Confused about Hypnobirthing Breathing for Labor?
It’s one of the top worries parents have as the due date gets closer - concerns about how to breathe properly and doing it ‘right’. And there’s there’s no shortage of YouTube experts sharing their ‘technique’ as the most effective (and how do you define effective?). There’s a playlist of different breathing techniques in the GentleBirth app so you can find what works best for you. Check out the module on breathing in our Masterclass (free to GentleBirth App subscribers).
Why are breathing techniques so important to practice during pregnancy?
The more you practice slow focused breathing during ordinary everyday stressful encounters the more easily it will come to you in labor. We are using the breath to consciously override the stress response to increase oxytocin, comfort and feelings of control.
In the photo below in this ice bath exercise, I am intentionally triggering the fight/flight response in the brain to train myself to override it and use my mantra of ‘I can do anything for a minute’ to focus. (I was in for almost 2 minutes).
We tend to have plenty of 'mini’ stressors throughout the day so no need to go sitting in an ice bath, we don’t want to intentionally trigger frequent stress responses in pregnancy.
Almost at 2 minutes using my breath and mantra to turn off the stress response.
When did breathing in labor get so complicated?
How many of these have you come across?
Lamaze
Hypnobirthing J Breathing
Candle breath
Golden thread
Counting breaths
Nadi Shodhana
I’d like to introduce you to an approach to breathing in labor that you can easily practice today that is shown to reduce pain, reduce depression, reduce blood pressure, improves your mood and usually takes VERY little practice - unless you’re a mouth breather (more on this later). Basically it’s more effective than all of the breathing techniques listed above - combined. One of the most important aspects of this is that this technique also increases nitric oxide (generated in your nasal tissues) which is your first line of defense against airborne bacteria (it’s currently being studied as a potential treatment for patients with Covid-19).
Mouth breathing triggers the fight or flight response so if you’re used to breathing through your mouth now is the time to change that habit so you can take long slow breaths in labor.
We also lose more water from the body when we mouth breathe so you’ll stay hydrated longer if focus on nose breathing.
In the same way your body knows how to grow your baby far better than your conscious mind every could (imagine having to take ‘fetus growing’ classes!) your body knows how to breathe quite effectively on it’s own without our conscious input. But we get tripped up, not so much from the physical work of labor but our thoughts and emotions about what’s happening in labor. What you’re thinking about during that surge can settle your mind and body or amp it up into fear and anxiety. It all comes down to focus and letting thoughts and emotions come and go without us having to react to every single thought. This is the practice of meditative breathing and you can start right now and take your meditation practice no further than that.
If you suffer from congestion during pregnancy and find it hard to breathe through your nose scroll to the end of this article for tips on how to reduce congestion.
The Effects of Relaxed Focused Nasal Breathing
There’s many physiological and psychological benefits to slower, deliberate, breathing through your nose.
The parasympathetic response (relaxation response) is triggered which reduces stress and anxiety and pain (around a 20% reduction).
For even more pain reduction hold your right nostril closed. Take several slow inhales through the left nostril. Research shows that LNB (left nostril breathing) is linked with reducing the stress response seen in a decrease in blood glucose levels, decreased systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure. This is a simple way to increase your pain threshold and reduce pain sensitivity.
Air is filtered and warmed by the nasal passages so bacteria are reduced.
Reduces blood pressure (for white coat & hypertension with only 10 minutes practice each day over 8 weeks)
Your body receives lots of oxygenated blood for more energy, endurance and stamina in labor.
Your baby receives more oxygenated blood.
Your brain receives more oxygenated blood so you can think more clearly and feel more in control.
Protective of adequate hydration of the body.
All amazing benefits of just slowing down your breathing…but add the GentleBirth approach and the benefits are even more impressive.
Meditative Breathing
Meditative breathing reduces pain significantly with a two pronged approach - you get the effects of relaxation and the deactivation of two specific pain circuits in the brain – the PAG and Thalamus. When we reduce the activity of these two parts of the brain the ‘volume’ of pain perception drops significantly.
In a study of brand new meditators who practiced for only 20 minutes each day over 3 days the meditative breathing group showed an incredible 88% drop in negative mood compared to a 32% drop in participants who were told they were they were practicing meditative breathing.
Interestingly one of the benefits with meditative breathing was also reduced confusion (definitely helpful for pregnancy brain).
Let’s Give it a Try
1. Sit upright in a chair, and if it feels good to do so you can close your eyes or keep them open soften your gaze by looking downward.
2. Pay attention to the inhale and exhale of your breathing. Breathe in and out of your mouth. (I find it easier to keep my attention on my nostrils as I feel the cool air coming in and the warmer air going out).
3. Each time you are distracted with a thought, sensation or feeling simply return to the feeling of the breath in your body.
4. Repeat for 1 minute (when you’ve gotten the hang of it try 2 minutes, 3 minutes etc). Practice with the Slow Breathing in the GentleBirth App.
In a Nutshell
It’s as easy as breathe in, breathe out…..notice your mind has left the building and is now in the supermarket, or it’s replaying that awful meeting with your manager etc……calmly and kindly retrieve said mind from supermarket without any self criticism and go back to feeling the breath in your body again. In labor our minds can go to strange places - places that usually aren’t conducive to a positive birth but when you keep adjusting your spotlight of focus and not getting caught up in the drama of your thoughts you can reduce adrenaline.
It’s REALLY important that when you notice your mind has wandered off that you GENTLY and KINDLY bring your focus back to the breath. When we criticize ourselves (I’m such an idiot…) your brain can’t tell the difference between you mentally berating yourself or a total stranger shouting at you on the street (scary eh?) So even with all of that slow comfortable relaxing breathing if you don’t have a kind mind towards yourself you’re triggering the fight and flight response unnecessarily just by where your mind has wandered to.
It’s that simple! Think Kind Mind and you can’t go wrong.
You can also do this at work, standing in the supermarket or sitting at a traffic light to fit in some extra calming practice on a busy day.
You have so many opportunities to practice every day of your pregnancy - start right now!
If you’re feeling particularly anxious or overwhelmed another simple breathing technique to practice is Bee Breath. Basically you hum as you exhale which creates a vibration in the body and generates significantly more nitric oxide in the nose. Hum a tune if it helps! Try it in the app today.
Meditative breathing is so helpful for pregnancy insomnia too as oftentimes the wandering mind is what keeps us up at night during pregnancy triggering anxious thoughts.
Did you find all of the different advice on breathing confusing or helpful?
Breathe Easy - Clear A Blocked Nose Naturally
Comfortable nasal breathing is a sign of a healthy breathing pattern. A blocked nose is one of the most common symptoms of dysfunctional breathing. Mouth breathing is a slippery slope and what may start as a symptom of seasonal allergies or a cold can quickly develop into a permanent situation. When mouth breathing is the norm the nasal passages tend to block: a case of use it or lose it.
There are three main contributors to nasal congestion:
Inflammation
Mucus
Constriction of smooth muscle lining the nasal passages
Clearing Congestion
The following exercise helps soothe nasal mucosa and relax smooth muscle lining the nasal passages and can bring temporary relief from nasal congestion. Try to maintain nasal breathing after doing the exercise.
Sit on a straight backed chair with an upright posture, shoulders relaxed. Close your mouth if possible and try to breathe gently through your nose during and after the exercise (breathe through pursed lips if your nose is completely blocked).
Breathe in for two seconds and out for three seconds.
Hold your breath pinching the nostrils lightly between thumb and forefinger.
Hold on the out breath for as long as is comfortable and then release your fingers and resume very gentle breathing.
This exercise should help clear the airways to permit nasal breathing for a short period. In stubborn cases or when the blockage is due to a cold, you may have to repeat the exercise a few times.
This exercise is only a quick fix. However, even temporary clearing of the nasal passages indicates that it should be possible to restore comfortable nasal breathing once you have achieved a functional breathing pattern. (You may also find rinsing with a Neti pot helpful).
Bartley J. 2005 Nasal congestion and hyperventilation syndrome. Am J Rhinol.
Additional Resources:
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/20ad/817477efb72b8bbdbbbb9ef3a261f22ce669.pdf
Grossman E, Grossman A, Schein M, et al. Breathing-control lowers blood pressure. J Hum Hypertension 2001;15:263– 269
Grossman P, Niemann L, Schmidt S, Walach H. Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. J Psychosom Res 2004;57:35–43