Birthing Naturally Books

Materials to nurture your spiritual life through childbearing.

Christian Childbirth Handbook

Comfort Measures

Why do women use comfort measures in labor? Frankly, because they work.

When trying to determine the best comfort measures to use in labor you need to look at two things. First, you need to have some sort of concept of what providing comfort means. Secondly, you need to know who you are physically and emotionally to tailor efforts to your individual needs.

The Bible gives wonderful examples of God and his people providing comfort to those who are hurting. These examples give a picture of what is necessary to provide real comfort.

In Genesis, there are two instances of God providing comfort to Haggar. Both times God provided emotional encouragement by acknowledging he was with her. In the second example, God also provided for the physical needs of Haggar and Ishmael by providing water for them. It is also interesting to note that in this story God also provided comfort to Abraham by assuring Abraham God would make Ishmael into a great nation.

In first Kings 19, God is providing comfort to an emotionally drained and frightened Elijah. Elijah is twice told to eat the food God provides, then he is allowed to "see" God is with him by watching him pass by. So here, God again provided comfort by meeting the physical needs and encouraging Elijah.

In Daniel 6 God comforts Daniel in the den of lions. God once again again provides for the physical need by closing the mouths of the lions, and the emotional needs by sending an angel to be with Daniel. The comforting continues throughout the gospels as Jesus meets hurting people. Jesus comforted people by spending time with them, healing their physical bodies and encouraging them.

God's people give examples of how to comfort each other. In 1 Kings 17 Elijah's response to the death of the widow's son is to pray with her for God to bring her son back. In 2 Samuel 12, while David is pleading with God for the life of his child, his household elders stand with him, trying to get him to get up and eat. It was not until the baby died that David responded to their prompting, but when he was ready they served him food.

These examples show two things about providing comfort. First, the comfort should meet the individuals physical needs - it must address any physical hurting they have. Secondly, the emotional needs should not be ignored. Attempts should be made to encourage the person.

Comparing these examples to the story of Job and his friends helps further define comforting. Two things happened with Job's companions that turned their comfort into a source of distress for Job. First, they were uncomfortable with Job's pain and tried to make it go away themselves instead of letting God heal Job. Secondly, they were not really with Job. They didn't listen to him enough to hear that Job did not want answers, all he wanted was to know that God was still there. When they spoke, they used cheap and easy answers to try to end Job's suffering. These answers sound good in books and movies. They are even based in Biblical truth. But when you are really hurting they don't satisfy.

Empty words will never satisfy. They are not comforting, and in the case of Job, they are hurtful. Just the presence of his friends was enough for Job, just to have them there to share his hurt and listen. But many people get very uncomfortable with the suffering of others and try to make it go away. This is a disservice to the emotionally hurting people. True healing can only come from God, and every easy answer we give only prolongs the sufferer from being with God. The best way to encourage is to be present, and to point the individual to God.

Providing comfort in labor should be about meeting the physical needs of the mother. The various positions, pain management techniques and forms of touch intended to lessen her physical pain are helpful forms of comfort. Providing comfort in labor should also be about meeting the emotional needs of the mother by encouraging her - but not with generic answers. In this section you will learn various techniques for both physical and emotional comfort for the mother.

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