Diaphragmatic breathing is very important during childbirth - if we do it in the right way, it will be easier to go through the hours of effort, relieve pain and, most importantly, properly oxygenate the baby. How to learn to breathe the diaphragm during pregnancy?

We breathe too shallowly on a daily basis, without focusing on this activity. In addition, women cannot breathe diaphragm, which in turn comes easily to men. Therefore, before giving birth, if they go to birthing school, they learn this way of breathing.

Why is diaphragm breathing so important?

Uterine contractions gradually open up your cervix. It is a painful process lasting many hours. The pain caused by the contractions causes your breathing to be shallow - this is the body's natural reaction. It also happens that women hold their breath with very strong contractions. As a result, the pain does not decrease and less and less oxygen reaches the cells. The woman in labor becomes weaker and becomes more and more exhausted, and yet she must mobilize her strength for the last, most important phase of childbirth. A hypoxic and tired mother is also a hypoxic and tired child. Meanwhile, properly directed breathing guides the woman in labor through the contraction.

How to learn to breathe the diaphragm?

What does proper breathing look like? The most important thing - we take air with our nose and let it out through our mouth. This should be done fairly slowly and steadily, with the exhalation being - even twice - longer than the inhalation. When breathing through the diaphragmatic track, the upper part of the abdomen should rise, not the chest - while exercising, for ease of use, we can imagine that we are pumping a balloon under the skin at the level of the sternum.

How to practice diaphragmatic breathing?

•Lying down -lie down comfortably, bend your legs a little. We put one hand to the chest, the other lower to the sternum, where the diaphragm is located. We can put a pillow under the head to be able to observe both hands. We inhale with our nose and see if the hand is raised on the chest or on the diaphragm - we breathe properly with the diaphragm when we see the movement of the hand on the upper part of the abdomen, not on the chest. It should be remembered not to tense the abdominal muscles, we should work with the diaphragm, not with the muscles. We do 30 puffs andof exhausts.

•A variant of this exercise is to breathe together lying down with your partner- we lie down with our backs and heads together. One hand goes under the head, the other goes over the diaphragm. We try to synchronize our breathing - men have to slow down their breathing because they usually breathe faster than women. By feeling our partner's back move, we can better control it.

•Standing- we also exercise together with our partner. We stand facing each other on bent legs and place our hand on the partner's diaphragm, the other hand on the partner's hip. We make 30 breaths, controlling each other's diaphragm.

Regardless of the position in which you exercise, bend your legs.

How often do you have to practice diaphragm breathing before birth?

In the beginning, around 24-25. week of pregnancy, twice a day. After that, we can increase the frequency of exercise up to three times a day, and up to five times at the end of pregnancy.

When labor begins and contractions appear, breathe in when the pain increases and the uterus contracts, and breathe out when you relax.

Remember - thanks todiaphragmatic breathingyour labor will be smoother, faster and less painful. It will be safer for the mother and the baby.

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