Understanding Early Labour is Birth Changing
There’s a stage of labour that is so often misunderstood. This is early labour.
I love teaching Hypnobirthing clients about this stage as I know through understanding their body and the reality of this stage of labour they are so much more likely to relax into it.
So many couples assume labour will have a sudden onset. I know I did when I was pregnant with my first baby (TV has a lot to answer for). I assumed it would have a clear start and continue until our baby was born. In actual fact the start of labour can be quite vague. It can be stop start. It can be slow.
If people don’t understand this they can over analyse and doubt their body. So clearly communicating this to couples is birth changing.
I think it’s so important to explain to people what is actually going on in the body at this stage. It’s not all about dilation! A LOT is happening.
One of the important things that is happening is that the cervix is softening and thinning. That’s a big job.
So it’s really not all about dilatation. And there really is no such thing as being ONLY 2 centimetres dilatated. Think about all the other things that have happened too.
I’ve had some beautiful illustrations created for discussing this stage with couples. Here’s a sneak peak! What do you think? There's three of these showing the progress of the cervix throughout labour, all in beautiful calming colours.
I absolutely love bring beautiful visuals and teaching aids to Hypnobirthing courses. I'm so excited to share these with The Collective, our circle of wonderfully supportive Hypnobirthing Teachers.
Abby x
