Get off your back!

You don’t have to take having a baby lying down. Other positions can help reduce pain and shorten labour.

Lying on your back with your feet in stirrups was not the only way to have a baby.

The standard hospital labour-and-delivery position is also not the ideal one. For one thing, when you’re lying on your back, your uterus compresses major blood vessels, potentially depriving the baby of oxygen and making you dizzy or queasy. “Most women feel better when they are not lying on their back during labor,” says certified nurse-midwife Katy Dawley. “Lying on your side, standing, sitting, walking, rocking—anything that keeps you active can help decrease pain and speed up labour.”

When you’re ready to push, squatting can be especially effective. One study found that first-time mothers who squatted while pushing had labours that were an average of 23 minutes shorter than women who laboured semi-reclining. They also required significantly less oxytocin (Pitocin) to stimulate contractions and had fewer “mechanically assisted” deliveries (i.e., forceps or vacuum) and fewer and less severe perineal tears and episiotomies.

Seven soothing labour positions
“Discuss the different positions you think you’d like to try with your doctor beforehand,” says nurse-midwife Katy Dawley. “In the throes of labour, you’re not going to be able to advocate for yourself.” What’s more, foetal heart monitoring can help determine which positions you can sustain without impairing circulation to the baby during labor, so it’s best to have a repertoire available.

1. Get on all fours This position eases back pain and helps the baby rotate into the optimal position for delivery—face down.

2. Lean Drape your chest over a table, bed, countertop, pillow or birthing ball.

3. Lie on your left side This may increase blood flow to your baby and can help reduce backache. Support your belly and legs with pillows.

4. Lunge Place one foot on a sturdy chair or footstool and lean into that foot during contractions.

5. Rock Sit on a large exercise ball, the edge of a bed or chair and gently rock back and forth.

6. Sit and lean Sitting in a chair, prop up one foot and lean into it during contractions.

7. Sway Put your arms around your partner’s neck and pretend you’re slow dancing.


Insider tips from the labor nurse:

1. If you’re lying in bed during labor, angle the head of the bed up 45 degrees and put a pillow or rolled-up towel under one hip; this will help “tip” the uterus off of your large blood vessels.
2. If the baby is face up and causing back labor, lie as far on one side as possible. Then take your top leg and rest it on the mattress in front of your belly. This encourages the baby to rotate into the ideal face-down position for birth.
3. Change pushing positions every 10 contractions to help “corkscrew” the baby out. Start on one side, go onto your back, turn to the other side and then get on your hands and knees.