Breathing Techniques

Teresa explains the cleansing breath on page 43 of her book:

To practice this technique, simply get into a comfortable position sitting, standing, or lying down, and just let your body relax.  With your mouth closed, slowly draw in a deep breath through your nose.  As you inhale, you should actually force your belly to expand outward so that the air is forced down into the lower lobes of your lungs first, thus allowing the overspill of air to fill the upper lobes of your lungs completely.  After you have inhaled all the way, open your mouth and exhale by blowing the air out of your mouth as if you were blowing out candles.  

Recommended Practice

Practice this two or three times daily.  This technique is beneficial for anyone, as it allows more oxygen to be absorbed by your body and also eliminates toxins such as carbon dioxide.  Eventually you will do it throughout the day without even thinking about it.

So, go ahead, relax and take a breath!

Teresa explains relaxation breathing on page 44 of her book:

To begin, first take a cleansing breath.

Relaxation Breathing Technique: As you begin to inhale your next breath, focus on breathing in slowly through your nose, again being sure that your belly is expanding outward before your chest does to ensure that you are using the full capacity of your lungs.  When you have inhaled to your full lung capacity, pause for a few seconds before beginning to exhale.  As you exhale, this time you will keep your mouth closed and imagine that you are directing your breath down inside towards your belly.  Your chest should deflate (or cave in) before your belly does.  In order to empty your lungs completely, you must empty the upper lobes of your lungs first so that the lower lungs can then empty the rest of the air.  Imagine that you are directing your breath down towards your baby.

She goes on to say that one way to do this is to “inhale to the count of six, pause and hold your breath for a count of 6 and then exhale to the count of 8.”

I found that listing out her steps was helpful for me to remember relaxation breathing:

1  First, inhale to the count of 6.

2  Then pause and hold your breath for a count of 6.

3  Finally, exhale to the count of 8.

Recommended Practice

Doing this for 5 minutes each day would be beneficial for anyone.  Make it a part of your daily routine, either in the morning or evening.  Incorporate it into a “relaxing routine” in which you spend time stretching, squatting, spending time on your hands & knees, doing Kegel exercises, visualizing the birth, and praying/meditating.  Play relaxing music during this time.

So, go ahead, relax and take a few breaths!

In order to understand how important proper labor breathing is, it’s first good to understand a little bit more of the physiology going on behind a labor contraction.  The middle layer of the uterus, the myometrium, has three layers of muscle fiber: inner, outer, and the middle layer.

Here’s a neat picture of the uterus itself (check it out; it’s 3-D! and rotates!).

Teresa describes what happens with the inner and outer layers of muscle of the uterus during a contraction.  Again I am going to just quote her so I don’t have to reinvent the wheel here.  She uses the term “pulsation” instead of the more well-known term, contraction.

For many people, the term contraction suggests a “one way” or perhaps even a quick “constrictive” type of event which is not at all what is happening.  The muscle interaction during pulsation is a two-way process such that the vertical muscles shorten or “draw up” while the horizontal muscles relax open (pulsing upward) and then the vertical muscles relax again (pulsing down) to allow a rest period before beginning the next pulsation (pages 16-17).

The point that I want you to get out of this is that the layers of the uterus are working together to help labor progress.  Fear and tension will get in the way of this muscle interaction so that is why it is so important to stay relaxed.

Now, on to the Labor Breathing technique (page 46):

As you inhale through your nose and with your mouth closed, inhale as slowly as you can until you can no longer comfortably take in any more air.  Your belly must expand before your chest does just like the two previous breathing techniques.  As soon as you have inhaled all that you can, immediately exhale with your mouth closed, but again as slowly as you possibly can.  There is a technique taught to me by a yoga instructor that you can use to help slow down your exhalation.

Imagine that you are holding a pair of eye glasses in your hands and your intent is to clean them by exhaling your warm breath on the lens surface before wiping them clean.  In other words, to exhale your warm breath on the glass, you would haaaah, haaaaah, your breath on the lens before wiping them clean. The exhale in this technique will be the same type of haaaaaah motion with your breath but with your mouth closed.  Exhaling in this manner will create a consistent sound in the back of your throat for as long as you are exhaling.  The louder the sound produced, the slower you will be able to exhale.  Your goal is to practice inhaling and exhaling more slowly each time.

Recommended Practice

Practice this technique whenever you have a Braxton Hicks contraction.  If you are not having Braxton Hicks contractions, find a quiet time to relax and stretch each day and practice breathing.  When I went into labor with my third, I used this technique with every single contraction that I had.  It had become a habit for me so that I didn’t even have to think about it.  I could not tell you when the “practice” contractions turned into “real” ones.  In fact, the contractions seemed “far apart” and I never thought to time them, not realizing how far along I was.  This breathing technique really works and I highly recommend practicing this breathing for labor.

I believe the reason my contractions never got overwhelming or “hard and fast” like I remember in previous birth experiences is that the labor breathing maximized the efficiency of each contraction.  They didn’t need to come as often because being relaxed allowed each one to do its job effectively.

May God give you His perfect shalom as you breathe down your baby.

Pushing your baby out is the worst/best thing ever!  I remember it being the most painful and then it was suddenly over and there was a baby to hold!  I wish someone had told me that pushing a baby out feels a bit weird, actually like you are pooping!  This may gross some people out, but think about it, the baby has at that point started its descent into the birth canal and his head is pushing directly against the rectum.  I found this phase of labor very hard to deal with the first time; we are so accustomed to “holding it in” until we are in the bathroom (alone).  It was embarrassing to think that I might poop in front of the midwife & nurse (in fact, I did a little!), so I tensed up and tried to hold it in, not realizing that I was working against myself and causing more pain.  Quick review if you need it: The Stages of Labor

Here is the 4^th breathing technique, Birth Breathing, found on pages 73-74 of Teresa’s Birthing As Nature Intended (B.A.N.I.):

As with the previous breathing techniques, you will want to be in your position of choice and start with a big cleansing breath remembering that the baby will be benefitting from every bit of oxygen that you take in.  After you exhale, unlike the other techniques, as you take in your next breath through your nose, you will inhale quickly and deeply taking in as much oxygen as you can.  As you start your exhale, the technique is similar to the labor breathing exhale with a slight variation.  As you exhale slowly with your mouth closed, (still making that muffled haaaaaaa sound in your throat), you will refocus your breath down to your rectum and gently breath [sic] down into your rectum as though you were having the easiest bowel movement of your life and merely assisting the descent with your focused breath making sure that your rectal muscles remain relaxed open.

If you are doing this technique properly, it will feel almost sensual.  When you have exhaled completely, you will take in another quick, deep breath and again exhale slowly in the same manner just described.  The more slowly you exhale, the more focused you become on breathing down your baby through an open, relaxed path.  As you begin to bring your baby down, you may need to repeat three or four breaths through each pulsation.  As you follow your natural birthing instincts, you may start nudging with more concerted effort.  You may even choose to hold your breath while your bear down with the surge.  The main point to remember is that you can breathe or bear down with as much pressure as feels right to you as long as you keep the rectal and vaginal muscles relaxed at all times.

Recommended Practice

This may sound strange, but practice this technique every time you have a bowel movement.  I found it helpful to put a stool under my feet since we have one of those taller types of toilets.  (BTW, the stool was key for me being able to empty my bladder completely when I was in the last month of pregnancy!  Try it!)

(**This technique is also very helpful for anyone who may be constipated or dealing with hemorrhoids.  Also use for the First Poop after your birth.)

Breathe your baby down, and remember to stay relaxed!  I hope this series of posts was helpful.  Let me know what you think!