Introduction/FTM looking for advice!

erjarv

Hey everyone. I've been following this board pretty much since I first got pregnant because I've known that I want to have a natural birth since I found out I was pregnant. I figured with 4 weeks left I would introduce myself, and also start asking some questions! 

So, I'm a first time mom, and am 21 (young, I know). I'll be married a year in August, and am due 11 days after our first anniversary! I can't wait...but am also very, very scared. I haven't taken any birthing classes (too expensive), so I've mainly just been doing a lot of research and I've read the Bradley Method book on natural childbirth. Everything in it made a lot of sense to me, and that's the route I would like to go...however the closer I get to my due date, the more scared I get.

Does anyone have any advice for getting through labor without any medical interventions? I mean, the book makes it sound pretty simple but I know it's going to be hard, and I would like to know about as many different coping strategies as possible so I can get through it with no medication. 

 Thanks :]. 

missmuffin87

I don't think you really need books or classes, but your insurance might cover the cost of classes, have you called them to check? 

I barely skimmed the hypnobirthing book and didn't take any classes.  I ink my body was prepared enough and I just knew in my mind that I was not going to have a huge needle stuck in my back and that's what got me through it. I also had really supportive midwives and my mom and SO there to help me. I think with the right support and faith in your body you can do it. GL

BransonsBecca

As the PP said, having a supportive labor team is essential! I also started re-wiring my brain and changing my vocabulary. Contractions (sounds SO negative!) are now rushes or waves. Labor isn't painful (also negative) but intense. I also started looking deep within to say, "Who says labor has to be painful for me? Who says it HAS to hurt?" I have to reassure myself everyday that I can do this!

I started collected quotes from books I had read that made me feel good about going natural. I read this ALOT and plan on taking them when we head to the hospital.

Reading postive, natural birth stories is also helpful and will boost your confidence! I read: Ina Mae's Guide, Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds,

Adventures in Natural Childbirth: Tales from Women on the Joys, Fears, Pleasures, and Pains of Giving Birth Naturally, and Active Birth - Revised Edition: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally. A lot of my quotes came from these books.

 

Aside from that, I am also keeping an open mind. Labor can be so unexpected, so be sure to be flexible, even in your mind. Overall, while process is important, its the product that trumps all

aylafsu88

I dont think you have to take a class to get through a natural birth!  I know I took the Bradley class but honestly, all the information I learned flew out the window when labor started (I think it did for my DH to).  The biggest thing I did was to prepare myself mentally for the pain and intensity of birth.  Everyday I would think about labor and tell myself  "This is going to be hard work.  It is going to hurt and it is not going to be easy or fun.  I am going to feel things and pains that I have never felt before.  BUT I can handle it.  I can get through it and it is not pain that is going to kill me."

For me this mental preparation was the BEST thing I did.  When I was in labor I never asked for an epidural or pain med because I had mentally prepared myself for the intensity and pain.  I successfully delivered our LO and had a wonderful birth!