Teaching about Physical skills for parents who choose to have an epidural

Teaching about Physical skills for parents who choose to have an epidural and how to help them to improve their birth experience and overall comfort.

When parents have an epidural, they are limited in their movements. Although they won’t feel their contractions, they can still benefit from massage and breathing techniques. The skin-to-skin contact can help the flow of oxytocin which aids the birthing process. The breathing techniques ensure that parents breathe calmly to optimise their and their baby’s oxygen supply. Their relaxation reduces the risk of their baby to be distressed. Therefore, it is important to include parents who chose to have an epidural for their birth experience in your activities when teaching about physical skills for labour and birth.

When I have clients who choose to have or are likely to have an epidural for their birth, I focus on teaching about hand massage, face/head massage and breathing techniques with them.

Teaching about Physical skills for parents who choose to have an epidural – Ideas

These techniques combined with the use of a peanut ball work wonders for my doula clients! Here are some ideas for you to use in your classes:

Face/Head and Neck massage

Clients can massage their own face/head and neck or they can ask their partner to do it for them. You can follow the image below:

Hand Massage

Hand massages are very popular. The skin-to-skin contact between the birthing person and their partner aids the flow of oxytocin. Ask your clients to give themselves or their partner the following hand massage techniques:

• gentle circular movements on the palm and top of the hands as well as the fingers
• gently pull on fingers (DO NOT make them pop).

Breathing Techniques

Download my breathing techniques worksheets to use in your classes. They help parents and perinatal educators to practice breathing techniques.

Encourage your clients to practice the breathing techniques as well as your comfortable breathing pattern together with their (birth) partner. When their birth partner is aware of their comfortable breathing pattern/speed, they can help by counting them in/out or by keeping eye contact and breathing at your comfortable speed until they have reached their comfortable pattern again.

Peanut Ball

As you can use a peanut ball on the bed, it becomes an excellent tool for labour and birth with an epidural! Here are some peanut ball position ideas you can encourage your clients to try:

• The mother sits in a semi-reclined position with one of her legs over the peanut ball and the other one next to it. The peanut ball needs to be as close as possible/comfortable to mum. If the ball starts sliding about, you can pop a pillow, cushion or rolled-up towel under it to hold it in position. This position promotes dilation of the cervix and descent (moving downwards) of the baby when the baby is in a good position.
• Another way to use the peanut ball on a bed is in a side-lying position. While mum is lying on her side the peanut ball can be used to lift up and hold the upper leg in position. The ball can be positioned in a way that either mum’s thigh only is supported or that both, her leg and her ankle are resting on the ball. This position helps to open the pelvic outlet and may also help to rotate a posterior (back to back) baby into a better position for birth.
• The mother can also sit on the peanut ball and give birth in that position.

Have a look at my Positions for labour and birth cards and the birth ball handout, they’ll be excellent to support your teaching!

Second/pushing stage with an epidural

For the second stage of labour with an epidural, remember to use a peanut ball to support a comfortable and supporting birthing position (see section on peanut balls above).

The birthing mother/parent may not exactly where/how to push while using the epidural. This breathing technique can help:

Breathing Technique for the second stage (pushing) of labour with an epidural: Ask your clients to make a fist and blow into it (as if they were to inflate a balloon). This breathing technique, makes use of their diaphragm which automatically helps the body to push “in the right place/way”.