Birth Chants

[saimeiyu]

I am trying to think of things that will help me when I'm in labor-- I'm a very vocal person and tend to hum/sing a lot for no reason at all or because I just stubbed my toe or something (instead of cursing, that is.)...
Anyhow, I've read one or two references in books about birth chants in other cultures. I'm sure there's probably not a birth chant that's really in English, or anything, but that doesn't bother me... I just want to know if anyone has any resources to offer about birth chants... words, tunes, CD's, anything of that nature. I asked my doula about birth chants, but she's a newer one, and she's never had anyone ask for birth chants... She gave me a CD that's *really* pretty, but it's lullaby music, and I have no idea what the words are/say because it's in... something that's not English, and she didn't know... so... I like it, but I want more stuff!!

[Veritaserum]

I didn't really chant, but I had lots of phrases that would flow through my head like:

"I'm one contraction closer to having my baby."

"I open for my baby."

"My body was designed to give birth. My baby was designed to be born."

"I stay focused and calm no matter how much power flows through me."

There are Gregorian chants, but I don't suppose those have anything to do with birth.

[Jade2561]

I chanted "I can do this" part of the time and "Oh God, Oh My God." . The rest of the time I repeated this mantra in my head: "PAIN: Purposeful, Anticipated, Intermittent, Normal."

I think any kind of vocal release can be extremely helpful. I moaned A LOT.

I don't know of any CDs or anything though. I'm unhelpful. :

[hubris]

I did a lot of moaning and squatting through contractions during my second labor/birth. When I actually spoke/chanted it was usually addressed to the baby, things like:

"come on, baby"

"come down, come down"

(over and over again, moany, rhythmic)

[AlpineMama]

Well... words were beyond me but I did tend to moan a lot. In a good way. It helped. Not pain-moaning, just... moaning.

[library lady]

The birth chant I used was a deep gutteral, "Open".

I chanted the word open repeatedly. I had read in a book that this will help open up your cervix, pelvis, and help you to be more opent to everything. I made sure that I opened my mouth really wide also while saying it. I wish I could remember where I read this but it seemed to work. Just make sure that all chanting is deep and gutteral. Anything high pitched is counterproductive from what I have read.

[madhavi]

i also chanted open. but mostly O or OM. i envisioned a large circle and every contration said OHHHHH in a deep pitch. keeping my head down to encourage the deep sounds and jaw relaxed and mouth open. keeping your mouth relaxed helps down there too.

[pixiepunk]

many women find vocalizing sound helpful while laboring. ooooo (or ohm), sssssss, mmmmmm, aaaaaahhhh are all ones that i teach in my prenatal yoga classes and that many find useful.

[hubris]

Originally Posted by library lady

The birth chant I used was a deep gutteral, "Open".

I did that, too! Thanks for reminding me. I may have read that suggestion in Birthing From Within. ???

And while I was thinking/moaning "open" or "come on, baby" or whatever, I was picturing what I was saying - the contraction gently opening my cervix, the baby's head moving down.

[AlpineMama]

Heh.... the "come on baby" reminds me of my last five or so mins of pushing (I was pushing for a *while*). I wasn't really "chanting" as much as I got very angry and started yelling at the baby to "come the F out, NOW, get out get out get out get out get out." May not be the nicest way to welcome a baby into this cold harsh world, but it did the trick, and my sweet baby bunny promptly turned around, "unstuck" himself, and SHOT out. :

[Veritaserum]

Oh, yes, a nice "ooooooooooooooooopen" is always good.

[lovemy4boys]

Nice thread. I thought I was the only one! I listened to a classical chinese music CD over and over and over again. I was going to listen to my CD of the Royal Court of Thailand, but when I put it on, my husband said, "No way! I am not listening to that for the next few hours". So I put my backup on, and it was great.

I didn't specifically try to remember a mantra, so I was very surprised when a few key sentences popped into my head (over and over and over and over). I used some nice pre-natal yoga DVD's to exercise with while pregnant and one of the things the lady said while we were practicing squats was, "You know, squatting shortens the birth canal by 20%".

If I hadn't been trying to concentrate so hard, I would have fallen on the floor laughing. I still laugh when I think about it. And, as a side note, my midwife said she didn't think she ever saw anyone squat as long as I did.

[danotoyou2]

I did a lot of moaning through contractions, but my mental chant was just "Down" and trying to visualize the baby's head moving down. We'd had problems with him moving and not staying engaged, so I guess that was just my response to get him to "Stay the F*&^ DOWN!"

It worked! I just kept thinking "Down" through every contraction, and it helped.

[tamagotchi]

I just screamed

Some of the people present at the birth suggested other sounds to make, and I did try their suggestions, but moaning and mooing and om'ing and chanting didn't work for me as well as full-throated, let-it-all-hang-out screaming!

[tammyswanson]

Mine was just really loud "AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

[Mamabeakley]

I sang throughout both my births. In early labor (with my first, didn't really have any early labor w/my second) I could sing whole, complex phrases of songs and chants, which gradually got shorter and eventually by transition consisted of deep, growly, one or two or three word moans.

I don't have any great birth-specific chants to suggest, but you could find recordings by Libana, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and other female accapella groups - I think they might offer you some good material. Oh, Sinead O'Connor, too. Or whatever female musicians you like and find spiritually meaningful.

There is one chant that goes "openings openings openings, passages passages passages" getting successively lower through three repeats. It's by Mary Grigolia in her songbook "Grigolian Rounds" (see http://www.rbabb.com/voicesorder.html) - note, it is NOT on the recording, just in the songbook. I meant to try it out in my last labor but didn't get around to it.

Good luck, fellow singer!

[elsa_elsa]

during early labour I had planned on singing/chanting these two more complicated pieces (labour was only 4 hours so it didn't happen that way)

"I'm opening up in sweet surrender to the luminous love light of the one. "

and

"We are born of the womb, we return to the womb"

what ended up happening was mostly laughter and loud, long OM's

[ancoda]

At my birthing class they taught us a chant. I did not use it because I could not visualize it very well, but maybe it will help one of you.
"I am like a hollow bamboo, open up and let my baby come through."

[LoveChild421]

I normally sing a lot, but in labor I couldn't do words. I loved drums and beats and I did a lot of low moaning and making sounds, but no words. You never know what willl be helpful or not- I suggest having a bunch of CDs on hand (druming, Buddhist chants, etc) and just choosing what you feel like. There's no way I could give birth listening to lullabies.

[janellesmommy]

Lullabies? Sorry, that just makes me laugh.

My chant was "Relaaaaaax, relaaaaaax." I also roared like a lion.