Relaxation for Childbirth (Part 3)

Posted on Wed Mar 26th, 2025 @ 4:43am by Captain Maho Takahashi & Lieutenant Commander Brennyn Scott M.D.

1,192 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Indivisible

Previously, on Star Trek Myogi:

"I promise to answer your question, but I'd like to provide some context first so as not to mislead you. First, unborn babies are quite clever at positioning themselves how they need to be born. That's not to say birth won't require effort on your part or that babies don't need help from time to time to be positioned just right, but I say that babies are babies are smart because I don't want you to think the baby's going to be like a champagne cork that comes roaring out by violent force or suprise. I will also add, when the time comes, if we've done a good job of helping you trust your own intuition, in addition to giving you coping skills and suggestions as things progress, you will also have a sense of what positions feel right for you to assume to allow your body to stretch and ease her out as comfortably as possible."

And now, the continuation:

Bree continued. "So as I was saying, babies are pretty smart about positioning themselves in such a way to be born. There's actually a predictable pattern of how babies twist and turn themselves during birth called the cardinal movements of labor that we can review to give you a visual representation of what babies can do. In addition, a baby's skull has bony plates that can shift and make the head moldable to the exit, so while the average head is 34 centimeters in circumference and the opening about 10, those numbers don't reflect your body or the baby's head's ability to accommodate the difference. It's an amazing collaboration, really."

"I see;" Maho nodded. "So, circling back real quick to the effort on my part; I heard somewhere to avoid pushing as if I'm having a bowel movement. My mom told me that's how she gave birth to me and my sister, but if there's a better way to push, I'd love to hear it."

Scott smiled, both at the other woman's willingness to talk about the subject in terms that were frank but could be considered taboo or embarrassing even in a medical context, and because the question elevated the discussion to a level of detail that she thought only pregnancy and birth nerds like herself cared about.

"There are times when thinking of the birth process as similar to emptying one's bowels is accurate and helpful. For example, those who help birthing people throughout their labor will sometimes ask them to sit on the toilet, particularly if their contractions aren't consistent or strong enough to allow labor to progress, because most humanoids who are used to relieving themselves in this position automatically relax their lower bodies in the same ways that are necessary for babies to move downward and for contractions to occur. In fact, there's some evidence to suggest, at least anecdotally, the contractions experienced while sitting on the toilet can be stronger and ultimately more productive."

Scott paused, then added, "When it comes to actually pushing the baby out, it might surprise you to know voluntary pushing effort on your part isn't strictly a requirement, physiologically speaking, assuming the baby is in a good position and there are no other complicating factors that would make birth difficult. Your body can and will bring the baby out with involuntary effort eventually even if you never provide voluntary force. That said, unless there's a medical reason why you shouldn't offer your own voluntary effort, such as blood pressure that is severely elevated, most birthing people find it difficult not to and their own effort when they feel their body's involuntary urges to bear down because it relieves the discomfort.

Getting back to the original question, Scott offered, "In the not too distant past, conventional wisdom had birthing mothers start to push with their contractions the moment the baby's exit opened the full 10 cm, but we now understand just because the doorway is open so to speak , it doesn't mean the baby is low enough to be right at the door. Contractions not only have to open up the exit, they also have to push the baby down through your pelvis. Those two events don't always happen simultaneously, but they're connected. This means you might not feel the urge to bear down just because you're fully dilated, so in that case, asking you to push before you and the baby are ready means it takes more time and effort on your part to get to the place your body will get to naturally most of the time. As I said, unless there are reasons to get the baby out as quickly as possible for her own well-being, any good birthing specialist will encourage you to wait for your own urges and not feel pressured to move at someone else's pace. Perhaps when your mother gave birth, other people unintentionally placed unecessary demands on the process?"

"For me? Not that I know of: Though the doctors did speculate that the contractions I brought on for her were caused by her grief for the still-fairly recent loss of her father at Wolf 359." Maho explained. "My sister, on the other hand... Just didn't want to come out, so my mother wound up being induced at 42 weeks."

"Your mother must be one strong woman to deal with that kind of roller coaster just to bring the two of you into the world. Stress isn't good for anyone, but I should mention babies have minds of their own. Often, what an expectant mother does or doesn't do has little to no effect on whether the baby comes early. I mention that, not because I think there will be a problem, but because while I want you to take good care of yourself, sometimes the stress of trying to do everything right or to avoid guilt is itself something not helpful."

Nodding, Maho began to look around.

"So, what about this equipment you said you were going to replicate because it was too bulky to bring with you?" She asked, deciding to change the subject and get to the reason of Scott's visit.

Bree's grin was wider than ever before. "Now that we've covered some facts, it's time to try some more hands on techniques. I'll just need to replicate some pillows, a yoga mat and some ice cubes," she added with a mysterious twinkle in her eyes."

"Ice cubes?" Maho asked as she began to sit up. "How the hell do ice cubes come into this?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing too crazy. Holding onto an ice cube while you practice breathing techniques is a way to simulate the discomfort of contractions for various length of time."

"How is that a good stand-in for contraction discomfort?" Maho asked.

"It's not an exact match to the cramping sensations you'll experience on the big day, but holding ice cubes in your hand for progressively longer periods of time creates more discomfort than you might first expect. Creating the exact sensation is less important than creating some thing uncomfortable that challenges you to practice your coping skills."

To be continued...

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