Advice needed for pregnant daughter

[Mrs H]

First of all big Congratulations!! You must be so excited! Ill be 30 in December and hav 3 kiddies, Finn is 4, Valentina was 2 last wk and Madison is 10mths.
What u r saying is so important, I was only offered antenatal classes with Finley and they didn't talk about breathing at all actually they talked more about caring for the baby instead of how to get it out!! I'm not ashamed to admit that I didn't cope well at all with Finns labour as I was so scared. I had a fantastic midwife during the birth of Valentina who taught me how to breath while I was in labour and it was a much more enjoyable experience. Madison arrived in 40 minutes so I didn't hav time to think about it!!!
The Green Parent magazine is fantastic and fully promotes natural births.
The NCT might have videos on there website might be worth a look.
You could teach her!!! Good luck to her, I'm sure she will do just fine, don't forget to let us know how it all goes.
You are a breath of fresh air, I wish my mum had cared about my labours, your daughter is very lucky to have such a caring mum. Xx

[Green Aura]

Is Newtown too far away? There are NCT classes there and also Aber.

[Mrs H]

Just found a website for u to have a gander at! www.birthingpositively.co.uk

[citizentwiglet]

I missed my 10 minute class on breathing!

All I would say is RELAX, and trust your body. Breathe however feels right, not what someone at a class might 'tell' you is right (except at the crucial moments!). Breathing comes differently dependent on your position at the time, things like that - if at all possible, I found it much, much easier when I was leaning across the bed, sort of 'squatting', rather than laying down or sitting up in the bed, both of which constrict the diaphragm. To me, it's not just about breathing - if you are as relaxed as possible, with someone you love and trust to hold your hand and keep you comfortable, secure and happy to let your body and brain relax into the task in hand, then the breathing will just come naturally. If one thing buggers with your breathing, it's stress - it's going to be frightening, and painful for her, so she needs to learn that what she's feeling is natural, and normal, and to listen to what her body is telling her. Of course, if things don't go according to plan, and she needs an epidural or a c-section, then it's really important that she also knows that she hasn't 'failed' in any way......the key, I think, is a full - emotional - understanding of what is going to be like, and that she feels secure and comfortable enough in the environment she's in that she can listen to her body.

Congratulations to your daughter, and to you. What a wonderfully exciting time. Lots of love to you all xxxxx

[homegrown]

I'll ask my wife if they know of some good internet sites as she is the president of our local plunket and let you know

[vicki]

Just to offer a different side to the coin, my baby is 6 months old and I didn't go to any classes because I didn't want to know! When the contractions started I spent the first 26 hours at home then went into hospital for the last 3 hours and just followed what the midwife told me to do with just a bit of gas and air during the last hour for pain relief!

I don't think it was any more painful or any more scary doing it this way so being unprepared doesn't have to be a bad thing

Congratulations on becoming a granny! My parents love it and I can't get rid of them

[welshmum]

congratulations.
I gave birth to my 4th child 11 weeks ago at home and without pain relief (the gas canister they bought was empty). If your daughter wants to try a more holistic birthing experience she could try hypnobirthing. There are many really good websites out there that will explain it better than I can. I looked into it but It wasnt for me personally.

Here in south wales, my community mw team are very home birth. the only advice I can give is that your daughter should be as relaxed as possible. For me knowing that was why i decided that my baby would be born at home where I could be 'me' and relax. My baby was diagnosed with a severe cleft palate and lip antenatally. So there were concerns relating to his health and the possible need for resuscitation at birth. I was determined that my baby would have a natural arrival without the unecessary interference that would definitely have come with a hospitalised birth. His birth was best of the 4 and I accredit this to how relaxed I was.

[welshmum]

thanks and I am sure that your daughter will be fine. The one thing I tried to was think of only the contraction I was having and not worrying about the next one.

[Bikil]

I did hypnobirth here in the states. I think one of the big reasons there are so many different kind of breathing techniques is that they are trying to get your brain busy and focus on something besides the contractions and just let your body do what it knows how to do. I LOVED doing hypnobirth for the most part. I felt so calm and in tune with my body for the first bit. I had a bit of a speed up for the last part of labour so it was stressful and more painful, but it was good overall and I didn't use any pain aids. I think what will help your daughter the most is to practice now as much as possible with the breathing so it is almost second nature when she's in labour. It really helped me. The kind of hypnobirth I did was basically self-meditation. I used an iPod to help me loaded with my husband's voice and another person's voice going through the meditation routines. I used this while my husband drove to the hospital. I think he was far more freaked out than I was! Anyway, congrts to you and your daughter and I hope it all goes well!