Different birth positions explained

The theory is that women who use upright birth positions (walking, sitting, standing or kneeling) during labour may shorten their delivery time by as much as an hour. Lynn Goodman, spokesperson for British Doulas, says that staying upright and moving the hips helps ease the baby’s head towards the birth canal.

Sounds logical to me.

That said; each birth experience is different and women should be encouraged to do what is most comfortable for them. There are a number of birth positions that can be adopted:

1. The Slow Dance – exactly as the name suggests (think high school disco): stand facing your birth partner, put your arms around his shoulders and neck, resting your head on his chest. He’ll support you by placing his arms around you and clasping his hands behind your back. Best at the ‘active stage’ (initial stage).

2. The Crab – (I laughed out loud when I read this birth position!) Kneel down on all fours, keeping your legs open. Use a birthing ball or lean on a chair for extra support. Best at the ‘transitional stage’.

3. The Rock ‘n’ Roll – Sit on a birthing ball with your feet a comfortable distance apart and flat on the floor. Placing your hands on your knees will offer extra support. Best at the ‘transitional stage’.

4. The Lap Dance – With your birth partner sitting on a chair, rest your head on his lap whilst kneeling on cushions with your legs open. Best at the ‘transitional stage’.

5. The Frog – The most common delivery birth position: sit on the bed with your back against the bedhead, bringing your knees up. Best for delivery.

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Women can now choose to have C-section birth

Big news, ladies! BIG news. Mums-to-be will be given the right to have their babies by caesarean section – even if there is no medical need.

Wow! Talk about controversial.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) says that caesareans have become so safe that every woman should be able to choose to have C-section birth.

But can the NHS afford this?

The Daily Mail reports that C-sections cost around £800 more than natural birth. Caesareans, increasing in popularity, account for just under a quarter of all deliveries.

Economists have calculated that reducing uptake by one percentage point could save the NHS £5.6million a year.

It’s likely that many women will be championing the fact that mums-to-be will be given the option to make an informed choice in terms of which birth procedure best suits them. But should the NHS fork out the extra cost per demand?

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When to tell work you are pregnant

The politics of pregnancy can sometimes be tricky.

Although childbirth should be a happy and exciting experience, sometimes imminent joy can be overshadowed by the stress of managing your pregnancy at work, the first issue being when to tell work you are pregnant.

Babylaw is a niche employment law practice that specialises exclusively in maternity related law.

The agency recognises that on the occasion, pregnancy elicits unwanted discriminatory treatment in the workplace, which can lead to emotional distress, pressures on personal relationships, financial hardship and health problems.

Joanna Robson is the principle employment law solicitor and founder of Babylaw and in answer to one of the most commonly asked questions relating to being pregnant at work, namely when to tell work you are pregnant, Joanna says:

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Keep fit during pregnancy with pilates

Pregalates.  Sounds kind of lame, right? All I can say is don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Flabby belly boobs and bottom are a pregnant woman’s worst pregnancy body image fear.  Keep fit during pregnancy with pilates, it can help – and that is exciting news.

Pilates expert Tasha Lawton has recently launched a DVD that explains a unique range of safe pregnancy exercises. Tasha was pregnant herself throughout filming of her Pregalates series, and so she naturally demonstrates which Pilates exercises apply at each stage of pregnancy.

This means the tempo of every 45 minute workout is ideally paced.

It comes as a nice change to have an actually-pregnant woman doing the instructing, as opposed to some Jordanesque hot blonde who we know is going for a visit to the Doctor of Botox-cum-Tummy-Tuck after she has popped her baby out.

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Help labour pains with hypnotherapy

Hypnosis during child birth seems a little weird to me. Seriously. Maybe I am a skeptic but I am not really sure someone would be able to talk anyone out of labour pain.

They say that to be hypnotised, you have to open your mind to it. I guess it’s fair to say that I am pretty closed minded on this issue – like staring at a swinging watch is going to stop pain… sure – although anything that claims to inhibit the agony of labour does deserve some consideration.

When it comes to the idea of hypnosis in birth I can’t help but imagine a ‘Worm Tongue from Lord of the Rings’ type scenario, whereby Mr Hypnotists speaks soothing words into my ear and in so doing,  takes control of my mind in a bid to further some hidden agenda – steal my baby perhaps. Who knows?

Yes… yes… perhaps a tad dramatic and over-imaginative. What can I say? Fantasy is my fiction of choice.

I have since come to learn that hypnotherapy, as a pain management technique, is not the hifalutin mumbo-jumbo that I mistook it for.

Let me introduce you to Natal Hypnotherapy; an affordable, portable, personalised, birth support and therapy toolkit for parents-to-be that provides a comprehensive way to train the mind and body to fully prepare for labour.

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