January 2011 Moms

Whose planning a natural birth?

DH and I were firmly in the more drugs=better camp but the more research I do, the more I'm committed to a natural birth- which I never would've thought I'd ever want in a million years! Anyone else attempting to do it naturally?

Re: Whose planning a natural birth?

  • First, I think we should agree that what you mean is Med-Free birth.  All birth is natural.  To your question, I am actually completely open at this point.  I think I will decide on a birth plan after I take the birthing classes and find out more about the options.  That said, planning is great, but when the sh!t goes down, you need to be flexible and realize it might not go how you planned.
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  • To be completely honest, the only way I would consider delivering med-free is if I get to the hospital and I'm already too far along to get the epidural!  Or, if there is a medical reason that the epi would be bad for me or LO when the time comes.  I have every intention of being at least partially medicated when I deliver.
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  • i dont :( but then again i havent looked much into the pro's and con's of drug free versus using drugs, still i have a feeling i will want the drugs, i'm a sucker when it comes to pain, plus both of our families are not known for creating tiny babies so that freaks me out too :S
  • imageizzourclue:
    First, I think we should agree that what you mean is Med-Free birth.  All birth is natural.  To your question, I am actually completely open at this point.  I think I will decide on a birth plan after I take the birthing classes and find out more about the options.  That said, planning is great, but when the sh!t goes down, you need to be flexible and realize it might not go how you planned.

    Fine, med-free. But you know what I mean. I'm definitely open to whatever is healthiest for my baby, I'm not going to fight a c-section if my baby is in distress just to fulfill some hippie fantasy but as long as we're both happy and healthy, I'd like to let my body do what it does and not dope myself up so some doctor can get home for dinner.

  • kroseqkroseq member

    I want the meds that go in your IV but I'm pretty terrified of an epidural (I don't like needles and I know I won't see it but just the thought of it freaks me out). But if the pain is unbearable, I'll break down and get the epidural. I figure I'll see how things go and decide when I'm actually in labor.

  • I definitely understand the appeal of medication ladies, believe me!! We all make the right choices for ourselves- hopefully we'll all have easy, uncomplicated (and with any luck- quick) deliveries!!
  • I will be delivering in a hospital, but at their adjacent birthing center. I told my OB that I would only get an epidural if the pain was too much (I have a low pain threshhold), other than that, it's all-natural  and as much as I can stand. You really never know what may happen with your body and I felt more secure having an OBGYN than a midwife should anything serious happen during labor.

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  • I would like to do med free but I am not going to feel bad if I change my mind part way through.  The hospital said you can request an epi up until nearly the last minute and seem really flexible and want to follow the mother's intentions.
  • I'm planning to.  I'll be doing hypnobabies this time.
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  • My plan is to do my best for a med-free birth, but I will sign up for the epidural just in case.

    One of my good friends went into labor with the same ideals and she was just fine not thinking should would need the epidural. The doctor came in and realized there was an extra pocket of water behind the baby's head (her water broke at home) and once it was broken, her pain went through the roof and she got the epidural at that point.

    At all the hospitals near me (and maybe elsewhere) if you don't pre-register for an epidural there's no guarantee that there will be an available anesthesiologist/drugs to give. So at 24 weeks, I will be registering for one just in case.

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  • I plan on going med free, but I am open to doing whatever is best for me and my baby. 
  • imagelissydee:

    I will be.  I just sent in my deposit to our Bradley instructor too!  And to further help the cause, we're transferring care to a local, free standing birth center that is run by CPMs.  And they do waterbirth-bonus!

    I kind of regret not looking into birthing centers but my midwife works at a great hospital that also has birthing pools too, score! I have a feeling I'll be taking advantage of that! 

  • Med-free is my goal. We plan to take the Bradley classes. My first choice would be an out-of-hospital birth (if LO and I are healthy enough at that point), but our insurance just changed their coverage on that. Boo! So far, my thought is that I'd rather not pay a birthing center $3k to deliver there OOP when my hospital birth would be $0.
  • I would really like a natural birth but if you could see the size of my DH head you might think differently. Him and I were both over 10lb babies so I'm a little freaked out about how big our munchkin will get.
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  • imagelissydee:
    most of the hospitals in my area have whirlpool tubs, but they are not meant for birthing in-just laboring.  And the hospitals that do have birth tubs-there are only one or two, so its not even guaranteed you'd get it when you actually do go into labor.  That was really off putting to me.

    That's a bummer! Good thing you went with a birthing center then! I know all of the birthing suites at our hospital have jacuzzis to labor in but you're right, the birthing pools are first-come, first-served. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed!

  • I'm tentatively planning on going med-free, and hopefully out-of-hospital.  But I need to do a lot more research, check my insurance, and figure out of I have to switch ob-gyns.  The one I'm using now is just my regular gyno and it's a group practice so I'm not attached to any one doctor and might switch to a midwife or that other acronym nurse thing.  Definitely planning on taking a Bradley course.
  • imageizzourclue:
    First, I think we should agree that what you mean is Med-Free birth.  All birth is natural.  To your question, I am actually completely open at this point.  I think I will decide on a birth plan after I take the birthing classes and find out more about the options.  That said, planning is great, but when the sh!t goes down, you need to be flexible and realize it might not go how you planned.

     

    Actually there's quite a variety of opinions as to what "natural birth" means. Most people mean pain-med free, but some people mean trying to avoid any unnecessary medical interventions (artificial rupture of membrane, internal monitoring, forceps/vacuum, etc). Notice I said "trying". At least in my experience, the vast majority of those who want a natural birth are willing to change their plans if it is actually for the baby's well-being, just not if the intervention is done because of tradition/ routine/ OB preference/ etc.

     To answer the OP... I guess you can tell I'm planning on a natural birth Stick out tongue I'm going with midwife group (2 CNMs actually) that I love in a freestanding birthing center, and we're hoping to find a Bradley class in our area.

     edit: On second reading that first part came out a little more pissy than I intended- please don't read it that way!

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  • Me!  I'm researching exactly what I want to do, if I want to try the tub, do the Bradley method, hypnobirthing etc.  I'm really pretty excited about it, I'm not any more nervous to try naturally than I would be with drugs.
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  • I'll be doing med-free to the best of my ability, but if I have to get the epi or the C-section for the health of baby or me, I'll do it, do whatever needs to get done.  And whenever the Bradley heffa actually E-mails me back, we'll be setting up those courses too.  There is NO WAY I would go into labor without addressing pain-management in some way, shape or form.  I think regardless of the outcome I think Bradley has a lot to offer all the way around.

    That said, yes, we'll be writing up a birth plan for the OB and nursing staff on hand at the hospital, if possible (OB's cool with it)  :P.  It's not much different than an living will or advanced directives order, albeit less legally binding.  Don't make the doctors and nursing staff figure out your wishes when you aren't necessarily in the position to defend and fight for the rights to your own medical care of that of your LO.  In the absence of opinion, they'll just do what's easiest and the medical status quo.  Med free is not status quo anymore.  A birth plan just ensures that the OB and nursing staff engage either me or DH through the entire process if it strays from the plan. I don't think that's such an unreasonable request.

     


  • mick64mick64 member
    I'm planning to go for natural- meaning as little intervention as possible and no meds.  I see a group of 3 (soon to be 4) midwives at the hospital where I work.  We don't have any birth centers around here and homebirth would not be covered by insurance.  I'm going to sign up for a Bradley class and prepare myself as much as possible.  Obviously if something happens I'm open to whatever is needed for a healthy baby, but I'm really really hoping I can do it all natural. 
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  • I've signed up for Bradley classes and while I'm using an OB, he is very flexible. During my first appointment, he said he'd do anything from the most natural to the most space-age! That being said, I am not completely opposed to pain meds or other interventions. I just want to prepare my body as best I can for a drug-free birth.
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  • That's my plan. I did it with Lyla, so I feel even more confident this time around.

    That said, I think we'll take a Hypnobabies class and possibly hire a doula to be even better prepared.

  • Many MW's refer to "natural birth" as birth with NO medical intervention - no water breaking, no pitocin or other methods of induction or speeding up labor, and no pain medication. 

    I 100% plan to go med-free again, and I would like as little medical intervention as possible.  I was 100% opposed to medical intervention with DD, and that almost bought me an emergency c-section.  The key is to keep an open mind, pay attention to your body, and listen to the doctors. 

    After over 40 hours of labor, I finally agreed to pitocin after my contractions went to strong and a minute apart to almost nonexistant.  My MW encouraged me to have pitocin for about 6 hours before I finally gave in, and I only gave in because the nurse told me they were talking about c-section if I didn't get things going again.  You can't hold on so tight to what you put in a birth plan, because at some point, that might go out the window.  A safe delivery is most important!!!  This is coming from a total control freak!!!

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  • I'm going to try, but if I get exhausted or it becomes too hard to handle, I will opt out for some drugs.
  • Me.  I went without medication until the cesarean became inevitable with DS.  The epidural was awful (not the actual spine stabbing, but the side effects). I never want one again.
  • I'm still not sure. Both my mother and grandmother had easy and quick labors and didn't have time to get meds, so it might not even be an option. I would love to do it med free but I'm a pretty big wimp about pain....
  • There's the part of me that keeps thinking if I go med-free it will increase my chances of a successful VBAC - because I'll be able to labor in different positions and let gravity do some work.  I won't get the blast of pitocin I got last time, so it may be more doable, but I'm sure if I'm stuck in the bed to labor again due to an IV, I'm probably say "what the hell, give me the drugs."
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  • I tried med free with my DD but ended up getting a shot of pain reliever.  I was induced and it was pretty awful.  It didn't help that the nurse was trying to push drugs and an epidural on me. Glad I resisted the epidural though. I was only allowed to be in 2 different positions.  Hopefully this time around there won't be an induction and I can do it drug free.
  • I'm another one who's looking into med-free, with limited intervention.  I've looked into Bradley Method classes a bit.  I explained to my MW what I was looking for on my first visit... no episiotomy, avoiding a C if at all possible, possibly going med-free, and she was like, 'right, so you want a midwife.'  So I feel like she's on the same page as I am, which is totally awesome.
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  • I'm going to attempt a natural VBAC if possible. I know the risks and possible complications but am really hoping that a VBAC is in my future! I really don't want another section if I can help it. The plan was for au naturel with DS but severe pre-E at 35+5 weeks bought me a fast c/s. Plus DS was breech on top of everything else! Even if there was time to induce I couldn't have been b/c of my sweet little stinker! 
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  • with DS i did not get an epidural, but early on in labor i had a couple of IV drugs - one let me sleep for a few hours (that was early on), and the other just made me feel drunk!  by the time hard core labor hit i was med free and screaming like a banshee!  

    in between drugs i did use the tub for a while and that helped.  

    i was "only" in labor for 12 hrs so i realize i didn't have it so bad, but my contractions started off 2 min apart and pretty intense, so definitely not like how i had learned in the birthing class.  i would say have an idea of what you want your delivery to be like, but if this is your first go-around it is not going to be like you expect (i thought i'd sit on a ball and walk around - hell no!).  someone once told me that having a kid was like pooping a truck, and i will never forget that! 

  • imagelissydee:

    image*kendrick*:
    Med-free is my goal. We plan to take the Bradley classes. My first choice would be an out-of-hospital birth (if LO and I are healthy enough at that point), but our insurance just changed their coverage on that. Boo! So far, my thought is that I'd rather not pay a birthing center $3k to deliver there OOP when my hospital birth would be $0.

     

    yeah insurance covering it is definitely a plus-we wouldn't be going with the free standing center if the midwives there were not covered.   We got really lucky.

     

    I am so glad that another Jan momma is doing Bradley!  We're starting our sessions in August-thats so close!  But our instructor feared that if we started in November, we might not fit all the classes in.

    DH and I will also be doing Bradley classes- I am looking very much forward to a med-free birth! I think our classes also start in August, have to double check- our instructor said the same thing about starting in November. I think Bradley is totally worth the money- you get so much knowledge! Plus I like their success rate (86%) of women who do go med- free after their courses.

    Unfortunately, there aren't really a lot of midwives in our area, and the one that is, I don't care for (worked with her on L&D when I worked there, she's not that great). My OB is so cool with my birth plan, and I will be using the whirlpool tub to labor in, but unfortunately, can't have a water birth.

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  • Yep I plan on doing a natural (totally appropriate term) birth.  I'm planning to do a home birth at my mom's house (barring any unforeseen problems).  The Natural Birth board is a wonderful resource to ask questions and read people's experiences.
  • I hope to go as natural as possible, with as few interventions as possible.  I am not ruling anything out though of course.  I hope my little munchkin wants to come out easily when the time is right :)
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  • It's something I'm thinking more and more about, but nothing has been decided..

  • I am going to attempt med free. With my first, I was in labor for 30 hours before I got an Epi. It worked great. With both of my boys it wore off before the hard stuff really hit so by the time they were delivered I felt everything anyway. So, this time I think I will avoid the side effects and just try to avoid an spi at least. i will have it as a backup in case labor is long so I can get some rest though.
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  • imageizzourclue:
    First, I think we should agree that what you mean is Med-Free birth.  All birth is natural.  To your question, I am actually completely open at this point.  I think I will decide on a birth plan after I take the birthing classes and find out more about the options.  That said, planning is great, but when the sh!t goes down, you need to be flexible and realize it might not go how you planned.

    This. I'm planning to go unmedicated until the pain tells me otherwise.

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  • I hope to get to try this time! I had a 3 day induction with DD due to complications and was so tired by the end of it that I decided to get the epidural. It only worked on one side, though.

    If there are no complications with this one, I would like to try to go as long as possible med-free. We'll see :)

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