Through her work as a Birth Doula and OMP Educator, Danae shares how recognising the signals from your body and baby can transform the way you experience labour.
Contractions are more than muscle tightening, they are the story of birth in motion
When we talk about contractions, it’s easy to think of them simply as tightening muscles or pressure. But contractions are far more than that. They are part of a complex, intelligent process that your body and baby work through together during birth.
The intelligent movement of your uterus
The uterus performs a sophisticated movement called dextrorotation. This is a coordinated action of its three muscle layers working in unison. When activated together, they create a purposeful clockwise spiral force that helps adjust your baby’s position, guiding them through the Cardinal Movements of birth, while simultaneously opening your body for birth.
How the muscle layers work:
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Longitudinal layer: Engages the round ligaments, pulling from top to bottom.
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Circular layer: Uses the broad ligaments to wrap around the uterus and maintain dynamic balance.
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Oblique layer: Involves connective soft tissues (muscles, ligaments, fascia), rotating the entire system into a controlled, rotational descent.
This isn’t random muscle action. It’s an intelligent, directional force, a communication system between your baby, your body’s internal environment, and your brain.
Every contraction has a unique purpose
During labour, you’ll notice your contractions changing in frequency, intensity, and duration. These changes aren’t random - they tell the story of your labour. When you learn to watch and listen closely, you can tune in to what your body and baby are working on together. Every contraction carries intention and serves the birth process.
Through supporting so many women, I’ve continually learned about their contractions, their bodies, their babies, and their unique labour stories. Sometimes, even the moulding of a baby’s head reveals the beautiful narrative of their birth.
My aim is to share this knowledge with women, families, and birth workers. By combining this understanding with my Optimal Maternal Positioning (OMP) training, I help others understand birth on a deeper level.
When Contractions Slow or Pause: A Purposeful Break
Labour is a dynamic dance. Your baby’s position and descent through your pelvis are always changing, and your body’s intelligence responds by adjusting contractions to help your baby navigate through the space you provide.
If your contractions slow down or stop temporarily, it’s often your body giving you a purposeful break to recalibrate. This protects both you and your baby, especially if there’s a roadblock like a positional challenge or elevated cortisol levels. This can also be a ‘rest and be thankful faze’ and part of normal physiology and birth progressions. I was at a birth last night with a mum that was fully dilated, her baby very low in the pelvis. She fell asleep, snoring for an hour and a half, she woke up after that rest to huge powerful surges and pushed her baby out with extraordinary power! Women’s bodies are astounding!
During this time, practices such as OMP alignment techniques, breathwork, meditation, and rest can provide valuable support.
Understanding “Stalling” in Hospital Settings
In hospitals, this natural slowdown is sometimes called “stalling.” Well-meaning providers may suggest interventions like synthetic hormones (e.g., Syntocinon) or breaking waters without fully considering why your body is resting - especially when you and your baby are well.
How Does Optimal Maternal Positioning (OMP) Help?
OMP includes exercises, stretches, massage, and gentle rebozo techniques that couples can use during pregnancy to relieve aches, maintain dynamic equilibrium, and prepare the body for birth.
During labour, OMP positions and movements help couples work together to maximize space in the mother’s body, supporting labour progression, bonding, and comfort.
OMP techniques:
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Relax and balance the pelvic floor
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Lengthen diaphragmatic muscles
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Relax ligaments connecting the uterus, pelvis, sacrum, and hip flexors
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Change pelvic orientation and open areas to create space for the baby’s descent
OMP helps reduce challenging fetal positions like breech or posterior (baby’s spine aligned with mother’s spine), which can lead to longer labours, inductions, or cesarean sections. The mother’s movement and positioning during pregnancy and labour influence the birth’s outcome. Understanding OMP allows you to create space in the pelvis, facilitating your baby’s cardinal movements and smoother labour progress.
What About Optimal Fetal Positioning (OFP)?
The position your baby starts labour in has a significant impact on how labour progresses. Research compiled by Jean Sutton and Pauline Scott in Optimal Fetal Positioning shows the ideal fetal position depends largely on the shape of the mother’s pelvis. How your baby moves through and out of the pelvis depends on this shape and how you move during labour.
Bringing OFP and OMP Together
Optimal Maternal Positioning (OMP) directly influences Optimal Fetal Positioning (OFP). Creating a smooth path through your pelvis depends on your baby’s ability to perform the cardinal movements of descent and dilation.
Together, mother and baby work as a team. Using OMP can physically widen the pelvic inlet and outlet, increasing the chances of a faster, easier birth.
Our bodies and babies are incredibly intelligent and intentional - supporting this process with OMP can make a remarkable difference.
Learning to work with your body using Yoga and OMP takes practice before labour begins. To get started, you can join one of my OMP workshops in Sydney at www.danaebirthdoula.com.au. or look for one near you. Subscribe to www.yogatobirth.com for my Birth Training.
Understanding Different Types of Contractions
‘Scanning Contractions’
These contractions are your brain interpreting your body, mind and baby. This is a scanning and communicating process, working together to understand what is needed for birth.
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Light cramping in the lower abdomen or back
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Dull, cramping sensation
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Less than 45 seconds long
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Occur in weeks and days leading up to labour and very early labour
‘Dilation Contractions’
These contractions help your cervix open and your baby descend.
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Short, strong contractions lasting 45-60 seconds.
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Symmetrical pattern that gets closer together (e.g., every 10, then 8, then 5 minutes).
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Increasing intensity until staying at about 3 minutes apart (established labour).
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Accompanied by continuous “bloody show” as the body continues to open.
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Mum displays behavioural changes, the ‘Birth Beast’.
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Sounds become lower and deeper as labour progresses, women tend to get closer to the ground.
‘Positioning Your Baby Contractions’
These contractions can be very intense, even if dilation is still early. They focus on positioning and centering your baby, rather than opening the cervix.
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Typically 60 - 120 seconds long.
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Asymmetrical patterns (varying spacing between contractions).
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May be very strong but less regular -e.g, 4 mins, then 6 mins, then 3 mins then 5 mins apart.
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1.5 - 2 mins apart can indicate baby is in a posterior position (baby’s spine against mum’s spine).
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May cause “double-peaking” contractions (sign of an asynclitic head).
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Work to improve baby’s engagement, centering, and flexion (tucking the chin) to help complete cardinal movements.
‘Rotating Your Baby Contractions’
The contractions group together to give extra power to bring as much momentum as possible helping to rotate your baby in a spiraling downwarn motion.
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Contractions cluster or couple together
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Help your baby rotate in the pelvis to continue descent and flexion (tucking their chin).
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Often occur in patterns like three or four contractions spaced 2 minutes apart, followed by a 5-minute break, repeated.
Your contractions truly are storytellers - a remarkable dialogue between your baby, your body, and your brain, guiding the beautiful journey of birth. By understanding this story, tuning in to your body’s wisdom, and supporting it with techniques like OMP, you empower yourself for a more informed and connected birth experience.
If you’d like to explore OMP further or find workshops in Sydney, visit www.danaebirthdoula.com.au or find Danae on Instagram @danaebirthdoula
For Birth Training integrated into Yoga by Danae, visit www.yogatobirth.com