaw might clench. Practice before your labor is what will help you cope.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

Partners need to practice, too. They need to know how to relax and calm themselves as well as how to help mom. Partners' emotions have an impact on the laboring mother so partners need to keep an eye on themselves as well as one on mom.

Water and Food

Hydration is also very important in your ability to cope with the increasing intensity of labor. Drink like you are running a marathon. Keep

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