What is non-medicinal pain management for childbirth?

During childbirth, breathing in a rhythm can help distract you from pain. It can also help relax your muscles and your mind.

As your due date gets closer, you can learn and practice different ways of doing focused breathing, such as belly breathing and pant-pant-blow breathing. Childbirth classes can also teach you breathing techniques.

Learning more than one technique can be helpful. You can change techniques as your labor changes. For example, belly breathing may work well during early labor. And pant-pant-blow breathing may be more helpful when your contractions get more intense.

Nonmedical pain relief options are ways you can comfort yourself and help relieve pain during labor without using medicines. Some examples include breathing in a rhythm and getting a massage. You can also do things to distract yourself, such as reading, walking, or listening to music. For some people, these can work well.