Are you #duein2022 and wanting to know the best birthing positions? Read on to learn about which positions have the best, and worst, rates of perineal tearing!
Not only does sidelying position have the lowest rate of perineal tearing of all positions, it is also amazing for delivery if you are experiencing back pain from a herniated disc, severe stenosis or back labor. Your tailbone is free to move, so this is also useful in cases of tailbone pain.
Use a birth peanut or ball, a chair, or have your birth partner support your upper leg. If your leg is numb from an epidural, be sure your birth partner is changing hand positions often!!
This position might not be great for you if you have pubic symphysis dysfunction (pain in the lower front of your pelvis), as the pressure on one side of your body might irritate that.
For those of you who can’t do sidelying due to pubic symphysis pain, hand and knees position, or kneeling over a birth ball, could be a good option. This offers some of the benefits of squatting, but with a bit slower delivery speed, which is not a bad thing from your perineum’s perspective, especially if you are a first time mom.
Knees relatively pointed outward (feet in, knees out) will open the upper pelvis (early to mid labor), while knees relatively in (feet out, knees in) will open the lower pelvis (mid to later labor), so keep this in mind in these positions.
Squatting, while it can be fabulous for laboring, has the highest incidence of perineal tearing, especially for first time mothers. This is likely due to the advantageous pressure and position considerations that lead to a faster birth. Faster births don’t give the perineum as much time to adjust to the changes in length.
Using a sheet-assist, or a birthing bar, can help unload your spine, but remember that deep squatting could move the spine in a way that would aggravate spinal stenosis as well as lumbar discs, so if that describes you, an alternative birth position should be chosen.
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