What does labour taste and smell like?
There are a couple of smells and tastes that take me right back to being in labour, yes really!
The smell is Clary Sage oil and for anyone who has tried ALL OF THE THINGS to get labour going, yes ALLL OF THE THINGS, you’re probably familiar with the smell of it!
The taste that takes me back there is actually lemon cordial – very random, I know! But one of my friends dropped some round before we went to hospital that day and I took it with me and drank it throughout my induction, it was a nice change from water!
How can you use this to your advantage in induction?
Well, the anchors I have to labour aren’t necessarily going to help you, but considering ways you can use taste and smell in your labour as positive anchors can.
Anchors and one of my favourite parts of hypnobirthing, hypnotherapy and Hypnoparenting. They are easy shortcuts to relaxation and comfort. With one-to-one clients I create specific anchors in the subconscious mind that help you get into deep relaxation.
BUT if you’re going for an induction this afternoon, there’s still time to make use of the anchors you already have in your life.
Everything is an anchor, good or bad.
If instead of asking you what labour smells like, I had asked you what a hospital smells like… (think about it for a moment….)
There’s every chance you screwed up your face and made a kind of eugh noise.
The smell of the hospital for most people isn’t a pleasant thing! So what can you use to give you the opposite feeling instead…
3 Steps to Find your Scents / Tastes
1 – Think about the smells that give you happy feelings, maybe a certain flower (e.g. lavender, rose), your partner’s perfume or aftershave.
2 – Think of your favourite things to eat, refreshing flavours that would give you a boost on a long walk for example.
3 – Now think of how you can bring these into your birth experience to bring some of that joy, comfort and positivity with you. Your partner’s scarf with a wee spray of their perfume/aftershave, a favourite cordial / iced fruit tea, a scented pillow spray….
And yes, I’ve even had clients take their dog’s blanket with them for a positive anchor and an oxytocin boost!
This works in two ways, there’s an anchor to a positive state, but it also can help us think of people we care about, helping boost the hormone of birth, oxytocin. It’s definitely worth taking a little bit of time to think about and plan for.