Floral Scents
​Several floral scents have been shown to likely relieve stress and/or lower pain scores during labor. Diffusing lavender, jasmine, rose, or geranium into your labor and birth space can help you feel more at ease and comfortable during labor. Something I've noticed about floral scents is that people often have strong preferences towards or against certain scents. So smell a few and find a scent that you like!

Citrus Scents
I love ​the smell of citrus! When I found the picture above of the sliced open oranges, I could just smell and taste their tangy sweetness! Studies show that citrus scents can also be helpful during labor. Specifically, bitter orange (citrus aurantium) may lower pain scores, and both bitter orange and sweet orange peel (citrus sinesis) may decrease stress and anxiety during labor. Sign me up!

Peppermint for Nausea
As much as I love citrus and enjoy floral scents, the essential oil that I use most--hands down--is peppermint. An unfortunate side effect of transition in labor (when your cervix dilates from 8 cm to 10 cm) that many people experience is nausea. The rapid changes--physical and hormonal--that your body goes through during this time often lead to an upset stomach. For many of my clients, when I put a few drops of peppermint oil on a cotton pad and give it to them to inhale, their nausea goes away. It's not always effective, but it's a very handy tool to have on hand!

This post is the fourth in a series about comfort measures for labor that appeal to each of the five senses. Today, we're focusing on the sense of touch! Check out these six ways that touch can help you manage labor.

Light Touch
(Photo by Isaac Ordaz on Unsplash)
In early labor, it may feel nice to have someone (your husband/partner, doula, friend, etc.) to lightly run their fingers along your arms, shoulders, back, or other places. The backs of the fingers work well for this, and the light, stroking motion should feel like a pleasant tickle, encouraging you to release any tension you may be holding. A head massage tool, like this one, gives a similar sensation for your scalp. Some people (e.g. me) love it, and some people (e.g. my husband!) hate it. ​

Today, in the third post about comfort measures for labor that appeal to each of the five senses, we’ll be looking at your sense of taste… or at least, what you can do with your mouth to benefit your labor!

Eating During Labor
(Photo by Joseph Gonzalez on Unsplash)
Laboring and giving birth are hard physical work! You wouldn’t want to go for a long hike without anything to eat—your body would be tired and hungry, and it would make the hike feel ten times harder! The same is true for labor—you need energy from food to sustain you through it!

There may come a time in your labor when food doesn’t interest you, which is why it’s especially helpful to eat during early labor when you have an appetite. Don’t eat anything overly heavy or greasy, but do make sure you’re giving your body energy for the life-giving work it's doing!

Some people have concerns about the safety of eating and drinking during labor because some hospital policies have restricted it due to a concern about potential aspiration if emergency anesthesia was needed. Updated research and updated anesthesia technology show that low-risk birthgivers should have the right to choose whether to eat and drink during labor (you can read a detailed summary of current research and recommendations here​, at Evidence Based Birth). 

Today’s post is the second in a series considering comfort measures that appeal to each of the five senses.

Let’s consider the sense of hearing. What are some things you can do during your labor that will bring you comfort that appeal to your sense of hearing?
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Listening to Music
(Photo by Jessica Lewis from Pexels)
Studies indicate that listening to music may be an effective way to help manage discomfort during labor. The most important thing to remember about music selection during labor is that it’s personal. You should choose and listen to music that is positive/relaxing/motivating for you! So, put together a playlist of your favorite songs, and you may find that listening to them helps to set a positive tone, give you energy, distract you when needed, and ease any anxiety or tension!

Visualization
(Photo by https://www.instagram.com/Didssph/)
This comfort measure doesn’t have to do with what you’ll actually see with your eyes, but what you visualize in your mind. Imagining calm, serene scenes, or places that are personally meaningful for you, can bring comfort during your labor. Sometimes, these visualizations will be guided my someone else, as your partner or doula reads aloud to you or describes a favorite place. But if you’ve practiced visualizing pleasant images before labor, you may be able to take yourself there without another person verbally guiding you through it.

I’ve found some fabulous visualization exercises in this book. And this podcast episode talks a bit more about the power of symbols and imagery that you can incorporate in your visualization.
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The Faces of Loved Ones
(Photo from https://www.pexels.com/@pixabay)
​It’s important, during labor, to surround yourself with those you love—people you feel comfortable around and supported by. Inviting people into the birth space who bring up feelings of discomfort or tension will likely slow your labor and make you less comfortable, both physically and emotionally. So, during this important time, surround yourself only with people who will create a feeling of warmth and love.

So carefully choose your birth team: friends and family you feel safe with, a care provider who respectfully cares for you, a doula that you feel emotionally connected to, a photographer who you feel comfortable with, etc.

Also, if there are loved ones who can’t physically be with you, you may want to bring pictures of them. Perhaps you admire a grandmother and her picture would bring you strength, or maybe you have young children that you don’t want in the birth space, but keeping their pictures with you will comfort you.