HypnoBirthing
Learn the surge breathing technique for your birth preparation
In this post Esther will explain Surge breathing.
Esther Jones is a Hypnobirthing practitioner and has been working with women and couples since 2007.
This is one of the most important techniques in your preparation for birth.
It is a very long, slow breath that helps you to let go of any tension and flow with the surge (the contraction), making sure that neither the mind nor the body offers any resistance to it.
It is all about allowing the deep powerful sensations of the uterine muscles to flow through the body without tensing into them.
So let’s get started…
Surge Breathing
A breath that helps you maximise how effective your contraction is.
By working with the rise of the surge, you’re working with the movement of the muscles of the uterus. The uterus has two layers of muscles that work together. During a surge, the vertical muscles contract up and as they do, the circular muscles open, opening the cervix as they do. You can imagine this as a wavelike motion. And, of course, using this breathing technique ensures that the uterine muscles are receiving all the blood and oxygen they need to do this work.
So, make sure your body is relaxed.
A relaxed, oxytocin-filled body is loose and floppy.
So, you could try doing a couple of Calm Breaths first.
Then, imagine your belly like a bowl, containing the uterus and your baby.
Beneath this bowl, the rest of your body stays calm and relaxed.
The energy of this breath will be directed only to the muscles of the uterus.
No other muscles in the body need to be involved in the surge.
Then you’re going to inhale the longest, slowest breath that you can.
As you inhale, put your hands on your belly and push the belly up, visualising that you are inflating a big, red balloon.
As you reach the end of this breath, imagine releasing the balloon into a beautiful blue summer sky, and exhale, coming down just as slowly as you went up. Never hold on to your breath.
It is likely that many surges during your labour will last between 45 seconds and a minute, so this long, slow breath will give you enough time to work with a lot of the surges. When you do need to take a second breath during the same surge, just let go of the first breath and take a new slow breath in. The important thing is that you stay relaxed and free of tension.
The important thing is that you stay relaxed and free of tension.
It is likely that many surges during your labour will last between 45 seconds and a minute, so this long, slow breath will give you enough time to work with a lot of the surges. When you do need to take a second breath during the same surge, just let go of the first breath and take a new slow breath in. With practice you'll be able to make the breath longer.
Watch the video
Listen to Esther LIVE as she explains Surge breathing!
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