IVF & Natural Birth- Encouragement & Advice

dmhrn13

I'm posting here & the NB board.

I'm a midwife, pregnant with my first baby. I had 2 natural pregnancies with miscarriages, 3 failed IUI's & 2 IVF's- my second one resulted in this pregnancy with a singleton.

Having infertility & IVF has changed the way I see my body & myself as a woman. I know it sounds silly but I'm totally terrified of labor. My practice considers IVF high risk & I will be watched very closely at the end. I'm afraid I'll be induced, I'm giving birth in the hospital.

I love birth & babies & became a midwife because of it. I really want to have a natural & spontaneous birth.

Has anyone had natural birth after IVF? Did you have any fears like mine? How did you reconcile needing "help" getting the baby in & not wanting or needing "help" getting it out??

cairolio

I had a beautiful, unmedicated hospital birth following both an IVF conception and then an FET conception. :-)

 

oooCarrieB

I don't see why you couldn't have a natural birth after IVF. I ended up on pitossin and getting an epidural, but that's because my water broke and I wasn't progressing after several hours, not because I did IVF.

kbeach82

I was induced at 37 weeks, but due to PIH that was completely unrelated to the fact that my son was conceived through IVF. I know you mentioned that your practice categorizes your pregnancy as high risk, but that is not the case for many (perhaps most) practices.  

esperanza123

I didn't have a drug-free labor (I had an epidural) but as pp said not all practices consider ivf babies high risk. I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and the plan was to endive me on my due date if I didn't go into labor before then. I really did not want to be induced! Luckily, my water broke before my due date. I do hope you are able to have the birthing experience you want.

itsmevkb

IVF gave us our daughter and her birth was completely med-free.  Granted, it wasn't so much by choice, she just came very quickly and there wasn't any time for any kind of meds, but I don't see why you can't hope for a med-free birth.

My doctor never considered me high-risk because of IVF.  You'll know once you're closer to the end if induction seems like the right way to go and who knows, the word induction may never even come up.  I've never heard of anyone being induced based on how they got pregnant.

Additionally, giving birth in a hospital does not mean you have to have drugs, but I'm sure you know that already.  I think it's only natural to be somewhat scared of childbirth.  It doesn't really matter how many births you've seen, it's completely different when it's YOU giving birth.  I also think it's natural that with inferitlity we sometimes feel our body has failed us in some way and so then we wonder in what other ways will it fail us.  Perhaps you won't be able to have a med-free birth, but prepare for the birth you feel you want while also keeping an open mind to all the twists and turns that can happen during labor.  In the end, when you're holding your baby in your arms, you'll know that no matter how they arrive it is that they arrive that really matters. 

steveandkim2

My son was conceived via FET and I had a completely natural, spontaneous birth in a hospital.   My ob called my labor and delivery perfect and that I had a perfectly easy, textbook pregnancy and birth.  We even joked at my 6 week pp visit that while my body doesn't k ow how to get pregnant, it sure knew exactly what to do after I got pregnant,

 I think the only difference between me and the others in my Bradley class was I wasn't putting a ton of pressure on myself to have a Nb.  If my body "failed" and I  used an intervention, it would just be another example of things not going to plan.  In the end I knew I would have a beautiful baby.

 Happy to chat more about my birth story if you would like!  Lots of luck 

Mrs.Reem

Of course! As a midwife you know how to be an advocate for yourself. Don't be afraid to voice your opinion.

I had two wonderful med free, intervention free births in a hospital. (which is what I assume you mean by natural.)  My OB was on board with my wishes and my nurses never pushed me to get an epidural or try anything I wasn't comfortable with.

I reconciled it like this. Sure I needed help conceiving but now it's time to focus on what we "can" control and that's the birth. No looking back.

dmhrn13

REI's don't do a great job explaining why IVF is high risk- but I take care of a number of IVF patients & we work closely with MFM docs. They have provided me with paper after paper supporting the fact that they don't understand why, but IVF patients are at increased risk for pre-eclampsia, preterm birth, & the placenta getting "old" at the end of pregnancy- so going over your due date isn't the best idea.

Thats what has me stressed out! But its great to hear natural birth stories. I just think I need to dig deep to find the strength to say, "I can do this". Thanks Ladies!

dusk42

Some studies compare IVF pregnancies to those who conceived unassisted.  In some studies that had two control groups (unassisted conception and ovulation induction without IVF), the complications in the ovulation-induction-without-IVF group with similar to the IVF group and higher than unassisted conceptions.  So there can just be underlying issues in infertiles that can cause complications and other issues, but infertility is so diverse and has so many unknowns that it's hard to pin down the risk to a specific cause.  

 

And of course there are still some studies that don't correct for age and multiple babies.  

 

Good luck! 

Dragonfly1226

oooCarrieB:

I don't see why you couldn't have a natural birth after IVF. I ended up on pitossin and getting an epidural, but that's because my water broke and I wasn't progressing after several hours, not because I did IVF.

This exactly. I wasn't considered high risk at all either. Once the RE released me I was just an average pregnant lady. I don't think most OBs consider you high risk just because you got pregnant through IVF.

perry7285

i had a singleton with IVF and did an unmedicated labor--well, unmedicated except for the pitocin.  i had to be induced because my water broke and i didn't go into labor naturally, but i didn't use any pain meds. they did give me anti-nausea meds when the pain was so bad that i was dry heaving during every contraction, but i didn't have an epidural or any pain meds.

my labor was certainly a tough experience (in addition to the pain of being on pitocin i lost a lot of blood), but i feel good about my decision to not get an epidural and stay away from the risks and disadvantages of that procedure. (i know the risks and disadvantages are small, but i wasn't comfortable with it.) i think i'll go unmedicated again in the future. i think if you are in a good hospital and there is nothing unusual about your pregnancy (besides it being IVF), it's safe enough to go without an epidural. of course if there end up being things to make your pregnancy more high risk, then i think there's more of a case for getting an epidural in case you need an emergency c-section.

best of luck with whatever experience you end up having. remember that no matter what happens with the birth, you're going to have an amazing little baby at the end! 

JDAMODELOFFAITH

I'm definitely planning natural birth at a Birthing Center. So, far, no complications. I used to be afraid of labor but now I'm confident my body and God knows what to do.

As long as you have no complications, have the birth you want.

Luv & Blessings