hey there i'm here at one of my favorite places to talk about
one of my favorite coping techniques for labor and that's breathing so today i'm going to show you
how absolutely easy it is to do a breathing technique known as lamaze breathing lamaze
breathing promotes relaxation it can decrease the perception of pain which is a good thing right and
when you can master this style of breathing you have this powerful tool in your birth toolbox
and really you're going to be ready for anything that happens during labor this breathing technique
can be used whether you are just desiring an unmedicated birth an epidural birth or a cesarean
bird now i'm going to jump in and do a few breaths right away just so you can see how easy it is
and then i'm going to break down the details and you can go ahead and practice with me okay
so this lamaze breathing it's one of the primary coping techniques that i like to
teach in my childbirth class that i teach live online if you'd like more information about
that i'm going to put it in the description below as you saw in my example this breathing
it's controlled and it's conscious breathing so i'm thinking about the way i'm breathing
so right now you're breathing but you're likely doing it unconsciously
so you're not thinking about in and out and exhale and inhale but i invite you to go ahead get into
a comfortable seated position so be ready to practice this with me lamaze breathing
is where we are going to focus our thinking on our breath we are going to be thinking about
breathing we're going to take that nice slow deep breath in a small pause and then we're get
going to give a nice slow exhale now i recommend breathing into your nose and out through your
mouth but that's not the only way you can do it you know sometimes at the end of the pregnancy
you might be feeling like congestion or might be even experiencing pregnancy sinusitis
which makes it difficult to breathe um through your nose so whatever is comfortable for you and
you should really go with that so the other thing that you probably noticed is that i did have my
eyes closed part of the time again this is something that's totally left up to you depending
upon your comfort level here when you're in labor you might want to reduce the stimulus around you
by closing your eyes allowing for that easier focus on your breath and then the final thing
you saw me do was use my hands to signal an inhale and an exhale now this is my number one
tip for partners using this type of non-verbal communication is excellent in labor so i highly
recommend that you share this video with your partner so you'll be on the same page for this
technique and when supporting your partner can do these motions as they breathe alongside you and
it's just an excellent way um to work as a team now let's practice let's do three breaths together
if your pace is different from mine totally okay lamaze breathing is not a prescriptive
set length of in and out it's really just the focusing on the breath so whatever is working
for you is going to work for labor okay let's do three breaths together
now if that seems really doable why not hit the like button let me know let the
youtube algorithm know that this was a helpful video for you when you master this technique
so i do recommend practicing it the more you practice it the more it's just going to come so
naturally when those contractions come and after you've mastered it not only is this going to be
great for labor birth but this really is going to be a life skill this is something
that you can use in times of stress anxiety if you have any fearful moments i actually have a
fear of bridges i know it's strange living in seattle to have this fear but i do and i use
this technique anytime that i have that fear um pop up when i'm driving over the water so
highly recommended so after you master this technique it is going to be the foundation of all
your coping skills and the next layer that i love is movement and so i recommend checking out this
video that i'm going to put right here it is my top 10 positions for labor and birth movement and
breathing combined together really make a great combination for dealing with what's ahead of you
at labor and birth i respond to all my comments so drop one below and i'll see you next time