Change your position every 15 minutes. Move from side to side. Sit with your legs crossed. Rock gently backwards and forwards while on your hands and knees. If possible, avoid the use of epidural anesthesia.
Epidural anesthesia can slow down labor.
If the epidural slows labor, the doctor may use the drug Pitocin to promote contractions. Pitocin enhances the strength and length of the contractions, which can lead to a deceleration in the baby's heart rate. This slowing of the heart rate may prompt the physician to perform Cesarean birth. With the epidural, many women cannot feel to push effectively, thus prolonging labor, which can also lead to Cesarean birth. If the fetal monitoring indicates fetal distress, request that the physician assess the baby's oxygen level via a scalp test or fetal acoustic stimulation test.