3rd pregnancy and wanting to go natural...

ambernjj

Hi Ladies. This is my 3rd pregnancy and with my DS and DD I ended up caving and getting an epidural. I was induced with both DS and DD. However I am still VERY determined to go all natural with baby number 3.

 My questions to you all are... should I try classes (I have heard some classes will teach you pain management techniques)?  If I do decide to take classes which should I take (Since I have been through this before I am assuming I will want to work on managing pain)?  Was there anything in particular that helped you sucessfully go natural?

Thanks in advance for any help/advise and I am sorry to ask a bunch of questions I am sure you get this all the time.

mb314

I took Bradley classes.   They were helpful for understanding birth, interventions, and knowing when interventions may or may not be necessary.  We learned some positions and pain management techniques, but I found those to be less helpful.

In the end, what worked for me for pain management was being in the shower (at home) and then in the tub at the hospital.  I don't think I could have managed natural labor without the water.  The times when I wasn't in the shower/tub were the worst parts of my labor.   

Having a supportive midwife or OB and a hospital that is also supportive of natural birth goes a long way.  We didn't use a doula because DH had done all the Bradley course training with me and we felt confident that our midwife and the hospital would support our natural birth choice.  But many people find doulas to be helpful. 

3GirlsMama

Hi!  I also had an epidural with both my 1st and 2nd and went natural with my 3rd!  Personally, I didn't take classes, I just knew going natural was something I could do (and DH supported this decision as well).  What I had to do was make sure my extended family DID NOT come to the birth, since with my 2nd that was the reason I ended up with the epidural.  I felt like I was on some sort of display and had to put on a "good show".  So I just didn't allow anyone for #3 and stayed home as long as I could - went to the hospital when contractions were about 1 1/2 min. apart.

I love the book Birthing From Within for pain management.

Best wishes, you can do it!

mystrana

I did not take any classes myself, but I did read a lot about labor and delivery. I found that knowing what possibilities that a birth could take helped keep me calmer. During my pregnancy, I used BH contractions to practice calm, slow breathing.

Another favorite relaxation technique for me is to clench my hand into a fist and breath in. As I breath out, I relax the hand and imagine my back relaxing along with it.

Ultimately though, there are a lot of ways to cope without medicine and the best thing to do is to start looking around and see what appeals to you! Good luck.

ambernjj

Thanks Ladies this helps a lot. I made it to 6cm with my first two before i caved and I felt like I had control up to that point. Then it seemed like I just lost all control so this time I really want to focus on pain management techniques and control. I will def. start reading more on this subject. I really really hope to go all natural this time. lol and oddly enough I am so excited to try again!