In this article, we'll go through a simple exercise that can help you find both calm and focus before and during childbirth.

During labor, it's easy to get carried away and fight the pain. That's why it can be helpful to keep a breathing exercise close at hand to help you find your way back to calm and what you can control - your breathing.

A good breathing exercise that is easy to remember is a variation where you imagine you are breathing in a square. If you feel anxiety or worry coming on, you can use this exercise not only during labor when you want to find focus, but also in stressful or anxious situations.

Here's how to do breathing exercises during childbirth:

1. close your eyes and visualize a square. Imagine that you are looking at the bottom left corner. Breathe in slowly through your nose as you count to four and look up at the upper left corner. Continue to close your eyes throughout the exercise.

2. Hold your breath and count slowly to four as you walk over to the top right corner.

3. exhale slowly and count to four while letting your eyes wander from the upper right corner to the lower right corner.

4. Hold your breath and slowly walk over to the bottom left corner of the square where you started.

Continue the exercise for a couple of rounds, until you feel that you have regained your composure.

The pain is a good thing

Don't forget that labor is basically a good thing, it brings labor forward and closer to the birth of your baby! Try to accept your contractions rather than running away from them, and try to dive into the pain and follow the progress of labor. In labor, try to be as heavy and relaxed as you can. Be here and now. By immersing yourself in the pain during labor, you can help your body in carrying out the natural process of childbirth. In this way, you can facilitate trust in your body and the ability to birth your baby.

Labor pains are unique in that you actually get a break between each pain. During an intense labor, it is easy to tense up for the next contraction already during a labor break. Be here and now, enjoy and relax in labor breaks. Pat yourself on the back for getting through another contraction. Try to think that you are now one less pain away from meeting your soon to be born baby. Often you tense your shoulders when you are in pain. Take a few deep breaths to relax your shoulders and make your body feel heavy. As a partner, you can put your hands on the birthing mother's shoulders to make her aware of where to release her tension. When labor comes, you can help her find focus in her breathing by breathing with her, at the same pace.