Babies: 0 - 3 Months
For those who attempted natural/medication-free births...
I'm just curious to hear some stories from moms who went into labor trying to have the baby naturally to see what worked, what didn't, and what advice you'd give to those who are attempting medication-free/natural childbirth (other than to keep an open mind).
Thanks in advance!
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Re: For those who attempted natural/medication-free births...
The Bradley Method was awesome!
I also used an exercise/birthing ball for a majority of my labor.
Good luck!
I used hypnobirthing and it was amazing. The jacuzzi tub didn't hurt either, but that depends on the facility of course. I was so relaxed that I dilated fully within one hour. The contractions were totally manageable with the relaxation techniques and my husband was able to coach me as well. I even slept between them at times.
That being said, my baby was sunny side up and wedged awkwardly in my pelvis and I ended up pushing for 6 hours. The doctor decided that I had no chance of moving him naturally and needed forceps, which her/hospital policy meant I had to have an emergency epidural. I was able to calmly decide and consent though because I could manage the pain otherwise.
I would totally use hypnobirthing again.
I didn't take any classes, but I read a lot and was prepared for what happens during birth. I think the best two books were "Husband Coached Childbirth" and "Ina May's Guide to Natural Birth".
DH read them both too and was fully on board to help and support me. I didn't have a doula b/c I know that I wouldn't be terribly comfortable with one (I met a few, they were nice, but I couldn't see myself looking to them for support) and that it would possibly keep my from relaxing.
My water broke at 7:00pm and we went to the hospital b/c I had Mucomium in the fluid. The hospital/MW I used are very natural friendly and I wasn't on the clock. I wasn't having contractions yet so the MW said we've have the evening and consider pit in the morning if necessary. Contractions started 2 hours after my water broke and came hard and fast and I just did what felt "right" and helped the pain. I ended up spending 4 hours in the shower on the birthing ball (even had my GBS IV hooked up while I was in there). In my mind I planned on using the tub and possibly even delivering in there- but when I went in I thought it was awful.
I ended up giving birth on the birthing stool (something else I never imagined using).
So- I would say be open to try anything and listen to your body. I laid in the bed for all of about 2 minutes the whole time. It was super uncomfortable- so I didn't stay there. Don't be afraid to try lots of different positions and things and when you find something comfortable, go with it. If it stops being comfortable, change.
Natural birth is totally doable. (I will add that I was only in active labor for 5.5 hours, so my opinion may be skewed- I delivered at 3am and I don't know how much longer I could have held up energy wise...)
I hired an awesome doula, plus my husband was a major source of support. I had a birth plan, and requested a nurse that would support my plan. I went into labor at 1:30 p.m., went to the hospital at 5:30 p.m., was 6 cm. It took until the next morning at 7:30 a.m. to get the final 4 cm. I was so exhausted, I ended up getting a bit of pitocin to get the ctxs to pick up again. Then an hour of pushing.
I didn't take any classes or read any books, for me that just wasn't going to be helpful. I wet into it with the idea that if things got crazy and I was suffering, I would get something, but if it was a normal routine labor, I could get through it. It hurt worse than I can possibly describe, there's no reason to sugarcoat it. But if you have a clear intention about why you're doing it and a good support system, you can do it.
I was planning a natural waterbirth. My membranes ruptured and I was GBS+...after ~10 hours and 1 round of antibiotics, my MW started pitocin. I had studied hypnobirthing, but found none of the techniques really worked for me during the birth process, and I just handled my contractions in the way I felt best at the time. It was very frustrating to see the birthing tub and not be able to use it because of having the monitors on me. I did give birth and labored completely pain med free- and I can't imagine having medication regardless of how intense it got. I hear so many women being told "they are ready to push" and for me I could clearly feel when I was ready to push, there is no missing it. Also being able to get up almost immediately after giving birth (after an hour of bonding time) to use the bathroom, and being able to move around (even with the wireless monitors on) just to be able to pee was great.
It is such a great feeling to be able to say- I did it, it is possible, and I will definitely be doing it again!
With #1 I had preeclampsia; he was born 38 wks with a pitocin induced labor. We took bradley classes (highly recommend, but the book "Husband Coached Childbirth" will probably give you what you need to know if you don't have time to take the class) and were all set for a natural birth, then the PE set in, so we threw our birth plan out the window. The dr. had me get the epidural (reduces BP - mine was as high as 168/135) around 4 cm and my water broke at 3 cm. Labor was 5 hours total with baby coming 3 hours after epidural. Note: was on Magnesium Sulfate (drug required for mom's with PE) and that made labor and recovery very difficult - so I did not have a typical medicated delivery.
With #2 I knew I wanted to go natural. I figured it would be quick labor due to #1 being so fast. Contractions started at 11:40 pm and were manageable, but quickly escalated in frequency. Went to hospital 2 hours later and was already 7 cm. I chose to have my water broken and continued to labor naturally till she was born 4 hours later. The contractions were so much more intense after my water was broken. With #3, assuming labor is progressing, I am going to wait for my water to break on its own because having that cushion made a huge difference in handling the contractions.
Laboring naturally is difficult and painful. I'd say what you need to have to make it successful is the following:
A supportive husband and/or doula (I never had a doula, but hear great things).
Supportive staff - the nurses never asked if I wanted drugs, and let me do my own thing.
A doctor who is aware of your plans and supports them.
Awareness of how labor typically progresses, and how to relieve pain - massage ball and pressure points, laboring on labor ball, various pushing positions, etc.
(you'll notice theme of support)
Having experienced both, I would say natural is the way to go for the following reasons:
Less intervention = less interruptions - staff leaves you alone (assuming baby continues to act healthy)
More control and effective pushing
Ability to move around freely without wires and IV's following you around (with epidural you are obviously stuck to bed entirely)
In my experience, baby is more responsive and alert from drug free birth.
Good luck and congratulations!
I had an epi-free induction. I was on Pitocin and had my water broken artificially (not my desire at all!), and labour progressed SO quickly. The contractions were extremely strong, and I went from 4 centimeters to pushing in 3 hours!
The worst decision that I made was allowing the nurse to administer Stadol through the IV after the doctor broke my water. I hadn't slept the night before, so I was hoping for a pain medication that would allow me to sleep. Instead, I was so drowsy that I couldn't move around to work through the contractions, and I still felt everything just as strongly.
BFP #1 9/7/10, EDD 5/14/11, Violet born 5/27/11.
BFP #2 4/9/12, EDD 12/16/12, M/C Rory 4/24/12.
BFP #3 10/6/12, EDD 6/16/12., Matilda born 6/17/13.
I have had two non-medicated births. My advice is this:
Be committed to it. Not so committed that you are inflexible if something comes up and you need medical intervention (or you simply decide you WANT medical intervention), but if you go in saying, "I'm going to try to do it without meds!" but you don't have a plan, you are highly unlikely to meet your goal.
Hypnobirthing is great. I highly recommend at least reading the book. I didn't actually use the hypnotherapy portion at all, but understanding the history of child birth and getting an idea of how our bodies are designed to make this all work helped me a ton. I was actually falling asleep in the bath tub at the hospital between 9 and 10 cm of dilation, and I credit the HB philosophy for that.
Hire a doula! I did not have a doula with my first, and wow there was such an amazing difference the second time around with a doula to help. My labor with #2 was honestly the best thing I would have asked for, and she helped make that happen. A doula is well, well worth the investment.
Good luck! You can do it, and oh my goodness the payoff is tremendous.
With DS2 Hypnobirthing all the way! I listened to one track while I focused on relaxing all my muscles. (this is the key to pain-free labor) My entire labor was 1.5 hrs from the time I left the house and I can honestly say none of it was really painful and I had no tearing. My doula didn't even make it to the hospital in time and they didn't have time to hook me up to an IV even though I was GBS+. I felt back to normal a week later.
With DS1 I tried Hypnobabies but was never very confident in the methods. I think I went to the hospital too early and ended up in labor for 30 hours. After 24 hours and being "stuck" at 9.5 cm (I felt like I needed to push but they told me not to because I had an anterior lip) I got an epi to "help me relax." The problem with epidurals is that sometimes they slow down your labor ..so then I had to get pitocin. Finally 6 hours later I pushed my baby out and tore pretty badly. (Another bad part of epidurals..you can't feel anything so you don't know you are tearing) I had the longest recovery and was determined to go natural the second time.
You can do it...but you have to be able to relax! Practice relaxing and have a good support person.
I was a week late so I was brought in for an induction that started with cervadil and was going to progress to pitocin. I started having contractions 5 hours after the cervadil was put in, my water broke an hour after that and 30 min after that, the cervadil fell out with the mucus plug when I went to the bathroom. From that point on, I was in natural labor and progressed very quickly (getting to avoid the evil pitocin). I went into the hospital at 3 cm and 90% and was fully dialated 9 hours later. I started pushing at 9:30 am and pushed for 6 hours. i was getting exhausted by that point and felt like I was not making any progress so I begged them to help with a vacuum. I was still doing this without any pain meds. Upon using the vacuum, the dr used a quick local anesthetic for the vacuum and episotomy. They tried 4 times to vacuum her out unsuccessfully which then proceded to the c-section, which i had a spinal block for that. I went 15 hours without pain meds but my daughter was transverse breech (sideways) and there was no way I was pushing her out. Unfortunately for me, no one knew this until I got to the OR.
My advice for someone who wants to try it is go in with the notion that you can do it, have a really good support person (my husband was named coach of the year by the nurses), and know your threshold for pain tolerance. My tolerance is pretty high and I went through both abdominal and back labor - back labor is not fun.
I laboured at home. To the point that I arrived, got to l&d, my water broke, and I started pushing. I had a med-free no-intervention birth. It was great.
I ate until I didn't want to, drank tons of water all the way through, and did not get sick.
I had a doula and loved it. I'll be calling her when I get pregnant with #2.
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Wow you deserve a lot of credit! How did your doctors not know that the baby was transverse breech? That scares me.