![]() ![]() TENS machines work best if used early in labour. The electrical pulses are thought to ‘block’ pain messages reaching the brain and stimulate the body’s naturally occurring painkillers – the endorphins mentioned above. The TENS machine consists of four pads that are placed on your back and a small hand-held battery-operated device. The ‘transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator’ or TENS machine works by delivering small electrical pulses through the skin via electrodes placed on your back. These morphine-like substances flood through your system and allow your body to cope with the increasing frequency and strength of contractions as your labour progresses. As your labour starts, your body produces natural pain relievers called endorphins. Your body is designed to cope with labour. We encourage all women to practice hypnobirthing during labour and to attend a class antenatally. This enables women to have a positive experience, no matter what the circumstances. Hypnobirthing is the use of hypnosis and positive thinking techniques to promote childbirth as a natural bodily function. Try to imagine your baby’s face and the feel of their skin. Imagine holding your new baby and how happy you’ll feel as your baby is placed into your arms for the first time. The use of calm, quiet music is great for keeping you relaxed. It is always better to breathe slowly – in through your nose and out through your mouth. Some women tend to hold their breath during a contraction while others breathe too fast. The advice is to take slow, easy breaths. There is no magic formula to describe breathing in labour. Standing in a warm shower with the water directed at your lower back is also helpful. In the early stages of labour, many women find a warm bath a great way to relax and to cope with the contractions. Not being able to focus on one thing, or being unable to sit still but not really being sure what you want to do. This is all completely normal and is an encouraging sign that your body is getting ready for labour. You may also have backache and a heavy sensation in your pelvis. Very early in labour, you may experience irregular cramping pains, like period pains. ![]() Not all women will have a show before labour starts and a show is not a sure sign of labour. Many women describe a show as being like the very beginning or very end of their period. This bloodstaining will be old brown blood or light pink. Typically, this plug or ‘show’ is bloodstained and sticky. ![]() ShowĪs the cervix (neck of the womb) starts to stretch, a plug of mucous may be released. If the fluid is green or green/brown in colour or heavily blood stained, you should come into the emergency and assessment unit immediately. If your waters have broken, you should come in for a check-up to ensure all is well with you and your baby. Sometimes there may be a vague tinge of pink in the waters. When the waters break, the fluid may be clear or slightly straw coloured. If that pad quickly becomes damp or wet, it is likely that your waters have broken. One way for you to check is to have a shower, dry the vaginal area well and put on a maternity sanitary pad. If you find that you have to wear a sanitary pad due to the amount of fluid you are losing, you need to consider if your waters could have broken. Many women describe feeling ‘damp down below’ due to the increased amount of vaginal discharge that is normal at the end of pregnancy. However, for a lot of women it may be difficult to be sure if the waters have broken. (In fact, it is a good idea to sleep with a towel under you towards the end of your pregnancy to avoid damage to your mattress.) Sometimes, it is obvious that the waters have broken by the fact that you soak your underwear or bed. For some women, the very first sign that anything is happening is that their waters break.
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