Home is where the Labor is
If you take a laboring elephant out of it's natural habitat, away from it's community, and put it somewhere that's just as unfamiliar as it is loud, bright, and cold - labor is going to stall. The same thing can happen with people, how many times has someone told you they were making progress and as soon as they entered the hospital their contractions spread out or paused altogether? As animals we have a need for safety when bringing our little ones into the world. We are both at our most vulnerable, and have a deeply rooted physiological stress response called 'Fight or Flight' that works to protect us.
Here’s why we need to keep that stress response at bay:
Adrenaline and Oxytocin are not friends. In fact, not only do they not play well together - they simply will not play together at all. Adrenaline directly interferes with the production of oxytocin (the love hormone that works so hard to make those longer, stronger, closer together contractions that we need)! This interaction (or lack thereof) is what causes labor to slow down, stall, or stop when we detect danger.
When we’re afraid, we tend to tense up to brace for impact or whatever the threat is in that moment. This is the exact opposite of what we want your body to do in labor. We practice breathing and relaxations specifically to target and release any lingering tension within your body. By ‘closing up’ not only does your body almost hold your baby captive until you reach safety again, but you also trap the pain in as well resulting in more discomfort.
On the opposite end of things, if your body believes that the best way to move out of harms way is to get your baby out asap and take off running - guess what? You will be rocked with a wave of adrenaline and energy, overrun with contractions, and have a baby out before you even knew to push! While this is some parent’s dream scenario - many birthing people who experience these hard and fast labors can feel overwhelmed or out of control.
The key to having a labor right in the sweet spot of steady progression without being bulldozed by contractions is all in your prepwork. Learn how to facilitate the flow of Oxytocin and how to minimize Adrenaline, find what environmental factors make you feel safe, practice being mindful when things don’t go as planned. Labor at home a few more minutes, do what you can to make the transition to the hospital as seamless as possible (psssstt..doulas are great for that).
You don’t need to be fearless or a birth expert to avoid falling into the Fear, Tension, Pain cycle - you just have to be honest and willing to learn. Luckily for you, I happen to know a wonderful teacher ;-)