My personal coping strategies

Stop and think for a moment about what helps you when you currently feel stressed or anxious, or have a pain or ache?

Now take a moment to jot down some things that already work for you.

Some of the things that you already do to cope with stress and pain can be used if you are feeling anxious during labour, or are finding labour pain difficult. A few examples include:

• Walking
• Distractions (such as watching TV, or visualising yourself in a happy place)
• Listening to music
• Breathing exercises
• Having a bath or shower

As your labour continues and your contractions become longer and stronger, you can use a number of different strategies together, such as listening to music while you take a short walk, or doing some deep breathing exercises in the bath. You can use the time before labour starts to think about other strategies that you might like to use to assist you during labour. We will also help you with further suggestions in Steps 3.7 and 3.8, and in Weeks 4 and 5.