Double Down: Hip Squeezes with Two People
Most laboring women LOVE the hip squeeze. You’ll need to maintain constant, consistent pressure throughout labor. Active labor can be upwards of 6-12 hours, so if your laborer likes hip squeezes, that’s a LOT of them!
Luckily, if you have your labor doula with you, after you’ve both exhausted your own one on one hip squeezes (if you get there - doulas are so used to squeezes that they’ll probably keep going long after you’ve given up!) you can do a double hip squeeze to use body weight and save energy.
Over time, the pressure on hips means that Mom will want even more pressure than before. This can make or break the pressure on lower back as labor intensifies.
Have the mother stand or kneel on the bed or over a ball, with nice wide hips to allow you to find the best position. You and your doula will kneel with a supported leg holding your own body weight on either side of her.
Using your hands, locate the bones of the pelvis on your side, and move your hands down towards the buttocks and place your whole hand here. It’s important not to press on bone, because that will be painful!
At the same time as your doula, you’ll use your body weight to lean in and place pressure on your hand, which pushes Mom’s hips towards each other. It may take a try or two to find the right position; practice this in prenatal visits to find what’s best and experiment so you can find the right place.
When the contraction has ended, make sure you’re both releasing pressure at the same time, so that Mom doesn’t go tumbling forward!
It can be tiring to continue to perform hip squeezes, so make sure you’re alternating with your doula and taking breaks to conserve your own energy, and then dive into hip squeezes with two people as labor intensifies!
Comentarios