How/why did you choose natural birth?

• 09-01-2009 6:44 AM

  ~Sonia~ Joined on 09-19-2006 Posts 233

  How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact I thought starting a thread about why we initially chose natural childbirth might help others considering it.  For me, I wasn't nearly as educated on the subject as I am now.  My reason for initially choosing natural childbirth was that I was SO careful to do everything to protect baby during pregnancy (no alcohol, no caffeine, no meds (OTC or otherwise)) and I knew I didn't want to go against what I'd been practicing all along by contradicting myself on baby's BIGGEST day...his/her birthday!  Also, I was afraid of the pain...but I knew it was only one day and I could do ANYTHING for one day...and it DID end up being a whole day...labor was 24 hours with my first! With my next two I was more educated on the reasons WHY I didn't want the medication, side effects, etc...but also since I had already done it once I knew I could do it again....and I actually looked forward to the experience the next time around.  How about the rest of you?  Let's remember...no one's reasons for choosing it are wrong...and I think it might really help some of those considering a natural birth  :)

• 09-01-2009 9:58 AM

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  BoldBeautifulBirth Joined on 11-08-2005 Puget Sound Area, WA Posts 625

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact My first birth was heavily medicated and when my dd was born they took her over to the warmer (didn't hold her up for me to see, or place her on my stomach) and I didn't see her for the first 45 minutes of her life (they were worried about her breathing). I don't remember much of the birth after I was medicated, and I sorely missed those first moments... My second I was a little more educated, but not by much (they're 14 months apart). I was more conscious about not having meds or other 'bad' things during my pregnancy, and thought it was silly to ask for drugs during labor if I was trying to avoid them the entire time I was pregnant. I ended up with an elective induction out of fear, and had an epidural and hour before ds was born. I had him on my tummy after birth, and got to nurse him a little, but after about an hour they took him away from me. He was having a difficult time breathing and had fluid in his lungs (among other things). He ended up being under an oxygen hood for the first 24 hours of his life. Again, I lost all that precious time :( My third (another ds, 2 years younger than ds1) I did A LOT of reasearch. I knew there had to be a better way. I decided to go as naturally as possible because I felt that for me (I've had easy and normal pregnancies) the risks of hospital intervention and all that go along with it, were far more inclined to happen than the risks of a natural home birth. So that's what I did. I had a home birth with no interventions at all. My MW got there when I was already 10 cm and pushing. My ds2 was completely healthy, and the entire thing was perfect! Now I'm pregnant with #4 and am planning another hb, and I hope it's as great as my first homebirth!

• 09-01-2009 10:57 AM

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  verybusymom Joined on 08-17-2005 DFW, TX Posts 149

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact I was 18 when my DD was born. I knew nothing about CB (natural or otherwise) and had no support from anyone that could inform me. My dr was judgemental about me being a teen Mom and treated me like I was an idiot (in all fairness on that topic I was)  I believed in trusting the dr implicitly and never questioned his advice (or lack thereof). I ended up w/an emer c/s and a very traumatic experience. When I got PG w/my DS I had a MW as my primary caregiver for my womanly care :) I had never considered having a MW for PG or L&D but I had been seeing her for 4 years and I trusted her, so when she told me I could stay w/her or be trasferred to an OB I stayed put. She asked me if I wanted to VBAC. I had no idea what she was talking about, I had never thought about my c/s affecting future PG, truly I was ignorant about the whole thing. She explained it and encouraged me to research it and go for it. Advised me to read Ina Mae's Guide to Natural Childbirth. And Henci Goer's Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. At the time I was in college and taking a research class. We had to do an in-depth semester long research project on a self selected topic. I chose VBAC (got an A+ on the paper :). My research in VBAC led me to research in many other topics surronding CB. Based on the books and my research I became informed about the myths and truths in childbirth and the maternity care system in America (specifically as compared to the many other countries w/lower intervention rates and better outcomes for moms & babies). Based on all my research and information I decided that I would do all I could to avoid unnecessary interventions so I could provide the safest, risk free birth for my baby and myself. Turns out that no interventions were necessary, I was able to birth my baby w/out them and voila I had a natural childbirth. This time I expect to achieve the same outcome and am having a HBAC.

• 09-01-2009 12:12 PM

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  ~Sonia~ Joined on 09-19-2006 Posts 233

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact BoldBeautiful...do you think your induction/epidural caused some of your second's breathing problems after birth?  My second had some breathing problems despite a natural birth, it was brief and I had her after only about 5 min though... Verybusy....your midwife sounds WONDERFUL!  What a gift to have 'stumbled' onto her for your second birth.  Did you ever look into publishing your paper on vbac?  There are so many publications out there...it's just a matter of finding the right one to publish in. I love reading other's stories...thanks for posting...keep 'em coming, Ladies!  :)

• 09-01-2009 4:00 PM

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  BoldBeautifulBirth Joined on 11-08-2005 Puget Sound Area, WA Posts 625	Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact I believe the induction had everything to do with it. The induction was done at 38w0d according to my EDD - but charting since then, knowing now that I have 34-35+ day cycles, I was probably only at 37 weeks. He just wasn't ready to come out.

• 09-01-2009 6:02 PM

  In reply to

  ~Sonia~ Joined on 09-19-2006 Posts 233

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact BoldBeautifulBirth: I believe the induction had everything to do with it. The induction was done at 38w0d according to my EDD - but charting since then, knowing now that I have 34-35+ day cycles, I was probably only at 37 weeks. He just wasn't ready to come out. Awww...sad that they would induce even at 38 weeks!  I would suspect the induction had much to do with it as well, especially since you were probably given pitocin.  I didn't mean for this post to bring up bad feelings about other previous births, but I think our stories can remind us of how much we've learned and how far we've come, and also provide others that are looking for options with information. Thanks for sharing your story :)

• 09-01-2009 6:43 PM

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  Dave's Buttercup Joined on 06-20-2008 Victor Colby Born 100% Naturally 1/12/2009 Posts 105

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact Sonia, I love this thread! Ok so let's start off with the fact that natural childbirth found me when I became pregnant, I wouldn't deliver my baby any other way (so long as I was completely healthy as was the baby). I've always had the mind to do things I set my heart on, and this baby was being born naturally-- no matter where he was born--decided from the minute I became pregnant. I also tend to take the path less chosen and like a good challenge, thus giving birth without pain meds was my goal and a challenge well accepted by my body. I also wanted to let my body do what it was intended to do, sans needles and monitors and crabby nurses. I wanted an environment where my baby's birth would be one of few, where my care provider wouldn't be rushed around and in and out of my room, where he wouldn't be taken from me right away or wiped clean of his vernix, where my husband could sit next to me on the bed I lay in to deliver our baby and not be cloaked in "protective gear". So for me it was a matter of finding a care provider that suited my hopes and dreams for childbirth. And like most of you, I treated my body like the holy grail during my pregnancy, so why would I not treat it that way during labor and give my baby the same benefits I had throughout my whole pregnancy. After I found my birth c enter and was accepted, I started finding out the benefits other than the common sense that no drugs during labor was better than having them. I learned so much through my childbirth education classes, invaluable information that I love to share with people. Initially, my natural birth hopes and dreams were for the benefit of my baby, but the more knowledgeable I became on the subject, the more it became a very spiritual and important right of passage for me. I feel so passionate about birth, especially since I've had a successful natural birth, and I love to share how beautiful and amazing birth can be if you prepare yourself for it. So all of the sudden it wasn't just about me and my baby, ever since I've given birth I have tried to spread the good word of natural childbirth as much as I can in hopes that I can change a scared woman's opinion. I'll say it once, I'll say it 1000 times, you can't get closer to the meaning of life than bringing new life into the world, and no woman should miss that, its her right of passage as a child bearer. (See, its not ALL about the baby!! )

• 09-03-2009 9:50 PM

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  hcjfctc Joined on 01-24-2008 Keira Joy born 10/19/2009~Virginia Beach, VA Posts 390

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact Like Sonia, I've researched a lot since deciding to go natural, so I have a ton of reasons now, but the initial reasons were that I was there for the delivery of my friend's baby and I really didn't like what I saw and was pretty sure that a lot of it could have been avoided had she gone completely natural. Another reason was that I'm a devoted Christian and felt that God created our bodies to do this and while I think God can use doctors, I felt that when it came to something so natural as childbirth that they should be more like lifeguards at a swimming pool. I'm horribly afraid of pain, but I know my body was created to do this and therefore, if I put myself fully into it, I can do this.

• 09-04-2009 3:56 PM

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  NoLongerDesolate Joined on 02-23-2005 North LA Posts 527

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact We've ALL heard labor stories that affect us one way or another. My biggest influence was my mother. Growing up I heard her talking about me and my brother's birth. With me she had no pain meds and it was a very diificult labor that ended in forceps delivery. So that taught me that a woman could do it without meds. With my brother, she got the epi and it shut down labor. She refused the pit so had to wait for the epi to wear off. That taught me the epidurals aren't foolproof. ( What?! Epis can go wrong?) So when I got pg with my first I decided it made sense to avoid pain meds. Then of course I began reading and researching further and was appalled. I knew I could never do it any way but natural. I've loved loved loved my natural births. Planning on doing it again next month! Thanks Mom!

• 09-07-2009 2:30 PM

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  Lisa3141441 Joined on 11-25-2008 Posts 274

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact Excellent thread! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~When I was about 10 years old I saw a show on PBS about the miracle of life, which showed from the time of conception to birth. In the show they showed a woman give birth in a birthing tub under water. I was amazed and in awe! I grew up on a farm and had walked into the barn to see calf's being birthed and even awoke one morning to puppies born in my room (to my delight!) But the pbs show did it for me. So with my first pregnancy I wanted to go natural and have a home water birth! The lack of support was terrible! From my (at the time) partner all the way down to my own mother- they all said I couldn't do it. And what if something went wrong, and are you crazy Lisa??? You can't handle the "pain" Blah blah blah!! So I went to the hospital, got there at 5 cm had my epi, it didnt work so they had to do it again, then half my body was numb...so they had to do it yet again, then I was so numb that i feared i wouldn't walk out of the hospital. I hated the whole experience.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5 years later I found myself pregnant again, this time I didn't tell anyone that I was planning a home birth except my husband and one of my sisters. My own mother didn't know, and for good reason, she was one of the most negative nelly's telling me i couldn't do it the first time around! I found an incredible CPM to assist me. I read every book I could get my hands on. I stayed in good shape, ate right and enjoyed my pregnancy thinking it was my last one. I bought a small backyard pool and set it up for the birth. It was a wonderful experience. I labored in the water for about 2.5 hours, getting out only to go pee, the water cut the contraction sensaions in half!! It was great. I did get out to have my son, he was born after about 10 min of pushing on my very own couch, 8lbs 10 oz 20.5 inches long!! He was vigorus, pink and stared to cry right away! Then I nursed him a few min later, my midwife let me hold him as long as I wanted. Turns out I had a low lying placenta. Normally that means excess bleeding-my midwife gave something in tincture form that was nasty tasting, but it stopped the bleeding very quickly! I love my midwife! No need for pitocin or methergine, it was all handled naturally!!! Praise GOD for the midwives!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~After I was all cleaned up and settled into my own bed I called my mom, she wasn't pleased! LOL but she was proud of me after she got over the fact that i didn't trust her enough to tell her what I was planning. Negative influenced are the worst thing you can encounter when planning your birth. Some people can be very convincing with their horror stories. And yes things can go wrong, they can go wrong in the hospital too. Many people neglect to acknowledge that! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There have been women to walk into a hospital to give birth that are wheeled out of the hospital as a paraplegic due to a mistake on behalf of the anesthesiologist giving the epidural. Why don't we ever hear about that? I know it happens because I am a nurse. Its sad that this country is so "doctor" oriented when it comes to birth. For normal healthy women having normal healthy pregnancies, midwives are a wonderful choice.

• 09-08-2009 10:41 AM

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  M.3518137 Joined on 08-31-2009 Posts 4

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact I was 30 yrs old and 7 mos pregnant when my OB informed me that he would induce at 39 wks. When I balked at that he crossed his arms, leaned against the counter and said, "Oh, you'll change your mind." I had been doing some independant research on cb and had some firm ideas about natural cb by then. His response was the same regarding drugs, episiotomy... I did change my mind, I found a mid-wife who was willing to do a home birth. I had my man read Ina Mae's Guide to Childbirth, and he was onboard 100% from then on. My dad is a retired physicians asst. who was of the same train of thought as the rejected OB, and the week before I was due told me, "I hope you don't kill your baby." We gave birth one day before my due date at my mom's house with Mid-wife, her asst., a doula and family. I labored in water, which cut the labor "pain" by more than half. I walked and ate and drank at will. I delivered my baby boy after 21 hours, in the bed in a kneeling position with hands braced on the headboard of the bed. With my man at my side. No tearing, no drugs, no problem except a small lip on my cervix that the mw was able to manipulate over the head before the pushing got started. We snuggled with the baby while the placenta was delivered, and breastfed within an hour of delivery. That baby would always calm when we went into the room where he was born. I'm now expecting #2 in a few weeks, at 34 yrs old, and have been with my mw from the beginning of this pregnancy. We look foreward to having him at mom's house, this time I've decided against a doula because mom was all the extra support that I needed. My Dad has reigned in his negative thoughts, (it took several months for me to forgive last time) and has wished us well. The in-laws and mom have been on-board with every decision we have made from the first.

• 09-08-2009 11:04 AM

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  Connor's_Mom_Karen Joined on 11-18-2005 Florida Posts 530

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact For me, natural birth was done not by choice but by circumstance.  They say you can have meds whenever and it is never too late.  Well, I got to the hospital too late.  When I was preggo with DS, I was totally all about getting an epidural and any and all pain meds that would be made available to me.  I was so nervous/afraid of the pain that I made sure my Dr and DH both knew to give me whatever I could take for pain. I started labor with DS in the middle of the night.  I waited about 1 hour before I woke up DH.  We called the Dr at about 2:30am, I was 10 minutes apart.  She said to stay home and call back when contractions were closer.  I labored at home (DH was a great labor coach).  We called the Dr back at 7:00 when I couldn't take it anymore.  They said to come right in.  By the time I got to the hospital, I was 9cm.  The nurse checked me and said too late for any meds.  I looked at her like she was crazy.  I wanted my meds.  I pushed for about 2 hours.  The cord was wrapped around DS neck and he actually flat lined when I was pushing him out.  Very scary moment.  The Dr got the cord free and DS came out, crying.  It was great.  He is a very healthy baby and he has a birth mark on his neck from where the cord circulation was cut off.  Just a reminder to us that we are lucky he is a normal, healthy kid.  I am due in 9 weeks with #2.  I am super nervous again about labor but am thinking of doing it naturally again.  I was not prepared at all for a natural delivery last time.  I just closed my eyes and zoned in on my Drs voice.  I listened to what he was telling me and just concentrated.  And truthfully, it was not bad at all.  I only required 2 stitches and I my healing process was awesome.  I did not have to wait to get feeling back in my legs, I felt great a few hours later.  I just hope this labor is as quick as DS was.  I am trying to mentally prepare myself for another natural delivery.

• 09-08-2009 9:05 PM

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  Mom~of~Munchkins Joined on 09-14-2005 Posts 237

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact You know, the irony of natural childbirth is that many people who are not "for" natural childbirth think that we choose this route looking for some sort of spiritual experience or something. Or that we're looking for a "gold star" or something. That's like saying to health nuts, "You don't get a gold star for eating well and exercising." Duh. Anyways, I chose a natural birth, because a safe natural birth is healthier for the baby and mother than a safe medicated birth. A mother should birth without medication when it is safe to do so, and I have no problems saying that. I do not feel that "I just couldn't handle the pain" is an adequate excuse for getting an epidural, because you can handle the pain. Most of us just have not been given the resources and information to do so. I have had three pit induced/epi births, followed by a med-free home birth. And I can safely say there is an other-worldly difference between the two. Personally, I didn't experience any "spiritual" event with my birth. It went so fast that I didn't even really get much feeling of "acheivement" either. What I can tell you, factually, is that it felt normal to birth naturally (in water). My baby was born eyes wide open, had no grogginess, nursed for hours after birth, never had any jaundice, has slept better and shown more physical advancement than any of the other three...I could go on about how it was different with the baby. For me? With each of my other pregnancies, I came to expect certain things to happen postpartum. I always got my period at 6 wks pp (despite exclusive breastfeeding), I always got a severe milk fever within a couple of days postpartum, developed mastitis several times, major back pain, etc. Its all the opposite, this time. I'm 3 months pp with no period. Breastfeeding has gone off without ANY hitch (no mastitis, no milk fever, no thrush, nothing), no back pain, and my milk supply is much better and more consistent. Whether this is just something to be attributed to the "every pregnancy/baby is different" cliche or is related to the lack of IV hormones/fluid and epidural anesthesia...I'll never really know for sure. I can tell you, if given the chance, I would do it this way again in a heartbeat. The biggest reason for the need for intervention in normal pregnancy/labor is stress, IMO. Stress delays labor. Stress inhibits descension into the birth canal. Mothers should not only be TOLD to relax, they should be shown how to relax. I have a completely different view of the pain of labor now than I did before. Much of that viewpoint change is attributed to reading the book "Hypnobirthing" or "The Mongan Method" by Marie Mongan. I think that's the stats on the book. It gave me peace and confidence like I'd never had before.

• 09-08-2009 9:10 PM

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  Mom~of~Munchkins Joined on 09-14-2005 Posts 237

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact Oh... I should also add that my epidural with my 2nd child actually caused me to go into cardiac arrest. I don't remember seeing that side effect on the list. Do you guys? It was placed slightly high (likely by millimeters) and caused my heart to start skipping beats...then it just shut down. Luckily, baby and placenta were just born when it happened. The heart is a muscle, just like the uterus. Ever wonder what the epidural does to the uterus if it does THAT to the heart? No wonder pitocin almost always follows the epidural.

• 09-09-2009 5:25 AM

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  NoLongerDesolate Joined on 02-23-2005 North LA Posts 527

  Re: How/why did you choose natural birth? Reply Contact Mom~of~Munchkins: Oh... I should also add that my epidural with my 2nd child actually caused me to go into cardiac arrest. I don't remember seeing that side effect on the list. Do you guys? It was placed slightly high (likely by millimeters) and caused my heart to start skipping beats...then it just shut down. Luckily, baby and placenta were just born when it happened. The heart is a muscle, just like the uterus. Ever wonder what the epidural does to the uterus if it does THAT to the heart? No wonder pitocin almost always follows the epidural. Holy crap! That's awful.