if you are looking to reduce pain of contractions get out of the hospital bed
hey there guys today i want to let you in on a little secret about the hospital bed
and that is that it can be a real enemy of labor now this probably comes as a surprise
because if you've been on a hospital tour or when you check in to give birth
you'll notice that the hospital bed is featured prominently in our labor and delivery rooms in
the u.s and canada also it's almost like it's the star of the show certainly when we see
pictures and watch movies about birth taking place it usually takes place in a hospital bed
but that's not how it is in all countries in germany and the netherlands sometimes we'll see
the hospital beds pushed up against the wall or maybe they are down the hall and if they're needed
they're brought in hospital bed doesn't have to be a key player in labor and i'd love to share
with you a couple ideas that help you prevent the hospital bed from being an enemy in your labor
now if we haven't met in real life my name is alice turner i am a birth doula i'm a le
mans certified child birth educator and on my channel i like to make videos about birth with
simple tips and information to help you have a positive birth experience and a couple factors
that play into a positive birth experience is when labor progresses and when labor pain is decreased
so hospital beds have a huge impact on both of those the first one we'll tackle is pain
because you know when people think about birth pain is often one of their biggest concerns
this might sound weird and i need you to trust me i have worked with over 300 families in person
during their births and i've seen this time and again and this is that when you are
lying down in a hospital bed or even even kind of sitting up semi-reclined in a hospital bed
and you experience contractions they are often more painful than you would feel them if you were
standing up or sitting on a birth ball or walking around yeah contractions often hurt more when you
are in the hospital bed and you probably noticed this at home too if you were laboring at home
and laying in your own bed and experiencing contractions and then you stand up and have
a contraction you might say oh these aren't as bad anymore i hear this all of the time
so if you are looking to reduce pain of contractions get out of the hospital bed
my number one tip for labor when it comes to the hospital bed is if you can stay out of it stay
out of the bed staying out of the bed has so many benefits first of all reduces pain
but also it promotes movement when you're out of the bed so when you're in the bed you're kind of
back and forth maybe sitting up sitting down that's okay but when you're outside of the bed
you're more likely to move and labor loves movement moving around changing that pelvis
helping the baby move through the pelvis it's all good for helping labor progress and it's good
for reducing pain because often if we can change our position we can help reduce pain so what i
want you to do is when you see that hospital bed think about how can you get out of it guys here's
the thing about the hospital bed is that you're often not told when you're able to get out of it
even though you are usually able to get out of the bed so it's kind of a weird thing with labor
you know you have so many options that you don't know about um and so if you ask your nurse hey can
i get out of the bed they will almost always say yes that is unless you have an epidural or like iv
narcotics or something like that other than that you can get out but here is the thing they don't
usually suggest that you get out so you have to take the power in your own hands and you have to
get out of the enemy leave the enemy behind at least while you are able to and move around
change positions you have to take control of your labor so birthing person supporting person
work together when you see that hospital bed when you walk into your room think to yourself
i'm not going to be trapped in that bed hear my voice go through your head when you see that bed
don't be trapped in the bed i don't know how many times i've heard the story i hated that hospital
bed i wish i could have gotten out and i'll ask the question oh no was something wrong did you
have a medical condition like a blood pressure issue or something that kept you in the bed and
they'll say no no one ever told me i could get out this makes me crazy so you do have the ability to
get out now say you are someone who is looking to get an epidural pretty shortly after you get to
the hospital well epidurals can take about an hour from requesting to getting them sometimes even
more so during that time waiting for an epidural it's a great time to get out of the bed and change
around and move before you will be in the bed for the duration of your labor okay so there are
times when the hospital bed is very helpful if you have an epidural sure very helpful to have
a bed also when you want to do a few different positions that require you to be on your knees
so like on your knees leaning over a birth ball or on your knees leaning over the back of the bed or
on hands and knees that's great to do on the bed so we can use it in that way actually there are
tons of buttons on the bed so test them out when you're not in the bed see what different ways you
can move the bed around you are not being a bad patient to move your own hospital bed and change
the positions of it that is what it's there for use it so be friends with the hospital bed when
you need to but stay out of it if you can so when you're not in the hospital bed one of my favorite
things to do is suggest a birth ball and some easy ways to use the birth ball are in this video here
i really highly suggest that you check that one out next and i'll see you guys next time bye
you