5 Ways to Manage Your Contractions at Home
Updated June 3, 2021
How to manage contractions and pain before it’s time to head to the hospital.
Get this —> most hospitals won’t admit you to labor & delivery until you’re in active labor (general protocol - and for good reason, but we’ll get to that later).
Chances are, if you have just started contractions, you are in early labor and you’d be turned around by the hospital to go home with instructions on when to come back. So, how do you manage contractions at home on your own?
First, let me clarify what’s considered active labor. It’s considered active labor when your contractions are:
5 minutes apart, lasting for 1 minute each, for 1 hour (the 5-1-1 rule)
Become difficult to talk through
Start becoming mega painful. Just being straight-up with you on this.
Until then though, labor doesn’t exactly feel like a walk in the park. Soo…what can you do to manage your labor pain and contractions at home until it’s time to go to the hospital?
Labor Pain Management at Home
Luckily, there are lots of options for dealing with contractions at home while you wait for the start of active labor. Every body is different, and if you haven’t been in labor before you may not know what your preferences for managing pain will be until it’s happening, so it’s good to familiarize yourself with these tactics beforehand.
1.Try hydrotherapy.
Don’t confuse hydrotherapy with water birth. The focus here is to manage pain during labor – birth comes later. Try having a warm bath or shower – or maybe a cool bath or shower – listen to your body, it will tell you what it needs. Many women find that being in the water is helpful to manage pain from contractions.
If you’re having back labor, try using a handheld showerhead on your back (your support person might need to help with this). You can also apply warm or cool washcloths to your forehead, belly or back. Even a single ice cube over the belly can be soothing.
2. Focus on breathing.
If you remember nothing else about what to do when you’re having contractions, always go back to your breath. To practice diaphragmatic breathing during pregnancy, focus on your abdomen expanding with a slow inhale and letting your abdomen go back in with exhale.
Evidence shows that breathing during labor as a pain management technique works best when combined with other techniques.
3. Make some noise.
Real talk - moaning during labor can sound a lot like moaning during sex. It’s normal and part of the body’s physiological process during birth.
“Moaning is most helpful when it is done in lower, deeper tones as opposed to high pitched tones, as it will help keep the laboring partner’s jaw loose and relaxed which correlates directly to a loose and relaxed perineum.” (Lamaze)
If you feel the urge to moan, grunt, roar, yell, make raspberry noises and do the horse lips - DO IT. If anyone dares to tell you to keep it down, you have my permission to respond how-ev-er you want.
There’s no shame in a loud laboring woman. Your number one priority is to manage your pain. I roared like a lion when I gave birth on my bedroom floor, and to this day cannot figure out how my toddler didn’t hear me from the living room.
4. Use a birth ball.
You have likely seen them before in yoga practices or gyms. Some people sit on birth balls (or a yoga ball) in place of their desk chair. Just make sure the one you get is designed for sitting for long periods of time and has an anti-slip surface. You don’t want it scooting around on you.
It seems so simple, but this $20ish tool is worth it’s weight in gold. Here are some tips on how to use it:
During pregnancy
tip: make sure your hips are higher than your knees
Hip-opening stretches.
To take pressure off your pelvis.
Relieves back pain.
To help your little one engage (aka drop) and get in the best possible position for birth.
During labor
Bounce on it.
Lean over it on hands & knees.
Supported squat.
Anything that feels right in the moment.
After birth
Deflate slightly to increase comfort while sitting.
Sitting erect will help strengthen your core.
Use it to assist with feeding baby with a gentle rolling motion.
Bounce on it to sooth fussy baby.
As far as managing pain during labor at home - this thing is a life saver!
TIP: MAKE SURE YOUR HIPS ARE HIGHER THAN YOUR KNEES
5. Use massage tools.
A few inexpensive massage tools that can be very helpful are pictured here - a tennis ball & handheld massager.
Ask your support person to try different types of massage and pressure. You might be surprised by the power of touch when the goal is to manage pain during labor.
A few key areas they will want to try are:
The upper back across the shoulder blades in a circular motion.
Rubbing or squeezing shoulders from your arms to the base of your neck, relieving the tension.
Your bum or buttocks – you will be surprised at the amount of tension you hold from clenching. Massaging this area is a great way to release that stress.
Sacrum circles – this is the area at the base of your spine or tail bone. Firm pressure can offer tremendous relief.
An upper thigh massage can also be soothing.
My suggestion: keep doing it until it doesn’t feel good anymore, then try something else.
Before you go, I have a little parting gift for you - help yourself to a copy of the birth plan template in my Freebie Library. In it, you can choose multiple options for your birth from delivery, to pain management, to emergencies. Having a birth plan will ensure your birth preferences are known by everyone in the room that day and give you peace of mind.