Singing Through Labor: What Your Voice Can Do That Nothing Else Can
Most people don't think of their voice as a birth tool. They think of breathing techniques, water, movement, a trusted support person, maybe medication. These are all good and real and useful, but there is something the voice can do in labor that nothing else quite replicates.
I have come to see the experience of birthing as a magnificent spring rainstorm. The bright sky softly turns grey, then darker, and the rain builds until the powerful and exciting deluge descends in full force. In the calm that follows, the world is reborn. Each birth is unique and yet they all follow this basic pattern, and one of the most common complications that interrupts that pattern is stalling, when labor slows instead of steadily strengthening.
In my own second birth, it was having my mother near and singing that reengaged my emotions and brought back my contractions. I was grateful to have simple, supportive songs within me. “I know this rose will open. I know my fears will burn away. I know this soul will unfurl its wings. I know this rose will open.”
Why it works
Sensing danger stalls the birthing process. Women evolved so that perceptions and emotions control the hormones that turn labor on or off, which means that the body's felt sense of safety is not incidental to birth but central to it. Singing tells the body that all is well.
There is also a direct physiological relationship between the jaw, the throat, and the pelvic floor. Open, low, resonant sounds work with the body's architecture in ways that tight or high sounds actively undo. In transition and pushing, high sounds are connected to resistance and even cervical constriction, while sighing and soft or loud moaning extend the breath, support muscle relaxation, and encourage cervical opening.
Ina May Gaskin, mother of modern midwifery, has said: the energy that gets the baby in is the energy that gets the baby out. Birth benefits from a cocoon of soft lighting, gentle touch, and soothing sound.
The lullaby bridge
There is also something beautiful that can happen before labor even begins. Babies can hear and respond to music as early as 27 weeks gestation, and when a song is sung to the baby regularly in utero, the baby can recognize it at birth and receive comfort from it. What a way to be welcomed into the world, with a song already known.
You don't need to be a singer
Birth singing support has nothing to do with musicality or carrying a tune and everything to do with having sounds available to you before labor begins, so that when you are in the middle of it the voice is already a familiar tool, already something you trust.
For a much deeper look at singing through pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood, including song suggestions for every stage and the research behind them, visit my FREE Songbirth ebook.
Welcoming your baby with a song?
I offer personalized childbirth voice sessions in Olympia Wa and online. Your voice is always with you. I hope to help you develop a relationship with it that provides spontaneous support to your birthing and parenting journey.
