Late labor stalls, or a stall in your labor around 8cm, could be related to a number of reasons, such as:
- Baby’s position (head tilted and misaligned to the cervix)
- Decreased or restricted space in the lower midpelvis
- Maternal fatigue/hunger
- Fear
When approaching a labor stall, we want to consider the WHY or what is causing the stall in our solution. Not every labor stall can be resolved with more Pitocin, or synthetic oxytocin.
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4 Solutions to Late Labor Stalls
If you are experiencing a late labor stall, there are many solutions, but let’s explore four to help you navigate the end of your labor!
- Releasing uneven tension in the pelvic floor
- Creating space in the lower midpelvis
- Eating/Drinking/Resting
- Fear Release
If we can better understand the WHY of the labor stall, we can approach it more deliberating to start labor again!
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1. Release the uneven tension in the pelvic floor
One of the reasons for a late labor stall could be how baby is aligned to the pelvis and vaginal opening.
One common cause of a late labor stall is baby’s head is tilted or asynclitism. This could make it harder for baby to press against the cervix to cause dilation and cause them to present larger (which could stall labor).
Your baby’s head could tilt to the side during labor due to uneven tension in the pelvic floor: one side is tighter or has a higher tone than the other side.
A solution for this is to release the tension in the pelvic floor with asymmetrical hip positioning and diaphragmatic breathing.
When doing diaphragmatic breathing, we want to focus on:
- Inhale DOWN to feel the pelvic floor lengthen and stretch
- Exhale to RELAX or RELEASE
- If you were exercising or picking up something, then you would exhale to LIFT UP but in this situation, we are focusing on relaxing the pelvic floor to release the uneven tension.
But, if we want to target the uneven pelvic floor tension, we need to shift the hip positioning to increase the length of the “tight” half of the pelvic floor (usually the posterior left quadrant).
One way to do this is either from a side-lying or standing position (depending on your mobility capability).
We want to focus on:
- Shifting one hip into a closed hip position (internal rotation)
- We can do this by shifting the top leg back in a side-lying position, or
- Shifting the weight into one leg in the standing position
- Slight posterior pelvic tilt to target the lengthening in the posterior half of the pelvic floor
But, which side do you focus on?
- You can do either side or both sides, or,
- You can focus on the side that baby’s head is tilted AWAY from (the higher side of baby’s head is usually the half of the pelvic floor that is tighter)
Watch the two breakdown videos below for some examples of movements that you can do during labor!
In both of these movements, you can hold the position and focus on breathing for 20-30 minutes (side-lying) or 3-4 contractions (standing).
But, we do NOT need to wait til labor to address pelvic floor tension, as this is likely something that exists during pregnancy (and pre-pregnancy). We can focus on these movements (and way more mobility) in our pelvic prep for birth course!
2. Create more space in the lower midpelvis
The next potential cause of a late labor stall is decreased or restricted space in the lower midpelvis.
The lower midpelvis is where baby is FINISHING their rotation through the pelvis.
The lower midpelvis is also commonly a place of limitation since it is opened more with internal rotation of the femur.
External rotation tends to be the preferred hip position during pregnancy AND is also emphasized heavily in fitness programs, while internal rotation is commonly neglected in fitness programming.
Since the lower midpelvis is a commonplace of movement limitations, we can focus on this movement as we prepare for birth in our prenatal fitness programming (which is heavily incorporated into our programs).
During pregnancy, we want to ensure that we can find these different movements with ease as we prepare for birth!
If we are experiencing a stall during labor, we can focus on creating more space in the lower mid pelvis with hip-shifted movements.
If you have movement capability (either with an epidural or without), we can focus on different labor positions to find space such as:
- All fours hip shifting (rock weight into one leg)
- Half-kneeling hip shifts
- Standing hip shifts (swaying)
In all of these positions, we are finding a closed hip position on one side that will emphasize the internal rotation AKA open the lower midpelvis.
Hold each position for at least 3 contractions or 20-30 minutes.
Watch the video for a breakdown of each movement.
If you are having trouble finding movement, maybe due to a really strong epidural or fatigue, our partner can support us in creating the space with a more passive position.
In either an all-fours or side-lying position, your partner can press against the ischial tuberosities (sitz bones) to create space in the lower midpelvis and outlet or press against one knee to create space in the lower midpelvis.
Watch the video below for a breakdown on each technique.
As we prepare for birth, it is important that we ensure we have the movement capability to create space in each pelvic level. We can do this with our fitness programming! Join our prenatal fitness programs to prepare for birth!
You will NOT find a program as in-depth as ours that targets pregnancy and birth preparation with such detail.
3. Rest or eat!
The next reasons that labor may be stalling towards the end is due to maternal exhaustion or hunger!
So, what can you do if you are exhausted? Try to rest! Sometimes contractions are spacing our so that you have that opportunity to rest. If you cannot rest, but labor is stalled, an epidural may be a great option to find some rest.
Another reason that labor may be stalling is that you haven’t eaten in a long time! I’ve had so many clients’ labors suddenly pick back up after eating some food!
Pack a few easy-to-eat foods in your labor bag, such as fruit, nuts, beef jerky, and sports gels. This can make a huge difference in your labor and birth satisfaction.
What should you do if your birth location has limitations on food?
- Understand WHEN the limitations on food begin. Is it when you check into triage or is it when you have been administered a certain medication (Pitocin or epidural, for example)?
- Eat BEFORE you head to triage, if possible.
- Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
- Understand the evidence on restricting food during labor.
4. Fear release: what are you afraid of?
And the final reason for late labor stall is if you have a fear that is coming to the surface. Commonly, we experience a flood of stress hormones during transiitoin, or the last phase of the first stage of labor (dilation). When this happens, it can trigger a flight or fight response, which can cause fears to arise and temporarily stall our labor.
If we address these fears, usually we will see labor suddenly progress!
This could include things like:
- Fear labor is never going to start again, or that the baby will never be born;
- Fear that the baby won’t fit in the pelvis;
- Fear of a poor birth outcome (usually due to prior birth experiences, of yourself or others close to you)
- Someone in the room is causing tension
If we can address the fear, understand what is rational versus irrational, then we may see labor progress again!
Restart Labor After a Late Labor Stall
A late labor stall could be due to:
- Baby’s head position, which can resolve by releasing uneven tension in the pelvic floor;
- Decrease or limited movement in the lower midpelvis, which we can resolve by creating more space wtih movement or partner support;
- Maternal exhaustion or hunger
- And fear
Depending on what is causing the labor stall is how we should approach restarting it!
We don’t need to wait til labor to support our labor progress! We can focus on releasing tension in our pelvic floor AND finding movement in the pelvis with prenatal fitness programming and preparing our pelvic floor for birth.
You can grab our fitness programs bundled with our childbirth education for 15% off!
Don’t miss out on an incredible opportunity to learn more about how to progress your labor if you have a labor stall! Secure your spot now for the Labor Positions Webinar: “Understand Pelvic Biomechanics to Open the Pelvis for an Easier Birth”.
Join us on October 24th at 7:30 PM EST and revolutionize your birthing experience. Join today and get also a recording, secure your spot!