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Pregnant after a Loss
Med-free Birth Anyone
Hi ladies,
I am visiting your board but maybe one of these days hopefully soon I'll join this board! 
) Will start TTC in a couple months again. Anyway...
I recently watched the movie The Business of Being Born and am so interested in going med-free and maybe even at a birth center.
I am getting way ahead of myself, I know. I have to get pregnant with a
sticky baby before I get excited for this event to occur lol. I'm curious though, did any of you decide you wanted a med free
birth or deviate away towards a different birth plan after your mc?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Med-free Birth Anyone
I'm so sorry for your loss and I hope you get over here soon!
I attempted a med free birth w/ DD, but ended with an epidural with only 2 hours to go. I just couldn't tolerate the pain and at the time, I was only dialated to 5cm and I just didn't think it would go as quickly as it did after that point. I had already been in heavy labor for 8 hours. Everything worked out great, and even though I did get the epi in the end, I think laboring so long w/o it helped me to have such a smooth delivery.
After DD was born, I had a m/c but I don't think this has changed my view on having a med-free birth. I am going to try again with this one and now that I have a better idea of what to expect, hopefully I'll be successful. However, I'm open to changing again if I need to.
I'd recommend taking a class like Bradley or Hypnobirthing so you can have some tools to help you through a med-free birth. I took Bradley classes and loved them.
That is an excellent story. Sounds like you did most of the work and resulted in a smooth delivery! I've heard about hypnobabies but will have to google the Bradley method.
My story is similar to PP.
With DS, I was going to try a med-free birth, but my labor went super quickly. I had the pre-conceived notion that labor takes a long time (18+ hours- it's a big mistake to do "labor" math b/c it is so easy to get discouraged.) But I had DS within 5.5 hours of my first contractions. I thought I wouldn't be able to handle the pain for a long length of time, so I got an epidural and my DS was born 45 minutes later. His birth experience was a learning experience for me.
I had a miscarriage in 3/09. Now I am pregnant again and really hoping to have a med-free birth. I am not good at relaxation techniques, so I hired a doula this time around to help me and my DH when I start to get frusterated, tired or discouraged with this labor. It was more of my first birth experience they made me lean more heavily towards med-free, rather than my m/c.
Sending lots of sticky dust your way! Can't wait until you join this board.
I'm planning a med-free birth at a birth center with a midwife. Like PP, it wasn't my mc that made me decide this as much as my birth experience with DD. I was induced, went straight into hard labor and was set on having drugs from the moment I walked in the door. I also didn't educate myself very much on other options and to me, medicated births were the norm. Almost 12 years later, I realize that isn't the case so I'm going natural because I trust my body
)
I'm sorry for your loss and hope you get your sticky baby soon!
BethNittany your birth story also sounds excellent! minimal intervention and a quick delivery
). By the way do midwives act as doulas or is their function entirely different?
PS I see that you're into cloth diapers. My sister uses them for her toddler and newborn. She has several different types for the new baby because she had no idea which would fit. I love how soft and colorful the diapers are. Her two yr old calls the cloth diapers cuddely and the regular diapers scratchy. He wrinkles his nose when he says scratchy diaper and its very cute. So why have you decided to go with cloth diapers?
And thank you all for your positive healthy sticky baby thoughts! They are very appreciated. I can tell this is a great board and won't think twice about joining once I get my BFP.
Midwives and doulas are different. I have never had a midwife, so I am not as sure about their technical responsibilities, but I think they do more "medical" things- their focus is on helping you naturally deliver your baby- You would have a midwife if you decided to deliver at home- some areas have them available to deliver in hospitals too. But again, you'd be better off asking someone who's used a midwife.
A doula does nothing medical- I think of her as like a yoga coach for labor and delivery. She suggests different techniques and positions for me to try during labor, she suggests things to my DH to try to make me comfortable, etc. She doesn't talk with the doctor; she is my support person. She keeps me focused on my goals. Having a doula present can significantly lower your chances of needing interventions (drugs, forceps, vacuum, c-section, etc.)
I love cloth diapers!! My 2 year old gets so angry when I put a disposable diaper on him- he yells out CLOTH! It's so funny that your sister's 2 year old says the same thing. I just a bought a wide assortment of my cloth for my LO's arrival too- some prefolds, fitted and a few pockets. My DH won't do the prefold (those are the old school diapers we wore) but he loves the pockets.
We decided to do cloth primarily for money- and it cuts down on diaper rashes, etc. It makes me feel "green" too- I know you use water to wash them, but you also use water to manufacter disposables...
I hoped for a med free birth with DS...and I made it to 7 cm and was dealing with the pain fine....and then I started puking and spiked a fever. I felt like death, so I gave in and got the epidural. It took them an hour and 6 tries to get the epidural in, all while I was in transition, trying to hold still, with terrible contractions coming one after another. It was awful, and honestly it barely worked, I felt almost everything when it was time to push.
I plan/hope to go med free next time for the following reasons:
- they said due to my anatomy it is nearly impossible to place an epidural, I'm not interested in going through that again for only mild relief
- i've felt hard contractions, and I really think I can do it.
- once my epidural was places my labor slowed way way down. I really wish I would have been able to walk around to speed things up. They started pushing pitocin. I got pissy with my Dr. It wasn't pretty.
- because I was laying down with the epidural I had to constantly move because DS's heart was having decelerations. This is common for women who get an epidural and can be avoided by moving around during labor.
- I was unable to walk for a few hours after my delivery, friends who didn't have epidurals said they were up and walking within minutes.
- catheters suck. big time.
- I was able to feel contractions during "push time" and it really helped know when to push. I had DS out in 20 minutes.