Labouring at home can be the best thing to do for an undisturbed natural birth outcome. How to labour at home? Many women like to know the answer to that.Hiring a Doula is the best way to labour at home most effectively.Some women prefer to labour at home to keep their labour smooth,short and straightforward.
Oxytocin: This hormone flows better in the comfort of your own home, it is at ease there to work its wonders, it was present at conception and it is present at birth.The longer you labour at home, the harder it is to disrupt the flow of oxytocin and the birth process.If you decide to go too early to the hospital, the contractions can actually stop because oxytocin has been disrupted, however, if you wait till the contractions are long and hard and closer together before going to the hospital, labour will not be disrupted and oxytocin will continue to flow profusely, working hard with you to birth your baby. Getting to the hospital when you are almost ready to birth this baby will prevent you from being administered the artificial version of your own hormone, Pitocin used to make contractions stronger and often not manageable because they are not what your body can handle anymore.
Labouring at home as long as possible reduces the need for drugs,therefore an unmedicated birth is more likely. A great gift to give your baby. Labouring at home as long as possible has made you more able to cope and work through the labour, at your own pace, your goal should be to arrive when you are nearing or in transition.
- First tip is to take a Good Childbirth Class, there you should be given pain coping techniques, and the class should give you a good understanding of how labour normally progresses and the options available to you.
- Second tip is to hire a Doula, She has witnessed many types of labour and studied many situations and is an invaluable asset to let you know when it is time to head to the hospital. She is usually by your side and she will let you know when you need to leave for the hospital. A doula is your best guide for this.
- Third tip is to be ready, to go, have what you need already packed and ready, like your phone chargers,wallet,pillows,towels,everything should be in the car already.
- Fourth tip is timing your contractions,how far apart they are, from the start of one to the next start, when they are 3 minutes to 4 minutes is a good time to get going to the hospital, another way of timing contractions is the length of them, in early labour, contractions average 30 seconds. During active labour they increase in length around one minute. During transition they can last as long as 90 seconds. So when your contractions are 3 minutes apart and lasting 60 minutes or more, it is a good time to head over to the hospital. A good rule is this one, when the contractions are 3 minutes apart and they are lasting 1 minute and have been that way for 1 hour 3-1-1 head on over to the hospital. Your doula should be on top of that and by your side to let you know it’s baby time!
- Fifth tip is your mood when your mood changes between contractions,when the mood changes from happy and smiling between contractions, to staying within, with your eyes closed and not speaking to anyone, or irritable and annoyed, then for sure it is time to go to the hospital.
- Sixth tip is noticing movement of mom slowing down between contractions, as it gets more difficult to move around and simply the desire to move around is no longer there, that is a good sign to get to the hospital.
- Seventh tip trust yourself, you simply will get that feeling that it is baby time!
