When preparing for labour, practical techniques that support both your body and mind can make all the difference. That’s why I developed two easy-to-remember acronyms: STOP and FLOP. These strategies have proven highly effective for my clients over the years, helping them prioritise comfort and relaxation between contractions to sustain energy during the many hours of labour. By focusing on rest and intentional positioning, this approach also encourages the positive flow of oxytocin – a hormone essential for dilation and labour progression.
STOP: Surrender To Oxytocin Production
Oxytocin known as the ‘love hormone’, plays a crucial role in labour by stimulating contractions and promoting feelings of safety and connection. Surrendering to this natural process allows your body to work efficiently during birth.
Here’s why STOP is vital:
- Encourages Efficient Labour: Oxytocin-driven contractions are strong and rhythmic, helping to dilate the cervix and advance labour.
- Reduces Stress and Anxiety: When you surrender to the process, your body is more likely to remain in a calm, oxytocin-producing state, which opposes the stress-driven adrenaline response that can slow labour.
- Enhances Pain Coping: Surrendering to each sensation brings you closer to meeting your baby, transforming the sensations of labour into a powerful experience of purpose and progress.
How to STOP and Boost Oxytocin
- Create a Safe Space: Dim lighting, calming music, or scents can help signal safety to your body.
- Use Touch and Connection: Gentle massage or being close to a supportive partner boosts oxytocin levels.
- Breathe and Let Go: Trust the rhythm of your body and visualise each contraction as a step closer to meeting your baby.
- Stay Present: Focus on one moment at a time, releasing expectations and fully embracing your birth experience.
FLOP: Forward Leaning Over Props
The FLOP position encourages your body to work with gravity, creating an optimal environment for labour progress. Here’s why it’s so beneficial:
- Relieves Pressure: Leaning forward helps relieve tension on the lower back and pelvis, which are common areas of discomfort during contractions.
- Encourages Baby’s Positioning: Being forward-leaning allows your pelvis to open, helping the baby move into the ideal position for birth.
- Promotes Relaxation: Resting over soft pillows or a ball, supports your upper body, helping you conserve energy during early or active labour stages.
- Increases Comfort: Compared to lying flat on your back, leaning forward reduces strain on your back and makes contractions more manageable.
How to FLOP Effectively
- Find a Comfortable Surface: Use a stack of pillows on a bed, sofa, or birth/peanut ball for support.
- Lean Forward Gently: Rest your chest and arms over the pillows, keeping your hips and pelvis relaxed and low.
- Breathe Deeply: Focus on slow, deep breaths to maintain a sense of calm and relaxation.
- Consciously Relax Your Muscles: Pay particular attention to your Jaw, shoulders, fingers and toes.
- Use Movement: Gentle rocking or swaying can further encourage baby’s positioning and help you cope with contractions.
Examples of STOP and FLOP Positions
Here, STOP and FLOP is demonstrated over a birth pool with a birth ball and cushion for support. Get creative with pillows, chairs, or beds – the principle is the same: between contractions, soften your muscles, release tension, breathe deeply, and surrender to rest.
Here, you can see the woman using STOP and FLOP by kneeling over a peanut ball. She is on a hospital bed and resting forward using a cushion for extra height and support. Get creative, soften your muscles, release tension, breathe deeply, and surrender to rest.
Positions That Hold Tension
In these positions, you can see that the woman is unable to soften and relax between contractions. She has to use her muscles to support herself at all times. Because she is holding tension in her body, she will tire very quickly. This is not a good plan for early labour.
This position can be adjusted by widening her knees and bringing them closer to the table. She can place a pillow under her buttocks and sink down between contractions.
This position can be more relaxing by placing a ball or chair behind her so that she can sit down between her sensations and lean forward. She can use a table, kitchen counter, bed or sink.
Combining FLOP and STOP for a Powerful Birth Approach
By combining STOP and FLOP, you engage both physical and emotional techniques to support labour progression. FLOP helps your body work with gravity and positioning, while STOP encourages your mind to trust the birth process and increase natural hormone production. I have witnessed time and time again how powerful this technique can be – when taking the time to rest between contractions. It’s the reason so many of my clients succeed in achieving an empowering physiological birth.
Remember:
- STOP for mental surrender and oxytocin flow
- FLOP for positioning and comfort
Together, these acronyms remind you to stay grounded, trust your instincts, and let your body do what it was designed to do—give birth with power and purpose.
Watch this instagram video, where I demonstrate the STOP and FLOP position leaning over a birth ball.