Pain-coping skills are life skills, not just labor skills. The more they are practiced, the more easily they can be accessed and used during labor. In this class, we’ll introduce you to and practice different approaches to manage labor pain, including breathing techniques and various guided visualizations.

Breathing techniques during labor are typically used to bring the birthing person’s focus away from the sensation or pain that they are experiencing and to bring focus toward their breath, which allows our brains to experience our labor sensations as less painful or uncomfortable. They may also contribute to anxiety reduction and a greater sense of calm during labor. In this class, we’ll introduce you to and practice several different breathing techniques for labor which may help to reduce your pain during labor.

Guided visualization is a technique used to help you focus your imagination in a proactive and positive way. MRI studies have shown that guided imagery changes the way that the brain perceives pain. Guided visualizations are used to reduce stress, anxiety, tension and decrease pain. During guided visualization your partner or doula will help you imagine either a beautiful or relaxing place or will help you to imagine and visualize the process of labor and what is happening in your body to help you birth your baby. Support people can read or say these visualizations aloud or you can play pre-recorded visualizations on a device to help shift how you perceive pain during labor.