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Breathing techniques during labor

Date: 2011.01.16 | Category: Birth | Tags: breathing patterns for labor and birth,Lamaze breathing,psychoprophylactic method

Breathing techniques for labor and birth are designed to help women cope with contractions and pushing. Specific breathing patterns, which vary according to the stage of labor, are said to serve as pain relief and help the laboring woman relax. Who first came up with these breathing techniques? How do they work, and more importantly – do they work?

It was the French gynecologist Frederick Lamaze who was responsible for the spread of patterned breathing as a method of coping with the pains of labor. Lamaze International is still one of the main proponents of this method now, and as part of their childbirth education classes women will learn about different breathing patterns to help them cope with different types of contractions. Lamaze based his childbirth relaxation methods on the well-known Russian Pavlov’s findings, and it was often called the psychoprophylactic method in its early days. After seeing women in Russia used breathing techniques, Lamaze came up with his own method that included this, and other relaxation techniques to encourage a “painless childbirth“.

The midwife who attended my daughter’s birth taught me these breathing techniques during the late stages of my pregnancy. Essentially, it consists of a huffing and puffing methodically. When I went into labor, I faithfully tried out the breathing patterns my midwife has suggested to me. Did it help me? In a way – concentrating on your breathing can definitely play a part in distracting you from the pain you are feeling. During pushing, all practice went out the window and I allowed my body to do what it naturally needed to. That did not include any patterned breathing. For my second birth, breathing was not even on my radar. Meditation and just relaxing did the trick just fine, and there wasn’t much pain anyway.

Other women who have used patterned breathing to help them get through contractions say that it really helped them, and that it made the pushing stage much easier to get through. It might be useful to learn about these techniques if you think you might want to give using them in labor a go. However, on the whole, I think patterned breathing is highly overrated. Puffing air out in rapid succession, in sets of four, might help some women – but women might well come up with their own coping methods during labor all on their own, without ever having attended childbirth education classes. These coping techniques may or may not include any altered breathing. Watching television, chatting to friends, moving around, or eating, could just prove to be much more effective!

11 Responses to “Breathing techniques during labor”

anna 11/01/17 20:52

Hello Olivia :)

I just wanted to share my experience here.
Classes were never my thing and I never went to any of these childbirth once either.
Where I was in labor I was in hospital, due to a small baby, and at the very last moment before my girl was born I thought I would tell them I was ready to give birth. The last 10 or 20 minutes or so a nurse was breathing with me and although I thought the labor was fine before the breathing did make the contractions easier the deal with.
So for me it worked.
That does not mean it would work for everyone I suppose but it was ok for me.

CU Anna
writenow 11/01/17 21:10

That sounds nice. So the hospital staff left you totally alone during most of your labor? Did you have electronic fetal monitoring or not? Glad that the patterned breathing helped you.
anna 11/01/17 21:20

It was ok there.
It was almost 30 years ago though.
I was not on a fetal monitor and could move about as much as I wanted.
The nurses told me to press the button if and when I needed them.
I Had been in hospital for several weeks because of my small but lovely baby and I also had high blood pressure .
I knew them and they knew me.
They got in an extra bed for my husband and he slept like a baby during the whole thing but I did wake him up for the grand finally:)
For a hospital birth it was good!
I would have rather been at home but this was the next best thing to that because it was all so familiar to me.
That goes for the hospital and the staff.
writenow 11/01/17 21:29

I heard some rumors about “unassisted birth suites” in hospitals in Louisana during the 70s and 80s – your experience sounds pretty close. You could just press a button for assistance, and otherwise they would leave you alone. Being in the hospital for several weeks must have been annoying though. Did they do anything special during your stay, like non stress tests and so on?
Anna 11/01/17 21:42

It was ok like I said and I did not have any drugs or stuff.
I did have fetal monitors and stuff before to check if all was well.
My baby was fine all the time.
Just a small girl.
She still is not very big hahahahaha.
And still fine :)
TinkAe 11/01/19 21:52

Olivia, you mentioned that for your second birth, breathing was not on your radar. Meditation and just relaxing did the trick.

As I read this, it suddenly struck me that breath could(for some) simply be a way to get the mind/body re-focused when the mind/body have become overwhelmed. That’s just a thought. What do you think?
writenow 11/01/19 23:24

I agree. Everybody is different, and I am sure that breathing can be a great tool in labor for some women. Breathing could be a point to return to, when you can’t think about something else that will relax you in an instant. Mind you, I am not normally the meditating type, but it worked great during labor. I am not religious – sometimes I think I am atheist, mostly I am agnostic, an rarely I am convinced of the presence of a higher being. During labor, I actually prayed, and I felt something; a real connection to that higher being, or at least I thought so at the time. For labor, I think it might help to make a list of distraction, pain relief, or relaxation techniques in advance, during pregnancy. Then, you can mentally go back to that list when you are in labor and take your pick. A woman’s needs in labor might well be completely different to her usual needs, as far as relaxation is concerned.

Music is another one – I was sure music would help me relax in labor and I even made a labor playlist for DD’s birth. I just wanted peace and quiet, definitely no music.
Crystal 11/01/25 05:55

When I took bradley classes when preg w/DS the instructor taught ALL the woman how to properly breathe on a normal everyday basis. Most women breathe through their chest, so our chest rise up and down; when in reality we should be breathing through our STOMACH. WHen you take a full breath your stomach should expand.
IMO, patterned/lamaze breathing seems like it’s working against the body. We want blood to run rich with oxygen and our muscles to be relaxed. FULL lung breathing does this.
You can practice this next time you suddenly hurt yourself. Instead of tensing up or as soon as you realize breathe deep. You will notice the pain leaving in just a few exhales as opposed to holding it in for a few minutes.
writenow 11/01/25 23:18

That sounds rather logical, and I’m sure it works for many, for different kinds of pain – and of course, to relieve stress and anger. It’s not for nothing that people say “take a deep breath” when someone is about to lose their temper. Mind you, I don’t see pain leaving in a few exhales in the case of severe pain, like a broken bone.
Crystal 11/02/21 11:12

I’ve never broken a bone, thank God! But I’m sure you are right. :wink:
Eva 11/08/06 16:38

Just to comment on the Lamaze method: I can really recommend the book by Pierre Vellay (Childbirth without pain). There you can find that the Lamaze method is so much more then controlled breathing; it’s also total control over your muscles for controlled relaxation and a calm and controlled mindset, with different techiques for the different phases of labour. There you can see that Lamaze indeed recommends deep breathing and relaxation up until the final stages of labour, and that the fast breathing leaves the uterus to act unhindered during the final, intense, stage. Indeed, this method is based on relaxation, as tension gives pain, and the breathing is just an aide.