What should you do in Labor? Stay home and DANCE.

When a laboring mom moves, her baby moves.  And that is the goal in labor and childbirth: to get your baby to MOVE, rotate and descend through the pelvis and emerge into our arms. 

Every month, I teach a Natural Childbirth Education Class at the Mason Square library. Even though I discuss anatomy and physiology of birth, breathing techniques and comfort measures, I focus in on moving your body, demonstrating helpful positions to open your pelvis, or loosen your muscles, all which create literal space for your baby to pass through.

What are some of those movements?

Circle or make figure eights with your hips: this helps baby find its way into the pelvis, leading to engagement.

Lean your back against a wall so that your lower back touches the wall. You’ll feel your pelvis tilt backwards which widens the front to back diameter of the pelvis by flattening out the sacrum against the wall.  This creates more room for your baby’s head.

Get in a squat.  It maximizes the space in between your hip bones and shifts the dimensions of your pelvis so baby can descend.

Go up and down the stairs, two steps at a time, with someone spotting you from behind. This opens up the pelvis, one side at a time, allowing baby to wiggle its way further down.  Another way to do this is to stand and do a side-lunge with your foot up on a stool or a chair, rocking gently while you do it.

Get several pillows, lie down on your side, and bring your upper leg, bent, as high as you can with the pillows supporting the raised leg.  This is called the exaggerated side-lie and achieves the dimensions similar to a standing lunge, but the advantage is that you can rest in between contractions.

Find an exercise or a yoga ball and get your favorite music playing and, sitting on it, roll around, back and forth, to and fro, here and there. Breathe into the movement, relax, smile.

There is a wonderful resource on movement for pregnancy, labor and birth called Spinning Babies. It has invaluable information about the why as well as the how.  Check it out!

If none of the above appeals to you: DANCE. Yes, dance, in whatever way you like: all through your pregnancy and then into your labor for as long as you can. Doing so will not only distract you from the discomfort of labor and give you joy, but will also keep your pelvis opening and widening in all the ways described above. Interestingly, the art and tradition of Belly Dancing in the Middle East originated as a fertility ritual and was literally practiced movements that toned the muscles for labor.

What’s your dancing default? Get at it – your baby can’t wait to move along with you.