Imagine you are Buffy the vampire slayer walking through an eerie
graveyard at the dead of night when suddenly, out leaps a vicious vamp
looking for your blood. What is your reaction?
The first thing
your body would do is to send an automated message to your adrenal
glands to release adrenalin. This adrenalin would then circulate the
body and make certain changes in order to maximise your chances of
survival.
One of the ways it does this is to redirect blood flow
from the body to the arms and legs so that you can run away very fast
from the vampire or, if you really are Buffy, you can stay and fight.
Women
today are scared of going into labour cos they believe they will be in
agony for hours and hours, as soon as they have a few contractions the
anxiety they feel starts releasing adrenalin from the adrenal glands. As
with Buffy, this adrenalin sends extra blood to the arms and legs. This
means that non vital organs within the body, such as the uterus, get
starved of oxygen rich blood.
When a labouring uterus gets starved
of oxygen it produces lactic acid, this then connects to pain receptors
and sends messages to the brain of PAIN!
Running too soon after a
meal has the same effect on the digestive system. The adrenalin
released in response to physical exercise starves the gut of oxygen and
you get a stitch. All you need do under these circumstances is to stop
exercising and the stitch will go away. Unfortunately we do not have
this option when going into labour.
Learning how to relax during
the pregnancy so that you are ready when the big day comes is vital for
a pain free labour. A relaxed body does not secrete adrenalin so the
blood flow is not sent away from the body to the arms and legs. During a
normal labour with a normally presenting baby there is no reason for
the contractions to hurt.
Choose a method of relaxation that
suits you best, stay upright on a comfy chair or other upright position
and you will be amazed, as I was when I experienced my first pain free
labour.
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