Someone once explained the following emotional equations to me:
Suffering - Meaning = Despair
Suffering + Meaning = Purpose
I think that the second equation explains childbirth beautifully. A mother goes through suffering and pain, but it is all worth it! I remember the moment each of my four children were placed in my arms for the first time. It was love at first sight! Actually, it was love before first sight because I loved each of them from the moment I discovered that a tiny human being was growing inside my body.
That being said, I definitely wouldn’t have minded shorter labors, fewer pushes and less pain. The interesting thing about labor is that the body has to tense up enough to push the baby out, but yet has to relax enough to allow her to come. The more quickly a mother’s body can reach a balance between the sympathytic (contracting) and parasympathetic (relaxing) systems, the faster and less painful the childbirth experience can be. See pages 30-31 in Birth Pain: Explaining Sensations, Exploring Possibilities 2nd Edition by Verena Schmid for more information on the roles these two systems play in childbirth.
I have found a wonderful technique for helping women in labor to find this balance. It is a foot zone. By working over 120 reflex points on the feet, including some key points to stimulate labor, I have found that a woman's body can reach homeostasis, finding that important balance that the she must reach in order for her child to be born.
As I participate in giving laboring women foot zones, it is beautiful to watch and amazing to feel their bodies relax and find a consistent rhythm as the baby waits to be born. Through certain reflex and pressure points on the feet, signals are sent through the nervous system to corresponding places in the body helping them to relax. As I work specific labor points on the feet, the signals stimulate the body to action.
Here'a a reflexology chart with reflex points that can be used during labor.
These can be used as described in the charts once a woman is in active labor. The most effective results are experienced if these points are worked after a full foot zone is given to the expectant mother.
For a list of certified foot zone practitioners visit: www.familyfootreflexology.com