Relaxation for Childbirth (Part 1)

Posted on Wed Dec 18th, 2024 @ 3:37am by Captain Maho Takahashi & Lieutenant Commander Brennyn Scott M.D.
Edited on on Wed Dec 18th, 2024 @ 3:41am

1,190 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Captains and Contraband
Location: Takahashi Quarters

With Maho now in the final ten weeks of her pregnancy, Commander Scott had something she had wanted to go over with Maho in regards to the event that lay at the end of the tunnel: However, Scott had insisted that she wanted to go over it in a place where Maho was comfortable. That ruled out the ready room by default, and Maho was never comfortable sitting in a counselor's office, so that left just one location on the Myogi outside the holodecks, where a comforting environment could be generated; and that was Maho and Keisuke's quarters.

Keisuke had taken the night watch, so he would be on the bridge most of the night. Maho only hoped that this wouldn't take that long. After they had eaten, and Keisuke had left for the bridge, Maho had contacted Scott and let the counselor know that she was available, and to come to her quarters on her own time. Now, all that was left was for the counselor to turn up.

Bree exhaled slowly, looking down at the PADD she carried before pressing the chime to Maho and Keisuke's shared quarters. As much as she loved all things pregnancy and birth and she believed for any number of reasons, preparing the Captain for childbirth was a task that was ordinarily tailor-made for her as a therapist and a physician, Scott was nervous.

While Maho had never given Scott any reason to think she disliked the Chief Counselor, Bree didn't exactly feel as though she knew the commanding officer well or that the commanding officer had any particular use for her. At the same time, those thoughts immediately elicited feelings of guilt in Bree, who admittedly didn't try as hard to get to know Maho as she should have. Lord knew, the soon-to-be mother had been through a lot and had a lot on her shoulders outside of the pregnancy, and no matter what defenses the other woman put up, the counselor was determined to be a better source of support for her than she had been.

There was no denying impending motherhood meant Maho was about to experience a level of vulnerability, physically and emotionally, that would perhaps open a door that would be harder to open otherwise, but Scott was under no illusion the establishment of rapport was going to be quick or easy. Still, she hoped the circumstances would give Bree the opportunity to demonstrate her knowledge, but more importantly, the degree to which she cared about Maho and wanted to do right by her as well as the rest of the crew.

"Enter." Maho's voice came from within. Though muffled by the door, a keen observant would have noticed that her tone of voice was softer than the usual harshness present when she was on duty.

Indeed, Scott noticed the difference in tone and was encouraged by it, although she still planned to follow Maho's lead. The doors to Maho's quarters obediently hissed open and Bree stepped inside. Instead of her usual work uniform, Scott wore modest workout clothes - in this case, yoga pants and an equally comfortable top - with sneakers that were clean, but obviously well-worn. Instead of her usual updo for work, only some of her hair was pulled back away from her face in a barette. "Hello, Captain. Thanks for meeting with me. I hope you are well?"

"Well, little Kyoko here isn't trying to push her way out early, so I guess that means all is well for now..." Maho said, taking in as big a breath as she could, but given her heavily pregnant state, it still felt shallow as she struggled to adjust herself on the couch to greet her visitor. "I hope you don't mind if Keisuke doesn't join us? I know you'd said something earlier about meeting with us both, but tonight just isn't going to be that night..."

"That's okay," Bree reassured, gesturing for the Captain to keep herself comfortable on the couch. "I actually think it works out best to meet with you first. I promise not to blabber on at you the whole time, but before we get to the actual techniques, I think it makes sense to get to know you a bit and find out what you may already know about this process. With your permission, though, I'd like to replicate some things that were a bit bulky to bring with me. While I do that, is there something I can get you to eat or drink from the replicator?"

"I'll just have a glass of water." Maho sighed. Though deep down, she would love to have something more. Unfortunately, at this late an hour, Maho knew it would be most unwise to do so.

"Sure," Bree replied. Replicating the water first, she then went on to replicate a few pillows and foam wedges to offer support when they begin specific relaxation exercises and poses. Scott had other things in mind to use as well, but wasn't sure if they would get to them this session or later. Much would depend on how much they covered and whatever questions Maho had.


"Well, as for what I already know- I know it's going to be painful." She said. "I've heard labor equated to pushing a watermelon sized object through a quarter sized hole. I know I'm likely going to call Keisuke a whole bunch of things I'm not going to mean. At some point she's going to drop, and while that'll do wonders for my breathing, it certainly won't help the lightning crotch..."

Maho suddenly tensed up and grimaced as the aforementioned pain suddenly shot through her pelvic area. "Like that..." She grunted.

Bree placed the water next to Maho and winced in sympathy. No one who wants to tell you the truth about labor and birth will say there isn't some discomfort involved, but I think it's also fair to say there are things that can be done to reduce the discomfort, strategies that just don't involve pharmaceuticals," the counselor added with a grin.

"For example, how you think about, talk about, and label labor and birth, can greatly influence the experience. Basically, we want to help you avoid the anxiety-tension-pain cycle, which, as it sounds, starts with thinking about what's going to come in ways that provoke your anxiety. Once you're anxious, it's natural for your muscles to tense up in an attempt to steal yourself against what you're anxious about. That natural tension creates physical pain, which only reinforces the anxiety in a vicious cycle. That's not to say you won't experience gradually increasing discomfort as part of the process, but I've seen people manage it well if they learn not to fight the sensations and accept support. I realize it's hard not to think about the experience in an uncomfortable way, especially because that's how it's portrayed in the vids, but one way to reduce anxiety at the start is to make sure you have a good understanding of what the process of labor and birth entails so it doesn't seem so scary."

To be continued...

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