"Lower voice!"

[Rosenbloom]

my midwife was telling me during the last hour of the labor. It is really the only one guidance I remember she gave me. I was totally free to do what I want.
Now, that "Lower voice!" is stuck in my head, I still don't understand what exactly I was suppose to do with my voice. If I could control it I would not make any sound.
Can anybody explain to me why it is so important how your voice sound like?
Thanks!

[wombatclay]

Welcome to MDC!

I can't say for sure, but some care providers feel strongly that relaxing your throat and face helps you relax the perineum and birth more efficiently. Ina May's books discuss this a lot. A long, low, "moooooooo" type vocalization will open up and relax the face/throat muscles and may help the birth proceed more smoothly. So this could be what your midwife was asking you to do.

Others feel strongly that if you are vocalizing a lot in the upper register then you're "wasting" energy that could be used for bearing down. Think of it kind of like weight lifting... that 'grunt/ungh' sound they make as they lift? That's a "lower voice" sort of sound in that context and might be what your midwife was thinking about.

Either way, I agree that there are births where no amount of "should" is going to matter. I "mooooed" my way through a very long labor that ended in a c/s. I hypnobirthed and breathed and grunted my way through a vbac. And I screamed like a banshee for the full four hours of my second vbac (to the extent that my midwife left orders for throat lozenges ). Each birth prompted a different vocalization response.

I'm guessing your midwife thought that if you changed how you were vocalizing, the birth might have gone faster or more smoothly or something like that. Sort of like suggesting a position change? But in the end you're the one having the baby and you're the one who is ultimately in charge.

[Rosenbloom]

Thank you for your reply!
By the way, I could use those throat lozenges myself too - I could not speak for a few days after labor (I had a cold + all that screaming)

[angelpie545]

I think the low moaning works out for some, but it really depends on the person. Providers have to realize it's not a "one size fits all". I screamed my way through labor with my first, grunted, moaned and yelled through pushing, ext. I was so focused that I couldn't for the life of me have followed any commands. It was a good thing too, my daughter was 9lbs 5oz with a difficult presentation after getting through a swollen cervix, so any distraction and I might not have been able to get her out .

[L J]

What I got out of Ina May's book was that low tones help to open sphincters. Your cervix is a sphincter, just like your anus. I played around with the concept while using the toilet in the months leading up to my first son's birth, and I felt like it was a pretty accurate theory.

When I was in labor, my ex kept reminding me "low tones, low tones" and at once point I moo'd very loudly, just like a cow. I did it being silly, and when I did I started laughing. The laughing helped more than anything else at that point, and I was actually mid-belly laugh when his head emerged.

I think the logic behind low tones is good, but I think you should be completely informed as to WHY it helps open you up, if its actually doing to do you any good. I don't see where telling a birthing mama who has never heard the science and thoughts behind it to lower her voice is going to actually help open you up at all.

[HappyMommy2]

I liked being reminded of that. The higher-pitches tend to head towards panic-type feelings, the lower-tones head toward inward calm. At least that's how it worked for me.

[earthmama369]

When you make a high-pitched sound, your jaw muscles clench, your mouth opens more like a grin, your teeth are more likely to clench -- everything tightens up. And the rest of your body follows suit. This isn't optimal when you're trying to push a large baby out a small opening! When you make a low sound, your mouth naturally opens in more of an "O" shape, your muscles relax, and you breathe more efficiently and deeply. This also translates to the rest of your body. So this will help you relax and open so that baby can come down and out.

[limette]

Whenever I made an effort to keep my tones low I'd get chided by my midwife for not breathing. It wasn't like I was holding my breath either.

[Otterella]

Yes, it has to do with controlling your panic. Your vocalizations form a feedback loop with your state of mind and body, and high-pitched vocalizations are innately associated with panic. It's true of most vocalizing species. Think of the nature videos you've seen, when a prey animal knows it's about to get eaten by a predator, or is otherwise in extreme distress. They always make panicky sounding high-pitched squeals. You're panicky, so your pitch goes up, and when your pitch goes up, your adrenalin goes up too, so you get more panicky. It's great if you need the adrenalin boost to escape from a predator, and to notify your herd that you are in trouble and need help. But when you're in labor, fear and panic interfere with productive laboring. If you can focus on keeping your pitch low down in your chest, you tell your body to stay calm.

[PoppyMama]

For me...the lower tones help to open things up and speed up labor. I tend to have faster labors anyway and the out of control, speeding freight train labor is scary for me and not what I want. My last baby was born with a mid-wife and they did keep trying to get me to lower my tones but I kept raising them back up because it slowed things down a little. Of course I couldn't explain that to them at the time but I'm going to let them in on this before my next baby is born so that they will lay off.

[Limabean1975]

Originally Posted by L J

When I was in labor, my ex kept reminding me "low tones, low tones" and at once point I moo'd very loudly, just like a cow. I did it being silly, and when I did I started laughing. The laughing helped more than anything else at that point, and I was actually mid-belly laugh when his head emerged.

Ahhh, that's awesome!

[mamaofthree]

i agree with the others that the low tones in theory help open things up, but just because you can't or don't wish to make those sounds doesn't mean things won't work. each birth, each person will make the sound that works best at that moment.
at one of my births a midwife was telling me to shush. lol (i don't even remember this) but the sound i was making felt good. so if the sound feels good, then that is what is working.

h

[Rosenbloom]

Oh, thank you everybody!
I knew there must be certain ideas behind this advice. Now I understand and agree that lower tones can help. My labor was pretty fast
L J : thank you for mentioning Ina May's book - I definitely want to read it!