READY, SET PUSH

Our secrets to speed up labour, writes Melany Bendix

- Melany Bendix

NO ONE WANTS a long, drawn-out and exhausting labour, but a “cannonball birth” isn’t ideal either. (You know, that’s the kind you see in the movies where it all happens so fast, the woman gives birth en route to the hospital.) Aside from the back seat of a car just not being comfortable, it’s not an ideal or safe place for you or baby.

“If it’s too fast, there’s a greater possibility of tearing, and it can be stressful for the baby,” says Gayle Friedman, Cape Town based doula and chairperson of the South African doula association Women Offering Mothers Birth Support (WOMBS).

An extremely fast-moving labour is also difficult to cope with psychologically, adds Angela Wakeford, an independently practising midwife based in Cape Town. “It makes it very intense and difficult for you to get your mental coping strategies in place, so you can feel out of control and fearful.”

What you want is that happy medium between a super-fast and agonisingly slow labour. Notwithstanding the fact that every labour is different, and there are often factors beyond your control, there are a few things you can do before and during labour to help you maintain a good, steady pace.

DURING PREGNANCY

REST WELL AND LEARN TO RELAX

Research has shown that getting enough sleep increases your chance of a shorter labour. One study shows that the labours of women who get at least seven hours of shut-eye per night are 17 hours long on average (including the latent phase), which is substantially shorter than the average of 29 hours for women who sleep fewer than six hours per night. “Rest is essential,” explains Gayle, “because if your central nervous system is calm and relaxed, your body will perform better during labour.”