The Labor Face

I LOVE this laboring face (see above picture!). This mama has got it down! Relaxed lips, soft eyebrows and relaxed shoulders. THIS is how you work with your contractions.

When we are in any sort of pain the natural reaction is to tense our bodies and to fight the pain. We squeeze our lips together, scrunch our eyebrows and bring our shoulders up towards our ears. The reality is that when we tense our bodies and fight the pain we actually block the hormones (oxytocin and endorphins) that help our bodies to mediate and reduce pain.

So, in essence.. when we resist pain we make the process more painful. Doesn’t that ring true in so many areas of life?

I tell my clients to begin their contractions “soft” and to let the intensity roll through their body. Each contraction does a special work and the more you can surrender to the process and work with each contraction the more smooth and less painful labor will be.

If you’re approaching your labor... You’ve got this mama! You were made for this incredible work!