Mum-to-be dances through labour

Passing the time during the early stages of labour can be tough. You’ve had a bath and a bounce on your birthing ball, your waters have broken and things are moving… slowly.

One mum-to-be in America has impressed us with her unusual labour technique. The unnamed woman was filmed dancing – yes, dancing! - through her contractions, doing a full routine alongside her sister-in-law.

Her doula says, ‘My last client of 2016 dancing her baby down through contractions at 6cm dilated!’

The video, which was uploaded onto Facebook by her doula, has already been viewed over 10 million times and has amassed thousands of positive comments from impressed viewers.

Our midwife Sophie says:

"We absolutely love this video of this mum-to-be having a dance between contractions. Being upright (standing, sat in an upright rocking chair or on your knees) allows gravity to assist in moving your baby down, further towards the birth canal. Having an active labour where you can walk around and frequently change positions will help to reduce the length of time that you are in labour. Of course you are allowed to have a little lay down too at times, but being active will certainly help move things along a little faster. Feeling comfortable in your surroundings and with your birth partner (aided by dancing and laughing) also enables the body to produce more oxytocin, which acts on the uterine muscles, making contractions more effective. The stress hormone, cortisol, is activated when you are feeling stressed or anxious and can cause the progress of labour to be a little slower. So, put on your favourite music, dim the lights a little and let your body perform the miracle of life! Go mummies!!!"