Pain relief during labour

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During early labour

A warm bath can help you to relax, which is important if you're to pace yourself. Although it's good to move around in labour, it's also important not to leap out of bed at 5am when contractions start, but to stay relaxed and conserve your energy.

A warm bath or a warm hot-water bottle at the base of your back can help relax you. Tense muscles stop your body from releasing natural painkillers (endorphins), so the ability to relax is important in labour.

When things hot up

When you're in established labour, when contractions have become strong and regular, it's really helpful to stay as upright and mobile as you can to help the baby to move deeper into the pelvis and keep the contractions coming. There may come a point when you feel that you need something to take the edge off the contractions, and for many women this is the point when they can benefit from sinking into a deep pool of water.

Most maternity units have at least one birthing pool, and if you're opting for a homebirth, lots of women now hire or buy a pool to use at home.

The warmth and buoyancy of water is associated with relaxation and a feeling of wellbeing, all good stuff when it comes to labour! Women who have a lot of backache in labour can benefit from the pain relieving properties of soaking in water, and also from towels soaked in hot water pressed into the base of their back.

By Anne Richley, midwife