Hyp Mama: Lessons 4 & 5 - Push it to the Limit!

Many of you have seen these posts and expressed interest in finding out more about Hypnobirthing. You can find all the posts I've written about it here:

My Discovery of Hypnobirthing: 

Hypno-What?!

The Hypnobabies Lessons I've blogged through:

Hyp-Mama: Zero Day 

Hyp-Mama: Lesson 1 - The Power of Words

Hyp-Mama: Lesson 2 - Out Like a Light!

Hyp-Mama: Lesson 3 - Blissfully Numb

Hyp-Mama: Lessons 4&5 - Push it to the Limit

Hyp-Mama: The Grand Finale - Ethan's Birth Story! 

And also be sure visit the Hypnobabies website, www.hypnobabies.com, for more great information. (Some of the Hypnobabies links embedded in my posts may be outdated since Hypnobabies has updated their website). If you have any questions or want more details, please feel free to send me a message and ask away!

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So in the interest of time and the fact that my newest hypno-baby is almost 12 weeks old already, I've decided to combine the concepts for the last two lessons and just blog about it already. And hopefully get to blogging about the real deal before the little man isn't so little anymore.

Hypnobabies Lessons 4 and 5 focus mainly on educating a woman about the actual birthing process: what the different birthing stages look like, what's happening in a woman's body during each stage, and what's going on with the baby during each stage. These chapters also define different intervention tactics used in many hospitals and birthing centers that may be recommended to 'speed up' the process or that could be used in case of an emergency. Unless there is a valid emergency, most of these techniques are completely unnecessary and can actually add stress, time, and pain to the birthing process. Some even increase the chances of the baby going in to fetal distress. These chapters offer many helpful suggestions for avoiding this, and explain many practical techniques that help labor progress properly and naturally without having to resort to interventions; many suggestions are also given for turning a breech or posterior baby prior to or during the birthing time to ensure the baby is in the most optimal position for a smooth entrance, so to speak.



All of these things are extremely helpful and important, but the biggest focus of these two chapters is a technique called "mother-directed" pushing or "exhale" pushing. This type of pushing seeks to avoid the so-called "purple pushing" where a woman holds her breath and usually strains the most while bearing down. Like the other unnecessary techniques, providers often encourage "purple pushing" which actually works against the natural powerful birthing waves (aka contractions) that occur during this stage and unintentionally prolong the process. Purple pushing can also cause more damage to a woman's body, add more stress and pain, and even lead to fetal distress if the baby is in the birth canal for too long. Exhale pushing techniques allow the woman to trust her body's incredibly powerful built-in pressure waves that naturally take over during this stage--no additional techniques required. Which means no nurses yelling and counting to ten, no holding your breath and pushing with all your might, no straining so much you burst blood vessels in your eyes and face. (Not comfortable--or attractive!).

It's a long way from point A to Baby...so let's speed
the process with a little exhale pushing, shall we?

The concept, like so many others in the program, is very simple: a woman's body naturally adjusts the type of birthing waves during the second stage of birthing so that the two sets of opposing muscles in the uterus begin to push the baby down through the birth canal as opposed to pulling up and out to dilate the cervix. This is why a woman begins to feel 'pushy,' and these type of birthing waves are usually so powerful that it does not take much additional pushing or effort on the woman's part to get the baby out. In fact, when she is directed by others to push for any amount of time not coinciding with the wave, or hold her breath which deprives the birthing muscles of essential oxygen, it disrupts the progress of the baby's decent and can add time more time for the mother to push the baby out. Like I said, this is both exhausting for the mother and could be more dangerous for the baby if he or she spends an extended period of time in the birth canal.

Instead, the mother should breath in and out as needed and open her mouth and say "Ahhh" as long (and loudly!) as she requires when pushing. While it may sound simple and a bit silly, opening the mouth and vocalizing while breathing out directly affects the pelvic floor muscles, allowing them to relax and open properly instead of tighten. And believe it or not, Hypnobabies asserts that you can actually try this at home, folks! Kinda gross, I know. And not recommended if you have company around. But trust me, it works. Moving along now...

While there are many schools of thought on which type of pushing is actually best, in my personal experience it's usually a combination of these types of techniques that naturally tend to take place during the real deal.  Still, I think the Hypnobabies suggestions are spot-on as far as preparing a woman to work with her body in minimizing tension instead of creating more. In my humble opinion, remaining in the mindset that will keep the process more inherently peaceful and calm is always better than one that lends itself to higher stress. So it is with exhale pushing...more control, less stress, and fewer delays before you have that beautiful bundle in your arms!