A doula I hear is a lifesaver for natural births if you can afford one. I just tried to focus on something other than the contractions while I had them. I had an epidural at 7cm to slow down contractions because my body wouldn't relax and Henry was distressed and his heart rate kept rising too high and then dropping every contraction. But while I was laboring naturally watching TV really helped. I had Netflix on my phone and watched baking shows, and really focused on them when contractions came as a distraction technique