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drinking. Keep the fluid going in your body.

Keeping your body hydrated will keep you feeling better. Dehydration affects not only your perception of pain, but it affects the functioning of your muscles. Dehydration can result in contractions that have no effect on your cervix. You feel the contraction. You work through it. It costs you energy, focus, coping skills. All for nothing if you have become dehydrated.

Therefore, drinking becomes a major coping technique. Water and juice are good choices. Juice not only hydrates you, but gives you some energy as well.

Food is very important in the latent phase of labor (0-4 cm). It is very important to keep your energy levels up. Eat light food. You don't know how long this phase of labor will last.

During active labor, your digestion will shut down. So when you stop wanting food in active labor, listen to your body. Active labor generally moves along at 1 cm an hour so soon enough you will get to eat again.

Support

Emotional support during labor is very important. No matter how confident you are in your abilities, it is very important to have people giving you positive feedback.

Support can be very difficult for loved ones to give. Not because they don't want to give it, but because watching you move through this difficult process is hard. They feel that they are not doing anything. When the support that they give you cannot be replaced. Without it you would loose your way.

Labor requires concentration and flexibility. Support people are there to monitor the progress. They have little to do as long as mom remains in the moment, relaxed, and breathing. Their role becomes essential when mom's concentration breaks down due to long hours and intensity. A support person gets you back to relaxing and breathing.

A support person's main job is to wait in nurturing support. They mirror to the laboring woman how well she is doing. They suggest different positions or relaxation techniques. They keep track of hydration and bathroom breaks-one per hour.

Conclusion

There are many techniques to help you cope with labor, but it ultimately comes down to flexibility. You need to live in the moment. Move through one contraction at a time. No one can birth this baby but you. Have faith that you will have the best birth that you can with the labor that you find yourself in. Every birth is different.

May your journey to family be filled with joy.

Learn more about this author, Mary Paliescheskey.
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