new mother wanting a natural birth

Posts: 2201
4/25/12 10:56 A

I would really suggest finding out their stats, just in case. I was under the impression the hospital I had my son at was very natural birth friendly, but it turned out they have some of the highest c-section rates in the state, and they don't allow eating and drinking during labor (a very bad sign) and they require fetal monitoring for twenty minutes out of every hour (another very bad sign). After having attended several births at that hospital as a doula, I now know I was very lucky to have achieved an unmedicated birth there, and I would never go back to that hospital again. There are way better hospitals in the area, but they don't have the same kind of advertising budget that the hospital I went to did.
Make sure you ask about your hospitals official position on eating and drinking while in labor, electronic fetal monitoring, cesarean, epidural, and episiotomy rates. If they don't allow full freedom to eat and drink, if they monitor every hour, if their c-section rates are above the national average (about 33%), if more than half their patients have epidurals and more than 10% have episiotomies, you'll be very lucky to have an unmedicated birth there.
There are very good hospitals out there, but it can be difficult to make sure you're in one. Of course they all tell you early on "Oh sure! You can have a natural birth here!" They want your money. They want you to give them your business. You don't want to find out when you're in labor that they're going to starve you (which has been shown to cause more complications than it prevents), keep you harpooned to a bed for a third of your labor, and routinely cut you open because they aren't competent enough to suture a tear.

Posts: 76
4/25/12 10:22 A

Thank you for the advice. I am considered low risk. I plan on going to Lehigh Valley Hospital for my delivery, but they are very open to all sorts of things. And my boyfriend-father of the child- will be there, so im very lucky in that matter.

Posts: 407
4/24/12 10:44 P

Oh! I just realized that, that topic is on the July 2012 board. I can probably cut and paste the stream, but it may be easier to read if you just join quickly and read it.

Posts: 407
4/24/12 10:38 P

Hi! We've started talking about this a bit . Check out the discussion topic "Doulas, midwives, and epidurals...oh my!" The women on here contributed SUCH helpful information and options.

Calli

Posts: 2201
4/24/12 10:09 P

I've done it. I did it for my first birth in a hospital, and I'm fairly confident I will do it again for my second birth (due in August), which will be a home birth. I am also a birth doula.
Here is my advice.
1. Shop around for health care providers. If you are low risk, you're better off going with a midwife than an OB, but even some midwives can be very interventionist. Ask your health care provider what their cesarean rate is, what their epidural rate is, what their episiotome rate is.
2. Research birth locations. Decide whether you want to have your baby in the hospital, a birth center, or at home. If you choose a hospital, ask around to find out which one is the friendliest to natural birth. Find out who has the lowest cesarean rates. Find out who allows eating and drinking while in labor. Find out who allows water birth. That sort of thing. There are websites where you can get a lot of this information. There's a site called CesareanRates.com (or something similar, you might want to google it), and check out the data on TheBirthSurvey.com.
3. Educate yourself, educate yourself, educate yourself. I would recommend reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer, and anything by Penny Simpkin. Also, check out articles on Mothering.com. Take a good childbirth education class also. I like Lamaze, Bradley, CAPPA, and Birthing From Within. Bradley can have some kind of weird sexist stuff in it, but other than that good info. Some people like Hypnobirthing and Hypnobabies, I don't know a ton about them.
4. Get a good support team. Your romantic partner is a common choice, but if you are single, consider your mom, sisters, friends, cousins, someone who is supportive of unmedicated birth and who loves you.
5. Consider hiring a doula. A doula is an amazing addition to your birth team and having her dramatically increases your chances of having a successful unmedicated birth. If cost is a concern, you can easily find a certifying doula who will work for cheap or free. Look on craigslist.com and contact the doula certifying agencies for a list of certifying doulas in your area. The main certifying agencies are DONA, CAPPA, and ToLabor. If you're in Denver, contact me. ;-)
6. Stay active during your pregnancy and eat healthy. You might want to check out the website spinningbabies.com later in pregnancy to help you with positioning exercises.
7. Use support groups like this one, and find local groups. Check out La Leche League meetings, Holistic Moms Network, and try to find natural birth or parenting clubs on Meetup.com.

Congrats on your pregnancy and feel free to message me if you have any specific questions!

Posts: 2088
4/24/12 9:54 P

I have experienced both kinds of birth....1st was an induction by breaking my water and ended up with an epidural because I was afraid of the pain - after getting the epidural, I dilated quickly, but couldn't feel a single thing, they had to tell me when I was having a contraction and when to push. I ended up getting a small episiotomy (not too uncommon on your first to potentially tear). I respond VERY well to pain meds and I had to wait a few hours before I was able to get out of bed because my legs were still asleep. I hated the lack of control I had over when to push and feeling a sensation so that my body knew it was time to push. I was determined to not use pain meds with any future children. My 2nd was another induction....this time with pitocin after breaking my water, and I did it completely pain med free. It was awesome!!!

The biggest piece of advice I can pass on that helped me, was to understand that the uterus is a muscle. Just like your bicep is a muscle, and has to contract to bend your elbow...the uterus has to contract during labor to get that baby out of there!! The pain is normal...do not fear it. Since this is your first, it will seem scary - but that is only because you have not experienced it before....have complete faith and trust in your body - it was created to birth babies!!! And DO NOT tense up during contractions - that will only make the contractions more painful. My husband was my labor/birth coach, and we practiced many times at home of completely relaxing my body. This was crucial when I felt a contraction starting, I was able to visualize my body being relaxed and just kind of relaxed into each contraction. This was a completely different labor experience than my first, because I was not afraid of the contractions. Then, I got to experience the beautiful moment of feeling the pressure and the need to push....and I didn't tear at all with my 2nd....I feel that was partly because I could feel everything going on and knew how hard I needed or didn't need to push.

You can do it!! If your husband/significant other doesn't want to be or you don't think would be a good labor coach, it is important to have someone (doula, other family member, etc) that works with you before the big day and you know you can trust to help you through it.

I personally have an OB and delivered in a hospital...but we are spoiled, as our OB lets us call the shots unless a medical emergency would happen...and our hospital is wonderful, very accommodating to however we want to labor/birth. We read several books that encourage natural birthing, but if you feel like reading books won't be enough to prepare you, it's worth it to seek out a natural birth preparation class. Good luck!!!

Posts: 106
4/24/12 8:49 P

As long as you aren't high risk, go for it! I just had my second a month ago. Both births were all natural and I wouldn't trade my experience for anything. #1 was born in the water. #2 was born on the floor beside the tub because the water was slowing things down and I was in too much pain to get back on the bed. It was good pain though because I will always remember it. There was no grogginess from drugs or anything like that. I was free to move as my body desired. My midwives were so kind and helpful and didn't force me to do anything. No episiotomies and no stitches. Just a tiny tear with #2. Neither of my babies were ever taken out of my sight and I got to hold them right away.

If those are all things that you want, find a good midwife. I recommend an independent birth center. Best of luck!

Posts: 76
4/24/12 8:38 P

Hi, so Im new to everything- pregnancy, babyfit, everything. I have no clue about what to do. I just found out that im about 6 weeks along, and the one thing I know is that I would like to have a natural birth. I dont want any pain meds or any thing. Anyone whose done it that can give me any advice?