1. Hire professional labour assistance for emotional and technical support during labour, childbirth and later on for breastfeeding and newborn care assistance for the support of you and your partner. The midwifery model of care and/or the non-medical support of a doula can provide natural techniques to help reduce the pain of labour and delivery without using drugs and chemicals. You need to create a team to support both you and your partner to create a positive birth experience. Will your primary caregiver be a physician, surgeon or midwife? Do you want to have a hospital birth, use a birth center, or experience a quiet birth at home? A doula can be hired to work in any setting with your physician or midwife. A midwife is a primary caregiver and is able to work in any setting of your choice.
 

2. Your partner or anyone you love can help to reduce your pain naturally just by being with you during labor and delivery. Think about having a waterbirth in combination with hypnobirthing and a highly supportive and present health team to further reduce pain during labor. Some mothers are experiencing pain-free births using these techniques as planning a drug-free birth allows the mother’s natural pain relieving hormones of adrenaline and dopamine to be released constantly throughout the labor easing the sensation of pain naturally. These mothers also experience high levels of prolactin, the hormone of love. 
 

3. Allow your labor to begin naturally, without drugs or interference for a safe and gentle labor. First-time mothers often need up to 42 weeks and sometimes longer for their first baby to be completely developed. Waiting until both your baby and body is ready for birth will give you a better result.  The time is different for every mother and baby, your body will let you know. You will most likely have your baby ten days after the estimated due date if you are a first-time mother. Starting labor artificially with induction drugs will most likely cause your labor to become more prolonged and painful, can be twice as painful and an induced labor can lead to a cascade of unwanted medical interventions for you and your baby from which there is no turning back.
 

4. When your labor begins spontaneously, it will most likely feel like the beginning of your period. If you believe that your labor has started too soon, immediately drink two glasses of water and then lay down on your left side for twenty minutes to see if your contractions subside. This can help to prevent premature labor and help you to determine if this is a false labor or the real event.  There is no need to rush at this stage, there will be plenty of time before the baby is born.
 

5. At the beginning of labor, eat a high protein meal and continue to eat high protein snacks and drink fluids during labor and childbirth to keep your strength up, help prevent dehydration and to help reduce labor pain naturally. 
 

6. To reduce pain during labor stay active by standing, leaning, squatting, or walking to make your labor easier and safer. By changing your position, every twenty minutes, you will be using movement and gravity to assist your baby to turn and rotate into a good position for a safe and gentle delivery. Constantly changing your position during labor will also help to reduce labor pain naturally and shorten the length of your labor. 

 

7. Empty your bladder every hour to assist your baby’s descent.
 

8. Using the tub or shower frequently during labor will help to reduce pain naturally. A waterbirth can provide tremendous benefits for the mother and baby during labor and delivery by reducing pain, comforting the mother, and easing delivery.
 

9. In the final stages of birth a slow-controlled delivery in a squatting, hands and knees or supported standing position can help to increase the opening of the birth outlet helping to avoid tears or episiotomy. A slow, controlled delivery will create an easier and safer birth for both you and your baby. Upright positioning during childbirth will help release the natural fetal ejection urge that occurs in a squatting, hands and knees or supported standing position. There is no need to push the baby out if you are in one of these positions. Your body will automatically push the baby out on its own if you are in an upright position for birth. A few pushes will be all that is needed. Do not lie on your back when you feel the urge to push. Always use gravity, motion and activity to help deliver your baby safely and gently.
 

10. Breastfeed your baby within moments of birth to take advantage of your baby’s instinctual urge to breastfeed, which is the strongest the first hours after childbirth. In an unmedicated birth, your baby will be ready, willing and able to breastfeed within moments of birth. If you use drugs during childbirth you may have difficulty in breastfeeding your baby as some of the drugs remain for many days, leaving your baby to prefer sleep to food for the first three days. A drug-free birth will give you the best results for breastfeeding. Keep your newborn at your side to help further release your natural parenting hormones and to assist with the breastfeeding, bonding and attachment with your new baby. Close contact of your partner and baby at this time will help to fully release the natural parenting hormones of both partners. Your partner needs to be physically close to your baby for the first three days at a minimum as your baby is bonding with your partner as well. Your partner bonds with the baby by holding the baby, talking to the baby, and assisting with for the myriad of a newborn’s needs.

Copyright 2008 by National Bestselling Author, Gail J. Dahl “Pregnancy & Childbirth Secrets”. The information contained in or provided through this publication is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be, and is not provided as, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your midwife, physician, nurse or other qualified health care provider before you undergo any treatment or for answers to any questions you may have regarding any medical condition.