3 resting positions for labour (and why you need them)

As you’re starting to prepare for labour & birth, you might have heard about the benefits of an ‘active birth’. That to make your labour as effective as possible, you should be as active as possible during labour, using upright positions (UFO), gravity and movement to help your baby engage and progress down the pelvis. And that is true... to a certain extent.

Because what it doesn't mean - and that’s the bit that is often missed or misunderstood - that you have to be active all the time. Or that it is better to be active as much as you can.

Listening to your body's intuition and your need for REST is equally important. Actually, as a birth doula, I’d go as far as to say it’s KEY.

I see at play during birth all the time. Especially so during early labour, when your contractions start. Most people tend to respond by doing ‘the things’ they’ve been told might help encourage more contractions, stronger contractions. Like bouncing on a ball (actually, really NOT helpful!) or going curb walking. Essentially ‘chasing’ labour, rather than let it unfold.

But also later on in the process, once strong contractions have established, in the hope (or fear!) for labour to keep progressing and not lose momentum.

But this approach can actually make labour more difficult than it does help.

That's because:

• Labours can be long journeys (especially the first time around)  for which it is essential to preserve energy to help you ‘go the distance’. Exhaustion is a key derailer of birth, often leading to many interventions that you might have wanted to avoid in the first place.

• Finding rest between surges helps you avoid accumulating tension. This in turns, not only helps you stay as comfortable as you can (which is a big plus) but also helps create more space in your body for your baby’s progress.

• And importantly, resting positions can still work with gravity and create optimum space for your baby to engage/rotate through the pelvis, i.e. work in your favour with minimum effort! Which makes them essential know-how for any labour, but also if you’re planning or thinking about having an epidural, which can hinder your ability to move around, and therefore your baby’s progress.

So here are 3 of my favourite positions for labour that you can use to find rest - for a short or long while - both during early labour and active labour.

These are equally fabulous to adopt in late pregnancy to encourage your baby to move or stay into an optimal position (more on this in this other blog post!), or simply to enjoy a much-needed rest, of course!

1 - Ladder pose

Stand a short distance from a wall (or closed door, or fixed shelves), feet at least hip-width apart, toes turned out.
Fold your forearms on the wall and rest your forehead on your arms, helping you feel unobserved and centred.
Let the wall take as much of your weight as possible. You can let your hips sway side to side, or find stillness.

Doula tip: your doula or partner can swoop their hands down your back from shoulders to buttocks to help you release even more.

2 - Supported child’s pose

From a kneeling position, take the knees as apart as you need to make space for your bump. Rest your chest and arms/head against your birthing ball. This can also be a chair, the edge of the sofa, bed or birthing pool, or your partner’s lap. Like the above, this position still works with gravity, is forward leaning and opens the top of the pelvis, which is optimum during the first stage of labour. This is also a very comfortable position to release lower back pain in pregnancy!

Doula tip: In hot weather / if feeling hot (very common in labour!), you can place a cool towel over your neck, or a little ice pack wrapped in a cloth between the ball and your chest.

3 - Side lying

If labour turns out to be long and you feel the need to be off your legs or sleep, or if opting for an epidural, side lying is a much much much better option than lying on your back (to be avoided if you at all can!). Use a peanut ball to prop your knees open, bringing feet together, to create an optimal opening in the pelvis. If you don’t have a peanut ball like on the picture (a lot of birthing units have them), you can use cushions instead. This is also a great way to rest during early labour, when surges aren’t regular yet, and throughout pregnancy (when lying on the sofa, for example!).

If you’d like to explore more supportive labour and birth positions supported by birth biomechanics, together with MANY other tools, comfort measures, partner support techniques and doula tips to actively support an easier labour, have a look at my Practical Birth Skills workshop for couples, which is available as a group session in person or as a recorded online course.

The workshop is also available as a private session for you and a birth partner, entirely bespoke to your needs, either in-person in your home (London/Surrey only) or online, and redeemable against full birth doula support if you decide on securing further support for your birth. Just get in touch or you can book a free, informal discovery call here, if you would like to learn more.