The posture during natural childbirth

Most births occur with the mother lying on a stretcher and her legs in stirrups, is the position of delivery most accepted by professionals. However, every time the studies talk about the benefits of other postures both for the moment in which the expulsive occurs and for the dilatation phase, since

Most births occur with the mother lying on a stretcher and her legs in stirrups, is the position of delivery most accepted by professionals. However, every time the studies talk about the benefits of other postures both for the moment in which the expulsive occurs and for the dilatation phase, since they favor the descent of the baby through the birth canal.

Postures during dilation and delivery

The midwife or gynecologist will guide you at all times about the best position to adopt. During the dilation process, the heartbeat and the frequency of contractions will be recorded continuously through a monitor.

In addition, the health personnel will perform a vaginal examination to check how many centimeters you have dilated. If in this process, they allow you and they have not given you the epidural anesthesia, there are positions that help the baby to descend through the birth canal:

-Standing: it facilitates the baby's descent, shortens the duration of the labor and causes the expulsion stage to arrive before.

-Walking: next to the above advantages, it helps to lower the pain intensity because the muscles relax.

-Squat: reduces the time of dilation and facilitates the expulsive. In some clinics they allow the mothers to perform the expulsive in this position, since it also lets them see the moment of birth.

If you have already received the epidural there are other positions that you can adopt:

-Lying on one side: it facilitates the blood supply to the baby since it does not compress the blood vessels and reduces the tension in the perineum.

-On your knees: With the help of your father or midwife, you could get on your knees and drop your body on a pillow. The pressure on the back will be less and you will feel very comfortable.

-Sitting:in this position of delivery, the uterus falls forward and facilitates the blood supply to the muscles

Nowadays, not all clinics allow the mother to decide the position of delivery. The policy of the center, the evolution of your particular case and the position of the baby in the womb, will set the tone, but more and more hospitals have elements that favor other positions such as dilation balls or multiposition beds that allow other ways of giving birth.