Hello Mommy! Let’s assume that you have successfully
managed to go into labor. Contractions have started and now yofu are,
let’s say 3cm dilated. But now, all of a sudden, your cervix does
not dilate any further OR it is going REALLY slowly. If that’s the case, don’t worry, because
in this video, we are gonna share with you 10 proven ways to dilate faster during labor. Plus, we are also gonna teach you exactly
how to apply them! I am Nathalie, a pregnancy and birth consultant
and TCM therapist and I am Mathias, a researcher and science geek, and we love helping mommies
and their babies naturally and science-based. For more useful tips and tools on pregnancy
and baby-related topics, subscribe to our channel and hit the bell so that you don’t
miss any of our videos! Alright, the first proven way to dilate faster
during labor is drinking water. I know it sounds SOO trivial. However, please don’t take this lightly
if you really want to dilate faster during labor! Dehydration slows down labor.
In fact, in clinical studies, scientists have
found that women who took care of an optimal hydration had a SHORTER labor duration than
poorly hydrated women. Moreover, they did not require Oxytocin as
frequently in order to increase the intensity of their contractions. Remember: Oxytocin is the very hormone that
your body needs to get contractions going. Exactly! So, ideally, you would drink about 250ml to
300ml of water PER HOUR. Moreover, your partner has the duty to constantly remind you to keep
drinking water because when you are in labor, it’s easy to forget it. Yeah! That’s what she says now but when she was in labor, she told me to
leave her alone. No, I didn’t! Haha! I think your exact words were: “leave me
the **** alone with your stupid water!!”. Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. And then she hit me with the bottle! Yeah, but that was more like a reflex.
Reflex. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyways! The next proven way to dilate faster during
labor is emptying your bladder and/or toilet sitting. First of all, a full bladder makes it more
difficult for the baby to descend deeper into your pelvis. So, if you want to dilate faster during labor,
then you have to make sure that your bladder is being emptied regularly. And we do know that a full bladder is obviously
the result of drinking more water. We get that. However, please do not NOT drink water, just
because you want to avoid a full bladder. Because that’s just how it is, right? Also, keep in mind that the other great benefit
of going to the toilet is the very act of sitting on the toilet itself. That’s because that position can help the
baby descend even further. And the increased pressure on your cervix
can ultimately help you dilate faster. So, go ahead try it! Yeah, just remember to return to the birth
center, every once in a while.
Anyways, the next proven way to dilate faster
is walking! Exercise in general is a great way to help
you dilate faster during labor. In fact, we are going to talk about even more
effective exercises to dilate faster later in this video. However, if you don’t feel like doing anything
fancy, walking is a great way to keep things going. So, go for a walk, rather than just sitting
or lying around, if you want to dilate faster during labor. The next proven way to dilate faster during
labor are warm feet! Yeah, but we gotta warn you: this is completely
unscientific! Okay? We do not have any scientific proof whatsoever
that this matters at all! Right, but you would not believe how many
midwives, mothers and even doctors told us, independently from reach other I should add,
that you cannot dilate if you have cold feet. So, we found it important enough to add it
to our list. I tried it myself and it obviously worked. She wore reindeer socks! They’re the warmest pair I have! It was August and there was a heat wave.
No, it was AFTER the heat wave. Right, okay, fair enough. Anyways. The next proven way to dilate faster is doing
exercises on a birthing ball. We have already talked about the benefits of such exercises
to induce labor in another video. However, a major benefit of such exercises
is that they can also help you dilate faster once your labor has started. And the exercise that you can try to dilate
faster during labor is really really simple.
First of all, make sure that you sit on
the birthing ball with your legs in an open position, knees bent at a 90 degrees angle,
back straight. And then all you have to do is gently bounce
up and down. That’s it! The bouncing movement will help you engage
your baby deeper into your pelvis. And this will put more pressure on the cervix
and help you dilate faster. In fact, due to the bouncing movements, the
pressure on your cervix will be much higher than if you simply sit on the toilet, for
instance. Just make sure that your back is straight
at all times and that you don’t do these exercises with your reindeer socks on! Trust me, it’s not a good idea to wear slippery socks when you do these exercises, if you want to keep your balance.
That’s all I am going to say about this. Moreover, make sure that you are using the right
birthing ball, i.e. the correct size. To learn more about which size is right for
you, check the description below this video! And what you will also find there is the link
to another one of our videos in which we teach you even more birthing ball exercises to help
you engage your baby and dilate faster! Now, before we continue, can we quickly
ask you a question? How are you liking this video so far! Listen, we are very aware of the fact that
our Austrian accent sounds terrible.
I think we sound even worse than Arnold Schwarzenegger, right? However, maybe there is even more that we
can improve? Or maybe, there is something that you particularly
like? If so, we would be super grateful if you could
leave us a short comment in the comment section below! Or simply subscribe to our channel and/or
like this video so that we know that you find it helpful! Any feedback is more than appreciated because
it helps us enormously to improve our videos. Thanks so much for your help! Okay, the next proven way to dilate faster
during labor are breathing techniques AND, if you want to take it a step further, try
hypnobirthing. Many women believe that breathing techniques
only become relevant during the second stage of labor, i.e. when you deliver your child. However, that’s not necessarily the case. Breathing can help you enormously in
the first stage of labor, i.e. during your cervical dilation, because it can help you
relax. And relaxation is always a amazing idea if you
want to dilate faster because relaxation helps release Oxytocin. Right! Now, as already mentioned, you can take this
a step further and try hypnobirthing.
This approach involves self-hypnosis combined
with breathing techniques, to kind of put yourself into a state where the whole labor-
and birth process is supposed to become much easier and more bearable. And I am not gonna lie to you. When I first heard about hypnobirthing, I
thought it’s just crap, right? Because I am more like a science guy! BUT: by now, I cannot deny that there are
some scientific studies and, in particular, many reports by women, which show that hypnobirthing
seems to be quite effective.
So, maybe this is something you wanna try
as well? Yeah, unfortunately, we can neither teach you
breathing techniques nor hypnobirthing in this video because these are really huge topics. But we still wanted to mention these tools because they can indeed help you
dilate faster during labor! Yeah! Apologies for that! We do our best to record a video on this topic
as soon as possible! And if we have already recorded one by the time when you watch THIS video, then you would now see a popup at the top of your video screen
and/or a link in the description below this video! Okay, the next proven way to dilate faster
during labor are “Labor Squads”. Squads are indeed a great way to dilate faster because
they can help your baby descend deeper into your pelvis. So, more pressure on your cervix.
In fact, squads are known for their ability
to help reduce labor time. And we usually make use of a birthing ball
for this exercise too, but you can also use a chair instead, okay? So what you wanna do is this: stand behind
the birthing ball or chair. Your legs are shoulder distance apart. Make sure that it is easy for you to keep
the balance! Moreover, rotate your feet outward to about
a 45 degrees angle! Now, go into the squatting position but do
it slowly and very carefully! And while you go into this position, hold
the birthing ball or chair to keep your balance! Your back is supposed to be straight at all
times! Remain in that position for a couple
of seconds. Then draw in your abdominal muscles and stand
up very slowly and carefully! Make sure to keep your back straight
while you do so! Repeat this exercise a couple of times if
you can. And if you want to know more about this
exercise, check out our video about birthing ball exercises to induce labor that we mentioned
earlier! Link can be found in the description below
this video.
Right. The next proven way to dilate faster during
labor is nipple stimulation. Nipple stimulation is a tool which we have introduced in other
videos already because it is very powerful to induce labor. That’s because it can release Oxytocin in
your body which you need to get your contractions going. But now that labor has started, nipple stimulation
can be even more powerful because nipple stimulation is much more effective if you have had least some
contractions already. In fact, in clinical studies, scientists have found
that the chances for you to get contractions from nipple stimulation are almost double
as high if you have had contractions already prior to stimulating your nipples.
So let us quickly show you how to apply nipple
stimulation. In order to stimulate your nipples, gently
tweak and rub your nipples with your fingers. And do make sure that you include the darker
area around your nipples, i.e. the areola, too! Alternate between stimulating your nipples
with your fingers and stimulating them with the whole palm. When you use your palm, place it over the
areola and move it in circles. You can apply firm pressure, however, be gentle! Alternate between the left and the right side
regularly! And finally, you can also use a breast pump
if you like! Okay, the next proven way to dilate faster
during labor is acupressure. As a TCM therapist, I can wholeheartedly recommend
acupressure during labor to help you dilate faster. It can help you intensify your contractions
which is what you need in order to dilate faster.
With that said acupuncture would clearly be
more powerful than acupressure when it comes to intensifying your contractions. But of course, acupuncture is usually not
being offered in Western hospitals. If that’s the case, you can try stimulating
the following three acupressure points during labor: The first point is really helpful if you
want to speed up labor. However, it is also commonly used to help
with labor pain. First of all, position one of your hands, like
I am doing it here! Then look for the highest point on the muscle! It is located right behind the fold between
your thumb and index finger. When you put your thumb of your other hand
on that point and then open your thumb and index finger, the point is supposed to be
at the center of that little triangle that forms between the bones of your thumb and
index finger. Firmly press and massage the acupressure point! Do it for as long as it feels comfortable
and repeat it regularly throughout labor! Afterwards, do exactly the same on your other hand! The next point is commonly used to help reduce labor time
and also to help with labor pain.
First, you need to find the highest point
of your medial ankle bone on the inside of one of your legs. Then you need the approximate width of four
of your fingers. If your partner helps you, he is supposed
to take the width of your own fingers. If you do it yourself, simply place your fingers
right next to the highest point of the medial ankle bone! Your new point is located right next to the
bone at the end of your fingers. From there, simply move a tiny little bit
away from the bone, until you can feel a fleshy webbing. That soft point is the acupressure point that
you want to firmly press and massage! Do it for as long as it feels comfortable
and repeat it regularly throughout labor! Afterwards, do exactly the same on the other leg! This last point is another great way to intensify contractions! However, it is also great to relieve back pain during labor! So, ideally, you kneel in front of a birthing ball! Your arms rest on the ball! Make sure that it feels comfortable! Next, your partner first needs to find the so-called
"dimples of Venus", which you can see in this picture! They can be found over the joint
where your pelvis and spine meet just above your butt! Now, all your partner has to do
is massage that small triangle that forms between those dimples
and the point just above the crease of your buttocks! If your partner cannot see the dimples,
please just tell your partner to massage your sacrum i.e.
The center of your lower back! Do this for as long as it feels comfortable
and repeat it regularly during labor! By the way, this step can also be perfectly combined
with birthing ball exercise number 6, called "rocking sidewards" from our video about birthing ball exercises to induce labor! You can find the link to that video
in the description below THIS video! The final proven way to dilate faster during
labor is reflexology. Reflexology involves stimulating pressure points on your soles
and feet. It is something that you probably already
know from our labor induction videos. However, in this case, we only focus on two
points: namely, the points to stimulate your uterus and your pituitary gland. So, take off your reindeer socks and tell
your partner to massage the following reflexology points: The first reflexology point is connected to
your pituitary gland which is responsible for the release of oxytocin.
So the idea here is to release more Oxytocin
in order to intensify your contractions in order to help you dilate faster. First of all, your partner needs to find the
approximate center of your big toes. Then he needs to press his thumbs against
these points in a slightly upward direction. This is easier to accomplish when your partner
secures your toes from behind with his fingers. He should now firmly press and massage the
toes for at least 1 minute. Moreover, he can alternate between firm pressure
and firm rotating movements if he likes. You can repeat stimulating this point as often as you like throughout labor! The second reflexology point is connected
to your uterus. Our aim here is to stimulate the uterus in
order to intensify your contractions.
To find the point, you first need to find
the highest point of the medial ankle bone on the inside of one of your legs. Then find the approximate end of the bone
of your heel. Draw an imaginary straight line between the
two points and take the midpoint of that line. Your partner should now massage that point,
as well as the area above and below the point for at least one minute.
He can alternate between rotating movements,
rubbing as well as firmly pressing the point. Afterwards, do exactly the same on the other
leg. You can repeat stimulating this point as often as you like throughout your labor! Alright, we hope you found this video super
helpful! And most importantly, we hope that it helps
you get one step closer to meeting your little one! Right! Thanks so much for watching! And please remember to leave us a feedback
in the comment section below or simply like and share our video if you have found it helpful! We really appreciate each and every one of
your reactions, because your feedback helps us a lot to improve our videos! And for more useful tips and tools on pregnancy
and baby-related topics, make sure to subscribe to our channel and to hit the bell..