Why does labor go awry? What are the elements that make labor easy for some, and long and hard for others? How come so many labors go so long? One of the most common reasons for drug use in labor is so that the mother can rest, and in the case of epidurals, sleep, awaking a fresh to continue their labor. Why is this?

Lets look at a typical situation as the birth process begins.

You've felt the first contraction or water bag has released, you are excited "THIS IS IT!"  A call to the doctor (or midwife) is in order. Today is the day and you are anxious to get the show on the road and meet this baby. So you begin to walk, and walk and walk, along with doing everything you know of to get labor going a bit faster. Two days later (or maybe longer) you have an epidural in your back, your feet in stirrups and a vacuum or forceps on your baby's head or worse yet your being wheeled into surgery. Every single hope for natural birth dashed. After 2 days of labor and no sleep you are just so grateful to have the whole thing over and a healthy baby (hopefully) you don't care what happened. You do know that at one point you could just go no further, you were so tired, your energy dropped out the basement, your body slowed, labor slowed and you just needed to sleep. You possibly have come to the belief that you are one of those women that just can't birth without help.

What happened?

What usually ends up happening is after these first sensations the lady gets all excited, shakes hubby awake and then they sit there watching the clock, timing these piddly little birth sensations that are 5-10 minutes apart without a clue as to what is really to come. Giddy phone calls are made, guests come and go, grandma comes over to pick up the already existent kiddos. You call the hospital and they tell you to come in. Next thing you know you are booked up and hooked up and sent up and down the halls to walk, or sent home to walk. Ladies are usually so excited about being in labor, they are apt to try and redecorate the baby's room in anticipation that baby will be here in 24 hours. More than likely the mom is sitting about socializing to some degree or another with her family and friends who have gathered to attend the birth. I've watched enough of a certain television program, read and listened to birth stories (ad nauseum), to know that this is true, and that this is what people think they should do. Rarely do I hear of the lady having a big meal and going to bed or taking it easy in anticipation of the work ahead of her.

With our first births we set ourselves up for a fall with all our excitement. We get so excited that we forget that labor has its own pace. As much as we try to speed its onset, or hurry up the pace, we are not following how the body is designed. Too many moms use up their birth energy trying to force labor to pick up speed that to sit back and let it happen. Birth is hard work. I have yet to know anyone who feels that a good nights sleep before a grueling task is NOT beneficial. Do Olympic athletes stay up all night before competition? Probably not. They might toss and turn and have difficulty due to the stress and excitement of the event before them, but I can tell you that it is lights out. And I am sure that their coaches are ensuring that their athlete's bodies are as well rested as can be, so that when they are put to the test, they are not tired.

As with labor our bodies are being put to the test. When we feel that first tiny twinge, or that gush/trickle of fluid, the first thing we should be doing is shutting down our lives and hitting the sack. Having a relaxing soak, putting on comfy pajamas, and curling up in bed, or on the couch. Now I'm talking a first babe here. If you already have kids, then getting someone over to see to them and crawling into bed is in order or at least slowing down to a crawl so you don't end up exhausted at the beginning of "active labor". (I can hear you all now "but l can't/don't/haven't got anyone to help me". There is always an alternative to help you rest, trust me). Focusing on resting can turn a labor that might have lasted days and ended with pitocin, into a wonderfully average tolerable one.

One of the first births I encountered in my birth work was of a mom who began to contract during the night. She got up and went about her day. Well okay that is not so bad, if only she had not moved her brother, and done a huge grocery shop and put all the groceries away. By the end of the day the birth sensations were picking up and she was exhausted. She called her doula who came over. They sat up waiting for things to get going. When they did, she found that she had very little energy. The lack of energy from being so tired did not contribute to her carrying out her birth desires. By the time she was 6 CMS she was so tired her labor began to peter out. With the less effective labor, pitocin was added. She had no energy to deal with the augmented labor, so an epidural was added. And in the end, she had no energy to speak of to push her baby out, the vacuum was added. This is a very common tale.

Another common situation is the long prodromal phase of the birth process. This is where it takes days for the birth process to really kick into high fear. The softening and dilating of the cervix happens over many hours and even days. It is very tiring for the lady. But what ends up happening is that it is taken for more active labor and the lady spends all her energy trying to get labor going. Instead, what she should be doing is settling down and not doing anything so that when her body is ready, so is her energy reserve. Energy should not be spent on doing tasks that can wait till later or be delegated out. Energy should not be spent walking for miles at a time to encourage contractions to get stronger.

I have simple labors. They begin at night after getting a few hours sleep. I make my calls when I know labor is "full on" and I sleep between the birth sensations. I know better than to try and get things going faster by wasting my energy. I like to take it easy. I know that by resting at all possible times that my uterus will have the necessary energy to complete it's task.

Sleep and simple rest can do a body wonders when it is about to birth a baby. Resting when you first realize that "this could be it". Begin to slow down. When my ladies call me I tell them to have a bath (if membranes intact) or a shower, get a warm drink and eat something. They are then instructed to rest, sleep if possible. If they are in any way perky and up and about, I tell them to take it easy. Do not waste your birth energy. Labor will pick up speed on its own. It is your job to ensure your body has what it will need for when the labor goes into high gear. Rest, food and fluid.

So do yourself a favor, remember to rest as soon as you know the birth process has begun. I promise, it will make a world of difference.