my name is Alice Turner I am a doula and a childbirth educator I love talking about
childbirth education and and enjoying the big wheel and I'm ready to spin
are you guys ready let's do it okay this is a new addition to our wheel
horse lips so horse lips is a coping mechanism and I will demonstrate it so it is really just
like it sounds it's making a vibrating noise in your lips kind of like when you're mad and kind
of sighing so do it with me see how that feels it's kind of a release and the best time that a
coping strategy like this works well is in those really intense moments of labor so we're talking
about when contractions are as it's strongest when maybe in transition that final opening
of Labor it is really when you are searching for a technique that you can really grab on to
and something to help your whole body relax and if you can think about it a lot of people hold
tension in their jaw personally I hold tension in my shoulders I'm often like this but some
sometimes especially a foreign experience in pain we might clinch our jaw and having a
clenched jaw is really associated with our cervix so weird right they they so there's some type of
research out there I'll link it down below where your jaw being clenched is a slower slower for
your cervix to dilate so strange so if you're finding that your jaw is clenched maybe your
forehead your brow is clenched you know this really isn't a great to open for anything in
your body to open to be all tense so if you can imagine doing something coping like the horse
lips okay well right immediately right away our jaw is nice and loose that's a doula I suggested
especially if we need to just break it up we need to just kind of get and get a pause to
whatever coping mechanism we're using and like refocus and if you can imagine so let's compare
this to working out or if you are like on a long run if you are you know trying to get to the end
of a workout you are weight training and you're just like so mentally finding those challenges
and you feel like your body is just tired you can imagine just going it's kind of like a reset like
a mental reset reset your body like okay I've got this let's just keep going relax and stay
focused so it's just a another tool in your coping toolbox as you head into labor and birth it can be
used whether you are in the intense last phase of labor like transition or if you are facing a
challenge in labor maybe a decision has been made to do a c-section it wasn't on your plan a nice
couple breaths with some horse lips can really relax your body refocus your mind and get you
ready for your next phase so put it in your tool box your virtual toolbox of labour coping tools
if you are preparing for birth or if you are a birth worker of course I do LA this is a great
one to have and a great one to suggest a couple other things to remember or one main thing this
is not a technique you're gonna want to do for hours on end okay you're not gonna want to blow
horse lips for a whole hour or even you know more than maybe three or four times before it
becomes old and not very effect so it's gonna be one of those short use coping techniques and
partners great tip for you is just try it out you don't have to say hey why don't we try some
horse lips you could just be standing next to your partner in labor and make that noise and
they will model it after you and see or they won't if they don't feel like doing it but it's a good
thing to just give it a try so partners just try it out great for when things are really intense
or you need to refocus and relax your jaw if you're enjoying this video please give us a
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add new videos if you would like more information about ways to cope with labor a physical comfort
techniques we have a handy cheat sheet for you and it's in the comments below and it is
a great one to download or print out and have it packed for your birth talk to you later bye guys