Walk, Move Around, and Change Positions Throughout Labor and Birth Moving can help with the pain and it helps the baby move down safely through the pelvis. It does, but why? Physiologic labor Physiologic labor is labor that is powered by our innate capacity of giving birth and being born. Physiologic labor is orchestrated by hormones of both you and your baby, and moving during labor is a safe and healthy coping strategy that supports this normal biolog y. Moving allows for l

A book by Nora Tallman, CNM Coping with pain is a significant aspect of childbirth, and usually, suggestions for getting through labor are mechanical and physical. Many books and classes focus on doing this or that position or technique, and there is sound science behind all of it for sure. However, not many of them dig deeper into what it means on the inside when we are trying to cope –when we hit a wall and try to find the way to move beyond it with courage: the path, the s

Hammock or Trampoline? I see this often, in first labors especially: Labor starts with a long pre-labor; the kind of labor that starts and stops multiple times, sometimes for days or even a couple of weeks. A variation of this is an early labor that presents itself with short yet transition-like, painful contractions that do not yet dilate the cervix. Both patterns seem to indicate a body working hard to get a baby aligned and engaged. Once things progress, there can be inten