preparing for early labor: How to stay comfortable, confident, and full of energy
Preparing for labor is like preparing for a major athletic event. What’s different is that in addition to preparing for a physical and emotional journey, you are also preparing for the months and years to come taking care of a child.
There are so many emotions, excitement, and things to remember when labor begins. Taking each moment one at a time can help to lower feelings of overwhelm.
Let’s take a look at comfort measures and activities to do during early labor that will help you save your energy, keep labor progressing, and keep you comfortable before you head to your birth location!
why prepare for labor?
Labor is both a physical and mental game. You need to prepare for the long haul and accept a faster birth if it comes your way. According to March for Dimes, first time moms have an average length of labor that is 16+ hours and 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time + moms can expect labor to be much faster. With this in mind, you need to have a “plan” with options for things to entertain you and keep you comfortable.
When labor begins there is no timer that is counting down until baby makes their appearance. You have no idea if you will be in labor for 4 hours or 24 hours. This is why preparation is so important. Practiced breathing, knowing your favorite comfort measures and which ones help to progress labor will not only boost your confidence and energy, but will give you the strength to labor on no matter how long it is.
Why should we specifically plan for early labor?
Early labor is the longest stage of labor. Contractions may come sporadically or begin patterns early on. Knowing how to cope through them, distract yourself, and prepare for sensations of active labor can help you feel more confident, relaxed, and ready for what is about to come.
Women who stay at home longer in labor experience fewer interventions and often are more satisfied with their birth experience. At home you are not confined to any one space. You can move around freely, go for a walk, make your favorite snack, and be surrounded by a place that is familiar, soothing, and relaxing. Unlike in the movies, people are not rushing to the hospital the moment contractions begin.
Some families get turned away from hospitals because they are not in active labor, don’t let this be you. Some birth centers or hospitals have procedures for how soon you can arrive, find out what they are for your birth location and work it into your specific plan! Laboring at home can be scary if you are not prepared. If you follow the preceding steps, your fears will slowly drift away and you will be able to remain comfortable for a lot longer than you expect.
feelings and emotions of early labor
Early labor can be long and overwhelming. It can also be confusing because contractions may come and go, pause for a short while, and then spring into action quickly. Remaining comfortable in your home can help you feel safe, secure, and full of resources.
There is an endless list of emotions you may have in early labor. Stress, fear, and overwhelm are common, but don’t have to be. Many people, once they have the tools and support, feel bliss, love, empowered, relaxed, energized, and elated. Having a rollercoaster of emotions is completely normal as well. For many folks, labor and birth are bittersweet. You are grieving this internal and magical connection you have with your baby. But you are also feeling so thankful and joyful to be done with pregnancy and to be meeting your sweet baby.
Use the 4 A’s to feel all these emotions: Awareness, Ask, Allow, and Appreciate
Be Aware of your body’s sensations. Check in with yourself often.
Ask yourself what you may need. Ask yourself the questions to pinpoint this emotion.
Allow yourself to feel the emotion completely! Cry it out, shake, dance, jump, scream. Do whatever you need to do to release and feel the emotion to the end.
Finally, Appreciate the emotion. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend. I see you. I hear you. I know how tough this is or I can see how excited you are.
Know that each emotion serves you and freely experiencing emotions will connect you deeper to yourself, your body, your baby, and your partner. Emotions, like labor, do not last forever.
Although there is no possible way to predict exactly how you will feel, it can be helpful to ask yourself the following questions about emotions to help you gauge what to expect. Answering these questions can help you and your partner, or support group, choose activities that will help you most!
Name some emotions you might be feeling when contractions begin:
What helps soothe you when you are feeling anticipation, jittery, or any other emotion you named above?
Who might you feel comfortable talking to about fears, concerns, or nerves?
What makes you feel confident when you are stressed or doubting yourself?
Come up with a list of phrases, affirmations, or quotes that calm you, empower you, or you can find inspiration from!
Saving energy in early labor
Let’s think about conserving energy in early labor. This comes from the mentality that you have no idea how long labor might last. Resting whether on the couch, snuggling and watching your favorite movie, sitting on a birth ball, or taking a nap are all perfect activities to try. (note: you will not sleep through the birth of your child, so go back to sleep or take that nap when labor begins!)
Think back to biology for a moment. Oxytocin is the chemical that is released to initiate and continue contractions. Some things that release oxytocin are cuddling, kissing, making love, and relationship connections. In early labor, talking to a loved one, cuddling, and playing with a pet are all great ways to release more oxytocin, helping to keep labor progressing. And these activities do not require energy expenditure.
There is no way to predict how long your labor may last, this is why conserving your energy is so important. You could be looking at another 24 hours before baby arrives or 3 hours. The only way to know is to find out afterwards.
energy saving activities to do in early labor:
Sleep, nap, or rest on the couch or bed
Talk to a friend on the phone
Take a warm bath
Read a favorite book or refresh your memory on the stages of labor
Snuggle with your partner, pets, or older children
Stretch
when you cannot rest in early labor
Some folks have a hard time resting in early labor and it is completely understandable. If you find yourself in this category, let’s talk about some ways to keep labor progressing while also maintaining enough energy for all of labor!
Creating some circuits of movements, positions, and rest is a great way to monitor timing, release some adrenaline or excitement, and encourage labor to continue progressing. You may notice that contractions pick up after movement and slow down after resting for awhile, this is fairly normal.
Here are some examples of circuits to try that keep pressure on the cervix, release some energy, but will no drain all your fuel.
Go for a walk no more than 30 mins, then come home and sit for 30 mins, drink, eat, go to the bathroom and repeat
Using a short step stool, lunge like the Captain Morgan pose for 10 mins on each side, sitting down for 10 mins in between. You can do this for an hour, making sure to take breaks regularly
Practice cat/cows in tabletop position for 10 mins, then sit on the birth ball doing hip circles, sways, and rotations for 20 mins, then repeat.
All these exercises add pressure, with the help of gravity, onto your cervix in different directions. Shifting your pelvis into various positions opens it at the top and the bottom giving your baby room and encouragement to get a little lower each time.
staying comfortable with early labor contractions
Empty your bladder often: put on a timer and at least 1x every hour try going to the bathroom
Fuel your body with energy: maintain a stable blood sugar level, eat protein and carbs, anything with quick energy
Replenish your fluids. Drink lots of water, electrolyte mixes, coconut water, orange juice, whatever you like that tastes good and will keep you hydrated
Try distracting yourself as long as possible: Focusing on your contractions very early will make labor drag on. Avoid timing contractions from the start, it could be discouraging and make you feel things that are not there yet.
Take a bath: Water is a great pain reliever and de-stressor throughout labor. Spending some time relaxing into the bath and meditating. This can relieve many worries and get you into a focused mindset before active labor starts up.
Bond with your partner and baby one last time: Cuddling up and acknowledging the fleeting hours you have alone with your partner and with your baby inside you can be incredibly empowering and emotional. Take this time, feel those feelings, and connect with your partner.
leaving your home for the birth location
When early labor begins there is often a flood of emotions, last minute tasks, and nerves. Know that no matter what you have done everything you can to prepare. There are always friends and family you can lean on for the things you forgot to plan for, so do not stress. Easier said than done, I know!
It can be helpful to come up with a short list of things that you absolutely have to do before leaving to go to a birth center or hospital. If you are birthing at home, there is definitely another set of tasks to complete, look out for another blog post addressing these things separately!
Some items to consider:
Alerting support community:
those who are taking care of children, pets, the home, etc
Adding the toiletries and last minute essentials to your “hospital bag” or “birth bag”
Filling up on gas in the car
Adding the car seat to the car
Looking for last minute support if you haven’t already done so:
hiring a postpartum doula
nighttime nanny
childcare for older children
preparations for coming home
Some people find the excitement of early labor too much to take a nap or rest accordingly. This is totally understandable, you are about to have a baby! Prepping your space and home for baby to arrive can be a fun way to spend your energy and will help you in the future.
Try prepping some food for those early postpartum days. This can include making some dishes to freeze or baking all the cookies and other goodies that you will appreciate later on. Planning or looking at recipes can be a great use of time. Then, when you are ready to share with your trusted support group that you are in labor, send them some of these recipes and tell them to get cooking for you!
Folding baby clothes or spending some time in your nursery or where baby will be sleeping can help release more oxytocin like we discussed earlier. You can organize your breastfeeding spaces; create little snack containers so that you will be always prepared while feeding your little one.
This postpartum preparation can sometimes be overlooked. You will be thankful to think in advance. Be on the lookout for more blog posts addressing postpartum prep specifically!
early labor prep summary
Early labor is such a wonderful time to soak in those fleeting moments of your current life. It is a time to reflect, rest, and prepare for the journey to come. Early labor sets the stage for your mind set, mood, and energy-level.
Focus on your needs
As caretakers, and women, we tend to focus on others needs, but this is the time to soak in the attention, affection, and care. This can be really difficult and my hope is that you allow yourself to absorb this pampering that you so rightfully deserve.
Throughout all of pregnancy, labor, and birth remember to check in with yourself. Ask yourself if what is playing out is serving you and really focus on what YOU want! This is a learned skill, so I encourage you to practice this as soon as you can because it will not just go away when early labor begins.
The key focus in early labor
Rest:
Nap, sleep, lay down
Read a book
Take a bath
Snuggle with your partner or pets
Reflect
Meditate
Journal
Talk with your partner
Empty your bladder
Fuel your body: eat and drink!
If you cannot sit still:
Circuits that incorporate movement and rest!!
Bake treats
Watch your favorite movie or TV show
Knit, crochet, or do other crafts
Talk on the phone
Prepare food for early postpartum day
Conclusion
Whatever you decide to do in early labor, do so with intention. Trust that you will make the best decisions for yourself and they do not have to look like what everyone else does. Your labor will not last forever, even though it may feel like it. Take the time to educate yourself on the stages of labor, but understand that your body already knows what to do.
Listen to your body. Trust your instinct. And I hope you birth radiantly!