December 04, 2002

Hang ups for labour

Have received a simple request via an email - “do you have any suggestions for a rope for labour?”

I am imagining that this request has come from someone who has either seen pictures depicting women hanging onto a rope for birth, or else they have seen the Austrian video “Giving Birth, Being Born” which at one point shows a woman hanging onto a rope suspended from the ceiling as she labours.

Certainly in bygone eras women often used something to hang onto while they pushed, and a simple rope slung from a hook or over a beam above her head would have been a simple solution. It makes sense to provide a strong handhold against which a woman can pull as in second stage there is a strong grasping reflex and women find pushing easier if they have a way of stabilising their upper bodies so they can exert effective downward pressure.

In today’s labour wards, a soft, thick rope could easily be suspended from a large hook or eye bolt in the ceiling. It could be knotted at intervals to give a better grip and prevent her hands from sliding down the rope. Positioning it above a soft mat on the floor would make sense, but I guess it could be hung over a bed as well - perhaps several anchor points to provide a degree of flexibility would be useful.

It would be an ideal addition to the array of self-help equipment such as mats, bean bags, birth balls etc that our birth centres and progressive labour rooms provide. If any hospital has already installed such a gadget (apart from the clinic in Vienna where the video was filmed) I would love to have news of this, and perhaps a photo for the web site.....

Posted by andrea at December 04, 2002 02:34 PM

Comments

At home we use sheets draped over beams on decks, and often fathers will construct something especially for the birthing time, because hanging squats and women needing to drop their weight from their arms are something we dicsuss antenatally. Women tell me it feels GOOD - I remember a tine woman I was supporting at home who was planning a VBAC, and this was how she jiggled her baby down...your article brings outsome of the tips midwives can use in their practice.

Posted by: Lynne Staff on December 6, 2002 08:07 AM

Comments

At home we use sheets draped over beams on decks, and often fathers will construct something especially for the birthing time, because hanging squats and women needing to drop their weight from their arms are something we dicsuss antenatally. Women tell me it feels GOOD - I remember a tiny woman I was supporting at home who was planning a VBAC, and this was how she jiggled her baby down...your article brings outsome of the important tips midwives can use in their practice.

Posted by: Lynne Staff on December 6, 2002 08:09 AM

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