Natural Birth

[AuntieToABabyBoy:)]

So I was watching a documentary called The Business of Being Born and after watching I want to have a natural birth. Has anyone here had a unmedicated birth?

[mookieloo]

I have! Besides one 500mg Tylenol that I took right before leaving for the hospital, I didn't have any pain management during my daughter's birth. It was tough but doable.

[Chevbowlyn]

I would love to but I have a very low tolerance for pain.

[blackbetty]

Nope and you couldn't pay me to either =p

[Imbluedabadidabadi]

Yup. Twice.


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[AuntieToABabyBoy:)]

I have low tolerance for pain as well so I don't know if it'll work even though I want to.

Betty, one of my friends just said that lol.

[keener]

I'm aiming to have one in the next couple of weeks. The way I see it, the pain is temporary - once it's gone, it's gone. I've got a really high tolerance, but birth involves a lot of pressure, which I'm not great with for whatever reason. I'm going to be at home, so I won't even have the option/temptation (even if I did, it wouldn't work because I have a disorder that screws up my ability to process certain classes of drugs properly), using warm water, massage, etc.. I think it'll help me to remember that North America is really the only place that's crazy about the pain meds - they don't even use epidurals/pain drugs in Japan at all.

The Kandu Family channel has some good information. She's had two home births - the first one was incredibly painful and uncomfortable, but she liked that experience better than the hospital, so the second time she really went for it and she was silent! The whole time. It was amazing. I don't expect that, but still interesting.

(Note about the documentary: While it is good, it's important to look into the stuff further. One of the doctors in that documentary is very pro midwife and unmedicated birth but she's also the one who says "pit" over and over.)

[ladybug]

^^^ they actually do use epidurals in japan, but it's rare. I had mom in my birth club that was originally from the US and was now living in japan. They had to induce her labor on a particular date to ensure that the anesthesiologist was working that day. It was a huge production because it's not the norm but can be done.

[hjl226]

I was induced and had an epidural. My epidural wore off when I got to a 9. They gave me another but it didnt kick in so they gave me another shot through my iv, twice lol. I wish I wouldnt have had so much medication but I had an almost 10lb kid jammed in my back for 23 hours and dont think I could have had him without it. Maybe next time ill try without an epidural but I doubt it. If im uncomfortable then ill get it. Its not like my kid will remember how I had them. But I definitely dont want to be induced again. I was induced for so long that I ended up getting lots of blood clots and if I had lost even a drop more of blood I would have need a blood transplant. Im also scared to death because I had to have a d&c. My mom had one many years ago and they scratched her so bad she was never able to carry a baby to full term. Its a 1 in (I cant remember) chance. But it happened to her so im scared it will happen to me too :/
Eta:
I did have to be cut though because I had so much medication I couldnt feel a thing except pressure on my back. And I had to push when I wasnt supposed to so my dr just cut me to get his big ol head out.

Wahhh I cant believe next mo th it will be a year since I went through all the trouble to have my baby

[keener]

^^^ they actually do use epidurals in japan, but it's rare. I had mom in my birth club that was originally from the US and was now living in japan. They had to induce her labor on a particular date to ensure that the anesthesiologist was working that day. It was a huge production because it's not the norm but can be done.

Yeah, that's what I mean. They reserve them for their actual purpose instead of dishing them out like Tylenol, so it's very, very rare. Note: Not saying there isn't a use or time/place for epidurals or that if you've had one you're the worst person ever (my mum had four with three kids - one was inserted incorrectly - and she's a great mum). Things happen, people have preferences, everyone's different.

My sister also had a natural, unmedicated birth. I was there for most of it, then was sent home, then returned about 20 minutes later because the baby was born so quickly. The first thing she said when I entered the room was "Hey! No drugs! ME! No drugs!" She was pretty amused because she's the type of person who'll take a benadryl for a mosquito bite. Her labour, the whole thing, was only four hours from waters breaking (in one gush) to delivery, though. Very fortunate! Especially for a first time mum.

[ladybug]

What's so bad about pain management? I'm confused. You wouldn't go to the dentist and have them yank your tooth without numbing you first just to prove how "hardcore" you are.

[FLOSSY77]

My sister had problems from her epidural. She still gets back pain.
I just hate needles and medical stuff. I wanted to experience the whole thing. Like cave women style lol. So I went natural with all three. I am pretty good with pain and it was bad. The next two were pretty easy. I knew what to expect and how to deal. They were quick births.
The pain won't kill you. If you had no other option. But only you know what you can handle.
If you do want to go totally natural stay away from being induced.

[mookieloo]

Epis can lead to what's known as a "cascade of interventions", which includes the need for augmented labor (pitocin) and possibly even an emergency c-section.

[keener]

What's so bad about pain management? I'm confused. You wouldn't go to the dentist and have them yank your tooth without numbing you first just to prove how "hardcore" you are.

I won't get into the whole debate except to say that it's not about proving you're tough or better than anyone else. If that's the reasoning behind it - you're doing life wrong.

Pain management IS used during natural birth (just a note: 'natural birth' typically just means vaginal, not necessarily unmedicated), but it's a different kind. Warm water (shower or water birth), massage, TENS, simply moving around, meditation, etc. have all been proven effective as pain relief. They're effective and they don't linger in mother or baby's system. Non-drug-based pain management has been proven effective and has been used for centuries upon centuries upon centuries. It's part of the problem that women think of birth as a horrible, painful thing to be feared. We're made to feel like we can't do it without medication, despite that being a relatively new thing.

Your body is doing what it was designed to do. Pulling out a tooth, or setting a broken limb is not quite the same thing. Obviously there will be, at least, discomfort and pressure. But it's temporary and natural. I don't take drugs every time I get a headache, or every time I get heartburn, or when I stub my toe or hit my shin (let's face it - that shit hurts). We feel things for a reason and I think birth is one of those things that needs to be felt. When we stop viewing the birth of our children as a major, transforming life experience and start viewing it as something that needs to be medicated and treated as an illness (which is why medication exists), there's a serious problem.

Related to the feeling thing - both emotionally and physically - epidurals typically cause you to lose the ability to feel when to push, which is kind of a huge deal. You're then directed to push and may not be doing it properly (because you can't feel what's happening) and then the doctor decides you aren't progressing fast enough (because who better to tell you you're doing something wrong than a male surgeon, right?), so you're given more drugs, or they tell you that you need a C-section. That's part of the cascade of interventions. Winding up with a healthy baby is the ultimate goal, but it's not the only important thing. It's important for a woman to feel good about the birth. It's really important. Postpartum depression is serious and feeling like your body failed in some fundamental way, when it didn't at all, is a very common feeling after epidural/c-section.

[blackbetty]

"When we stop viewing the birth of our children as a major, transforming life experience and start viewing it as something that needs to be medicated and treated as an illness (which is why medication exists), there's a serious problem. "

Come the fuck on, that's far fetched. Just because someone chooses to experience childbirth with medication doesn't mean they don't feel it's a major life changing experience. I had 2 c-sections and they weren't any less life changing or major than if I was a Super Vagina who took no meds. What's with all the judgement from people about how other people choose to birth their children? I personally would rather have a medicated natural birth than unmedicated as pain is stressful and I'd much rather have a pleasant scenario to look back in the future. That doesn't mean I think labor is an illness, it means why would I choose to suffer in pain when I have the option not to do so?

[HeyItsCourtney]

I wanted to have an unmedicated birth, but once they started me on pitocin (even though it was a low dose) I started losing my cool and started stressing which isn't ideal for the baby. I was in labor for a good 26 hours before I even knew I was in real labor because I have such mild contractions. I was dilated to a 4 in triage, 0 station, 100% effaced, and water was bulging. My son was exhausted and they needed to get him out sooner rather than later. I was progressing well, but they wanted to me to progress faster...hence, pitocin. I didn't get my epidural until I was at a 7 and I don't regret it. It was an incredibly easy birth.

[FLOSSY77]

Medication does not just exist for illness. That is crazy. It is also for pain. HELLO!

[briannaspeaks]

If you want to have a natural birth just try your hardest, and make your mindset just that.

I wanted one, and went in wanting one since before I even got pregnant. When I was hooked to an IV for dehydration I progressed 3 cm (from 3 to 6) in 1 hour. They said get an epi now or never since in 1 more hour I could be giving birth. I said yes.
I regret it. Once I got it, the feeling of being numb seemed worst than what the contractions were. I didn't like the idea of not feeling my lower body. I was shaking a lot. And didn't feel comfortable moving since I knew there was a tube in my back, I felt like I could accidently pull it out. Then when I began to push I just felt pressure, mainly where my legs meet my hips. And I did not like that. 3 years later I have some back pain (I can't bend over for to long), it could also be from just having a child.

On a different note, I firmly believe I "hemorrhaged" because of the epi. The reason they said I did was because my uterus wasn't contracting after giving birth. And coincidently they stopped Pitocin (the drug made to help with contractions) right after I gave birth.

After having a epi I have thoroughly decided not to have another one. Just the feeling of being that numb was what bothered me.

[old_soul_here]

I had a natural birth 6 1/2 hours I recommend the red tent, it left me feeling like a goddess about giving birth naturally. My son had a shoulder dystocia but I don't actually remember it being too much of an issue. It was one of the best experiences in my opinon, I also thoroughly recommend Ina May's Guide to childbirth its amazing!!!

[old_soul_here]

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, its a work of fiction but the whole perspective of these women attending births made me feel so safe in the process.