How did you decide to go natural

Addis_Mommy · #1 (**permalink**) 11-07-2007, 08:43 AM

In an attempt to breathe some life into this board, here's something I'm curious about...

How did you make the decision to go natural? Did you always know? Did some research during pregnancy help you decide?

I always had some nagging dread in the pit of my stomach when it came to the idea of an epidural. I discussed it with my friends early in my pregnancy and of course they all tried to convince me to take it. But the more I read about the safety and well being of both mom and baby and success at early breastfeeding when no drugs are used, well the more I started to think that was the best path for me. I was incredibly nervous about it at first but I just read and read and watched births on tv and thought, what makes those women any different from me. If they can do it then so can I. Plus with a supportive OB I knew I wouldn't be pressured in the hospital to take the drugs. And I wasn't, didn't even have an IV. Breastfeeding was of immense importance to me so a lot of my motivation came from wanting to give myself the very best chance at a baby who would come out ready to eat. And she was! So what's your story?

icanonlyimagine · #2 (**permalink**) 11-07-2007, 09:12 AM

I had no problem getting the epidural last time. I actually waited for it. but I hated it. they did it wrong and I just hated it the whole time. and i just promised that next time i would at least try to go without. I'm excited about a natural childbirth. I think about it every day, i cant wait until the moment i KNOW I'm in labor, I cant wait to get to the end and just take a sigh of relief because I DID IT.......... lol i have dreams about it

2LittleGuys · #3 (**permalink**) 11-08-2007, 06:37 PM

I figured I would have an epidural b/c that's just what was done. But, I had some nagging doubts about them. I also really am afraid of I.V.s so I wanted to avoid one- which you can't do if you want an epidural. So, the wheels were churning in my head as soon as I got pregnant but I still didn't know what I was going to do.

Then, my friend Tracy gave me the best gift ever..."The Birth Book" by Dr. Sears. Everything clicked there and then. I also had a chance to read her birth plan (I had never heard of such a thing!) and she told me about her doula (knew about them a bit at least

). I was around 18 weeks when I got the Sears' book.

After I read that book my interest in birth took on a new life. That book inspired me to go unmedicated. It took the fear away from the birthing process. It made me excited to give birth.

I read everything I could get my hands on, hired a doula, I was already seeing a CNM (I at least had the forthought to do that early on). I talked to dh about things and he was very supportive.

Beyond being excited about giving birth without meds I admit that I was also choosing this option for fear of interventions and c-sections. Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" was very influential in that department. I worry that it made me a bit more hostile and got me primed for a fight when I went in to labor. I didn't need to worry. I had a great nurse and CNM.

The feeling I had after giving birth last time was so incredible! The "I did it!!!!" feeling lasted for months. It made me feel like I was a better mom (not compared to others but for myself) b/c I knew I could handle the challenges of a baby. I had no idea that I was capable of getting through something like labor on my own. I had never done anything like it before.

This time I am very hopeful that I have another positive, satisfying, safe, healthy birth. I really want that "I did it" feeling to happen again.

Now that I know what birth really can be like I couldn't imagine doing it any other way (unless there was some real reason I couldn't).

Btw, I couldn't believe how ill informed people were about birth! When I was pg one person heard my plans and said, "oh, you won't be allowed to walk in labor. That isn't safe. You have to stay in bed." She seriously believed that since that's what her Dr. told her. Now, maybe it was true in her particular case (high baby/ broken water?; high bp?...) but she sure didn't make a distinction. I wish that more women took the 9 months of pregnancy to really educate and inform themselves about birth. I wish that everyone wanted to take an active role in their baby's birth. It's not a mysterious thing. You can learn about it. You don't have to hand off the birth to a Dr.. You can at least spend more time researching birth than baby gear, right?

Beth

avocado · #4 (**permalink**) 11-11-2007, 07:34 PM

I recently joined the DIJ board and stumbled on this board so I hope I am not speaking out of turn here. I am 24 and pregnant with my first baby which I am hoping to have naturally at home. I recently became a licened midwife after apprenticing for five years while I was going to school. I was born naturally as were my siblings and many of my cousins. I am lucky to have grown up with the mentality that birth is a natural process which does not usually require intervention.

With that being said the idea of a natural childbirth for myself has gone through many phases during my pregnancy as I saw beautiful sweet births and long difficult births. The first birth I went to after becoming pregnant made me view the process in a whole new light: it went from something that I will have to endure sometime to something that I have to endure in the near future. I remember going to one birth for a first time mom with a similar body type to myself and as the baby is crowning I am thiking to myself how is that going to fit out of there?

As my I enter my third trimester I feel that my primal insitincts have taken over. I am not afraid of what I have to endure but am looking forward to what I am blessed to endure. I can't wait for the "I did it" feeling. I now feel again that my body was made for this and that I will make the right size baby to come out. I am looking foward to meeting this little one who has experienced the miracle of birth many times over living inside of me and finding out what new wisdom he or she has for me.

Addis_Mommy · #5 (**permalink**) 11-12-2007, 01:40 PM

You're perfectly welcome here Avocado! I wish you a beautiful birth experience. And you should look forward to that "I did it" feeling, it's unlike anything you can imagine. Keep us posted!

Annah&Zach1.28.05 · #6 (**permalink**) 11-15-2007, 07:58 PM

I had a rather horrible experience with my first birth between hospitalization, steroid shots, meds to stop contractions, the epidural and what not that I knew when we had another child I wanted a completely different experience, and the more that I looked into it, the more I knew that it was the best option for our family. This entire pregnancy I teetered-tottered bettwen the idea though. A part of me was afraid I wouldn't be able, physically, to sustain myself through it because of how week I had been feeling. Another part of me was adamant that I wanted a more natural process after being stuck with needle after needle and getting a constant slew of IV's as well as a PICC line inserted for weeks. I'm very, very, very thrilled to say I did it! Like Beth said, it's this natural high for me, I did it! I hope this feeling lasts for a long time! It was a perfect experience for me, and if we ever had more kids (that would be a NO) I would certainly go the same route.

crisantemo · #7 (**permalink**) 11-20-2007, 04:27 AM

hmmmmm for me epidural was never an option - I have a blood condition where an epidural could be life threatening to me. Besides I am really afraid of medical procedures - not pain, dont get me wrong but I am a big fat woose when it comes to having stuff done to me. SO it was a no brainer. With my first the birth was kinda hard, make no excuses but I was unprepared. I lifed in a town where there were a lot of people who didn't speak english and at the hospital we were all treated like imbosiels. SO when I was in labour I naturally wanted to move around but I had an old school midwife who would not let me off the bed and hounded me to have an epi EVEN though there were strict instructions not to. I never got the epi - I never wanted it ...

anyways after that I looked at relaxation methods and other methods such as TENS machine for birthing TENS is used a lot in our country for birth. I did use Entenox too - gas&air, its a short lived breath in gas which you suck in on a contraction. All my other births were great, wach one getting better with my best being Summer's birth ...and LOL her labour was just minutes - i think the whole thing was about 12 minutes but the birth and contractios about 2 mins followed by ten to get the placenta out.