Visualization is a simple technique that some women use to help them relax during birth. Your mind is a very powerful tool, and using it to your advantage during birth will help you get the most out of your experience. Using visualization techniques can reduce fear and release tension, which can promote relaxation and, in turn, reduce pain!
You can use visualization techniques like meditation or visualizing a peaceful location that makes you feel calm and relaxed. During my births, I found this to be true. Before Beckett's birth, we went to Jamaica - where this picture was taken - and it was my anchor during my visualizations. Remembering being out in the ocean, the sounds of the waves, the feeling of the warm water rushing over us, it being just J and I - this memory was at the forefront of my mind and helped me float through contractions.
For Early Labor
1. Think of an event in which the two of you were relaxed and content - for example a trip you took, a beautiful afternoon, a warm conversation.
2. Take a walk together or have a delicious meal together and recall as many details of that experience as you can.
3. Leave the details into a brief description with the beginning, a middle and an end. During contractions you will narrate the visualization, varying the details with each contraction.
For example, one couple had taken a canoe trip early in the cold morning. The river was still in. The mist was rising. Birds were soaring overhead. A ramshackle barn was visible in the distance. A fallen tree partially blocked the river and so on. During birth, the woman was in a large tub and a friend was pouring water over her back in rhythm with her breathing. Each contraction her partner told her, “Now, let's get in the canoe and glide over this contraction.Birds fly overhead. See the barn with a caved in roof. There is no one else inside it's all so still and beautiful. Now, take your rest.”
For Active Labor
1. Ask the person to describe a time they were challenged - physically mentally or artistically - and met that challenge.
2. Weave the event into a brief description that can be narrated during contractions as a reminder of their ability to meet the challenges.
3. Plan to a vary or intensify the description as labor becomes more intense.
For example, one person recalled regularly riding a bicycle on a trail that had a very steep, long uphill stretch. For a long time, they were unable to make it to the top without walking the bike part way. With persistence, though, they eventually could pedal to the top before coasting down the other side. In active labor, they pictured each contraction as a hill and recalled the persistence it took, with shortness of breath and aching muscles, to get to the top. Their mantra became “Keep it up! Keep it up!” Their partner encourages the laboring person by repeating the mantra and then “Almost there! A little more! That's right! Now you're over the top! Coast your way down!” The laboring person said that later that each hill became higher and tougher to climb as the contractions intensified but the memory of successfully pedaling up the hill helped with each contraction.
Or you might want to try visualizing the process of labor and what is happening to your body to help bring your baby into the world.
Visualizing the stages of labor can empower you and make you feel like an active participant in the childbirth experience – the labor isn’t just happening to you, you’re helping it along, taking positive steps to bring your baby into the world. You may want to imagine your cervix softening and opening, your body changing to guide your baby and your baby descending into the birth canal and eventually coming out to meet you. Imagining the birth process can be even more effective if you use a relaxation script that is read by your support person or played on an audio device.