Shadowing Practice: EARLY LABOR Movements | MOVEMENT Brings IMPROVEMENT When You’re Having A Baby! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hey mamas, the way you move in labor matters.
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When you're not listening to your body and moving, it can slow or even stop the birth process.
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In this video, which is just one video in the entire Built to Birth online course, we'll teach you how to move
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and find positions in the early stages of labor to help set you up for a smooth
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and more straightforward road to meeting your baby.
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If you love this video, you can get the full Built to Birth course bundle in
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the description below to have access to over 100 videos on how to have a healthier, happier, and easier birth and postpartum period.
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So let's get started.
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In most places that aren't influenced by the Western world,
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women move through labor in upright and changing positions.
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Unfortunately, in more developed countries, women are more likely to labor in bed, often causing labor sensations to become harder to manage,
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often resulting in unnecessary interventions.
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While a woman is in early labor and in the bridging stage of labor between early and active, interventions should be used very minimally,
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if at all, to allow the body to progress as normally and as safely as possible.
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In order to do this, upright positions and frequent movement should be encouraged.
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In this session, we are talking about which movements
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and positions will help you create space in your body for your baby and find comfort in labor and avoid unnecessary interventions.
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Early labor brings on surges that come between every 5 and 20 minutes that are noticeable but very manageable.
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During early labor, it's usually best to go through your day or night as normally as you can.
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Walking, going out to a restaurant, watching a movie, or napping are all great options.
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If it's nighttime, it's especially important that you sleep or rest as much as possible, which can be difficult with your surges.
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A comfortable sleeping position is lying on your side with your bottom leg mostly straight
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and your top leg draped over in front resting on a pillow.
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This creates almost a hammock for your belly to promote optimal positioning for baby in the womb in relation to mama's pelvis.
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As long as you can, try to rest or distract yourself from the sensations of the surges and don't worry about timing your surges in the beginning.
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Or if you do time them, only time three or four and then resume
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when you notice a shift either in the intensity of the sensations or the frequency of the surges.
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When you feel like you can no longer distract yourself or resting or sleeping is no longer comfortable,
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it might be time to start finding positions that bring you comfort in this early part of labor.
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A good position for early labor is laying over the birth ball with your knees securely on the ground, slightly spread apart in your chest and arms draped over the ball.
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In this position, you are open, leaning forward, and using gravity to help with the progress of labor.
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Curb walking
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or taking the stairs is another great way to help labor progress in the early stages of labor
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because it is using asymmetrical movement in the pelvis to provide baby with those micro movements
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that can help them wiggle deeper into the pelvis and apply more pressure onto the cervix.
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Sitting upright in a chair
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and using the seated knee press counter pressure technique can help provide relaxation
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and movement in the pelvis to encourage your baby to descend as well.
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During early labor, you want to balance activity with rest.
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We want labor to bring on powerful surges because that power is what allows your baby to be However, those powerful surges are also tiring.
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So the more you can rest in the beginning parts of labor, the more energy you will have throughout the rest of labor.
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During the bridging stage of labor,
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you are dilating from about three to six centimeters and your surges are about five minutes apart and labor becomes undeniable.
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Now is a good time to hop on your birth ball if you haven't already.
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The first stage of labor involves your baby dropping into the pelvic inlet like this
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and then engaging in the pelvis where these ischial spines are
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so to help them do
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that we want to remove some of the obstruction from this big sacral bone right here
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so on the birth ball you can do pelvic tilts to help tuck in your tailbone
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and it you'll see that it opens up the inlet of the pelvis by moving the sacrum
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so to do the pelvic tilts on the birth ball you'll
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sit on your ball with your feet flat on the ground
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and your knees at about a 90 degree angle
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and spread apart just enough so they don't want to fall open
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because they're too close together or push themselves in
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because they're too far apart then with your hands on your
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thighs tilt your tailbone back making a small arch with your lower back
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and then reverse the movement and tuck your tailbone in
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and forward as you roll your spine out making a c-shape with your back around your belly.
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The movement we want to focus on the most is tucking your tailbone under to help get
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that big sacral bone out of the way to widen that pelvic inlet.
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Doing hip circles on your birth ball is another great way to help open up
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that pelvic inlet to allow baby to engage in an optimal position in the pelvis.
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You'll set yourself up in the same way you would for pelvic tilts, but instead of tilting, you'll simply draw a circle with your hips in one direction for two to five minutes
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and then switch directions.
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Leaning forward is another beneficial position.
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It provides a lot of comfort and uses gravity to create space in your womb for your baby to move.
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Walking, swaying with your partner, lying on all fours over the birth ball, and resting
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when you can are all other movement ideas during this bridging
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stage of labor as you move from early labor towards active labor.
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Try to be somewhere totally comfortable as you're laboring in the early and bridging stages.
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Your emotional and physical comfort is crucial because if your mind is not relaxed and confident, it might not matter what you do with your body.
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Labor progress will be difficult if your mind is telling your body that it isn't safe, it's not doing it right, or that it's too much to handle.
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Your body, baby, and mind are all working together right now in labor as they have been the whole time through pregnancy.
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Doing these movements are going to help keep everything and everyone in sync with each other.
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You can practice these movements now so that come labor, you know how to do them because the more you practice these things now, the more likely you will do them later on in labor.
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Movement brings improvement.
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If you're trying to keep labor moving forward, moving your body is crucial.
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Movement is just one aspect of labor progress.
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So to learn more about comfort measures, common interventions, how to avoid them, how your partner is involved, and so, so, so much more.
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Make sure you check out the Built to Birth course, which is linked down below.
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Or if you're not quite ready to make that commitment yet, take the free mini birth class with my top five foundational tips for a better birth,
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which is also linked down below.
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You deserve to be empowered in your birth experience.
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And that starts with education.
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So thanks for being with me in this video, and I'll see you in the next one.
Why practice speaking with this video?
This video provides a unique opportunity for English learners to practice speaking in a context that is both informative and engaging. As the speaker discusses the importance of movement during early labor, learners can enhance their communication skills by focusing on the emotional and physical aspects of childbirth. This setting allows you to practice key vocabulary related to pregnancy and labor, as well as develop your ability to convey important concepts clearly and effectively. By incorporating this video into your IELTS speaking practice, you not only improve your fluency but also gain insights into a significant life event, making your learning experience more relatable.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker utilizes various grammatical structures that can benefit your English learning journey. Here are some key expressions and grammar points to observe:
- Present continuous tense: The phrase "the way you move in labor matters" illustrates how the present continuous is used to discuss ongoing actions. Pay attention to using this structure when describing current activities in your speaking practice.
- Imperatives: Commands such as "try to rest" and "go through your day as normally as you can" highlight how to give instructions effectively. Practicing imperatives can add clarity to your communication.
- Conditional clauses: Expressions like "if you do time them" show how to create conditional sentences. Practice using these structures to discuss possibilities in your speaking.
- Descriptive phrases: The speaker often uses descriptions to explain positions and techniques. Phrases such as "lying on your side" can enhance your vocabulary, allowing you to describe actions in detail during discussions.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While watching the video, pay close attention to the speaker's pronunciation, particularly with medical and labor-related terminology. Here are a few tricky words and phrases to practice:
- Upright: Ensure you're articulating the initial 'u' sound clearly, as this can be easily muddled.
- Pelvis: The 'v' and 's' sounds can be challenging, so practice saying it in repetition for fluency.
- Interventions: This word can be daunting due to its length; break it down into syllables as you shadow the speaker.
- Surges: This term may require practice to avoid confusing it with similar-sounding words.
Incorporating these pronunciation tips while utilizing a shadowing app or shadowspeak technique can greatly improve your confidence and clarity when speaking on such topics. Engage in English speaking practice regularly to reinforce these concepts and continuously refine your skills.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.