05/20/2022
Here’s why I don’t use the word contraction - it’s only part of the story. The sensations you feel during labor that allow your baby to pass thru the birth canal, thru your pelvis, and into this world are the muscles of your uterus tightening + releasing.
Hold your fist out, tighten it into a ball, and then release, allowing the muscles of your hand to relax completely - that is a ‘contraction’.
Contracting is only half the story. And, in a way, it’s the easier half because your body contracts on its own - it’s the relaxation half that most of us find it hard to tap into. When in pain our instinct is to tighten up, squeeze, hold our breath and scrunch our face and clench our jaw - but, during labor, it is being asked of us to do the opposite: breathe deeply, relax our face, jaw, and tongue, and bring release to our pelvic muscles thru movement and vibration. To relax thru pain is not instinctual, and something that I encourage all mamas to practice.
Rather than focusing on contracting what else can we call them? Waves, surges, and rushes are words that more accurately describe the push and pull of labor, and encourage mama to ebb and flow with the sensation. To close her eyes, feel the rise, breathe thru the build, sway and moan with the peak, and then gently and lovingly move thru the release.
Although changing the name of the experience will not take the pain of labor away - I do believe it helps put mama in the right frame of mind to navigate each rush (my ‘word’ of choice). And, if you’ve labored before, you know that frame of mind is an essential piece of the puzzle for bringing baby earthside!
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