BTDT moms who had a natural birth

I am really aiming for a natural birth (open to the option of medical intervention though, if it's in the best interest of baby and me), but am a little scared. Anyone who has done it- can you give honest feedback (and I really mean brutally honest!!) on how it was for you? Would you do it again? Any tips or advice for how to get through it?
TIA!!

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

Nobody...??

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

try x-posting on parenting

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

good call, thanks

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

I am planning a drug free, natural birth. I will let you know how it goes in 6 weeks. :)

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

I'm not sure what you mean by natural birth. I didn't have any pain medication to help with birthing, but I did have pitocin to speed things up as I had mecconium ((sp?)) in my amniotic fluid.

Walking was the very best thing that my doctor recommended. I walked for about 2 hours to get things moving along. I also used a birthing ball to help with pain. Breathing for me went out the window lol. But most of all my husband was my rock and helped me through the entire thing, I don't know what I would have done without him. He made sure to always have cold water, and to rub my shoulders neck, and when it came time to pushing he was right there lol, and told me how great I was doing and that he could see DS's head. It was magical, and I am hoping for the same birth with DC #2.

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

My best advice is to do some reading. I definitely recommend these books:
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

You might want to take either Bradley or Hynobirthing classes, although I took neither and ended up with drug free deliveries.

Also, you should see what your doctor and hospital's policies are regarding childbirth. Do you have to stay in the bed once you get there, or can you move around? ?Because trust me, at the very end of a natural birth there is NO WAY you will be able to just lay in bed and cope with the contractions. Also ask about their use of pitocin, c-section and episiotomy rates. Because one of the main things that will dictate your birth experience is how your care providers handles your labor/delivery.

Of course, if you want a natural birth you have a much better chance using a midwife. They have lower rates for all interventions.

ETA; Yes, it does hurt. But you CAN do it!

Message edited 11/18/2009 1:16:08 PM.

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

I sort of did a natural birth. I caved at the very end and got the epi because the nurses were scaring me making think it could go on a lot longer and get a lot worse. But, the epi never took effect anyway (because of my back issues), so I still felt everything.

In all honesty, most of it was not that bad for me at all. My first contraction was at 3:30pm, and I thought nothing of it until about 11pm, so all of those contractions were very very easy. It got more intense around 11, and so I started thinking this might be labor, and at 1, I called my doc. but none of these were at all terrible. I couldnt sleep through them, and when the contraction came might moan a little or say ow, but again, nothing too terrible. I wouldnt even consider an epi at that point. I got to the hospital around 2:15 and was 4cm. (I had been 1 cm for about 3 weeks before labor started). My water broke a little before 3. From 3-5/6, the contractions were stronger and hurt, but still very easy to get through...again, nothing i would even consider meds for. I went to pee once and had a contraction while I was up--that one was worse and I remember thinking I didnt want to get up any more. The nurses had me turn on my side at one point for the baby. The first contraction on my side was a lot worse, but I think that was coincidence, because when they let me lay on my back again, it was just as bad. Then they did start getting really bad. I bit FH, was biting my pillow, and saying this is worse than I thought. I started thinking a c section would be easier and thinking I was nuts for wanting to go through this. The trouble was at this point, nobody encouraged me and the nurses and everyone started saying this can get much worse and last a lot longer, how much pain can you take? The dr checked me and I was 6cm. I caved and said I would try the epi. They tried to get the epi in me for at least 30 minutes and were having a lot of trouble. Breathing through the contractions (which were right on top of each other) and trying to stay still during the epi attempts was brutal. But in a way, it also helped me breathe through them more and deal with them better instead of letting my head go crazy and just squirming around in pain. After they finally got the epi in, they said I should feel relief in 10-15 minutes. Never happened. The nurses kept looking at me saying she shouldnt have to breathe through them still, etc. They asked if I had pain or pressure, I said both. So, they had the dr check me, and he said the baby was right there and would be out in less than 20 minutes...it was time for pushing. Pushing for me was a breeze. It was relief, I was thrilled that my baby was just about here and it really didnt bother me at all. I pushed through 3 contractions (and had one contraction that I didnt push during because the dr was getting equipment and I was scared to push unless he was sitting right there) and she was out in 10 minutes. (7:44am) The only bad part was from about 5 or 6 until 7:30ish. If I knew it was that short a time, and that it was the worst of it, I probably wouldnt have even tried the epi. Thinking that it could get worse and/or last several more hours made me cave.

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

# 1 thing -- get a practitioner who supports natural birth, otherwise you will be battling the hospital, the nursing staff and the doctor to get a simple intervention-free birth, which is key to natural childbirth.

#2 thing, read, read, read -- learn all about the birth process, understand interventions and when they are useful. You will feel much more confident and make better decisions the more informed you are.

#3 thing, learn a good pain management technique. I love Hypnobabies and have used it twice.

#4 thing, keep yourself in great shape and keep a postive attitude!

Oh, and yes, I've done it twice and would do it again in a hearbeat. Yes, sometimes it's hard (my first was, my second wasn't) but it's something you get through and is completely worth it. Both my birth stories are posted if you want to check them out.

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

I'll copy/paste what I wrote in another similar post...

I had a natural childbirth without drugs. While I was pregnant I informed myself by reading about it, we took lamaze, spoke with tons of mommies (and a doula) who went through labor/delivery without any drugs and made my decision.

I happen to be very lucky that I progressed too quickly for an epi to even be an option, but I can give you a few tips on how to prepare yourself and avoid an epi...

-Get informed about childbirth! Know what your body is doing, why you are in pain, what the baby is doing, what contractions will feel like, going through transitions, etc. Think about that when you are laboring.

-Labor at home as long as you can. Contractions for me started around 9am, I called my dr. and was told to go right to the hospital but I chose not to. I didn't want to be laying in a bed hooked up to monitors at 2cm! I waited until 12pm to go to the hospital (contractions were 2 mins apart!) and while the car ride there was rough it was so worth it. I was already 6-7cm when I arrived, got to 10cm less than 2 hours later and gave birth less than 4 hours after arriving at the hospital.

-When you get to the hospital, don't lay flat in the bed. Ask to be sat up straight, I really feel that that helped with her coming down quicker.

-Look forward to pushing. As crazy as it may sound, pushing (as intense as it is) actually really helps with the pain of a contraction.

GOOD LUCK!!

Oh and link to my BIRTH STORY.

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

I had a Natural - Drug Free Birth... No inductions - interventions etc... The worst part was the pressure from wanting to push out what felt like a huge bag of cement stuck in me

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

thank you! Its really great to hear what you did to prepare for it... please keep it coming!

I'm getting hypnobabies, is it just CDs? or is there something more to it?

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

my suggestion to you is that if you want no intervention express that with you ob AS WELL as the nurse who admits you... that was my plan with ds and no one told me that the iv's they were hanging had pit in it until about 3 hours after i was there when they told me they were increasing the dose...

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

If by natural you mean V-brith with no meds - yes, I had one with my first. My best advice would be to stay home until you can't take it anymore. That is what my OB told me and, having gone through it I can say if I had not done that I probably wouldn't have made it. As for honest feedback. It hurt. WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY more than I ever imagined. But, the pain was so bad it was like a drug in and of itself b/c I couldn't worry or think about anything else. That said, I am going to try to go that route again for #2 - but, it's in god's hands, not mine

HTH!!!

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

Thanks for the replies everyone- I appreciate the honesty and the good tips!!

Re: BTDT moms who had a natural birth

I had a completely natural vaginal birth and I hope to NEVER have to do it again! I'm just being honest.
I had it in my head my entire pregnancy that I would be getting an epidural, but as you'll learn, you can never plan these things. I progressed too quickly to even have the option of getting an epi, or any drugs for that matter. When I got to the hospital, I was already 10cm and ready to push.

The pushing for me wasn't as bad as the contractions. It was a pain that I wouldn't even be able to describe to you. Worst pain of my life. But, as others have said, you'll get through it. If it is truly important for you to have a natural labor, make sure everyone around you is going to support you in that decision, including your hospital staff.

Good luck!