Natural Birth - Would you recommend it??

Trina - posted on 04/14/2010

You can do this. The thing is -ride the tide. Do not be afraid of a natural birth. Trust your body to work, imagining that every contraction brings your baby closer to you. The benefits of a natural birth are amazing and I think natural birthing empowers women. Can you get a Doula?

When you are in labor your body will go through stages. You go through a latent phase, and active phase and a transitional phase. During this time your body will begin to release endorphins to help you to cope with the pain. If you can you should move during labor, and find positions that are comfortable to you. Natural birth is preferable if possible, because your baby will cooperate with you. It is amazing that babies wiggle and move to navigate their way during birth. It is not passive, it is a very cooperative and active experience. When you get an epidural or other drugs it slows the baby down, they are no longer participating to be born, and you become the only one working to birth. They can stall labor, and cause other potential problems. Birthing from Within is a wonderful book, and so is Gentle Birth Choices. America society has turned birth into a medical event, when it is a life event. They make the act of birthing the equivalent of emptying the womb, and rather than focus on the mother, the focus is often on one soul thing----emptying the contents. If you were to choose a midwife for a natural birth most of them are willing to let mothers kind of do their own thing. There won't be a bed, or IV's , positions will not be limited. Comfort is the key of a natural birth. You need to find peace in your surroundings. If you like music, take music. If you like plants, take plants to the hospital. Find a way to make yourself comfortable, because that will be your key.

Brianna - posted on 04/14/2010

i had planned on getting the epidural but i live in a small town and when i was in labor there was no one there that could give me one and my jerk doctor didnt want to call someone in to give me one (which i thought was rude cuz we thought i was gonna be in heavy labor for a long long time). my water broke at 3am so i went to the hospital feeling no pain but that soon changed lol. when i got to the hospital i was 2cm by 12pm i was 3cm and in heavy labor the doctor said i wouldnt have the baby till at least late that night but at 1pm i suddenly started to bleed alot and the doctor rushed in to check me and i was at 9 cm before the doctor could even get ready i was already feeling the urge to push 15 min later my daughter was born. im proud to say i did it naturally and plan to do it for the next one but when im in labor i will probably try to change my mind lol im sure u can do it naturally for ur next one since u pretty much did for the first one

Jen - posted on 04/14/2010

I had a mostly natural birth. I went in wanting an epidural, but the anesthesiologist was in an emergency c-section when I was finally admitted. I had been given a shot in triage about 5-6 hours before my daughter was born. Then after seeing that I was going to have to wait on an epidural they put some drugs in my IV. Even with the pain meds I was still in pain and actually became numb to the pain although some of the edge was lifted. My labor progressed rapidly and they finally broke my water at 9cms and I had my daughter 15 mins. later. I felt everything and my stubborn daughter came out with her elbow before her shoulders and she had not turned all the way. She was basically born on her side lol. So after all that I decided that I will have a natural birth with the next one. With my last child I'd like a water birth.

Renee - posted on 04/14/2010

I hd a natural birth although after nearly 18 hours and only 1 cm dialated I wanted someting for the pain, I was actually sitting on the toilet telling the midwife that I wanted and epidural about 20 minutes after the internal check to see how far dialated i was. She went off to get everything for an epidural when i started pushing, and pressing the midwife button like there was no tomorrow. I got to the bed and 8 minutes later our little princess was born. The contractions are far worse so I think that if you got through those last time, your all set!

Kimberly - posted on 04/14/2010

With my first one I had an epidural but with my daughter she came out naturally. I didn't have a choice...she came out too fast and didn't have time to get any pain medications and I'm glad I didn't. As long as you have your healthy baby it doesn't matter.

Louise - posted on 04/14/2010

My first son I was induced at 41 weeks and becase labour would not stay established I was on a drip to keep it going the whole time. I was in labour for 12 hours had an epidural that failed, an episiotomy and a tear and was just about to go to theatre when baby arrived after pushing for an hour. It took me the best part of 6 months to sit on a chair after as I had so many stitches. Did I mention he was 9lb 8 oz.
At 7 weeks he had bleeding in his brain fro
the delivery and had to have surgery.

After all that when I found out I was expecting a second time I was extremely anxious. I made a decision that I was going to do everything different. I went to a different doc and explained my fears and we spoke about a section. At 38 weeks he predicted that the baby was under 9 lbs and he felt I should be able to deliver so sent me in the next morning to be induced. I had my waters broken at 8pm and until 10 or so I was walking around the corridors and was in and out to the toilet etc after that the pains came closer together so I found I needed to be sitting/ lying. At 11:30 I was 10 cm dilated and my little man was born at 5 mins to midnight. I had no painrelief other than gas and air and I had a tear. He was 8lb 11oz. And would have been 10 lbs at full term.
I was home 36 hours after I had him and only then as he had to have a bowel movement before he went home. The doc had actually said I could go 12 hours after he was born.
Anyway I had stitches this time also but was sitting on a wooden floor the day I went home.
I have a greater memory of the second birth and not just cos it was more recent. I was so out of it and I'll from the gas and air and whoozy on the first birth andremember very little of the whole birth. The second I was so much more aware.
I won't lie it did hurt but there was a definite contraction and then rest period on my second whereas my first was one long pain. I didn't get any rest between them at all and got exhausted really quickly.
I was so worried about the second birth but it turned out to be an extremely memorable experience and I'm glad I opted for natural birth over section!

Lizzy - posted on 04/14/2010

I planned to have all the drugs in the world so i didnt feel anything!! I was so scared as it was my first one.

5am Wednesday morning i lost my mucous plug and the pains started straight away. I was on the birthing ball, moving around, controlling my breathing, which i was suprised i could do as i didnt go to any antenatal classes. Pains got stronger as it got to wed. evening, and the birthing ball wasnt working anymore and we started timing them. By 4am (Thursday) my contractions were happening every 2 minutes for a minute, and my back needed to be rubbed. By 5am we were on the delivery ward and i was 6cm. Shocked as hell, and the midwives didnt really want to give me anything. I tried gas and air but it made me feel sick. I swear, breathing is the best thing you can do, and a positive outlook :"Every woman has to go through this, if 14yr olds can do it, so can i!" I had 3 contractions at once a few times. The midwives werent very good, the urge to push is so immense, words cannot describe! I don't think they believed me as all i did was breathe. And Charlie delivered himself at 8:50am. You know what? After all that i felt like i could do it again, even though i ripped inside a lot because the midwives wernt ready or guide me through it, i just went for it when it got too much and my waters broke.

I needed my back rubbed during every contraction, and having two people there for support really helped.

It was all like a dream, but it wasnt that bad, if you have mind control over it, i think you can do anything. Though saying that, the second one may be a little worse as you know what the pains are like then!!

Stephanie - posted on 04/14/2010

I've had two natural births and plan to have a third in September. My first birth was twins, too. I'd totally recommend it. Take a childbirth class and learn to manage your pain and hang on to your focus with breathing exercises. That's my advice. Also, for me, having someone in the room to help is a big thing. I've never had a doula, but I like the idea.
I had a good nurse with my twins, who helped me regain my focus during transition just as I was losing it. :) hehehe... and my mom helped me with my 3rd child's birth. My hubby is great with the girls and being there, but he just doesn't know how to deal with me in that state. :) poor guy, he tries so hard too.
This time my mom can't come down, so I'm thinking about who I could ask to be that helper for me. We'll see. I'm realllllly hoping that I don't have to do this myself.

oh, the contractions aren't... too bad, it's the transition contractions that are awful. Those last 2 cms just hurt so much. it takes a lot of focus and concentration to make it. Pushing and the birth are a relief and very satisfying to me. It hurts, but you've got a job and purpose again. so it's not as bad.

Ashley=) - posted on 04/14/2010

I was the same on my first i took a epidural after 6cm and it didnt take affect she came out an hour and a half after that..it hurt like hell the doctor was telling me to puff the gas and air but i couldn't focus on puffing and pushing lol.



On my second child i was going for just gas and air if i couldn't handle the contractions second time around but no epidural what so ever i was able the first time it did hurt but it didnt last for two long.I was in hospital 3days and after i started passing blood cloths i was emergency sectioned so i was happy to finally have her out and i recovered super fast to and couldn't complain.I agree about the breastfeeding pain being worse after the c-section.



Go natural all the way or just use gas and air for the contractions it helped me on my first a great deal.Best of luck to you:-)

Heidi - posted on 04/14/2010

I have had three natural births. All of them were in the water and with a midwife, because doctors dont do water births. I really never considered having any drugs but that is just me. I also had my sister with me who is a certified doula and that was immensely helpful. Really the hardest part for me is that moment right before you start to push, I get a panicky feeling like I need to get out of here. That is where having a doula to help refocus and get me breathing and using a low pitched moan to deal with the contractions.

I love being in the water for the transition phase and I have had no tears or stiches with any of my kids. If you want a natural childbirth a good support team is really vital, especially if you dont know what to expect. I also love the freedom of a drug free birth, i have so many more options to move and to not be in the stupid bed on a stupid monitor. Sorry I know that everyone has different experiences but I really feel like sometimes doctors and nurses want to treat all of us exactly the same. Besides it is exhilirating to do something that hard by yourself.