Ask any woman who has had back labor and she will tell you it is no picnic. With nearly continuous back pain not only during but in between contractions, it can feel like there is no relief. Women planning natural childbirth, those who cannot use an epidural or when there is a need to wait longer before getting pain medication, finding effective techniques to relieve back labor is crucial for today's laboring woman.
Positions to Reduce Back Pain in Labor
Some of the best positions to relieve back pain happen to be some of the most instinctive ones that mothers seek in labor. One of these intuitive positions to reduce back pain is to lean over on hands and knees. Mothers can kneel on the floor (with a pillow under their knees as a cushion) and place their arms and head on the seat of a chair.
Another way to effectively use a hands and knees position is to use a birth ball. The ball supports the weight of the mother's head, shoulders and arms, while she leans over the ball, essentially "hugging it" during contractions. If there is no birth ball to use, labor partners can rig the hospital bed so that the top of the bed is in a chair-type position. Mom can lean over the top of the bed to help to reduce her back pain.
Hot and Cold Packs Can Relieve Back Labor
Changing the temperature at the source of the pain can also help reduce back pain. Using hot packs in the form of a rice sock, hot water bottle or other types of heating pads can reduce back labor and focus the mother's mind on the sensations of hot or cold rather than the pain. Sometimes varying the two sensations of heat and cold works in labor.
Rice socks can be kept in the freezer for an hour or two and then used as a cold pack during labor. Athletic cold packs such as the ones made by Dura-Kold work well to ease back pain. Or try a frozen beverage can for rolling pressure with cold. You can also make an ice pack at the hospital by filling a surgical glove with shaved ice and knotting the open end.
Showers/Tub is Effective Techniques for Back Labor
One of the most effective ways to relieve back pain is to use a tub during labor. Hydrotherapy in a jacuzzi or a birthing tub can ease the pain of back labor. Even more effective is to combine positioning (such as hands and knees) with warm water to help reduce back pain.
If a tub is not available at the birth facility, mothers can use a shower. Labor partners can remove the shower head and place the steady flow of warm water on the mother's back during and in between contractions. Using the shower nozzle and directing warm water over her back is also effective to relieve back pain.
Counterpressure or Hip Squeezes Relieve Back Pain
A birth doula will be able to use several techniques to help relieve some of her client's back pain. One of these techniques include counterpressure (where pressure is applied to the painful area of the mother's back with the heel of one hand, while supporting her with the other hand).
The double hip squeeze involves relieving some of the pressure on the sacroiliac joints while the mother is in a hands and knees position during contractions. The double hip squeeze can work well to relieve back pain, however it is a technique that labor partners need to learn from their childbirth educator or doula in order to be sure they are doing it correctly.
Sterile Water Injections One of the Best Techniques for Back Labor
Any care provider trained to use a needle can administer sterile water injections during labor. Despite the fact that they are not as common as other techniques to relieve back pain, research overwhelmingly shows that sterile water injections are safe, easy to administer and give superior pain relief.
Sterile water injections also may have other benefits for mothers and babies in labor. One meta-analysis of 8 studies on sterile water injections showed that they cut the cesarean rate in half!
TENS During Labor Reduces Back Pain
TENS (transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation) uses a competing sensation to distract mothers from their back labor pain. Small electrodes are placed on the mother's back that are attached to a hand-held device. The device allows the mother to control the level of vibration she feels during contractions.
Many hospitals in the U.K. routinely provide TENS units for laboring women to use. TENS has been shown to be primarily effective in early labor through the beginning of active labor to relieve back pain. Research has shown that women who use TENS during labor use fewer narcotics and tend to have shorter first stage labors.
There is no reason for any woman to suffer from the pain of back labor. Utilizing simple tools, learning various positions and applying techniques to relieve back labor during childbirth can make all the difference.
Brenda Lane - Brenda Lane is a published author, Lamaze certified childbirth educator, DONA certified birth doula and approved birth doula trainer.
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