Lamaze Exercises For A Painless Childbirth
The Lamaze exercises derive from a philosophy that emerged in the 1950s that had the purpose of preparing the mother for childbirth through breathing. Their main goal is to prepare the mother to give birth without pain. These exercises are also known as the psychoprophylactic method or simply psychoprophylaxis.
The technique owes its name to the French obstetrician Ferdinand Lamaze, who stated that childbirth is a normal and natural physiological process that can be approached without fear and with confidence.
Therefore, Lamaze exercises are intended to teach women to control breathing during the different stages of childbirth through tactile stimuli (such as massage) and visual and auditory stimuli that help eliminate stress and reduce the perception of pain caused by contractions. .
It is necessary for women to practice these exercises during pregnancy. In this way, they will have a good preparation to face the birth. Since the child’s father or a close relative may be present during the exercises, the woman can have psychological support which will be essential to develop her confidence.
Although Lamaze exercises aim to ensure a conscious and painless delivery, they do not rule out the use of epidural anesthesia. To summarize, Lamaze exercises aim to:
- Manage pain correctly.
- Help reduce the fear of childbirth.
- Reduce any difficulties that may arise.
- Helping women stay in control of their body and mental health.
Breathing techniques of Lamaze exercises
Clean breathing
It consists of deep, slow breathing through the nose and then a slow exhalation through the mouth. This type of breathing is indicated at the beginning and end of each contraction.
Slow breathing
It consists of carrying out normal breathing, but much slower, like when sleeping. It is not about taking deep breaths that fill the lungs and increase the volume of the chest and abdomen, but rather something more superficial that lifts the chest slightly without exerting too much effort.
Sigh breathing
This is also a type of shallow and slow breathing. Start with clean breathing. Then you inhale through your nose and, when you exhale, let the air out through your mouth. To learn how to do this type of breathing, it is recommended that you hold a piece of paper or a lighted candle a few inches from your face. Next, gently inhale and exhale until the candle flame or piece of paper moves.
Modeled breathing
To understand how it must be done, mothers are asked to say “jee, jee” when they inhale and “joo” when they exhale. They will then be asked to maintain a comfortable breathing rhythm: inhale for 5 seconds and then exhale for another 5, take two short breaths and then take a deep breath. The shoulders should be relaxed and the focus should be on sound and breathing and not on pain.
Lamaze exercises: is it possible to have a natural birth without pain?
Today there is a lot of talk about painless births, however some experts make it clear that these types of births do not exist as such, but that there are several ways to manage pain at delivery.
As Nené Molina, who teaches prenatal yoga, explains to us, “the pain will be there, it will not disappear, but you can learn to manage it with breathing and relaxation. The Lamaze technique and prenatal yoga contribute to the practice of breathing which in turn will help you manage the pain threshold. The perception of pain will be lower than before ”.
María Eugenia Ríos, instructor of the Lamaze technique, argues that mothers need to be aware that all women in the world are born with the ability to give birth to a child.
“For the preparation for childbirth, there are theoretical lessons in which women are taught what a labor is and what its stages are. During the meetings, the theory of the Lamaze technique is explained to the future mother and her family. Later, there will be practical lessons in which breathing, the positions to be assumed and the different massages to be performed at birth will be taught ”.
The Lamaze technique tries to teach women to be aware of their own body at the time of delivery so that breathing is in sync with the contractions. In this way, both the baby and the mother will benefit from the moment of birth.
