Natural Birth
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4 Days before due date (Intro)
I am due January 4th, and I am just now considering trying to go med-free. With my (17 month old) daughter I got an epidural, and it was great during labor, but I was pushing for almost 3 hours. She was 9 lbs 5 oz, and I tore a lot. I'm not sure how much, but the doc said it was 2 packs of thread for the stitches from an episiotomy and tearing. I am looking forward to a better experience this time around.
I don't really have a question, but figured I'd post anyway since I am reading through everyone else's experiences. Any support and encouragement is appreciated!
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Re: 4 Days before due date (Intro)
Honestly, many women who chose to birth naturally will probably tell you how much they loved their birth experiences. Let's not kid ourselves, birthing is painful. But honestly there is just something about letting your body do its work and successfully coming out on the other side on your own. Pregnancy and childbirth completely changed the way I look at life. Actually, I am impatient to be able to experience it again.
Our country tends to sway the dangerous side of birthing more than the normal side, which is not to say that there are not cases in which dangers occur. But Hollywood and past generations with horrible birth experiences have illusioned our women to think that the first contraction means immediate emergency. Many women that see a real, normal birth think that woman is either crazy or just one exception. The reining idea is that birth will be excruciating and that drugs are the answer. I spent time during my labor in which I could not walk around and move; in the car on the way to the hospital, and for intermittent periods in which they requested that I sit on the bed for fetal monitoring, and I can definitely say that if they restrained me to the bed the entire time I would have probably caved in. You need to get up and move around and try different pain management techniques in order for natural birthing to really work. I personally favored deep breathing while swaying my hips side to side and supporting my belly with my arms.
One thing many women don't know is that contractions can feel even more painful due to the buildup of lactic acid in the uterus (which is a big muscle), the same way that lactic acid causes that burning feeling when you do too many crunches in a row, etc. Deep breathing helps reduce the buildup of lactic acid by bringing more oxygen to the uterus; relaxation techniques also work well since tensed muscles also increase lactic acid.
I am not sure if any of this has been helpful, but good luck on your upcoming delivery.
Do what feels right for you. If you believe you can do it, then you will.