Natural Childbirth

knbarr · August 2011

I have a question in regards to what is considered natural childbirth. A couple of my cousins had made the comments that they had natural childbirth. Later on we were talking about it and they said that they had pain medication in their iv but not an epidural. Not going to lie I had an epidural and will must likely do it again but had no pain medication in the iv. I wouldn't think that by getting pain med in your iv isn't really going any more natural then having an epidrual??

When I hear natural I think no pain medication. Not that its important but was just wondering what other thats.

kedwards85 · August 2011

knbarr:

I have a question in regards to what is considered natural childbirth. A couple of my cousins had made the comments that they had natural childbirth. Later on we were talking about it and they said that they had pain medication in their iv but not an epidural. Not going to lie I had an epidural and will must likely do it again but had no pain medication in the iv. I wouldn't think that by getting pain med in your iv isn't really going any more natural then having an epidrual??

When I hear natural I think no pain medication. Not that its important but was just wondering what other thats.

This.

I had an epidural and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Smootchy · August 2011

I've heard ppl say "natural" when they mean vaginal..

When I hear "natural" I think NOTHING (medication) but in all honesty, a little shot of tylenol is NOTHING compared to labor and delivery

hersheykiss · August 2011

I agree with you. When I hear natural childbirth, I think no pain medication at all. I also had an epi with my first and had a scheduled c/s with my second. I am all about the pain meds. I will call and reserve the anthesiologist in advance if I have to so he can just meet me in the parking lot with a bed and the needle.

katcarls · August 2011

Everyone has a different definition. Some people think any vaginal delivery is natural. To me, natural means no pain meds at all whether it's an epidural or in an IV.

lococo · August 2011

katcarls:
Everyone has a different definition. Some people think any vaginal delivery is natural. To me, natural means no pain meds at all whether it's an epidural or in an IV.

This...

I went "natural"...nada...nothing...13 hours of it and wouldnt trade it!

southernsweetieal · August 2011

Ive heard it both ways, as in vaginal not cs, and Ive also heard it as no pain medicine, it depends what way they are meaning it. I dont think some people really think about it when they use the term natural, I normally would associate that with no pain meds, but a friend said it as vaginal, and then I had to have her clerify as painmeds or vaginal.

TiffanyBerry · August 2011

When I hear natural childbirth, I think no pain meds for labor (preferably no IV), no medical interventions (episiotomy, forceps, etc.), and no excessive restrictions (like stuck to a bed with a monitor). Yeah, that's a pretty restrictive definition, but it's what I go with. (I certainly wouldn't argue with someone who has a different definition for their own birth - a lot of it depends on what you feel.)

vermont7 · August 2011

I think natural means no pain medication. I had a natural birth without pain medicine although I did have pitocin. I consider myself as having had a natural birth.

katcarls · August 2011

chapski:
I've heard ppl say "natural" when they mean vaginal..

When I hear "natural" I think NOTHING (medication) but in all honesty, a little shot of tylenol is NOTHING compared to labor and delivery

I'm pretty sure her cousins weren't talking about a little Tylenol in their IVs. Narcotics, specifically opiates, are typically used. Examples include: morphine, stadol, fentanyl, nubain, and demerol.

lildevil968 · August 2011

When I think of Natural I also think of no pain meds. With my first LO I had back labor, and the epi couldn't work fast enough. With my second I had 3 failed epi attempts, and decided against a 4th try. I had DS without any pain meds.

drucita · August 2011

katcarls:
Everyone has a different definition. Some people think any vaginal delivery is natural. To me, natural means no pain meds at all whether it's an epidural or in an IV.

This exactly!

With my DD 14 years ago i had natural childbirth not by choice! They wanted me to dialate until at least 4cm before they could give me anything, it was a sunday and it took the forever to get me anything after i dialated to 4, by the time they show up it was to late. With my DS last July i was induced and i requested an epi. It was wonderful i would never give birth again if i dont have an epi!

mrs.kapow · August 2011

I had a labor like OP's cousins. I wouldn't say I went natural. I do say I went without an epi and that the IV drugs had well worn off by the time I was pushing. (In all honesty, I only got them because my nurses wanted to delay me pushing until my MW came.)

So, I agree with PPs that everyone's definition is different, but if you're going to brag about it, you better have done it truly without meds, IMO.

I would do IV drugs only again in a heartbeat. It worked for me. No judgement on any other methods of labor.

superned · August 2011

I am not a fan of the term "natural childbirth." I hate to think that I am referring to another mom's birth (like a c-section) as "non-natural." It just sounds judge-y to me.

I prefer the term "medication free" or "med-free" to mean that no pain meds were used. Or even "intervention free" if the birth happened without any interventions at all (no induction, AROM, etc).

I say that I had a "med-free" birth with DD. I went into labor on my own and had no interventions for her labor and delivery.

historychick79 · August 2011

I'm a bit torn on this. My labor took a total of 13hrs. After being stuck a bit, I had one dose of fentanyl, which got me from 4cm to 9 1/2cm in about 1 hour, but didn't take away the pain completely. I then got stuck at 9 1/2cm for 3 1/2 hrs and pushed for another 75min, too far for an epidural and no other pain meds were given. So on one hand meds did help the labor progress, but I definitely felt every contraction and it wasn't a quick and easy labor. So while it's not the purest experience, I feel like I did deliver naturally.

rnfromtn · August 2011

Honestly, I am impressed when someone delivers "naturally" however, I am just as impressed by someone who had a c-section with a straight head too. And you know what, I delivered a 10 lb baby vaginally after 3 1/2 hours of pushing. And "naturally" i am thankful I had an epidural.

anna7602 · August 2011

superned:

I am not a fan of the term "natural childbirth." I hate to think that I am referring to another mom's birth (like a c-section) as "non-natural." It just sounds judge-y to me.

I prefer the term "medication free" or "med-free" to mean that no pain meds were used. Or even "intervention free" if the birth happened without any interventions at all (no induction, AROM, etc).

I say that I had a "med-free" birth with DD. I went into labor on my own and had no interventions for her labor and delivery.

This, down to having had a med-free birth myself. I did find that a few people who asked if I had a "natural" birth meant vaginal, not med-free, and specifically, these tended to be people who had no access to pain medication at all in their own labors (because it just wasn't the norm in the countries they are from, because of cost and custom). All they cared about was whether it was a c-section or not since the perception is that Americans get more c-sections than anyone else.

That said, the board on the bump that covers all these issues is called "Natural Childbirth," not "Med-Free Childbirth."

soldiersgirl78 · August 2011

rnfromtn:
Honestly, I am impressed when someone delivers "naturally" however, I am just as impressed by someone who had a c-section with a straight head too. And you know what, I delivered a 10 lb baby vaginally after 3 1/2 hours of pushing. And "naturally" i am thankful I had an epidural.

This, exactly!

"Natural" to me means no medication.

knbarr · August 2011

I was just curious. Everybody has different reasons for what they decide. But my cousins were almost bragging that they didn't have a epidural.( but that they had pain meds in their ivs) but they kind of leave that out of their story.

So i just had to chuckle and find out what others thought.

KristinKD · August 2011

Like others, when I hear women refer to "natural" childbirth, I usually assume it means med-free, but since I know there are different implications, I usually refer to my own med-free birth as just that: med-free.

BelleIsa · August 2011

katcarls:
Everyone has a different definition. Some people think any vaginal delivery is natural. To me, natural means no pain meds at all whether it's an epidural or in an IV.

This.

Aloe0l · August 2011

When I was preparing for DD my DH and I said we were planning for a "medication and intervention-free birth." For me, having a natural birth is more than just skipping pain meds. It means letting labor take it's course as naturally as possible, without any outside interventions (including having them break your water for you, induction, etc).

But, I have heard it commonly referred to a "vaginal" delivery (which, is incorrect IMO), and also med-free (vs. also intervention free).

PrettyInPearls23 · August 2011

I say I had a natural delivery -- I had pain meds during labor via IV, but no other interventions. And to be honest, the pain meds barely did anything other than make me feel drugged.

I felt every ounce of pain during delivery -- and that's why I said I went natural.

kg_08 · August 2011

I had 1 shot of Nubain, not even in my IV as a drip or anything, just 1 shot. The stupid thing was terrible and I felt everything, so next time I'll really go "natural".

I do not say I went natural last time though even though I felt it all.

jdouglas84 · August 2011

Honestly, when I hear "natural" I think of medication. I have heard a lot of people refer to a vaginal delivery as "natural."

I had a pain med free delivery, but I wouldn't totally refer to my labor/delivery as "natural" because I was induced with pitocin, and hooked up to an IV the whole time. In my mind, an "natural" birth for me wouldn't have involved being hooked to that stupid IV!

epona3 · August 2011

superned:

I am not a fan of the term "natural childbirth." I hate to think that I am referring to another mom's birth (like a c-section) as "non-natural." It just sounds judge-y to me.

I prefer the term "medication free" or "med-free" to mean that no pain meds were used. Or even "intervention free" if the birth happened without any interventions at all (no induction, AROM, etc).

I say that I had a "med-free" birth with DD. I went into labor on my own and had no interventions for her labor and delivery.

ITA. I also say (if asked) that I had a "med-free" birth. Until they were sewing me up afterwards anyway - then I asked for extra lidocaine!

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