A recent survey by Which? UK found 7/10 mums who used a labour TENS machine found it helped reduce the pain of giving birth. Not only is Kegel8 Mother Nurture a fantastic labour TENS with a boost button, helping you through contractions, it is also a pelvic toner to strengthen your pelvic floor before and after pregnancy.
The survey found more than a fifth of women giving birth would use a TENS machine to relieve the pain. Almost 30% of the women said they had used a labour TENS device during childbirth and found it very effective, and around a further 40% said they found it fairly effective. Sadly however, the number of labour TENS available in hospitals in the UK are going down – but you can take your own with you! Which? found more than a third of women using a labour TENS owned their own machine.
Labour TENS
A labour TENS machine sends small electrical currents designed to block pain signals being sent to the brain. The current stimulates the release of endorphins, our body’s natural pain reliever. The electrical stimulation provides a massage sensation.
There are multiple benefits to using labour TENS:
- Portable, so you can move around during labour.
- Non-invasive, just stick the electrode pads on your back. Re-apply at least every 12 hours, and if needed, rub a little water into the sticky side to help adhesion and conductivity.
- Easy to use, you don’t need the doctor or a midwife; you are in control the entire time.
- Safe for you and your baby, labour TENS doesn’t have the side effects other labour pain relief can have.
- You can use it for as long as you want, and take it off when you need to (although, you should keep with it for at least an hour at first to feel the pain relief)
- Boost! During your contractions, a labour TENS with boost button will give you a surge of extra pain relief stimulation. This makes TENS more personalised than other methods.
The benefits grow with owning your own labour TENS; including being cheaper than hiring a second hand device in the long run and knowing how your own device and electrode pads work.
Even if you find labour TENS is not the right pain relief for you (it isn’t for everyone), it is easy to change during labour. The electrode pads can be taken off or TENS can even be used in conjunction with other methods, such as gas and air.
Pelvic Floor
Labour TENS is not the only natural way you have to prepare your body for an easy birth. Having strong pelvic floor muscles before conception can really help ease the entire labour process for both mother and baby. Toning and strengthening your pelvic floor after pregnancy not only reduces your risk of prolapse and stops the chance of ‘laughter leaks’, it will help you get a flat tummy again by supporting the stomach muscles.
Toning up your pelvic floor will also prepare you for being intimate with your partner again. Having been stretched and weighed down, you might find there is a lack of sensation ‘down below’ and many women are afraid of that first time after childbirth. An electronic pelvic floor toner can help you activate the muscles you have lost touch with over the past nine months.
Mother Nurture
Kegel8 Mother Nurture is a labour TENS and an electronic pelvic floor toner, helping you activate around 90% of your pelvic floor muscles to strengthen and improve them.
As a pain relieving labour TENS device, with boost button for contractions, use Kegel8 Mother Nurture with the provided tens pads, positioned either side of your spine. The labour TENS pain relief programme will allow you to set your preferred level of pain relief. During a contraction, pressing the boost button on the provided remote will give you extra pain relieving stimulation. After the boost, the labour TENS will revert back to your chosen level.