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Cincinnati Babies
Med-free births?
The more I read about having a medication free childbirth, the more I want one. If anyone has had one, could you share your stories/tips/thoughts?
I really had no idea what to expect with C, I would have prefered med-free, but I was not opposed to having an epi. I went to the hospital much too early with her (around 1 am - timable contractions started at 11pm), my contractions were not regular yet, but they kept me there because in the hour that they let me walk around, I went from 1 cm to 3cm. At 9am, I was 4cm, and they broke my water to get me to progress. At that point I had pain that really never stopped, like one long contraction, and they made me stay in bed because they could not keep her heart rate on the monitor. So at 10am, I broke down and asked for the epi. They put it in around 11am, and when they checked me either before or right after I was 7cm. I was ready to push at 5pm.
I really did not have a bad birth experience, I am just not the type of person who likes to be stuck in bed. And I hated that I couldn't get up at all in labor or after til the epi wore off. And I had a really bad first BFing experience, because pitocin plus BFing hormones were causing some really strong contractions while my uterus was shrinking. I also didn't care for the back ache that went along with my epi.
I am really hoping for an experience where I have the pain all before and not really after the birth. I really didn't like feeling like a sick patient after she was born, KWIM? There are some things that I am hoping to do differently during labor this time around too, but it seems like everyone I talk to about going med-free looks at me like I have 5 heads. So I just thought I would see if anyone here could relate. Thanks!
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Re: Med-free births?
I haven't given birth yet or felt the pain, but I'm really thinking about med-free. I think I might be nuts though?
Looking forward to responses!
If I were in your part of town, I would 100% plan to go to Family Beginnings at Miami Valley. I planned a med free birth last time and took the Bradley Method course. To my disagreement, I was pretty much forced into getting pain meds due to borderline blood pressure issues which they felt would help bring my blood pressure down, but it really just made me totally out of it and miserable, and the epi administration was the worst pain I have ever experienced. I am planning to do a home hypnobirthing course this time around which is 5 weeks. We haven't decided if we want a doula or not, but are planning a med free birth with Dr Bowen or Dr Wall at BNorth, and both are 100% supportive of our wishes.
ETA: I am also seeing a chiropractor now, and am planning to get adjustments throughout the rest of my pregnancy. He has also highly recommended medical massage for preparing your body for delivery, allowing the pelvic area to relax and open, helping the baby to descend, etc.
If you can deliver at MVH definitely look at Family Beginnings. I think I posted not long ago about it, but that was my plan all along, med-free water birth. The nurses are specially trained for FB and if you do change your mind and want drugs (or end up needing interventions), the regular delivery floor is literally around the corner. I also LOVED the nurses on the regular floor. They didn't push for drugs until they saw that I just couldn't do it anymore (and I knew it was time anyway after 24 hr and no progress the last 10 hr).
I also HIGHLY recommend getting a doula no matter where you deliver. My doula was the only thing that let me progress that long without drugs. She was fantastic and even though she flaked on us at the end, she was invaluable for labor. She was great support not only for me, but for DH as well who had no idea how to cope with the pain I was going through and what was normal. Be sure to check references and if you are curious I'll share the name of mine to avoid. Look up DONA or Dayton Area Labor Support for names. Best $$$ I spent on DD's birth.
Feel free to ask me any questions too, even though I didn't end up drug free, I made it further than I ever expected, I just have a crappy uterus.
So I technically didn't go med-free since I gave in and got the epi right before Nicholas was born (it was finished being placed at like 11:50 and he came out at like 12:13). The epi I got did nothing-- literally wasn't numb at all and I was really glad that it went that way and I think having to sit still for the epi placement was what got me to progress. I had a LONG labor experience since I was induced at 37 weeks (started induction Mon night and had him Wed. morning) but I was really glad that I went med free for as long as I did.
I loved that I literally was up walking around less than 30 minutes after I had him, my recovery was a breeze and I liked that I was able to have really productive pushing because I could feel what I was doing (only pushed for 13 minutes- 7 pushes total).
I would say the best piece of advice I have about going med-free would be to prepare yourself the best you can-- I took Bradley classes and I really felt like they helped. I feel like people that go into labor with the idea that they will try and go natural for as long as they can almost always end up getting an epi. For me the ability to go med-free with the horrible pitocin contractions was all about my mental state of mind-- being determined and focused and having a great support system. I also highly recommend getting a doula if at all possible-- just having another person to support and advocate for me was really important in my ability to go med-free too. I needed someone to help remind me what I had spent weeks practicing and preparing for. If you have anymore specific questions feel free to msg me!
I had a similar labor-- it was long, and took me forever to progress, so I ended up getting the epi simply because I was so exhausted and worn out that I could barely breathe my way through the contractions properly. It allowed me to sleep a bit so that I could push a few hours later, but my pushes were not at all productive because of the epi and I had to push for three hours. I ended up tearing badly and exhausted and in horrible pain after the labor. So I'm in the same boat-- I am planning to try med-free next time and hopefully deal with the pain during labor versus the awful recovery later. I was still groggy off major meds when I went home with Leah.
Family Beginnings in MVH sounds great, but they can't guarantee you a room, and there aren't very many of them. This means that if you go in to have the baby (Leah still wants you to name your new baby Sophia, by the way
) and the rooms in Family Beginnings are full, you are put into regular L&D rooms and have a med-free birth there. I wasn't as willing to take my chances on that so when I switched OBs, I was fine having one who delivers in Kettering Health Network instead. My experience at MVH was fine with the exception of the LCs, so I'm fine with moving to a KHN hospital instead.
Good luck. I wish I had been able to see you at the park-- I can't believe you are this far along and I bet you look great!
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I was induced and had a pain-med free birth. My biggest recommendation is to do something to prepare for it ahead of time.
I took a lot of prenatal yoga and pilates classes and I felt like the yoga helped me labor while the pilates helped me push. Ultimately, I don't think I could have done it without my doula. My induction did move along pretty quickly, DD was born 6 hours after they broke my water, but it was pretty much nonstop contractions for that 6 hours.
I probably could have done more and next time I think I might try hypnobirthing or the bradley method.
Welcome to the world Finley Michael - born 2/13/2010
Baby Sister is coming soon!
I had as close to a med free birth that I could. I went to Family Beginings at Miami Valley planning a "normal" med free birth. Of course things don't usually go as planned with births. My water broke at 8pm on a Saturday night, but didn't start contractions. So we had a full nights sleep (or what you can expect to get at that point) and went into the hospital at 8am on Sunday. They (Family Beginings) tried what they could to get my contractions to start. They used nipple stimulation with a pump and lots of walking. My body just didn't want to do it. So at about 1pm I was sent to the regular labor and delivery to start pitocin. That went really well and I finally did start contractions. Walked a ton that afternoon trying to get myself furter along. Slowly I was dialating and it helped to walk (I can not imagine doing this from a bed, not sure I could of done it med-free laying down). They kept the pitocin pretty high since my water had broke so long ago and of course they wanted me to have the baby not too long after the 24 hour mark. Gosh, it hurt and I was so tired by Sunday evening. At that point I just wanted to lay down and rest for a bit. I was figuring that I wasn't going to have DS until Monday morning and I wasn't going to make it. The contractions were right on top of each other. So I decieded to try the Nubane (spelling?), so they gave me that. Here I thought I would get to lay down for a bit, but no. This is not how it works I guess. I was still in pain the whole time. I was mad at taking the drug since I couldn't rest and I didn't think it did anything. But here I went from 6cm to 10cm in 1/2 hour. So the drug did work help my insides relax I guess! At that point they had me lay down to check me and it hurt so much that I couldn't get back out of bed. I so wanted to just stand back up, it hurt so much more laying down (this is why I don't think I could of went med-free if I had to stay in bed like you had to). So I was ready to push. I had Cedric at 11:47pm that Sunday night. Nursing went great and I was able to get up right away. They let DH, Cedric, and I back to Family Beginings since our room was still avaliable.
It hurt a ton, but was do-able (until laying down). I don't have any tips for you, just my story. Hope you have a great 2nd birth! With this second baby, I do plan on going back to Family Beginings and having a med-free birth,( if my body knows what to do this time around). Not that you have to go their to do so. Just saying that it wasn't terriable and I plan on going through it again, med-free:)
I made it the first 48 hours of labor without pain medication. I did end up having morphine so I could rest, then went home and labored for another 30 hours, came back when I was dialated 4 cm and rested on some other medication, labored for another 15 or so hours and then because they were going to put me on pitocin had an epi (and had a c-section).
I was going to for the least interventions possible and got the most. I have to say that it wasn't the pain that was unbearable, it was the fact that I was so so so tired. My doula was great and came to the house and hospital to get me through - but in the end I just wanted that baby out of me so I could sleep!!
Next time, I'm trying for a vbac and know that I can handle that pain.
I have taken both routes, and both my L&D experiences with DS1 (20+ hours and an epi) and DS2 (5 hours and no time for any medication) had many positives and also a few negatives. In the end, however, I think they both pretty much evened out. If we have a third child, I honestly don't know which option I'd try for.
Since you asked specifically about the med-free birth, I will tell you that the absolute best part of delivering pain-med-free was being able to get up and walk around (even shower) less than an hour after delivering. Plus (and I'm not sure if this is just coincidence or is actually related), I had very little pain or discomfort related to healing with DS2 (even though I tore, both times). Don't get me wrong, the pain associated with delivering without pain medication is intense (and I had all back labor, since DS2 was posterior); but it is totally doable. I had A-M-A-Z-I-N-G L&D nurses, one of which provided the BEST counter-pressure massage, which really got me through. The worst part for me was trying NOT to push while we waited on my midwife to HAUL A$$ over to the hospital.
This is how I feel about Family Beginnings. It would be nice to be in a birthing center that was totally focused on being med free, but the chance of not getting a room kinda stinks. I'm delivering at Southview this time and I am fine with that. Plus, laboring/delivering in a tub doesn't sound very appealing to me. I don't want to be swimming around in there with all that junk coming out of my body. I know, I'm weird.
I feel like I need to make a new post for this part...
I am a very type A personality. I don't really like listening to music to relax, I'd rather clean or bake or read or do something. So I'm not so sure the listening to music/meditation part would appeal to me. I also don't think having a Doula guide me through it would work for me, I barely listen to people I know, so having an almost stranger help me work through the pain would be weird to me.
DH has been doing some reading with me too, so I feel like he is going to be a good support. Although he is no where near as vocal as I am about getting what he wants. (I'm thinking about how they want you to lay down to be monitored/checking progress often type of stuff - I want someone to help me say that I don't need that at that point in time, KWIM) And, yeah, I'm not very good at following directions, even from him... oops. But overall, I trust him to stick up for me and listen to me and help make decisions about what is best through the labor. He has been the most calming person in my life for the past 11 years and really knows me well. We are getting ready to read the Bradley book, Husband Coached Childbirth, next.
I sound like a real peach, don't I?
So, any one else figure out other ways to deal with the pain? Were any of you non-meditating types?
And I really appreciate all of the responses! It is good to hear all of your birth stories!
I was gung-ho med-free and I wouldn't let anyone try to recommend an epidural to me - until I found out I had to be induced due to low amniotic fluid. I was induced at 38 weeks and was in labor for 40 hours before I got an epidural. There's no way I could have had the energy to push that baby out without the epidural and the nap I was able to take after it kicked in. Next time around, I'm going to wait as long as possible and get an epidural again - it was awesome.
I was extremely hesitant to get an epidural after watching the Ricki Lake documentary and reading about the negative side effects, but holy cow, those things are so great.