Did prenatal yoga help you labor?

cecilyandgautam · February 2013

I took the prenatal yoga class offered at my nearest hospital and it really helped relieve some of the aches of pregnancy and generally was good, low impact exercise.

But I've seen several NB moms say it's part of their birth preparation - they discuss it side by side with their birth class and I'm just wondering, did anyone of you actually use yoga in your labor?

I'm wondering if the class I took wasn't hard core enough because it certainly wasn't anything I felt inspired to do between contractions, but maybe that's because my body skipped right over the "talk & walk though" early contractions Bradley taught me to expect.

tokenhoser · February 2013

Well, I did not take Bradley (and I don't plan to), so I can't compare formal classes to what I get out of yoga. What I get out of yoga is the ability to consciously relax between contractions, consciously relax the muscles that aren't working during a contraction, and the ability to focus and breathe through pain. I delivered on my hands and knees and rested in child's pose between contractions, so physically yoga helped me have options available for positioning.

My class also has some pregnancy-specific mediation in it that I like. Very positive and nice to connect to the baby for a few minutes.

I think we find the methods and tools that resonate with each of us as individuals. I find yoga helpful for my mental and physical health outside of pregnancy, so it makes sense that it would be comforting and useful to me through pregnancy and labour as well. There is definitely a difference between yoga taught from a fitness perspective and yoga taught by someone that really embraces the spiritual/mental aspects of yoga as well.

superned · February 2013

I loved prenatal yoga, more for what it did for me during pregnancy than for being part of my birth preparations. I did end up doing some yoga right before labor with DS, and did some vocal toning that I learned in class at the very end, before I started pushing.

AmyRI · February 2013

I didn't use many of the positions, but I did use the breathing, relaxation, and vocal toning techniques. I hadn't taken classes for that purpose, but I did use the information I got there.

Joyfullnoise · February 2013

Yes, I definitely used yoga during my labor. Some variations on asanas I found to be comfortable and the breathing and ability to focus really helped me. I think part of why it worked for me is because I "bought into" yoga long ago and it is something I practiced regularly. Any program could provide this for a laboring woman, imo, but this fit me. My first labor was also 5 hours total, fast and furious. I'm hoping to relax a bit more this time around!

Celyn · February 2013

I put ladies in lunges and reclined goddess at pretty much every birth I attend.

cecilyandgautam · February 2013

Thanks for the responses - very interesting. While I enjoyed my prenatal yoga class, I think I'd benefit from a more holistic course next time.

nosoup4u · February 2013

Yoga helped me practice breathing and really relaxing, which helped me when labor got tough. I didn't practice it exactly how we did in class, but being able to focus on breathing and vocalization came in handy.

I would look around and see if there are other classes in your area. I did mine through a local yoga studio.

Did prenatal yoga help you labor?

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