Natural birth?

gaeilgegrinds

I want to have my baby naturally. My OH is a doc & has refused to give his opinion, he assumed I would choose all the painrelief in the world but now I get the impression he thinks I'm crazy. He has not said that. Am I insane?! Anyone else done this? I'm very anti drugs and hope I can do it.

dcfc

Hi
My advice would be to remain open minded about your pain relief. Most people have an ideal that they would like a natural birth but everyone's experience is different so no-one can really tell you what you should do. Just listen to your body, if you feel you are coping, great, if not, then why not have some form of pain relief, I'm sure you are aware of your different options. Just remember that no-one is going to give you an award at the end of it all for going it alone, you'll still get that gorgeous baby pain relief or not!
As i said, remain open minded, know your options and I wish you the best of luck!!!

gaeilgegrinds

Ah I'm not doing it to be a martyr. I just really hate the thought of drugs going anywhere near the baby or me. I'm really not into them. I know I may sound really naive but surely by believing I can do this means maybe I can! Has anyone here had a natural birth?

caprilicious

I don't think you're insane at all, I think you have to do what feels right for you and if thats not taking drugs then so be it.

Personally I'm the same, not that I have a huge aversion to the drugs and I'm not trying to be a martyr by any means I would just prefer not to take drugs.

I've ordered a TENS machine on the recommendation of a midwife I spoke to recently who used one during her own labour a few weeks ago.
I'm going to give that a try and if things get too bad then will try gas and finally an epidural.

Each to their own

gaeilgegrinds

I know my OH thinks he is doing me a favour by not interferring but I'd love the chance to talk to him. He does not think it is fair to voice an opinion as he's been a part of so many births but also cos he says it's my body & my decision. I'm getting nervous now but only because of what others are saying to me, not what I feel myself. My mother had me naturally but only because I came so quickly, was not the plan. Thanks for the support, I'm being made to feel like a silly little girl by most people to be honest, like I don't know what I want.

Das Kitty

Hey gaeilgegrinds, I'm planning on forgoing pain relief also. Obviously I may need it when the time comes but hopefully I won't. I've done lots of reading and talking to both midwives and consultants and the only pro of pain relief anyone can give me is *probably* no pain or reduced pain. There are lots of cons depending on the method.

I don't know if you're UCHG as well but their policy is to offer the various types but they don't assume you want it unless you ask for it. If you can get into the antenatal classes I would recommend them, gives you a good feel for the place and the various policies.

I hate how it's assumed you're trying to be a martyr by refusing drugs, I don't tell many people my intentions for that reason. From what I remember you're pretty fit and that will go a long way in labour.

I read a book called Ina May's Guide to Childbirth which gave me confidence in my decision even if it is a bit, let's say new age. A friend of mine read hypnobirthing, they all have a similar message, relax your muscles and trust your body.

Anyway I'll let you know how it goes in a few weeks!

SanFran07

I'd second what Das Kitty said - get your hands on some books that are focused on natural birth. Natural births aren't very common in Irish hospitals unless you're with a Midwife Led Unit or Community Midwives. Ideally you want to stay home as long as possible so you don't have to negotiate the time limits in the hosptial so you can have as much time as you need.

Start building a labour 'toolkit' so that you have lots of options as well as the epidural if you decide you want it - but at least you'll have given yourself lots of other options to help you mangage.

Labour in the bath as much as possible
Read Ina Mays Book and hypnobirthing
Talk to women who have had natural births
Rest as much as you can in the early stages - don't go walking for Ireland trying to get things moving - you'll be worn out before you begin.
Antenatal Yoga is great.
Slow relaxed breathing
Birth ball
Write down your birth preferences
Acupressure techniques (acubirth)
TENs machine

Best of luck with everything.

Tracy

beachbabe

I was planning to have an epidural, and anything else I could get! However, my young man had other ideas. I was 4 cm and then went to 10cm in 20 mins! :eek:
I had no time for an epidural, and did not use the gas and air as it made me feel weird. I was using a TENS machine. I was amazed at what I could cope with when I had to, and I would certainly have a natural birth the next time now I know what to expect.

Nicki123

I think the best advice so far is to go into it with an open mind - never say never.

I tried the hypnobirthing but when the time came it went out the window. After almost 40 hours in labour I ordered the epidural purely because I was so tired. I had a pretty tough pregnancy too so my fitness levels were waaaaay down.

I'm a little surprised at the insinuation in one of the posts that drugs are foisted upon a labouring woman - that couldnt be farther from my experience. At no time did anyone even offer me the drugs - I had to request them myself. It's up to the individual to arm themselves with enough information to make informed decisions for themselves and although your husband isn't volunteering an opinion it's probably for the best - it truely is something that you will decide for yourself as you're labouring.

Take it one step at a time and see how you're getting on through the various stages - some women sail through it and others labour long and hard and there's no way to tell in advance.

Oh and believe me when I say despite the the epidural I most assuredly had a natural childbirth experience.

HTH

gaeilgegrinds

Thank you so much girls, makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only crazy out there! Beachb, great to hear it works for some, even when unplanned that way! I've read a few books, seems to be seen as not the norm. Surely it was at some stage though. My friends have all had sections but I know they can be tough to heal, I'm not commenting on anyone's decision but I'd rather make it as easy on my myself and baby as I can. I see this as the easy option as I'll recover straight away please God. DasKitty am indeed in Galway but toying with the idea of having baby at home...I know my OH never relaxes in hospital as it's his place of work. Just a thought...

Moonbeam

I looked in to the pain relief options a lot incl the advantages and disadvantages of an epidural.
I went with out by choice but was prepared to take anything if an emergency arose.
Best advice I can give is learn to breath so that you can use the gas and air,it didn't work for me but I did get temporarily high on it which served as a temporary distraction:)

littlebug

I had my first with just some gas and air and nothing with my second. I hated the thought of an epidural so it was never going to be on the cards for me. I didn't like the thought of drugs so I didnt particularly want to go down that route but would have if I wasn't coping at all. Thankfully it all went to plan and I managed without both times. That said they were both fast labours (6ish hours and 2.5 hours) and I don't know if I'd have managed with a long labour. For that reason I think it's best to go in with an open mind. Your body can cope with an awful lot to an extent but when exhaustion sets in as well it might be harder.
For me breathing was the key.... I used long slow breaths to get through the contractions.... I;d go so far as to say I almost went into a meditative state... but focusing on rather than distracting myself from the pain (if that makes any sense:o). On both occasions I was told it was the quietest labour they'd ever witnessed

ETA- I had both in UCHG and I never felt pressured to take any pain relief (in fact no one even offered!)

Dfens

On my first (8lb 15oz) used a bit of gas+air (didn't find it that good TBH)and a TENS machine (found this fanastic) throughout the labour. I found the breathing exercises good to focus on when the contractions would pass. Knew that morning I would probably go into labour, so stayed on my feet/walking as normal that day keeping myself busy & didn't head to the hospital until I felt I needed to (contractions about 20 mins apart or so) but I'm fortunate in that we're only a few minutes away. Short labour of about 6 hours.
On No. 2 (8lb 14 oz) only used the TENS but labour was much faster (& intense) this time, about 3 hours. TBH I actaully asked them about pain relief towards the end as TENS decided to act up & the speed of my labour meant the contractions were quite intense, but then again it was all over so quickly it was ok.

Hospital didn't push drugs on me either which was nice to see. Keep an open mind about things, educate yourself as to the pros/cons of the various forms of pain relief so that you're not giving into any fear you may have over the pain etc. Afterall, women have been having babies for the past million odd years & pain relief has only been around for the past 200 years or so.
BTW you're the one actually having this baby, not your mother or anyone else, so what you decide goes. In the end you're the one to know your own body best, and what your threshold limit for pain is like, so see how it goes & keep open-minded. Best of luck

AGrownUpTheySay

I had a natural birth with my first and, like littlebug, I would say I almost went intoa meditative state - I didn't want anyone to touch me and I didn't make any noise, didn't want to speak, just concentrated on dealing with what was going on.
For me, I would say that it was not the worst pain I could experience. I did my pushing and the actual birth in a birthing pool (this was in London) but the labour was pretty much all just kneeling, bending over, on all fours type stuff.
I kept active throughout pregnancy, using stairs and all that and I think that did help but I also know that there are no guarantees of an easy birth no matter what preparation you do so I was open to pain relief if I felt I needed it. As it was, it didn't even occur to me.
My labour started around 7pm with the odd pain, ramped up by about 10pm and I went into the hospital at about midnight, I think, and was 5cm dilated already. Baby was born at 4.24am so I suppose that's a medium length labour?
So, to sum up - NO, I don't think your mad to consider a natural birth and I completely understand your point of view but I do think it is a good idea to keep an open mind so that if you are finding it hard to cope, you don't feel you have failed if you take pain relief. Bear in mind the drugs are tried and tested and don't harm the baby and if they help you cope a bit more and deliver the baby calmly, that's a good thing!
AGrownUpTheySay

lalalulu

gaeilgegrinds wrote: »

I've read a few books, seems to be seen as not the norm. Surely it was at some stage though.

Hi GaeilgeGrind's. It absolutely was the norm at least 20 years ago. My mam had seven of us without any pain relief, no gas and air no petidine or epidural. The epidural was never offered except to private patients and even then it was expensive! My mam had long labour's short labour's painful and no so painful but she got through it she never knew what it was like to have an epi it was not on offer so she just got on with it. I had the epi but if it hadn't been on offer i would of had to get on with labour without it.. Best of luck, i hope you can give birth without needing any pain relief. It will make the recovery much easier

SanFran07

AGrownUpTheySay wrote: »

Bear in mind the drugs are tried and tested and don't harm the baby and if they help you cope a bit more and deliver the baby calmly, that's a good thing!
AGrownUpTheySay

Unfortunately drugs like Pethidine do cross the placenta to the baby so these babies may be slower to breathe when they're born. Although the epidural drug crossover is minimal it makes an assisted birth more likely which definitely affects the baby. Take the time to understand the benefits and tradeoffs and see how you do on the day. If you're considering a homebirth you'll need to book a midwife yesterday....literally...as they're in such demand and there are so few self employed midwives.

Tracy

twomaddogs

You're not mad at all, I said from day 1 I didn't want any drugs and had my daughter without any drugs at all. It's hard work, but manageable. I recovered really quickly. I'm 8 weeks away from my second and planning a drug free home birth.
I'd advise against telling anyone except your husband and midwife / consultant etc you're planning on a drug free birth though, as it seems to get a bad reaction and you end up getting all the labour horror stories!
Other things I did that may have helped stay away from drugs on the day were: hypnobirthing (went for the 1:1 sessions which I think were stronger in terms of getting the pain management into the subconscious, still had to use the CDs every day though), raspberry leaf tea, excercise throughout pregnancy (swimming), acupuncture (used it for relaxation so I was chilled before going into labour), and a chillout CD used during labour really helped - it was classical music
Good luck!

ebmma

Hi! I'm planning no-drugs birth too... In my opinion the worst thing to do is to set your mind on either one option too strongly.

I want to be open-minded. i got an impression that some women get so into 'no-drugs' that when they for some reason have to have an epidural or even C-section they end up depressed because they feel like they 'failed'. On the other hand, counting on drugs might be a mistake too. Friend of mine was completely relaxed about labour - thought she'll get epi straight away. Turned out she couldn't have it, because she had an aspirin the day before. That was a complete shock to her, because she had to cope and she thought she won't have to.
Also midwife who does my yoga class said that you can't get an epidural, until you are in 'active labour' anyway. And when you can get it there might be some waiting time.

sorry for being so long-winded...Basically I want to try to get as far as I can myself and if I feel I really can't cope go for drugs ('light' ones first).

caprilicious

I had my Ante Natal class on pain relief options yesterday and it made me more certain that I won't have an epidural and that the other pain relief options should make that a viable choice.

The hospital I'm attending seem very proactive in encouraging all sorts of alternative means of pain relief.
They provide a TENS machine and birthing ball though I plan on bringing my own of each.
They're also quite open to women birthing the first/second stage kneeling or on hands/knee's to help open the pelvis.

My plan is to start with birthing ball + TENS, then give the gas a try.
If things do get unbearable then I will be open to epidural but would really rather not.

I was talking to my mum about it last night, both of her labours were 3/4 hours each, her mum's first labour was 3 hours and the following 3 children were born in the back of the car each time as they came so fast.
I'm really hoping fast births run in the family

cbyrd

Well my birth experience was only 11 days ago and i was very open minded about what i was going to do drugs wise and i have to say the mid wife was absolutely brilliant, i've 3 kids now and all 3 arrived in a hurry so i wasn't able to have an epi or the pethadine. at one stage in the latter part of labour, it was getting a little unbearable to say the least and i wasn't sure how dilated i was, i heard someone mention 4cms and thought if i have another 6 to go i'm going for the big guns!! turns out i was fully dilated and ready to push 15mins later i had my boy!! i used the gas on all 3 and there is a knack to using it.. but by god i had one contraction after my waters went with nothing and fcuk me it was sore.. gas after that sorted me!!:D it was the same on the other 2 it was only when my waters went that the contractions got very painful..and it only lasted a little over half an hour from then.!!
If this is your first i would be very open minded you just don't know whats going to happen.. as my mother says.. man plans god laughs!!! leave all your options open that way you're covered what ever happens and it's not a reflection on you if you need pain relief.. the best thing is baby is delivered safely and you're not too wrecked after so you can get on with the falling in love with your baby part! good luck

caprilicious

cbyrd wrote: »

i used the gas on all 3 and there is a knack to using it.. but by god i had one contraction after my waters went with nothing and fcuk me it was sore.. gas after that sorted me!!:D

Please tell us the knack that worked for you! I'm getting conflicting info from people.
At the Ante Natal class the midwife told us to take a few deep breaths of it, in through the nose out through the mouth.
But other people have told me the key is to take shallow breaths of it as otherwise you're prone to getting dizzy/feeling sick.
Which way worked better for you?

themysteriouson

Hey Gaeligegrinds
I was also hoping I would have a drug free birth but unfortunately it didnt go to plan. After a lot of hours in labour and not much progress they had to put me on oxytocin? (I think thats wat its called) to speed the labour up anyway because of this I had no choice but to have an epidural even though I didnt want one.
At the end of the day you never know what is going to happen so keep an open mind and listen to the midwives advice on the day they have your best interests in mind.

January

themysteriouson wrote: »

Hey Gaeligegrinds
I was also hoping I would have a drug free birth but unfortunately it didnt go to plan. After a lot of hours in labour and not much progress they had to put me on oxytocin? (I think thats wat its called) to speed the labour up anyway because of this I had no choice but to have an epidural even though I didnt want one.
At the end of the day you never know what is going to happen so keep an open mind and listen to the midwives advice on the day they have your best interests in mind.

Why did you have to have an epidural when they put you on oxytocin? I started my labour on oxytocin and didn't get epidural until several hours afterwards?

themysteriouson

adrieanne__x wrote: »

Why did you have to have an epidural when they put you on oxytocin? I started my labour on oxytocin and didn't get epidural until several hours afterwards?

I had been in labour for over a day but still only 4 cm so they said the drip would speed it up I had been managing fine although i was extreemly tired by the time the drip had taken effect i was too exaushted to move so they decided the epidural was the only way i could get some sleep during contractions. I was glad to get it as it was another few hours before she was born I dont think i would have managed otherwise.

January

themysteriouson wrote: »

I had been in labour for over a day but still only 4 cm so they said the drip would speed it up I had been managing fine although i was extreemly tired by the time the drip had taken effect i was too exaushted to move so they decided the epidural was the only way i could get some sleep during contractions. I was glad to get it as it was another few hours before she was born I dont think i would have managed otherwise.

Sorry! I can relate to the exhaustion. The contractions on oxytocin just come one on top of the other. You hardly seem to get a break with them.

BlackForestJule

I was induced as well as my waters had broken the previous day. Oddly enough, the doctor wanted to wait and the midwife wanted to speed things up as "it was quiet at the moment" Great reason! Anyway, I read afterwards that the artificial oxytocin prevents the body from generating its own oxytocin and pin relief drugs and as a result it is much more likely you'll need (or want) pain relief during childbirth. I would double-check this information with an expert like a midwife or your OH. As I said, I read it somewhere.
I had planned to go without and, but decided to get gas and air (which I hated, I thought I was going to suffocate) and finally an epidural, which came far too late. By the time it took effect my daughter was born. Ah well...
I am going to get as much information as I can and will try to go all natural next time. (It will be easier the second time round, right? Here's to hoping!) But as someone above said - I'm not out to get a medal either. If it gets too bad I'll have an epidural again. I didn't find the recovery too bad.

cbyrd

caprilicious wrote: »

Please tell us the knack that worked for you! I'm getting conflicting info from people.
At the Ante Natal class the midwife told us to take a few deep breaths of it, in through the nose out through the mouth.
But other people have told me the key is to take shallow breaths of it as otherwise you're prone to getting dizzy/feeling sick.
Which way worked better for you?

You need to start breathing with it before the contraction starts and slow deep breaths until it kicks in. in and out through the pipe which comes in handy to bite down on when the contractions reach their peak...Then when you start to feel it working you stop and breathe deep and slow yourself.. you may feel slightly dizzy or i thought my voice went deeper but it didn't it's a bit of a surreal feeling but if you don't take too much of it you won't feel sick, although everyone's different.. hope it helps.!!:D i was disappointed they wouldn't let me take it home:D:D

snuggles09

i've had the natural birth (not planned but like a few others i dilated very quickly and there wasn't time ), an epidural on my second which ended in an emergency c-section and a planned c-section on baby number 3

the natural birth i have to say was a blessing in disguise. waters broke at 12.10, got to hospital at about 2pm and she was borm at 5.50pm...if i had an epidural i'm sure it may have slowed everything down

as bad as it may be at the time, or even if you feel like giving in and getting and epidural my only advice would be to try and hold out and manage on the gas and air for as long as possible without being a martyr because the recovery is so much easier.

Princessa

I had a natural birth.
i started getting my contractions at 8am sunday morning.
Didn't feel they were strong enough to go into hospital all that day.
went to my gp on the monday and she said i was in early labour 2cm dialated. the oh was rocking on the chair all day waiting or me to say i wanna go... nope not yet.
The tuesday morning i had an appointment to get an inducement date as i was 9 days over. The midwife delighted said you're in labour, your 3cm dialated... I replied oh yeah i know ive been in labour since sunday.
Midwife... what? no thats way too long to be in labour... over to the ward with you to get your waters broke...
Put on a waiting list to be induced... first thing wed if i didnt go naturally...
wed morning i was between 3-4cm.
waters broke and two hours later i was def 4cm haha.
went on the drip.
the contractions with the drip were quite strong and made me vomit so i couldnt have the gas and air as the taste would make me vomit more. i didnt want the pethidine as i didnt want junior to be affected and i couldnt have the epidural as im allergic to morphine anyway it would have slowed the labour which may have caused my little girl to get stressed.
my oh said i didnt speak i didnt even let out a moan, i was just totally concentarted on what i was doing.
I pop about 3 neurofen if i feel a headache coming on so if i can do it naturally anybody can.
anywho after 82 hour from 8am sun to 6pm wednesday my gorgeous bundle arrived into the world... all worth it.

kazgal

hey GG.
Just to let you know that it's completly your choice when it comes to your labour!!
With my 1st child,I had the epidural.I regretted it.I was in so much pain when they were giving it to me but i wasnt allowed to move obviously in case theres any damage caused.It worked well for about 2 hours but wore off.I felt it prolonged my labour and made it harder due to the fact that i couldnt walk around after id had it.
My second baby...i decided before hand that ididnt want the epidural.I was adament with my midwife that no matter how much i cried for it..they were not to give it to me LOL.Lucikly i had a short labour,very painful,but not unbearable so gas and air was my pain relief.
My 3rd labour..14 weeks ago...I wanted the same labour..no epidural.However i was contracting for 2 days at home,went to the hospital at 12am and when they checked me they said labour hadnt started.I was very upset as i was in so much pain.They gave me panadol and a bed.An hour later i was in so much pain that i was making my way up to the labour ward to demand pain relief!! They checked me again..and still nothing.I thought i was going crazy.They gave me pethadine which only took the edge off the pain and made me groggy and sent me back to bed.Half an hour later i was begging for the epidural! They brought me to the ward to check me again.I didnt make it on to the bed...and out came my baby!! Quick,but the worst pain ever!!
My advice is that you try and do it the way you want to but if it gets too much...take what you need. I promise you,when your baby is in your arms you wont even think about the pain!! It will be worth it anyway at all.

Best of luck to you!!!

(meant to say...DD was born at 4:04am, 4 hours and 4mins AFTER i was told i wasnt in labour!!)