• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Birth Goddess

Empowering Women for a Positive Birth & Beyond

  • Home
  • About
  • Reviews
  • Work with Me
  • Contact
  • Shop
You are here: Home / Birth Resources / Breathe your way to a healthier pregnancy and better birth

Breathe your way to a healthier pregnancy and better birth

July 17, 2013 By Katrina Zaslavsky

Good breathing -the key to a snore-free pregnancy, comfortable birth and optimal oxygenation for mother and baby.

by Tess Graham

It’s common for mothers-to-be to seek out the best nutritional, exercise and birth preparation advice. However, one of the best things a woman can do to increase her chances of a healthy pregnancy is often overlooked. And that is to breathe well, to optimally oxygenate herself and her baby.

Unfortunately the majority of women, pregnant or not, do not breathe optimally. One indicator is snoring. Snoring used to be a “male thing”, but these days more and more women are snoring, and more and more pregnant women are doing so. About one in four women report frequent snoring during pregnancy. For a small number of these women, snoring may be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnoea, a serious condition where sleep is disrupted many times a night through stoppages in breathing.[1]

This is not good news. If you are snoring, you are not breathing well, and the mother’s breathing during pregnancy can affect not only her own health but also that of her baby.

Research indicates that heavy snoring or sleep apnoea in pregnancy may be associated with high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, low birth weight babies, and low Apgar scores. (Pre-eclampsia is a serious pregnancy-related condition that includes elevated blood pressure. The Apgar score is used to assess a baby’s health immediately after birth.)  Snoring can be related to weight gain – which is part of a normal pregnancy – but that does not make snoring normal.

Why do people snore?

We all know snoring as that irritating noise that disturbs the sleep of the bed partner, other hotel guests and airline passengers. Children can snore, slim people can snore; it is not the prerogative of the middle-aged and overweight.

The first thing you need to know is that snoring does not occur in people with a normal breathing pattern, regardless of their weight. People who snore and have sleep apnoea do not breathe correctly. No exceptions. Research shows they breathe a lot more air per minute than is normal, both when awake and asleep.

Snoring is high-volume, high-speed breathing

As one long-suffering bed partner described it: “When he breathes in, it’s like he is sucking the paint off the walls; when he breathes out, I have to hold on to the side of the bed so he doesn’t blow me out.” During the day the signs of faulty breathing are there as well, though more subtle: Inefficient breathing is happening in the form of upper-chest breathing;  “over-breathing” is happening in the forms of sighing, yawning, mouth-breathing or breathing faster than normal.

When drawing in large amounts of air, the tissues lining your nose, sinuses, and throat can get dehydrated, swollen and congested, narrowing your air passages. During sleep, when your throat muscles are relaxed, high-volume breathing sets up turbulence and vibration, creating the snoring noise, and pulling the sides of your airway closer together, reducing airflow to your lungs.

People who breathe correctly – slowly, smoothly, softly – do not snore. Nor will they have a mouth so dry that they have to lever their tongue from the roof of their mouth with a spoon in the morning. Not a great way to start the day on top of waking so exhausted you feel like you haven’t slept at all.

Snoring is fundamentally a problem with the way you breathe

There is another aspect of the faulty breathing pattern of snorers, mouth-breathers, frequent sighers and fast and heavy breathers. The excessive amount of carbon dioxide they expel with their over-breathing may result in constriction of blood vessels around the body and throw blood chemistry out of balance. (No, “deep breathing” is not good for you and carbon dioxide is not a poisonous waste gas!) The combined effect of these physiological disturbances is hypoxia – reduced oxygen delivery and uptake to body cells and organs, including the brain, heart and uterus.

After a day of huffing and puffing through your mouth or a night of snoring, you may feel the effects of poorer oxygenation as lack of energy, difficulty in focusing or light-headedness. Go into labor, and over-breathe and you may experience slower and more painful labor. Poorly oxygenated muscles are tired, tense, painful muscles.

There is also an effect on the nervous and endocrine (hormonal) systems. Over-breathing revs you up, there’s an adrenaline surge, you are in “fight or flight” mode. Blood is diverted from the central organs of your torso (including your uterus) to your limbs, so you are primed to defend yourself or run; adrenaline blocks oxytocin – the hormone that causes the uterine contractions of labor and birth. This is fine if there is danger present – you would not want to give birth in front of a sabre-toothed tiger, so stalling labor for a while is a good reaction to have when in danger. However, not so, if you are in the hospital birthing suite.

On the other hand, calm, gentle, nose-breathing, as much as possible in stage one of labor will facilitate the body’s general relaxation response. The uterus remains well supplied with blood, oxygen and oxytocin, and can work just as nature intended -strongly, powerfully, not necessarily painfully.

It is ideal to sort out any faulty breathing habits before pregnancy so that optimal breathing is maintained through pregnancy and just naturally looks after itself during labor. A woman who understands breathing, who breathes well and trusts her body, will automatically adjust her breathing during labor and birth to exactly what is required at each stage. She will relax, let go, and allow her body to work as nature so well designed it to.

Fortunately you can change the way you breathe. You can replace poor breathing habits with correct and efficient breathing. It’s called breathing retraining and is taught by breathing educators.

What you can do yourself to improve your breathing

By being mindful to breathe through your nose during the day whenever it is comfortable to do so, or to breathe more gently through your mouth when you cannot, you will be breathing more efficiently and setting yourself up for more gentle breathing at night- and therefore less likelihood of snoring and better use of oxygen. Another advantage is that breathing slowly and gently is also calming and been shown to reduce heart rate and blood pressure.

You don’t need to stop exercising – you could simply walk or cycle at a slower pace, where you keep your breathing comfortable and in control, preferably through your nose.

Three top tips to improve breathing and reduce likelihood of snoring:

  • Try sleeping on your side rather than your back and elevating your upper body slightly with extra pillows or a special wedge-shaped pillow.
  • Avoid or reduce mouth-breathing in the daytime by being more aware to breathe through your nose whenever it’s comfortable.
  • Avoid  any activity that makes you breathe heavily, puffing and panting through your mouth. If you do have to mouth-breathe, do it gently.

A common comment several days after applying these suggestions is: “I had the best sleep in decades last night.”

 

Tess Graham
BSc. Grad Dip Phty
Physiotherapist, breathing educator, researcher, speaker and published author. Tess has worked specifically with breathing for over 20 years. She is the author of Relief from Snoring and Sleep Apnoea: A step-by-step guide to restful sleep and better health through changing the way you breathe. www.BreatheAbility.com

Additional:Tess conducts the “Breathing for Birth and Beyond” workshops for midwives, physiotherapists, doulas and childbirth educators. ​



[1] If there is concern about snoring or apnoea, it is important the person checks with their doctor to determine whether further medical evaluation is necessary.

 

You may also like:

  • It really helped her be excited about her birth
    It really helped her be excited about her birth
  • Planned but not ideal: Birth by Sunroof
    Planned but not ideal: Birth by Sunroof
  • Soooo thankful: Less than confident about birth to feeling so much better!
    Soooo thankful: Less than confident about birth to feeling…
  • Exactly what I needed, It's given me extra confidence to birth beautifully wherever I am
    Exactly what I needed, It's given me extra confidence to…

Get Your FREE Empowering Birth Magazine Issue 

60+ pages of positive, holistic articles, recipes, stories, real truth (without the fluff) plus stunning visuals of bumps and babes to feast your eyes on!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!

Filed Under: Birth Resources Tagged With: Pregnancy

A little about me …

Katrina Zaslavsky is an inspired international author, speaker and voice for women. A public health professional turned mum on a mission and now Birth Goddess founder, magazine editor, certified Coach and Practitioner of NLP, Hypnotherapy & more, Katrina is making positive waves across the globe and committed to being a part of the Positive Birth Revolution and empowering women for the journey into motherhood.

Katrina Zaslavsky: View My Blog Posts

Primary Sidebar

Product Search

Shop Online

  • My account
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Shipping Information
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Returns & Refunds

Popular Products

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Nurture
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Ultimate Birth Kit (Book + Affirmation Cards + 15 digital Mag Issues)
$169.75 $149.00

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Cards
$29.95
5.00 out of 5

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Love
$6.99
5.00 out of 5

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Labour Audio
$17.95

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Conscious Choices
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Holistic Pregnancy
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Intimacy
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Postnatal Bliss
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Mind Body & Soul
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazines – All Issues (15 Digital Issues)
$104.85 $98.00

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Gentle Beginnings
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Coaching – Full Journey (9mths private support)
$720.00 $695.00

Get it NowQuick View

A Modern Woman’s Guide to A Natural Empowering Birth
$34.95
5.00 out of 5

Get it NowQuick View

Peppermint Scrub – Pregnancy Bath Nurture & New Mum Self-Care
$15.00

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Gift Set – Book and Cards
$59.90

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine – Premiere
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Orange Lip Balm
$12.00

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Empowered (9mths Private Coaching+ Full Product Range)
$904.00 $799.00

Get it NowQuick View

Peppermint Lip Balm
$10.00

Get it NowQuick View

Handmade Silk Scrunchie Light Blue
$7.00

Get it NowQuick View

Handmade Silk Scrunchie Turquoise
$7.00

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Ripe and Ready
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Rise and Shine
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ VBAC
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Pregnancy Audio
$12.95

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Fertility
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Celebration
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Lavender Lip Balm
$10.00

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Coaching
$147.00 – $720.00
5.00 out of 5

Select optionsQuick View

Lavender Scrub – Pregnancy Bath Nurture & New Mum Self-Care
$15.00

Get it NowQuick View

Empowering Birth Magazine ~ Hormones
$6.99

Get it NowQuick View

Birth Goddess Resources

  • Positive Birth Stories
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Birth Goddess Blog
  • Birth Resources
  • Events
  • Reviews
  • Empowering Birth Magazines
  • Birth Products

About Katrina

Tags

Baby (3) bath during labour (2) Birth (9) birth book (5) Birth Goddess Cards Reviews (3) birth plan (3) birth support (2) breathing through contractions (2) calm birth (3) confidence for motherhood (4) conscious pregnancy (4) doula (2) easy natural birth (6) Empowering Birth Magazine (16) Empowering Birth magazine reviews (10) empowering mindset for birth (3) Fertility & Conception (4) fertility nutrition (2) homebirth midwife (2) hospital birth (2) husband support in labour (2) hypnobirthing classes (2) meditation (2) midwife (3) midwifery care (2) Motherhood (3) Mum book reviews (66) natural birth (3) natural hospital birth (3) new generation of strong women (2) overcome birth fear (2) overcoming fear and tension during childbirth (4) positive birth story (6) Postnatal Care (4) Pregnancy (18) preparing for natural birth (5) Professional book reviews (47) recommended reading (4) stress-free birth (4) timing contractions (2) VBAC (2) VBAC Support (11) Video Reviews (11) water birth (2) waters breaking (3)

Search Articles @ Birth Goddess

Footer

Prenatal & Birth Professionals

Do you work with pregnant or birthing women? Find out how you can empower your clients for a positive birth with our tools & resources.

  • Wholesale
  • Affiliate
  • Sponsorship
  • Speaking
  • Media
  • Contribute

Birth Goddess in the Making

Your FREE weekly inspired blog series with positive birth tips, insights and more, delivered with love (aka ‘love notes!’)

Your privacy is safe with us.

© 2022 Copyright Birth Goddess ~ All Rights Reserved. Log in