April 20, 2004

"Breathing" in labour

An expectant mother called me today wanting to know where she could attend “breathing classes” for labour. I gently explored what she was actually seeking, as some women call all prenatal programs “breathing classes” but she did indeed expect to have to learn how to breathe in labour.

I explained that teaching women to breathe was something that we no longer advocated ( we gave up including it in our training courses and classes in 1984) for two good reasons: women already know how to breathe and will continue to do this during labour and birth, and there is evidence that breathing in an artificial, structured way can alter a woman’s blood chemistry (something that could present problems in labour). She was a bit taken aback by this explanation, but was still keen to attend some classes nevertheless. I gave her the name of one of the independent educators in her area, as she said all the local hospital programs were fully booked. As she is 31 weeks pregnant, I hope she can find a program that can accommodate her dates (and learn how well she will labour without any props, given a chance).

It is no wonder that women still think that the classes are primarily focussed on “the breathing”. So many of the books that are targeted at pregnant women mention breathing of some kind. It is a hangover from the psychoprophylaxis methods (popularised by the Lamaze organisation in America) that burst onto the scene in the 60s and 70s, promising painless childbirth if rigid breathing patterns were learned in pregnancy and practised throughout labour. Although many of these ideas have now been modified (there has never been any proof that they work or reduce the level of pain killing drugs taken by labouring women), it seems that authors cannot let the concept go, and still make reference to “breathing” in the many books that proliferate in this market.

Any suggestion that women would need to learn special breathing for labour is not only ridiculous but undermining. Women’s bodies are quite capable of altering the rate and depth of breathing to provide enough oxygen for the work going on in their bodies and for their baby. You don’t hear of athletes going to special “breathing classes” so they can run effective races, and animals the whole world over manage without preparation of any kind. Why would human beings be so poorly developed that they had to learn how to perform this most basic function?

Posted by andrea at April 20, 2004 05:26 PM

Comments

Dear Andrea,
As a midwife, I would have to agree with all you have said. However, as a mum, remembering my first labour after having attended 'breathing and relaxation classes'! and not being a midwife at that time, I would say that carrying out what I had learned in these classes helped me to achieve the drug-free birth of my daughter (back in the dark ages of the 70s!) It was nothing to do with the actual method of breathing, but doing it enabled me to focus away from the intensity of the contractions and gave me a sense of being in charge rather than those attending me.
Best regards,
Frances

Posted by: Frances on May 13, 2004 08:21 PM