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Natural Birth
Just Stop Talking!
Like most women on this board who are planning a natural birth, I hate when people feel like they have to share thier birth stories or give comments about what they think your birth will be like.
So, today, I'm talking with an acquaintance on the phone and it goes like this:
She starts to give me "advice" on having a natural birth - she says she had one.
Me: "I'm choosing not to listen to other women's birth stories. So, please don't share yours with mine. I'm planning on a calm, gentle birth."
Her: "But I'm not going to lie to you - you will feel pain and I asked for drugs when I was at a 9."
Me: "It is stated on my birth plan to NOT ask me about pain scale. So I don't anticipate that. And I don't know what a 9 on the pain scale is. Seriously - I don't want to hear anymore."
Her: [continues into her story]
Me: "Stop talking."
Her: "Let me just......"
Me: [resorting to being juvineille] LALALALALA. I'm not listneing...LALALALA
Her: [continues into her story....]
Me: LALALALALALA.........If you don't stop, I'm going to hang up..........."
What part of "I don't want to hear your story" do people NOT understand?!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Just Stop Talking!
I agree.. People make me crazy.. Thanks for mentioning not wanted to be asked about the pain scale, I hadn't thought to put that on the birth plan since I haven't been through this before.. Have a great birth! = )
Do nurses/dr.'s really ask about pain scale? Do they really offer drugs? Sorry for asking, but I've never experienced that in the delivery room before......maybe I'm lucky.
btw: I LOVE the LALALALA bit. I've done that to my sisters quite a few times.... on many different topics ;p
Never asked the pain scale question? Do they do things different in Canada? 'Cause it seems like all the health profs in my area love to use the pain scale when trying to determine how "bad" pain is in any medical circumstance.
Oh, and sometimes, when talking with someone in person, I plug my ears and start singing my ABC's, too.
Thank you for the well wishes.
BTW - these days it doesn't take much for me to pee my pants. A laugh, a sneeze, a cough....
The pain scale question was listed on our potential birth plan check list as suggested by our Hypnobirth materials. Birth plan also requests for staff to NOT ask questions or try to communicate with me during a surge/contraction.
I think US doctors/triage nurses may well just be "pain scale" happy, because I get asked that at every appointment. For a sinus infection, for my ob annual, for an optometrist appointment...all of them. But I never though to put "please don't ask about it" in my birth plan, so thank you.
And thank you for sharing that story. I hate that you got so harassed, but I love the way you stood up for yourself!
Mother's Day, 2011
Never been asked - not for anything. I don't know much about how nurses/Dr.'s are trained here. Maybe they are supposed to ask it. It seems like such a stupid question to ask someone during labour.......seriously, what would they expect the answer to be??? I just found contractions to be so different than anything else (even from baby to baby), so it's hard to compare. They just let me run the show and tell them what I needed at the time and offered suggestions on which position to be in, how to vocalize, offered the whirlpool/birthball/counterpressure, etc. Epidurals in my hospital are a last resort...or at least treated as such - the nurses will do what you want, but they don't come out and say 'time for epidural' ---- at least not for me:) My SIL delivered in Alberta, and she had three natural births - for the second she discussed with her Dr. that she may like to try the epidural. He told her that the nurses in that hospital don't really like to put that order in, so you have to be very persistent with asking for it...... (she didn't get the epi. anyway - two fast of a labour). I think each hospital is different, though.....