How To Create The Perfect Labor Playlist
We all have our favorite songs, radio stations, musical genres and homemade playlists that we love. So naturally for many people, they want to bring those same things with them into the labor and delivery room! Whether for pure enjoyment or as a tool for meditation, relaxation or movement, creating a perfect labor playlist can be a fun way for you to prepare for baby and help set the mood for your labor and delivery. Of course the qualifications for what makes a “perfect” labor playlist are all subjective, but I’ve laid out some guidelines you can use to create a playlist that is enjoyable and maybe a little bit functional too!
Add songs from multiple genres.
If you’re someone who enjoys John Mayer by day and T-Pain by night, don’t worry about limiting your labor playlist to only one genre! If there’s a song that inspires you to keep pushing through contractions, makes you reminisce on a fond memory from your past, or reminds you of a particular person or event that you love, it doesn’t matter what genre it is, add it to your playlist! You’ll be glad to have all of your favorite songs in one place.
Add songs that help you focus.
Many people like to add instrumental songs or even white noise to their playlist if they’re planning on using guided visualizations or hypnobirthing techniques during their labor. Sometimes lyrics in a song can be distracting if you are “in the zone” especially as active labor progresses. Having a few instrumental meditative songs in a genre you love (classical, chillwave, ambient, etc.) can help you calm down and get in the zone when labor is truly at its peak.
Add songs that you and your partner love.
Whether it’s the first dance from your wedding, or the song you play in the car every time you drive together, add some of the songs that you and your partner most enjoy together. Slow-dancing with your partner during labor can be an intimate way to connect with them through the process; slow dancing can also be a great position for labor because you have gravity on your side helping to bring the baby downward! You can also use a slow-dance as an opportunity for your partner to help support your body weight during a contraction, allowing you to lean into them and have them bear some of your weight as the contraction peaks and then subsides. I am a huge advocate for movement during labor and slow-dancing is a great way to stay moving!
Add songs that you’d like to have playing as the baby is born.
In one episode of my favorite shows, The Office, the character of Pam is in the car on the way to the hospital, lamenting that they had “forgotten the iPod that has the birth song on it!” Whether there is one specific song you’d like to have playing during your baby’s birth, or any song from a particular artist, album or genre, add it to your playlist so that your support person or doula can easily switch over to it when the big moment arrives.
What songs do you have on your birth playlist? Check out mine below!