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BR clicky-poll: Natural Childbirth
First of all, this is my first attempt at a clicky poll, so I hope it works!
Secondly, I want to say that I am in no way passing judgment on anyone. I strongly believe every woman has a right to choose how she would like her childbirth experience to be (well, at least attempt to choose, unless unexpected complications arise) without judgment from anyone else, including other women. But I am genuinely curious about the reasons people plan to have a natural childbirth experience with no drugs.
I ask this because, to honest with you, I have no intentions of doing it! I am the world's biggest baby when it comes to pain. I can handle some, but I know there will come a point when I will want an epidural. I am amazed and impressed by women who do it completely naturally. Yes, I know women do it everyday around the world. I'm just not sure that I'm one of them who can handle it, and (as of right now) I feel that if a resource (i.e. drugs/epidural) exists to make it better for me, I will take advantage.
With that said, maybe I'm missing something. Maybe there is a reason to try for the natural way that I haven't thought of. So, please don't slam me for asking this. Again, I'm not judging, just curious. And maybe you'll change my mind!
[Poll]
Re: BR clicky-poll: Natural Childbirth
I couldn't pick one category - I think I would answer all of the above. I find birth fascinating - always have - and want to feel everything. My mom had 2 natural childbirths and has always been open about my birth story and I love hearing all about it and hope to have a similar experience as hers.
That said, I am still being pushed towards an induction and I know that could really change my plans so I have been working towards having an open mind about it all.
I couldn't pick one category either. I really wanted to have a natural child birth. Wanted being the key word! I knew the benefits of natural child birth for me as well as Elyse, but was SO SO afraid of labour that I didn't believe I could actually do it.
In my actual birth story, my labour progressed quite quickly and we ended up staying at home through active labour and transitioning. When I got to the hospital I was 10cm and pushing. That said, I was BEGGING for drugs the whole drive to the hospital. Russ, not knowing how far I was promised me all the drugs in the world if I would just wait until we got to the hospital to have her.
I'm happy that I was able to do it naturally, I'm actually very proud of myself. But I think every woman should be proud to be able to carry and deliver a baby - it's a truely amazing experience.
Married Bio
I picked "something else." This is because honestly, I have no intentions one way or the other. If I get to labor and think to myself, "It's OK, I can do this without drugs, I can make it through" then great! But if I get to labor and think to myself, "Nope, I need drugs, I simply cannot take this pain," then that's great too!
I don't think that going without drugs makes you a hero any more than having them makes you some kind of childbirth loser. From the beginning of time, women have tried to find ways to make labor less painful (hence all the old wives' tales like putting a knife under the mattress to cut the pain) and now we finally actually HAVE ways to safely accomplish that. The ability to choose pain relief should be celebrated, simply because we can make that choice, similar to the ability to choose between working and SAHM - neither are better than the other, but the freedom to have that choice is fantastic!
I think that for some women, going without drugs gives them a great sense of accomplishment, and I'm absolutely not knocking that or saying that what they did was without merit, because I know that must have been HARD - but by the same token I don't think women should be vilified or looked down upon as weak or less accomplished just because they had drugs during labor.
There's such a huge focus on pain relief during labor...it's almost funny, considering that for the 9 months leading up to it, you can't have anything aside from mostly-ineffective Tylenol for all of the painful things that happen during pregnancy. In those 40 weeks before childbirth, you've run a freaking pain marathon, so if someone wants some drugs to take the edge off the worst of it during the piddly 24-hours or so at the very end of the entire process, that's OK with me lol. Any woman who goes through pregnancy and childbirth - drugs or no - has achieved something huge!
This is exactly how I feel! And I know that no on here would judge me for (probably!) choosing to have medication, but I have a family member or two who will. I already have a cousin who is so against hospitals in general. She thinks I'm being bullied by the media and the medical profession into delivering at a hospital, and that if my pregnancy is "normal" I should deliver at home, like she did. Now, I think it's great that she had the choice to deliver at home, but I should have the same choice to be in a hospital, with drugs. I want the safety of a hospital if something goes wrong, and I want the possibility (and probability, given my wussiness!) of drugs, too.
I do like hearing other people's perspectives on this, though.
I chose the second option, but really would have chosen ALL OF THE ABOVE. As you know I wanted to go natural, but being induced changed that...I managed for 12 hours au naturel but the Pitocin kicked my butt...intense contrax but not progressing past 4 cm in those 12 hours. My body couldn't handle it and I began shaking uncontrollably...even my doula said she's only seen that AFTER birth not during. So I got the epi and two hours later Libby was here. In hindsight the epi was the right choice for us...it allowed me to avoid a c-section for lack of progression AND enabled my doctor to handle my retained placenta without wheeling me into the OR and knocking me out completely. For that I am grateful.
I think the main thing is to be open...you may experience labor and say, "hey, I can handle THIS...it's not that bad..." or not...I will say I am so glad I waited to get the epi and that it was only strong enough to take the pain away but I could still feel the pressure of my contractions and could feel when to push, which was awesome! Four pushes and she was out!
TTC/PG Blog | Mommy Blog
Don't worry, I have some of those relatives myself.
Although I'm all for homebirths in the appropriate circumstances - my mom did it with my little brother, so I'm not one of those people who is totally against it and I think it can absolutely be a wonderful experience for everyone involved - I do think you have to be careful.
One of my cousins was dead set on homebirths for all three of her children...emphasis on "dead". She has a great deal of difficulty during childbirth and nearly died all three times from blood loss and other complications (no exaggeration - she had to be rushed to the hospital in an ambulance after each baby came out). As awful as this sounds, by the third time I didn't even want to know if she was doing it again...it made me sick to think that she could literally die because she had a notion that homebirth was ALWAYS better than a hospital birth. Honestly, I'm appalled that her midwife (she used the same one all three times) would even do it with her after the first time...I think it was incredibly irresponsible.
So this is another area where I firmly take a stance that what is good for one woman isn't good for another. Personally, I'm like you and I want the safety of having an emergency team right down the hall if I need them (especially because there are so many complications that can take place with a multiple birth), but as I said, I also think that a homebirth can be a wonderful experience in the right circumstances. I wish there was less judgment about this sort of thing!
I'm with you - never had any intentions of going natural. in my 3rd tri I briefly mentioned to MH, "maybe I should try w/o the epi" and his reply (after birthing many babies at the hospital) was "oh honey, you will want the epi!" LOL. so, really, although i considered it for a moment, i always knew i wasn't going for the natural childbirth. i'm sure you remember my long birth story, but after my water broke they augmented my labor w/pitocin and i was so glad to have the epi. those contractions were SO painful. i've never been in so much pain in my life...to where i was shaking and crying continuously. all i wanted to do was curl up in a ball and die after they turned my epi off so that i could push and looking back, i am not sure how i had it in me to push for 2 hrs w/o it!
i think it's admirable for a woman to want to experience natural childbirth but it's just not "my cup of tea"
i need pain relief!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
I'm not PG or have had a baby yet, but I have no intentions of doing things naturally. I'm the biggest wimp and I'm actually scared of just being pregnant because of all the pain and possible complications that could arise. I have always wanted to be a mother, but the thought of getting to that point freaks me out
I give mad props to women who can just give birth period (meds or not)! It's so amazing to me and still can't picture myself going through that process. I would like to think I would be open minded about it depending on my circumstances at that time.
| Olowalu, Maui ~ August 6, 2008 |
| Family of 4 ~ April 2, 2011 |
| Family of 5 - October 24, 2012 |
Alyson & Phil | Planning Bio | Married Bio!
Dates & Quinces Blog
I just have to say that I think women who choose to go without pain meds are freaking rock stars! Or at least women who give it a really good go (like MarriedtoMrWright). Best for the baby, best for the mom. Like all meds, there are side effects and risks. If I would have voted I would have picked all of the above but I didn't vote because I won't be doing it without an epi, even though I know I should.
I'll be brutally honest: I never once thought throughout my pregnancy or during labor to go med-free. I don't feel judged about taking the epi. & I don't know anyone who would judge me about it.
I think it's awesome for those women who go med-free during birth, and I think it's awesome for those women who take the epi. Medication doesn't make you any less of a woman, nor does it take away from the birth experience. People who judge women for taking the epidural are thinking backwards-- does it make you any less of a woman (or take away from your birth experience) if you have a c-section? Absolutely not!
... I guess what I'm saying is that after having Brooke, I give momma's in general a LOT of credit ... regardless of your birth experience!
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Seriously Lori I think we share the same brain sometimes. I knew from the beginning I wanted to go as far a I could with out the meds, but figured at some point the pain would get unbearable and I would want the meds. I must say I give mama's who go with out the meds tons of credit...
I would love a med-free birth, but I am not 100% convinced that I can handle it or that it would be in the best interest of me and our baby. So, I'm going in with an open mind, but a strong drive toward trying my best to do it naturally.
Of course, I would prefer not to have anything extra introduced to my system or my baby's. But beyond that, I think I just want to feel more in control and more actively involved in birthing our baby, and I fear that the meds might take some of that away from me -- feeling numb, being confined to the bed, possibly not knowing when my body was contracting, etc.
As I prepare for childbirth, I also think that learning about med-free births helps me to feel empowered. A lot of my fear of pain comes from media-sensationalized visions of screaming women and I really don't want to go in there with that in my mind -- it makes me feel so helpless and that's NOT how I want to feel during my first moments of being a mom.
Plus, in speaking with women who have done it med-free, I've heard different things -- that it is painful, but manageable; that it's more pressure than pain; that it never gets worse than that moment when you feel you just can't go further; etc.. That encourages me to try to get in a positive state of mind about the experience, so that I can give it my best effort, with or without drugs.
In the end, I am definitely not opposed to getting an epidural and I have no delusions that it will be a pain-free or puppies-and-rainbow type of experience. I just want to feel empowered to trust in my body and see how far it can get me on its own. Only time will tell...
And no judgment on anyone -- everyone should do what they feel is best for them and their families.
this was exactly how i felt both before and during my PG!
Jaime & Brent
Oahu, Hawaii | Sept. 9, 2005
My Food Blog - Good Eats 'n Sweet Treats
I didn't vote, but I too had NO intentions of having my baby without the epi! I knew I'd be asking for it as soon as it was possible, and I did. I barely felt any contractions at all and that is FINE by me! It was relaxing, I slept, everyone rested. We did have to go in for a C-section as her heartrate lowered but that wasn't due to the epi and at that point I was really glad I had it because all they had to do was crank it up and out she came!
SO glad everyone has the choice to do what they want for them, but in my case I figured, why suffer when there are safe options available?
Thanks! I voted with the all of the above option. But like MarriedtoMrWright I probably would have picked the second option. In my childbirth class I thought the most interesting prop she had was a model pelvis and we could play with it - like a real pelvis it could stretch and compress at the joints so we could see what your body/bones are doing when you are on your back or on your side, then she had a baby you could try to maneuver down and out and it was so interesting.
There are positions that are optimal for baby movement if you do happen to be confined to your back or side but it was so much easier for the baby to make it's descent if you could be up and moving around. So even if an epidural was in my plan I would try to hold out as long as possible to help my baby find it's way down - the amount of work they do in the labor process is amazing and I wouldn't want to interfere with that.
I was planning on med free. I didn't want the pain meds to negitivly effect the labor process by slowing it down or encouraging more invasive procedures (which by the way I wound up having, all except for a C section, and I was pretty close to that too).
I went from 3 cm and not really feeling the contractions to 8 cm and REALLY feeling them within an hour. I was tired and scared. I didn't want the pain to get worse so I took the epidural. Looking back, I still don't think I could have done it without the epidural BUT I think it definitely hindered my labor because I couldn't feel the "right" place to push.
Cerclage placed @ 21w6d due to CI (IC)
I don't get the med-free birth choice either. I could hear a woman screaming bloody murder in the birthing room next to mine going med-free and wonder why anyone would go through that if they don't have to - her screams really freaked me out. All the power to those that go med-free but there's no way I would put myself through that much pain unnecessarily.