# Ice, pain, and Birthing from Within



## Snowdrift (Oct 15, 2005)

I've read several places, including suggestions here and particularly in Birthing from Within, to use ice to practice pain-coping techniques.

So I tried it. I sat in my kitchen with an ice-cube sitting on my wrist for 12 minutes--until there wasn't much ice-cube left. Doesn't really hurt much. I mena, I'm not looking for really unique and interesting to create pain but I really wonder, does anyone find this useful? I mean I couldn't even use any coping techniques because i just didn't need them, although I think I was using them subconsciously just in that I was notcing the numbing, cold sensation moving around my hand

I do have really strange pain perceptions, which could perhaps translate into a high tolerance for physical pain but I was just wondering what other people think of the ice-cube thing. Am I doing it wrong somehow? I know they say you can also do it on the back of your neck, but I just didn't want to get my clothes wet.


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## georgia (Jan 12, 2003)

For me, completely useless. I doubt you're doing it wrong--it just doesn't translate for you like it seems to for some.

I know I can put down an ice cube anytime I want. Holding ice isn't a normal, physiologic experience like labor is







The cascade of hormones released during labor is so amazing and perfectly orchestrated...not so much holding an ice cube







Much better for me than some sort of "coping technique" was doing personal work (mental, physical, spiritual), that at the most core of my being, that I believed and knew, without a doubt, I could do whatever I needed to birth my babies. That I was strong and capable---and so are YOU


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## Ell-Bell (Nov 16, 2002)

huh. we did this a few times in our BFW class... except we had a large bowl of ice with water, and just did it for a minute at a time (length of a contraction) to practice different pain coping techniques.

We did it 3 times, I HATED it! I almost couldn't do it and wanted to quit and pull my hand out, it was so uncomfortable. The few pain coping techniques we tried all felt the same to me (focusing on the center of the pain, focusing on the edge of the pain, etc.) and the ones that i do think will be helpful we didn't try cause it was a small group (only us and one other couple) and it would've been uncomfortable to do a lot of vocalizing, etc.

I think it was helpful in the sense that it made me realize, when I wanted to take my hand out of the bowl, what a wuss I am. I had to have a talk w/ DH and our midwife about how to best deal with me if I beg to be taken to the hospital for an epidural... which I DON'T want.

On the other hand... it's a bowl of ice. You can take your hand out at any time. There is no reward at the end, unlike labor!


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## muskokan (Jan 2, 2006)

I find an icecube on the inside of my wrist VERY uncomfortable, even getting snow on my wrist that doesn't melt right away causes pain and comparing it to the painful ctx i'm having now it is similar, though i've never read to test myself that way now that i've read this thread it makes sense to me. I'm sure my ctx will get worse when the time actually comes (i've been having ctx for 4 weeks and painful ctx for 4 days) it won't be the same.. but i also want to add that i don't think it would really be a good indication of how well someone will cope because as the pp mentioned there is a definite reward after labour and something to know you are working towards.... with ice it's nothing.


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## *guest (Oct 7, 2005)

When my friend's doula had us try it out, my understanding is that it was more about discomfort and perception than creating serious pain. Clearly there's no way an ice cube can approximate labor. We held the ice in closed hands rather than on the wrist. I didn't have as much of a problem with it as my friend did, I just found it uncomfortable. But it was definitely easier to not focus on the cold sensations when other positive sensations were introduced by another person. I think it's a good simple demo for people who are not already used to being very in tune with their bodies and how the mind and body work together, and it definitely showed how a doula could be helpful. And it made an impression on my friend's husband, which helped him come to terms with spending the $ on a doula, hehe.


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## dynamicdoula (Jun 11, 2004)

Resident BFW Mentor Candidate here...









The intention is not to create excruciating pain, nor is it to acheive any specific level of pain. Used in a BFW class, you aren't using ice to 'train' yourself to be able to deal with pain. It's a tool to give you a sensation with which to connect discomfort with the pain coping exercise you are using. Non-focused awareness, Quaker Listening, entrainment, etc... there are many different pain coping practices you can use. A friend of mine teaches Whole Birth Yoga and suggested that a stretch might be another way to use pain coping practice, instead of ice.

In my class, we would do one minute of holding ice (or a stretch) using no coping techniques, just 'being in' the sensation. And then I would talk about non-focused awareness or breath awareness, and we would do another minute of coping using the technique we just learned. It puts it into context, if that makes sense?

Don't get wrapped up on how painful the sensation is, your work is more on practicing ingraining these techniques so that when your birth attendant says, "let's try one with breath awareness", you know exactly what that means and how to do it.

I hope that helps!


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## mezzaluna (Jun 8, 2004)

i like the way the PP described it









we held ziploc baggies of ice in our bradley class. it was more of a good chance to practice relaxation with the distraction of discomfort present than it was a simulation of labor. some things i'd practiced ended up not feeling right for me in labor, but enough did that i had my coping mechanisms... that and just listening to what my body wanted as far as positioning went...


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## milk4two (Mar 20, 2003)

The ice thing did nothing to prepare me for labor, IMO.


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## dynamicdoula (Jun 11, 2004)

Quote:

The ice thing did nothing to prepare me for labor, IMO.
I would like to hear more about this if you're willing to share... some questions..

*what do you mean when you say 'prepare you for labor'?
*in what context did you do the exercise? What were you hoping/expecting to get out of it?
*did your partner offer pain coping suggestions in labor that you practiced in your class?

IF you're willing! Thanks!


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## Guest* (Aug 5, 2004)

What I found helpful about the ice thing were the exercises that went with it. I learned how I reacted to pain and found which techniques helped me best cope with it. I also learned what I liked/didn't like about the environment when I was in pain.

Of course, when in labor, all of that went out the window, but I still found it useful to help me get into the right frame of mind to have a successful homebirth.

Now, ice on my wrist didn't work very well. I had to try more sensitive places, like my neck and inner thigh to get uncomfortable enough for it to work.


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## flyingspaghettimama (Dec 18, 2001)

The ice exercise was a HUGE help to me. This is how my instructor did it:

We held the ice for 60-90 seconds at most. Because after this, you go numb, and what's the point? And, because, the most intense contractions will be about 1-2 minutes long (er, or they were in my case). No contraction lasts for twelve minutes, or at least I hope not. Have someone else hold the stopwatch.

First, right hand, then left hand, then behind the ear (PAIN), thigh, then two in both hands.

She walked us through various coping techniques: movement, music, breathing, nothing, meditation on a thought or spot, scent, taste, etc...

Holding ice is a lot like natural childbirth, in my mind - it's something you want to do and are willingly doing. The ice was for like, figuring out what works best for you? For me, it was yoga breathing.


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## Thmom (May 4, 2004)

I use the ice thing with all my clients... but I use it before we talk about any other pain coping techniques as it gives me an idea of what each person naturally does with discomfort... some people need to concentrate on what's going on, and they say it's worse when there is distraction, others are the opposite and want to talk through the whole minute or something simliar. This tells me how they naturally deal with discomfort so I don't try to teach a distractor to become silent and focused. We use what's normal for them and expand on it.
It in no way approximates labor, just gives us an idea of how to use coping mechanisms. You could drop a hammer on your toe for the same effect kwim...


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## corrio (Jul 11, 2005)

here my 2 cents....

I perfered labor to the ice thing im BFW..

Lisa


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## pixiexto (Mar 6, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *dynamicdoula*

In my class, we would do one minute of holding ice (or a stretch) using no coping techniques, just 'being in' the sensation. And then I would talk about non-focused awareness or breath awareness, and we would do another minute of coping using the technique we just learned. It puts it into context, if that makes sense?











I remember from our childbirth prep class from DD #1, we did this. Held the ice & just concentrated ON the ice for a minute, then held it while using some techniques we'd learned.

While I didn't find it that hard to just hold the ice and think about it, it's AMAZING how I really didn't feel the ice the subsquent go-arounds with the techniques. I think it's not about the amount/degree of discomfort, but of showing how powerful our minds and our focus can be.

I'm not sure what I think of the "ice test", mind you, for the very reason that it is so often viewed as an "ice test"







The misperception being that it somehow is supposed to show you what birth will be like. I think this can cause either false hope ("oooh! This was no big deal!") or false insecurities ("I can't STAND that pain! How will I manage in labour???")
I often hear one of these reactions, and I'm thinking that it's not being presented well in CBE classes?


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## the_lissa (Oct 30, 2004)

As much as I love Birthing From Within, I found the ice cube thing very useless.


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## dynamicdoula (Jun 11, 2004)

Quote:

I often hear one of these reactions, and I'm thinking that it's not being presented well in CBE classes?
I think you're right and this thread is very demonstrative of that. The fact that everyone refers to it as the 'ice' exercise and not the 'pain coping', 'non focused awareness' or 'breath awareness' or whatever tells me that something wasn't either presented accurately or there was a misunderstanding on the part of the participant- because BFW definitely does *not* try to teach in *any* way that feeling the pain of ice and coping with THAT sensation will prepare you for labor!














It's about using the sensation (in this case ice, maybe a deep stretch, or pinching your thigh, or a firm massage) as a vehicle to practice the pain coping. Does that make sense?

ETA:

For those who did not feel they got anything out of the pain coping exercises I am deeply intersted to know (if you are willing to share your feedback):

* Did you practice the pain coping practices outside of class? (I am not asking this question to judge why the PCP was not effective for you, rather to see if people really DO practice outside of class, and if it makes the client more likely to use it in labor or not)
* Did your birth attendants bring up the pain coping practices during your labor to help you cope?
* Did the pain coping practice teach you anything in the moment about having many different tools to cope with the pain of birth? What did you learn?

Thanks!


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## Ell-Bell (Nov 16, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *corrio*
here my 2 cents....

I perfered labor to the ice thing im BFW..

Lisa









Excellent to hear! I HATED the feeling of the ice, and like one PP said, it made me question if I could handle labor pain. Our midwife asked me if I had any issues with cold or ice, I said no, but DH reminded me that I simply HATE being cold. I whine. So I think this played on my weakness. When in yoga class and we do different poses and hold them, things like chair pose, or downward facing dog (which I hate) I am able to breathe through it and keep holding as long as necessary. Hopefully this will be a better judgement of how I will cope during the birth!


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## Emilie (Dec 23, 2003)

Nursing a toddler while pg helped me to deal with pain!!!
Hugs mama....


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