Vertical birth: what does every pregnant woman need?

Nowadays, vertical birth (VB) is not considered a very common practice. Many women have never even heard of such births. After all, we mostly learn about births from our mothers, grandmothers, other women or from films where there are scenes of births. And almost always, women in labor lie on their backs. Therefore, most people have the impression that birth in the lying position is the only and correct position.

Although the supine position still remains traditional for modern medicine, its physiological nature and convenience for the mother herself can be argued. After all, the supine position is convenient for the obstetrician and the doctor. They have more space and convenience for action. But we should not forget that the main characters in the action called "Childbirth" are not the doctors at all, but the mother herself and her child. Therefore, first of all, we need to take care of their comfort and health.

And vertical birth is the position in which a woman can give birth most comfortably, painlessly and physiologically correctly. In the old days, in many countries, women gave birth in a vertical position. And to this day, women in less civilized nations give birth this way.

Preparing for vertical birth

Preparation is necessary for any birth so that the process does not turn out to be too frightening or painful. What does preparation for vertical birth include?

As with preparation for normal childbirth, preparation for VR begins with learning how to breathe correctly and relax muscles. Some women experience very severe pain during childbirth. But, most often, this pain is not caused by natural physiological processes in you as a woman in labor.

And it is caused by the resistance of muscles. During contractions, the muscles of the uterus and peritoneum push apart the cervix and hip joints so that the baby can pass through the birth canal. This process is quite unusual for the body, so the body subconsciously begins to resist it. All the muscles of the body begin to tense up and resist the muscles that prepare the birth canal.

This is where the acute and almost unbearable pain occurs. This is why women are taught to relax during labor. The ability to relax removes the internal muscular "conflict" and significantly reduces the pain during contractions. During vertical birth, it is easy for a woman to relax in a sitting position on a fitball. She can make rotational movements with her pelvis during contractions. They knead and relax the muscles, which helps reduce the pain during contractions.

The choice of position for vertical birth is another important element of preparation for it. The mother can stand, sit on a special chair, kneel or squat during VR. It is very important to learn all these positions before the onset of labor to avoid injury or panic.

An important part of preparing for vertical birth is choosing a maternity hospital and a doctor. It is no secret that not all maternity hospitals can offer you a choice of birthing position. In most cases, they only practice traditional lying-down births. Many maternity hospitals do not even have special chairs for VR.

Therefore, if you decide to give birth in a vertical position, you need to choose a suitable maternity hospital and a doctor in advance who has experience and who knows how to deliver a baby in a vertical position. During childbirth, a positive attitude and understanding between the patient and the doctor are very important. Not all doctors are ready to deliver a baby in a vertical position and have a good attitude towards this practice. Therefore, it is important to choose an experienced and positively minded doctor.

Maternity hospitals using vertical births

Not all maternity hospitals practice vertical births. Therefore, if you have decided to give birth in a vertical position, and not lying down, then you need to find a maternity hospital in advance that will agree to accept such a birth.

It is worth noting that in most maternity hospitals, doctors are not at all against the vertical position of the woman in labor at the first stage of labor. That is, when contractions occur. The woman may be allowed to walk, stand or sit. She can choose the most comfortable position in which the contractions will be less painful.

But the second and third stages of labor in most maternity hospitals are carried out in the supine position. The chairs on which women lie, leaning on their feet and holding on to the handrails during contractions, are also adapted to this position of the woman in labor. There is no doubt that such chairs are very convenient for the doctor and midwife. But they are not always convenient for the woman in labor herself.

Therefore, if you are looking for a maternity hospital, you need to find out whether they practice VR there and what equipment they have for such births. First of all, the maternity hospital should have a special chair for vertical births. Unlike the chair for lying down births, this chair allows the woman in labor to sit even during pushing.

In addition, there may be a fitball in the delivery room. Giving birth while sitting on a fitball is more comfortable than lying down or standing. There may also be a special staircase in the delivery room where the woman in labor can stretch and relieve muscle tension between contractions.

And most importantly, the maternity hospital that uses vertical births must have well-trained and positively-minded staff. Not all doctors, especially old-school doctors, are receptive to innovations. Therefore, you need to choose a professional who understands all the advantages of VR for the woman and the fetus, and is ready to put up with some of the inconveniences of such births for themselves.

Chair for vertical birth

To give birth vertically, it is not necessary to use a special chair for vertical births. The birth can take place in a standing, squatting or kneeling position. In this case, the woman remains mobile and can easily change the position if necessary.

But, nevertheless, a chair for VR makes this process easier for both the mother and the doctor. Unfortunately, not all maternity hospitals have such equipment. What does a chair for vertical birth look like and how does it differ from a regular "lying" chair?

This chair can be called a chair. You can't lie down on it. The woman sits on such a chair during labor. It has handles for supporting the arms and footrests. Also, the chair has a "slit" or recess, thanks to which the woman's pelvis and vagina are suspended and the baby can come out without any obstacles.

As a rule, this chair is not very high, which makes it difficult for medical personnel to work. After all, the doctor has to sit "hunched over" next to the woman in labor during pushing. Therefore, not all doctors are eager to accept VR.

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Vertical birth: pros and cons

There are many pros and cons to vertical birth. Let's start with the advantages of this practice. First, the vertical position is the most natural for a woman and a baby during labor. Of course, this does not mean that a woman should stand the entire time of labor. She can sit, stand, walk, or squat. Active movement or changing body position during contractions can greatly relieve pain and discomfort during labor.

The second advantage of vertical birth is the pressure of the fetus on the birth canal. The weight of the fetus and the uterus helps the cervix to open and, so to speak, pave the way for the baby through the birth canal. The vertical position can speed up labor and reduce its duration. The pressure of the fetus makes the woman's work easier, because it moves along the birth canal not only by the force of pushing, but also under its own weight.

Thirdly, with VR the risk of birth trauma for the child and for the woman is significantly reduced. In this position the placenta is born much faster than during a lying down birth. And it is at this stage that the woman loses a lot of blood. The faster the placenta is born, the lower the risk of bleeding to death.

Fourthly, with vertical births, the woman takes a more active part in the birth process. She sees everything and controls everything, which does not happen with births in the lying position.

But vertical births also have their downsides. Firstly, this process is more active and the woman in labor cannot sleep between contractions. But the period of contractions can last for hours.

Secondly, the vertical position during childbirth is not very convenient for the doctor and midwife. Their access to the mother and baby is limited. And not all doctors are ready to put up with this state of affairs. In addition, VR requires different equipment, namely a chair, than horizontal ones. And not all maternity hospitals have it.

Thirdly, if a woman pushes hard during vertical birth, she may have severe ruptures of the vagina, cervix and perineum. After all, the baby goes down not only under the force of pushing, but also under the pressure of its own weight. This accelerates the movement of the fetus and can lead to ruptures.

Fourthly, when giving birth in a sitting or standing position, a woman cannot ask the doctor to give her an epidural anesthesia. After all, such anesthesia leads to numbness of the muscles of the legs and back and interferes with giving birth in an upright position.

Childbirth in a vertical position

How does vertical childbirth differ from traditional childbirth lying on the back? Vertical childbirth differs from "lying down" childbirth at all stages of this process. As you know, childbirth has several stages. The first of them is contractions. The woman's muscles are actively working and opening the cervix to release the fetus.

During traditional "lying down" births, the woman spends most of the time lying on her back or side. Whereas during VR, in the first stage, the woman not only does not lie down, but is not limited in her position or motor activity at all.

In other words, she can walk, sit, stand, or endure contractions in a sitting position on a fitball. She can even hang from a horizontal bar or special ladder, or sit on her husband's lap if it is a partner birth. In addition, when a woman is not lying down, but standing or sitting, her birth partner can massage her back or lower back, which will help ease the pain of contractions.

In addition, in the vertical position, the fetus and uterus do not press on the blood arteries, as happens in the lying position. Blood circulation in the woman's body improves and the risk of fetal hypoxia decreases. That is, with VR, the air supply to the child improves.

In addition, the pain during contractions is not as strong as during a lying-down birth. If a woman sits on a fitball, she can make rocking movements with her pelvis. They massage the muscles, relieve excess tension and reduce pain. In addition, movement during contractions accelerates labor and shortens the period of contractions. The cervix opens faster.

Giving birth in an upright position has many advantages over giving birth lying down and in the second stage of the process. In the second stage, pushing begins and the baby is born. It enters the birth canal and comes out.

The main advantage of vertical birth is the naturalness of the position. If a woman lies on her back, she has to push the baby along the birth canal by contracting her own muscles. That is, she has to push very hard and almost to the point of exhaustion.

In VR, the fetus moves downwards under the force of its own gravity. The force of gravity helps the baby move downwards and be born faster.

Even in the third stage of labor, vertical birth has significant advantages. The third stage is the birth of the placenta. Again, this is accelerated by gravity. In addition, standing or squatting reduces blood loss during labor.

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Contraindications to vertical births

Are there any contraindications for vertical births? Of course, there are. For example, premature births can serve as such a contraindication. Another contraindication is the incorrect position of the child. If the child is not lying head down, the doctor will have to turn it inside the mother's womb. It is almost impossible to do this with VR. Therefore, in such cases, traditional horizontal births are recommended, where the doctor has more space, convenience and access to the woman in labor.

Another contraindication to vertical birth is a narrow pelvis of the mother or a very large fetus. VR can proceed faster than horizontal ones, because the baby naturally moves down under its own weight. It opens the birth canal faster and more "assertively". If the pelvis is narrow or the fetus's head is too large, severe ruptures of the birth canal in the mother or birth trauma in the baby are possible.

As is known, all repeated births proceed faster than the first. After all, the birth canal is already "trodden" and it is easier for the baby to pass through it. With vertical birth, the process can accelerate even more, which can lead to tears in the mother.

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Reviews of vertical births

Many reviews of vertical births are positive. And it is not surprising, because this is how our great-grandmothers gave birth. In the past, women were not ordered in what position to give birth and were not forced to lie for many hours during labor. As a rule, for labor, a woman went to a bathhouse, where the heat and water relaxed the muscles and eased the pain.

Moreover, the woman in labor was not allowed to lie down all the time. She walked, squatted and stepped over obstacles. Such "exercise" eased the pain during contractions and accelerated labor. Therefore, many women who chose VR were very pleased with this process. Especially those who have something to compare with.

Many say that vertical births were less painful than regular "lying down" births. And not only during contractions, but also during pushing. In addition, the placenta is born faster, which reduces the time of labor. And it is born on its own and without the painful help of a midwife or doctor.

Many women believe that vertical birth is more convenient and easier, but it is important to find a good doctor who has a positive attitude towards this practice. After all, it is the doctor who experiences discomfort during VR.

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