Breathing and relaxation

Research on breathing and relaxation looks at how focused breathing and relaxation practices relate to labor pain and other outcomes. A meta-analysis examines breathing exercise and the duration of labour, and a systematic review looks at relaxation techniques for pain management in labour. A mixed-method study explores relaxation practices, labour pain and choice of epidural.

Trials test specific approaches. One adds an arms-crossing technique to Lamaze breathing, another uses a breathing device with virtual reality, and a protocol describes a breathing and relaxation intervention within antenatal education. Broader sources place these methods among others, such as an overview of systematic reviews on pain management, an integrative review of non-pharmacological therapies, a review of new labor pain options, and a practice bulletin on obstetric analgesia and anesthesia.

Parents often ask whether breathing patterns matter and how to prepare in advance. An educator may want slides that describe these techniques as skills parents can practice, and reflect what the studies measured. The papers below are the ones the Hub tracks on this topic.