Doing simple exercises like squats can help your body prepare for labor. Another way to prepare your body is to take a warm bath. The heat will relax your muscles. Taking an antenatal class is also a great way to prepare for the birth of your child.
Perineal protection at the time of birth
A kneeling, or all-fours position, or lying on your side, may be beneficial and reduce the severity of tearing.
Getting up and moving around may help speed dilation by increasing blood flow. Walking around the room, doing simple movements in bed or chair, or even changing positions may encourage dilation. This is because the weight of the baby applies pressure to the cervix.
Exercise Regularly
First, it increases your stamina, letting you stay strong during labor and childbirth. Exercise keeps your muscles supple to let you bear the pain of labor. Strong thigh and pelvic muscles assist during labor and birthing, too. Moving during pregnancy also helps get the baby into the right position.
While the experience is different for everyone, labor can sometimes feel like extremely strong menstrual cramps that get progressively more and more intense as time goes on1.
For first-time mothers the average length of pushing is one-to-two hours. In some instances, pushing can last longer than two hours if mother and baby are tolerating it. Normally, the baby is born with his face looking toward mother's back (referred to as an anterior position).
Babies born too early may have more health problems at birth and later in life than babies born later. Being pregnant 39 weeks gives your baby's body all the time it needs to develop.
Focus on eating wholegrain foods (whole wheat flour chapati, whole wheat bread, brown rice and oats), foods that are rich in protein (eggs, fish, chicken, lentils and soya) and folate (green leafy vegetables). These can help improve your health.
Due to the amount of pressure caused by your baby's head on your perineum, it is unlikely that you will feel any tearing. But everyone's birth is different and some women may find that they feel a lot of stinging, especially as the head is crowning (when your baby's head can be seen coming out of the birth canal).
Most women find the most painful part of labor and delivery to be the contractions, while some others may feel pushing or post-delivery is most painful. Pain during labor and delivery may also be caused by pressure on the bladder and bowels by the baby's head and the stretching of the birth canal and vagina.
According to a survey conducted by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, around 50% of birthing parents between 18 and 39 said that contractions were the most painful part of labor and delivery. But 1 in 5 had a different take and said that pushing and post-delivery were the most painful.
Ultimately, a natural birth may be more painful than a cesarean section. However, the pain after your cesarean section combined with the heightened risks to you and your baby may outweigh the initial pain of childbirth.
Cons of a vaginal birth
The downside of a vaginal birth is that a percentage of women will need an instrumental birth which involves a cut in the vagina. 5 per cent of women will also have significant tearing of the pelvic floor or a large amount of bleeding.
As your baby's birthday gets close, your cervix begins to dilate, or open up. Dilation is checked during a pelvic exam. Typically, if you're four centimeters dilated, you're in the active stage of labor. If you're fully dilated, you're ready to start pushing.
Walking and exercise often make it to the top of the list of things to try. While there's no research that says it will induce labor, 30 minutes of moderate exercise at least five times a week can be helpful in any stage of pregnancy.
A study published in the journal, Human Reproduction has now found out that the chances of ahieving favourable results are higher around the late fall and early winter months.
How long it lasts: Active labor often lasts 4 to 8 hours or more. On average, your cervix will dilate at approximately 1 cm an hour. What you can do: Look to your labor partner and health care team for encouragement and support. Try breathing and relaxation techniques to relieve your discomfort.