Med-free birth advice

Hi there,

Just thought I'd share some thoughts with those of you who think you might like to attempt a med-free birth.  I delivered my son Cal med-free in December.

First of all, my attitude from the beginning was that I was going to play things by ear.  I liked the idea of a med-free birth but I refused to set a goal or make declarations because I was afraid if things didn't work out the way I'd planned for them, I'd feel let-down or even disappointed in myself.  I also felt like I couldn't really plan for anything if I had no idea what I was in for, you know?  Labor/delivery is such an unknown regardless of how many books you read or classes you take, that you just can't know ahead of time how things are going to go, or how you're going to handle it. 

That said, I did read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, which made a big impact on me...mostly because it drove home the idea that childbirth is a natural process your body was designed to do - it's nothing to fear, and is not an emergency medical procedure. 

I also read a book called The Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife by Peggy Vincent.  Loved it.

All my prenatal care was done at a midwife practice with 4 midwives.  They have a program where, beginning about 1/2-way through your pregnancy, they offer group sessions with other couples who are all due the same month.  The group met monthly and toward the end, every other week.  It was led by 1 certified nurse midwife and 1 medical assistant (who used to be a doula).  We learned a great deal about pregnancy, labor/delivery, and infant care, and it was really neat to be going through it with other couples who were in the same boat.  However, it was NOT a childbirthing class...that, we took at the hospital.

Now, this was key:  although we spent 2 groups sessions going over all the different possible pain management methods, they stressed that they WOULD NEVER OFFER IT.  It was up to US to decide if we wanted something.  And I have to say, if it had been offered to me, I would probably  have been much more tempted to take it.  But in the throes of labor it takes a LOT of effort to communicate, and frankly I couldn't imagine having to have a conversation about pain intervention!  I needed to use all of my focus & strength on laboring!  Seriously, it was all I could do to utter "W-A-T-E-R" when I needed it!  My husband knew not to bring it up either.

Secondly, and also key - when we arrived at the hospital a nurse asked if I'd like her to put a line in, in case I needed an IV later on (for pain management or other medical reasons).  I decided against it, because, again, I felt like it would make it a lot easier for me to request pain meds if everything was already in place.  If I needed an IV for other reasons, I'd just have to deal with them putting it in on the spot.

I consider myself to have a pretty low tolerance for pain and I would imagine a lot of people in my life are surprised I managed a med-free birth.  Heck, I'M surprised!!!  But there was something that stopped me from asking for interventions and kept me moving forward.  It wasn't a stubborn voice saying "you can do this!" or my own sheer will...to be honest, I think it was just the peace of mind that came with knowing that it was a natural process that would happen as it should (obviously, I had no complications).  Not to say I didn't curse that process all the way through it!  And I was in labor for 22 hours, so it's not like I had an easy time of it, plus my water broke at the very beginning and as we all know contractions tend to be more painful once the waters break!

It was beyond difficult and, yes, excrutiatingly painful and exhausting, but I it was an amazing experience and I am so proud of myself for doing it.  I have a lot of anxiety issues and I think my med-free birth really helped put those in perspective and "cure" me of anxiety, in a way.  And actually, the anxiety I used to have may have helped me go med-free because I think my fear of the medical interventions themselves was greater than my fear of childbirth.

I also feel bonded with my son because we went through the process together - childbirth certainly wasn't easy on him either and we shared the experience.

Best of luck in your journey!  Just remember, it's so individual, you can't know what to expect or how it will go...and the most important thing is that you feel good about your experience in the end.  If that means an epidural, then so be it!

PS Someday I WILL post my birth story!