How a labour of love makes for a happy baby

PREGNANT women who use natural therapies such as yoga, massage and visualisation have shorter labours and better outcomes for babies, new Australian research has found.

Bondi mum Ariana Aljinovik with 6-month-old son Phoenix enrolled in a course in natural birthing techniques. Picture: Adam Taylor

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PREGNANT women who use natural therapies such as yoga, massage and visualisation have shorter labours, less medical interventions and better outcomes for babies, new Australian research has found.

The study, published overnight in the British Medical Journal, compared 176 couples who attended two different Sydney public hospitals.

Researchers say the dramatic improvements in childbirth — including cutting the length of the second stage of labour from an average one hour and 32 minutes to just one hour — raise questions about how conventional childbirth educations classes are run in the state’s hospitals.

The first group of mums-to-be received the standard hospital childbirth education program, while the second group were taught techniques to combat pain based on an existing birth preparation course already running at Bondi, called She Births.

It included special yoga poses to open the pelvis and encourage the baby, breathing, massage, acupressure (a non-invasive form of acupuncture) and also included the active support of the partners of the women.

Epidural rates were slashed to 23pc for the group using the alternative medicine, compared with 69pc among the control group.

Researchers from Western Sydney University’s National Institute of Complementary Medicine also documented a cut in caesarean rates (18pc versus 32pc), less inductions, perineal trauma and the babies were also less likely to require oxygen resuscitation at birth — 14pc compared with 29pc.

“This is the first time I have seen such dramatic improvements from any birth study and I would be delighted to see it studied further and available in Australian hospitals,” Royal Hospital for Women director of obstetrics Dr Andrew Bisits said.

“This study proves that we can help women navigate and receive individualised care within our very busy medical systems.”

“These women were in standard delivery suites of public hospitals, they were not in birthing centres — so that’s an amazing result”

Lead researcher Dr Kate Levett said it was the first randomised controlled trial in Australia investigating the effectiveness of birth preparation classes using multiple complementary medicine techniques.

She Births founder and childbirth educator Nadine Richardson, who runs weekend courses in the techniques, said it was fantastic to have a scientific study back up her methods and approach.

“These women were in standard delivery suites of public hospitals, they were not in birthing centres — so that’s an amazing result,” she said.

“There’s not enough good birthing centres available — but education is more important than where you actually give birth.

“The right education allows you to defy the statistics.”

Bondi mother Ariana Aljinovic said the births of her two children had benefited enormously from doing the natural therapy antenatal classes.

The labour of her first child Imara, almost four years ago, took just one hour, while her second born, Phoenix, required just 20 minutes of active pushing in August last year.

“I’m grateful I did the She Births course, it could have been a very different experience,” Mrs Aljinovic said.

“They were great births and being able to meditate and visualise really helped me, I was able to calm myself down during the labours.

“Some of the yoga poses helped me with the pain relief and also to rest.”