How to Help a Woman During Labor
Birth Support support during labor and delivery One of the best ways to prepare for childbirth is to accompany your partner to a childbirth education class.
Almost all hospitals and birth centers hold classes, and parents-to-be are usually given the option of attending two or three short evening sessions or one long daytime session. You can also choose to go to an offsite class, where the focus may be more on natural childbirth.
Before taking a class, it helps to know a little about childbirth. Here are some of the things you may learn and discuss in a childbirth class: A childbirth companion (or social support during birth) has been found to improve the whole birth experience. Research shows that women who receive good social support during labour and childbirth tend on average to have shorter labours, to control their pain better and to have less need for medical intervention. This session focuses on the emotional support, reassurance and respect that you can give to a woman during the birth experience, and how you can encourage a childbirth companion to take on some of these roles.
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What skills will I develop? Empathy and respect – communicating courtesy, maintaining privacy and confidentiality, and showing respect Providing support, encouragement and reinforcement.
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What am I going to learn?
By the end of this session you should be able to: Maintain privacy and confidentiality during labour and childbirth. Maintain respect and courtesy to a woman in labour and her childbirth companion. Demonstrate support and encouragement for a woman during labour and childbirth. Communicate to the childbirth companion the value of their role and what it involves.
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Support and care throughout labour and birth
Labour can be a very frightening experience for women, especially first births. In addition, women will experience physical sensations ranging from discomfort to severe pain. Helping the woman to be as relaxed as possible and aware of her situation can help minimize the physical pain and emotional distress of labour and birth. Women can be helped with this by receiving adequate care, timely information, comfort, support and reassurance during labour and birth. It is also important to maintain respect and courtesy whenever possible by explaining what you are going to do and why, and by being courteous to her and her family. It is equally important to maintain respect for privacy throughout the birth, by keeping the woman covered as much as possible for all procedures, or by providing curtains.
It is important to be familiar with the birth and emergency plan (refer to Session 7) and to know if the woman and family have any preferences regarding labour and birth. If a skilled attendant respects the woman's and family's preferences regarding labour and birth they are more likely to have a better birthing experience.
In the birth and emergency plan, a woman will have also indicated a companion to support her during birth, and this childbirth companion can take on a central supporting role.
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Supporting the role of the childbirth companion
Women should be encouraged to have a companion of her choice present during labour and birth. Some women like to have their husband or partner; others prefer a close family relative, friend, or a traditional birth attendant (TBA). Experiences from different settings have shown that the best person to have as a childbirth companion is often an older woman from the community, someone who has had children herself. However, encouraging the husband/partner to be more involved with the birth, where it is acceptable, may also be beneficial for the whole family. Birth is a very emotional experience and for some people (especially the husband/partner) having more active involvement can make the whole process particularly special.
Talk to the childbirth companion, either with the woman present or alone, to understand their feelings and wishes. Give the birth companion practical information about his/her role and offer advice on things he/she can do to help the woman. Providing support will draw on your skills and awareness of gender and social norms (e.g. the counselling context) within the broader community. The childbirth companion and skilled attendant should work together as a team during labour – plan (as a team) how to do this in advance when you discuss the birth and emergency plan (Session 7) with the woman during her antenatal visits.
It can be useful to talk to the childbirth companion during pregnancy or at the onset of labour to find out how much he/she already know about labour and birth, and to discuss with him/her what they might expect to see and what he/she is expected to do. You should encourage the companion to give support using local practices which do not disturb your work (and the rest of the health team) during labour or birth. The companion can also help and encourage the woman to move