Stop Telling People to Relax During Labour

Let me ask you something. In the entire history of someone telling you to relax, has it ever actually worked?

I'll wait.

No? Me neither.

And yet, when someone is in the thick of labour, riding wave after powerful wave, navigating one of the most intense physical and emotional experiences of their life, "just relax" is often one of the first things people reach for. It's said with love, absolutely. With the very best of intentions. But more often than not, it lands with a quiet thud and does precisely nothing.

Here's why.