Top 5 Tips for Preparing for Labour

Preparation is often the key to removing some of the stress associated with this time. Here are five suggestions for simple things that you can do in your last trimester to help you prepare for labour.

1. Optimal Foetal Positioning

Try to lie/sleep on your left side to encourage your baby into the Optimal Foetal Position. This means that your baby has its head down in your pelvis and is lying with its spine facing AWAY from your spine, towards the front of your tummy. Seeking to aligning your baby in this way can lead to a shorter labour and more straightforward birth. And during the daytime, banish the sofa! When sitting for long periods, keep your knees below your hips to discourage your baby from turning so that your baby’s back is facing yours. Consider the chair you most often sit in when at work/home or driving and make some simple adjustments to your position e.g. add a firm wedge shape cushion to the seat in your car. Again, this helps to align your baby into the best possible position for delivery.

2. Relax

Practice breathing slowly and deeply to help lower blood pressure and to keep you calm and relaxed. When you are relaxed your body functions at its optimum, with your respiratory and circulatory systems working more efficiently to bring blood and oxygen to all parts of your body and to your baby.

3. Perineal Massage

Massaging the perineum (the area of skin between the vagina and anus) with a vitamin E-based oil helps to soften the perineum and allows you to explore how elastic the skin can be. Don’t forget to breathe while massaging the perineum as being relaxed whilst doing perineal massage can help to make the experience more comfortable!

4. Raspberry Leaf Tea

Drinking Raspberry Leaf tea in your last trimester can help to tone the muscles of the uterus and encourage the uterus to let go and function without tension. Preparing the uterus for labour in this way can help to make labour faster and more efficient. Raspberry leaf tea is readily available from health food shops and herbalists generally recommend drinking 3 cups a day in the last trimester of pregnancy.

5. Birth Plan

Write your birth plan and discuss it with your birth partner. This helps to prepare you both for what to expect in labour and gives you an opportunity to discuss how you would like your birth partner to support you when the time comes. The birth plan is a guide to how you would like your labour to be, but remember, you have every right to change your mind when you are in labour! The best support your birth partner can give you in labour is to listen to you and enable and encourage you towards the birth you want.