Baby #2
Monday, October 10, 2011
Childbirth Questions
Yes, I have questions about childbirth. Delivering one baby does not an expert make. In fact, after I had Aaron I realized how incredibly unprepared I was for labor! I didn't take a single birthing class, didn't know any breathing techniques, positions to help with contractions... really, I didn't know anything. I naively thought I would just know what to do. Luckily for me, my water broke so they had to admit me immediately and I was able to get my epidural right away. BUT, I know so many women who were in labor for hours and hours before they could be admitted, or who were even sent home to labor more and had to come back later to see if they were dilated enough. So what I've realized is that you have to know HOW to labor, not just plan on all the pain being controlled by medication. Don't get me wrong, I loved the relief provided by my epidura, but the laboring I had to do before receiving it and the two times it wore off really opened my eyes to how little I knew about handling the pain. The thought of having an un-medicated childbirth absolutely terrifies me. Maybe that's because I have such a hard time finding information about preparing for such a birth that is not super extremist and anti-medication-epiduralswillharmyourbaby-ish. However, I have a really strong feeling that I need to prepare better for this labor and delivery and I just don't know where to look. Is there a happy medium? Can you learn about birthing naturally without the extremist opinions so you are prepared just in case? What method is best? There is Lamaze, The Bradley birth method, Hypnobabies, etc, etc, etc. Do you other mothers have experience with any of these? If so, did they help you deal with the pain and have a labor you felt good about (whether or not you opted for pain meds)? Just wondering what direction to look to prepare better for this delivery. I know it is still 6 months away, but it is on my mind and I really feel like I need to be more prepared this time around! Thanks in advance for the insight :)
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8 comments:
Aubrey,
You are really smart to be looking into this. I've had so many friends that didn't plan anything except epidural and then had to deal with a lot of labor without it, or got to the hospital too late for it to be administered.
Me, I'm one of those crazy, natural birth women-I like to be in control of my body and I love the super quick, amazing recoveries I have because I don't use pain meds. I can eat, walk around the whole time, and be safely up as soon as I want after birth. We use the Bradley Method for dealing with contractions (not the pushing part though) and mainly I use my yoga mind/body/breath connection and remind myself that I am a woman, my body is designed to labor and deliver. Right now I'm reading Ida May's Guide to Childbirth and I'm really loving it. She's a midwife and gives tons of birth stories, plus she explains procedures, the good, the bad, the why, and the statistics behind them. I'm really liking it. Using a midwife helps me feel empowered.
Look into hypnobirthing and waterbirths (either for the transition or for delivery) Warm water is a natural pain killer and with Julia's birth it really helped. I'm planning a waterbirth this time (sometime this month!) and I'll let you know how that goes.
The main thing is to not fight the contractions, but trust your body and go with the flow. Relax as deeply as you can-esp. don't hold tension in your mouth as that correlates with tension in your bottom:)
Good luck and if you'd like to talk/hear more from "natural birth lady" shoot my an email robear29(at)yahoo(dot)com
Good luck!
Just sent you a HUGE facebook message! Enjoy!
I'm in the same exact boat Aubrey. I have heard enough stories of labor being a nightmare because of epidurals not working and I would much rather be prepared to go natural. Plus like Robin said, the experience and recovery sound so much more manageable than I had with my first! (LONG labor that was slowed down by the epidural and HORRIBLE recovery that took FOREVER!)I'm going to keep my eyes on this post for more advice!
It's never too early to plan! I'm obviously not someone that knows about different child birthing techniques because I only have one option but I know Amy Smith can give information about Hypnobirthing since she experienced it with her second. She loved it and recommends it, but of course it's not for everyone.It also helped her with after labor pain. She didn't want to take meds. I'll be looking into it myself because I hate being heavily medicated. I was in the same boat as you with Evan. I wasn't prepared and I was hit with hard contractions right off with no warning and I thought I was going to die. I was only a 1 when I went to the hospital but since the Doctor was worried about how big Evan's head was against my pelvis they wanted me admitted right away. I was lucky to get in and get an epideral within two hours of the pain starting. I hope you find somthing that will work best for you but also keep Jon in mind. He needs to be informed as much as you.
Birthing from Within was good, and I don't remember if there were extremist views, but it helped me a lot and seemed to present facts rather than extreme biased opinions. But it also provides a lot of good techniques, I really enjoyed it.
I totally agree. I got induced with Hadley and got my epidural before they even started the pitocin. I took a class and they told me that they weren't even going to teach breathing since this was a class for those that were going to have an epidural. it worked great at first but then didn't work when I hit about 5cm. I didn't know what to do because I had prepared for an epidural. I was not prepared. Because of that I would hold my breath during the contraction and that put Hadley under extreme stress (she pooped inside of me...I know it was from that because my water broke {clear} and then the stress came and the fluid changed because of the poop) and I had oxygen and all that...like 5 nurses surrounding me trying to decide if I needed to be rushed into an emergency c-section to get little one out. Luckily I had a nurse who helped me breath through it and I did lots of praying and relying on the strength of the Lord and everything ended up perfect.
BUT, my point is that no matter what I think everyone needs to be prepared for natural. I've heard hypnobirth is really good with the breathing. That is what I am going to try with my next one. But it may not be a good fit for you (or me for that matter) I'll still do an epidural but hypno as well to try and help with my breathing and relaxing. Plus, in your research you may come across blogs/material of those "extreme" natural birthers who want to tell you that having meds makes you less empowered. Do what you feel best for your body. Having an epidural won't make you any less of a woman, mother, and super woman that you are.
Okay so this comment really didn't help but I just needed to throw my two-cents in there (that aren't even worth that much!) I'll be interested in what ends up working for you so keep us updated so I can look into whatever you try!
and most of all....GOOD LUCK!!!
When I was pregnant with Scoty the local hospital offered a pre-natal class...my husband and I both went for a few weeks and it gave us A LOT of insight...lots of tips and ideas and instruction about all types if labor and delivery. I wasn't sure I wanted an epidural (although I am all for it now), so I wanted to be 100% prepared for whatever....besides that, it gave infant care instruction as well...I think it was only like $30-$50...and WELL worth the money...we have used the breathing techniques on all our deliveries....AND in those last weeks...I would use the breathing techniques to relax and be able to get sleep...etc...if you don't want to take a class...I have all my books still from the class and hospital...if you want to take a little drive I would be more than willing to let you borrow them...let me know!
I absolutely loved my natural birth! It didn't go as planned (they never do) but it will still enjoyable. I would recommend reading The Bradley Method and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth (both fantastic and got me through mine quickly). Good luck!
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