Postpartum Mothers: Closing the Bones

Closing the bones, starting at the head

A woman giving birth naturally,  opens herself on many levels. Physically her pelvic bones, pelvic floor muscles, her cervix, and her legs must open wide to push baby out of her body.  Flooded by the birth hormones of oxytocin, prolactin, and endorphins, a mother's heart often cracks open emotionally to a depth she never knew possible before.
And with the force of Life itself pushing through her body, she opens into an altered state of awareness that for many feels like a spiritual awakening; in so many ways she is becoming a creator Goddess, bringing forth life into the world.

Closing the Bones is a practice used in Mayan traditional culture, and likely in many traditional cultures worldwide.  The essence is to wrap the mother tightly to help bring her hips together as well as energetically acknowledge the openings she made, and help them symbolically and physically to close again. A new mother is at high risk to succomb to a variety of physical, emotional, psychic intrusions if not watched closely in the first days and weeks after opening so completely. Closing the bones helps to protect her, making her less vulnerable to outside energies of the fast paced world of daily existence.

There are a variety of ways to help a new mother "close the bones".
One fun way, is to have her lay on a flat sheet, and then, have one person stand on either side of her. Lift the sides of the sheet and pull them taut around her body, especially at the hips. Hold for a minute or longer, the sheet tightly banding around her body. Rock her slightly and slowly by pulling up on one side of the sheet and then the other.

 This can also be done with a scarf, wrapping around isolated areas of the body moving downward. Start at the head, then shoulders, hips, thighs, and at the feet.

Perineal Massage for Birth: How to do it

Below are some guidelines on performing perineal massage that you can provide to your client and/or her partner:

1. GATHER ITEMS NEEDED: nourishing oils, such as sweet almond oil, Vitamin E, coconut or avocado seed oil. Do not use synthetic, petroleum-based oils such as mineral oil or Vaseline, which leave a water-repellent residue and may ultimately dry out the tissues. Warm the oils first if desired.

2. CLEANLINESS: Place a towel under her bottom, to absorb any dripping oils. She may wish to take a warm bath or put warm moist washcloths on her perineum to help it relax more fully before starting bodywork. Some women may want a mirror so they can see their perineum and be able to visualize what happens as they relax, tighten, or stretch during the process.

3. COMFORT:  She should be comfortable, well-supported in semi-reclining position. Talk about what you are about to do before actually touching, so that you both feel connected and clear about the nature of this practice.

4. ATTUNEMENT: When you are both comfortable and relaxed, place your hands on your partner’s perineum, allowing the palm of your hand to press gently against her outer labia and your fingers to rest on her yoni and pubic bone. This gives her a chance to breathe and relax, getting accustomed to being touched in this way. REMEmber this is not meant to become a sexual time for you the Giver... it is about tending to the Mother.

5. LUBRICATION:  Dip your fingers into the warm oils, and gently lubricate the outside of her perineum. When she says she is ready, re-lubricate your fingers and slowly and gently slide one and then two fingers about 1/2 -1 inch into the bottom of her vagina. Lubricate inside with the oil.

6. KEGELS:Ask her to squeeze her muscles, like a Kegel exercise. If you cannot feel her tightening, she may want to practice strengthening and toning these muscles for birth. Work together for a few moments tightening and relaxing these muscles, having her practice and focus on relaxing them completely in-between squeezes.

7. EXPLORE: Put the fingers in further if she is comfortable. Think of the yoni as a clock, the top, by the urethra where she pees from, is 12:00. The bottom is 6:00.  Press in slowly at 7:00 work your way up toward 11:00 pressing slowly and firmly on the sides. If you find tight areas, help them relax by using gentle pressure and very sliding across the tissue.  Communicate regularly with her to ensure comfortable pressure, speed, and right amount of lubricant.

CAUTION: Do not go all the way to the top (12:00) under the pubic bone where the urinary opening is; avoid rubbing there, which could cause inflammation or introduce bacteria to the bladder. Do not press hard at the bottom either (6:00) at the rectum, unless it feels good to her. Some women have a bulging there, which may be a rectocele, or bulging of the rectum into the vagina.

8. STRETCHING: Repeat on the other side. Press slowly in with the flats of your fingers feeling for tight areas or areas she says she feels tension. Stop and hold pressure in those spots, as she breathes and practices relaxing her perineal muscles. This should not be painful, but she should feel the stretch and relief of discomfort as you hold. Don't move alot back and forth, just simple holding will help relaxation. This is a good time for her to practice breathing into her abdomen and relaxing fully with each exhalation. Visualization may help her relax. Verbally affirm her inner wisdom, and remind her to breathe slowly as she relaxes all of her muscles. Eventually the sensations in her bottom should be reduced. Repeat this exploring, sliding along the smooth tissues with firm pressure, stretching along the walls of the vagina. Explore from 7:00-11:00 on her right side and from 1:00-5:00 on her left side.

9. COMPLETION: When completed, place your palm over the outside of her yoni, fingers resting over top of her pubic bone. Acknowledge and appreciate the work she has done relaxing and opening, and remind her that during birth, she will have the skills to again relax like this to allow the baby to come easily through her.

For more info about touch and birth go to : www.TouchForBirth.com

Is prenatal perineal massage helpful?

There are different perspectives on the use and benefits perinatal massage... No other mammals do this, so why should we? Well... No other mammals contend with what we as modernized humans do: poor posture, abuse histories, pelvic and menstrual pain, pap smears and other intrusive medical procedures, and with general cultural-patriarchal suppression of natural feminine wisdom. Few women have a healthy relationship with their yoni that reflects awareness, respect, care, not to mention adoration! In America especially, women tend to be disassociated from and ignorant about their pelvic floor.

Prenatal perineal massage offers an opportunity for a woman to become more familiar with her own geography, by experiencing nurturing touch without expectation of delivering sexually to a mate or being intruded on by a speculum. It offers the opportunity to relieve tension and muscular imbalance that she did not even know was there but which may be affecting the alignment of her uterus, or affecting back or hip pain, sciatica, or other discomforts. If  both partners can practice simple presence while exploring sensation, her tense muscles can relax, blood flow and renewed energy will be enhanced in the region, and she may find herself more awake in her pelvic base supporting her spine and abdomen through the changes of pregnancy.This can all help her tissues to stretch more easily at the time of birth.


Studies have also shown that first time moms do benefit from doing perineal massage with a reduced rate of lacerations at birth. A review of 3 trials with 2434 women found that those who did prenatal perineal massage for at least 4 weeks before delivery had an overall reduction of trauma that required stitches. They were less likely to have an episiotomy. Women who had had children previous to this birth reported a statistically significant reduction in incidence of pain at 3 months postpartum.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006 Jan 25;(1):Antenatal perineal massage for reducing perineal trauma.Beckmann MM, Garrett AJ.

Acupressure for Labor Pain

Effects of LI4 acupressure point on labor pain in the first stage of labor.

Hamidzadeh A, et al. 

This article reflects a study done with 100 women in Iran who were having regular contractions and were 3-4 cm dilated. Half the group were given acupressure on LI-4 point, which is located on the hand between the thumb and forefinger, during each contraction over a period of 20 minutes. With regular contractions that is probably about 5 contractions or so. The other 50 women received simple touch on the point, without actual acupressure stimulation. The researchers measure pain by using a questionnaire before the acupressure, immediately afterwards, and then 20 and 60 minutes later, and then asked every hour. It's unclear from what I have read if then they stopped receiving acupressure after the first 20 minutes. However, the results were that those receiving true acupressure had significantly less pain, shorter labors, and greater satisfaction with their labor and birth. This has been the consistent results every time this study has been done.