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libbyann
member
Med-free Labor Questions...
libbyann
member
Before I got pg, I always wanted to have a med-free birth. I had fanciful ideas of having a midwife and delivering in a peaceful environment at Austin Birthing Center. But then I got pg, and my insurance only covers a hospital where my doctor is pretty adamant about IVs and fetal monitoring. (BTW: I love my doctor - this is in no way a bad thing against her!)
So now I'm totally getting scared about the pain and I feel like I'm wavering on whether or not I'm going to want an epi. My mom was in labor for 24 hours with me and pushed for 3 hours before having to have a c-section...I'm so scared of that happening to me and I'm not sure I could handle all the pain for that long emotionally OR physically.
So I'm curious at how you would describe your labor experience...What was the pain level (honestly!) throughout the entire thing. What books helped? How did you prepare yourself for it? What advice would you give me?
Thanks 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Med-free Labor Questions...
I did a drug free birth at NAMC and it was the most wonderful experience. I highly suggest taking a Bradley Birthing Class to prepare. I can't even recommend a book because the information and time to ask and have questions answered during class is well worth any book.
Preparing--I had competed in a few triathlons prior to given birth and I am a soccer player so I just think of it like a big sporting events. You have to get your mind in the game. If you think you are going to get hurt or be in pain--then you look for it. But if you focus on the end goals. For me--I never found out the sex so I could use that as my focus point. Then I took that plus the education from my class in in my mind could map out what would happen. Then the class also reviews all the risks---so I also felt prepared that if something did go wrong--I was okay too. I think you are a runner right---so apply everything you use for a marathon and it is relatively the same in my mind.
The most painful part for me was transition--it was when I almost wussed out but at the point you are basically done and 10 cm so your drug window is gone. I had back labor too which makes it more intense but everything else was pretty routine so I remained focus and my husband did a fabulous job w/ coaching. From our class we knew what calmed me down and what worked. Actually the MOST painful part was the charlie horse that I had during labor---I can still remember that and actually I stopped pushing and that did hurt worse than delivery.
The hard for me was the mental challenge and everyone basically laughing in my face about wanting to go natural. Then you hear the horror stories. I just pushed those aside because I had faith that I could do it.
I can post a rec on my Bradley Teacher but I love that class based on the fact that I am a person who is much more calm with facts and understanding. We worked on relaxation techniques but the important part for me was all the patient advocate stuff that we discussed.
let me know if you have any questions!
I didn't go med-free with either baby
Baby #1 - epidural did not work, so I basically delivered him natural. I won't lie, it was terrible. I had been hoping to make w/out the epidural, but 8 hours into hard labor I couldn't handle it anymore. But then the damn thing didn't work so I didn't have much of a choice! The whole experience is a bit hazy in my mind, the pain was so intense I don't remember much else.
Baby #2 - I wasn't about to play any games this time, I got the epi as soon as I could...which ended up being 3 hours into hard labor. It worked perfect, and thank god. I was so relaxed during labor after that, laughing with the nurses and just enjoying waiting for the baby to show up.
My advice - do lots of research and keep an open mind. Be prepared for last-minute changes of heart (like I did!), and know that no matter what, no decision is a bad decision if its truly what you want to do. All that matters is healthy mom and baby...which you can have, meds or no meds.
My personal thoughts - if you want med free - definitely prepare yourself for that. Take the med free classes and discuss it with your ob/gyn in advance and make sure that your wishes are respected. Go in with the mind set you are going med free - even if you change your mind during labor.
I wanted to try and make it as long as I could w/o any drug intervention. My labor was 24 hours, 23 of which were active. It was horrible. So much worse than I could have imagined. I had back labor too which just added to it. I had only prepared w/ what I learned in our birthing class (not med free specific) and it was in no way anywhere near what I needed to go med free.
I think if I were to do it again, I would prepare for a med free birth and be very prepared since I now understand much more of how hard it will be. I just didn't prepare enough in advance and couldn't deal with it well. And my mother was in labor roughly 24 hours with me as well...so it did seem that there was a correlation to her labor and mine.
I won't be much help. My labor was 24 hrs, got the epi at about 16 hrs, and then pushed for 2.5 hours before I had to have a c-section.
My advice - understand that you won't be able to control the situation 100% since you have not way of knowing how your labor will go. That for me, was the hardes part since I'm such a planner.
I wanted to give it a shot w/o meds just so that I could at least say I experienced it. My contractions got to be so painful that I was getting really scared since I was not progressing much in the dialation phases and I knew they had to get much worse. I also told myself that I was not against pain meds if needed - so I did not feel like I "gave up" if I ended up wanting/needing them.
The epi was great - and not only did it relieve the pain - it helped tremendously w/ my anxiety. I was able to focus more clearly and I was not as scared. Of course - it sucks that I ended up having to have a c-section b/c we had come so far - but it's what was best for the baby. She was stuck on my pelvic bone and NOTHING was moving her (short of me breaking my own pelvic bone). The Dr's said that I could have pushed for another entire day and may not have made more progess.
All I can say is if you REALLY want a med- free birth - I'd think you really need to be prepared for it - and same w/ your DH. It's hard to anticipate how the pain will feel if you've never had it before - so that's why I was trying to go really easy on myself w/ my thinking. My mildest contractions felt like the worst menstrual cramps EVER, and my worst were such a deep pain that is too hard to describe. I'm sure this wasn't much help, but I just wanted to post my 2 cents.
Good luck w/ whatever you decide - anything that ends with a healthy baby/mommy is a successful and wonderful delivery in my book!
My pain level was about a 5/6. The 2 dozen fire ant bites i got a week ago were much, much worse. Migraines are also worse.
I took the Hypnobirth classes (similar to Froggi's classes), which were very helpful. The absolute best book I read was Active Birthing by Janet Balaskas. It really gave me the confidence to let my body do what it needed to do (ask Taytee- I used every possible birthing position out there!).
I think the biggest thing is your mindset going into it. If you go into it expecting an epidural but can't get one, you aren't going to be mentally prepared so your experience will be quite different from someone who plans a med-free birth. If you go into it knowing what you need to know it can be totally different.
I did not go med free - but I am totally supportive of those who do. I knew it wasn't for me because I'm a big sissy. LOL. I only got the epi because I was scared of feeling pain, but quite honestly - I was never in excrutiating pain and I didn't get the epi until 6 or 7cm. I asked for it because I could tell the contrax were getting stronger and I was just scared of just how bad they would get. I know, that's not THAT far along - but I really think that if I didn't get the epi that I totally could have handled it.
That said, I don't have any rec's for you as far as books (although I know m_and_m does) but I just wanted to lend my support. I say, if you want to do it and have always wanted to do it - then go for it! After all, it CAN be done - and if you are really prepared and educated - then it may not be as bad as you might think. Plus, you gain some serious bragging rights when you go natural! hehe.
i had a med free birth....i thought i would end up describing the pain as i've described the pain after doing a marathon or ironman for the first time, 'it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.' I was wrong when it came to birth...it was as bad as I thought it would be, I'll be honest. BUT, totally doable. and once the baby is here the pain is gone (at least in my case).?
?I highly recommend Bradley classes. I liked learning exactly what was going to happen to my body, that helped me tremendously.
?books: I liked Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth..I liked reading positive birth stories...seems like I was always hearing negative things about birth.
Henci Goer's Guide to Childbirth...very factual, pros and cons about every sort of intervention out there.
and one book that really inspired me but probably a bit goofy to some was Childbirth Without Fear, by Grantly ***-Read. yes it was written in the 50s and totally dated, but it really helped me wrap my head around the fear aspect of childbirth, I referred to it in my mind so many times during labor, it really helped. ?
I told myself that the epi was there if I needed it. That alone made me feel like I had options and that I wasn't a loser if I promised myself I wasn't going to get any "interventions" and then did. That being said, I did end up asking for the Epi, there wasn't enough time and it wasn't that bad. Pushing out the baby doesn't hurt as much as laboring (at least for me it didn't). I did try to remind myself going through labor that women have always given birth and my body was meant for it and if everyone else could do it, I could too!!!!
I really do plan on going without an Epi next time too, but again, no big deal or sense of loss if I get one.
Thank you so much for all your helpful responses. I will check into Bradley Method classes and I'm planning to hit up our library over Thanksgiving break to check out a few of the books you guys recommended.
I am a runner - I've done a half marathon and I know that I totally psyched myself up for that one too. Once I'd finished, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be! Thanks for the suggestion of planning to go drug-free, but knowing the epi is there if I need it...I think just knowing that I have that option will help me a lot!
Taytee - I keep telling myself that too! And I believe it - I think it's just fear of the unknown that scares me. And the fact that I don't have a high tolerance for menstrual cramps - they make me break out in a cold sweat and feel like I'm going to throw up.
i'm glad you posted this! i liked reading all the responses!
... and the epi can NOT work?! that i did not know...
Usually it's a matter of placement of the epi. Sometimes the body is just resistant to the medication. Sometimes the nerves are just too frazzled to give up on sending the signal "Hey, that hurts!". Some types of labor pain like "back labor" just hurt.
Additionally, laying on your back (which you almost have to do with an epi) is one of the most painful positions to labor in. I know I was much more comfy on my side with a knee drawn up. M_and_m definitely tried everything in the book! It was like delivery Kamasutra! (kidding)
FWIW, I had a really short labor. So my definition of pain or suffering may be different from other mommies.
maybe a dumb question... but why do you have to be on your back?
I did a med free birth for both of my kids. ?One was in a hospital, one was at the Austin Area Birthing Center. ?(The birthing center experience was a million times better.) ?It was something I really wanted to do, for many reasons, so I prepared myself by reading. ?I wanted to attend Bradley classes, but didn't have the time, so a friend of ours who had done the classes before, walked us through them one night at their house. ?
I was always open to the idea of needing medical intervention if necessary, but I wouldn't have done it differently. ?The pain wasn't fun, that's for sure, but it's temporary and in my opinion a equal payoff for the experience. ??
You have a tube in your spine taped to your back, so that restricts your movements somewhat. You have a loss of motor control to your legs so positioning is difficult for some (not all) and with that, some hospitals make you get a foley for the possible loss of bladder control too. Foley's are bad for a number of reasons but I won't go down that path.
It's important to know that if you have a fever or low platelets, an epi may not in fact be available to you. Some women freak out when they are told. IV pain meds may still help but remember too that an Epi is not without it's risks, complications and imperfections. It's those possible side effects ect that made drove me to want a "med free" birth, not wanting to be superwoman or anything.
Also, a previous poster said their doctor wants an IV. An IV doesn't mean you're stuck in bed. It's just a little port in your arm. You may or may not get IV Fluids through it. They'll want to put in an IV while they are getting your blood to check those platelets
You'd rather know up front what your options are right?
I ::think:: it has to do with the drug being able to dispense evenly throughout your body.
And nope - damn thing didn't work for me. They even tried to change the drug they gave me, but nada.
That too
(Remember I'm not an L&D nurse, most of what I know I learned when I was looking up stuff to give birth myself)
Even with perfect positioning, some women only get relief on one side. Which I suppose may or may not be better than none!
By hospital regulation they have to put in a HEP Lock which is the the starter thing for the IV other than that I was free to labor where and in whatever position that I wanted. I actually took mine out (accidently) during labor and they did not even bother to put it back in.
It will be interesting this time around using a doctor that supports med free birth rather than fighting my doctor.
I am a worse case scenario girl so I feel comfort at the hosital knowing that if anything should go wrong---I have it all there.
I would have had a home birth IF I could have had an epidural at home. I hate hospitals!
I was induced at just over 37 weeks for medical reasons. I was not remotely effaced or dilated and was told a c-section was a good possibility if labor didn't progress. I had misoprostol placed on the cervix every four hours for about 8 hours or so. Contractions did start, and they came pretty quickly. After almost 8 hours, they were right on top of each other. I had trouble catching my breath in between them. I spent a lot of time standing on the floor, leaning over the bed. I felt them a lot in my lower back.
After 8+ hours, it was midnight. I'd been up since 5 am (doctor did an amnio early that morning to check fetal lung maturity), and I was exhausted. I asked for phenergan (sp?) in my IV to help me sleep. After that was administered, the midwife checked my cervix (our clinic had several nurse midwives, and it allowed for far more personal care in the hospital than just having a doctor) and said I was ONE cm dilated! Ugh. DH asked the midwife, "How many cm do we have to go?" You should have seen the look of horror on his face when she said, "9 more." I decided to have an epidural after that.
The phenergan was already taking effect, so a nurse had to hold me steady while the epidural needle went in - I was already starting to nod off. The epidural hurts. I'm not gonna lie to you. The anesthesiologist said it would feel like a bee sting. Uh huh. If a bee is the size of a seagull, maybe. It hurt. But then it was over. I fell asleep before the epi took effect.
It was the best sleep of my life. I slept until late morning, and it was awesome. I felt no pain at all. My legs felt like they weighed a ton, but I was comfortable. Things finally progress later the next day- I went from 4 cm to 10 in a really short period of time. I was having a ton of contractions but didn't feel any pain.
I knew it was time to push because I felt like I was about to poop out a softball. Graphic, sorry. I also knew when my water broke because I thought I'd peed on myself.
During pushing with the epi, I could feel pressure but no pain at all. I could feel DD moving down the birth canal. It was pretty awesome to go through that with no pain. I had a small tear requiring a stitch or two, and I felt no pain for that either.
I was up and hobbling around when DD had to go to the nursery to be bathed, weighed, etc., and they let me come along too because I was up and walking around. In total from the time the first dose of miso was administered to the time DD was born was about 25 hours, 8 of that sans pain meds. It was not bad at all. I know that I could not have handled that long of a labor with miso and pitocin without drugs. I have zero regrets in that regard, and I'll likely have an epidural again with my next baby.
Meredith, 6-1-06 and Alex, 11-5-09
Weird how different everybody's experience is. The epi did not hurt at all for me, (and I have had three), it truly felt like a bee sting. They should give you a local first (the bee sting prick) and then put the needle in, which I only felt the prsure of. After the initial prick there is a weird warm sensation that goes through your body that is kind of strange though.
Honestly getting the IV (Hep lock) started hurt much more then the epi. Just an FYI since you said your doctor insist on starting one. Ask them to give you a local first and then insert the IV needle. They did NOT do this for me when I was in L&D. But when I had my back surgery the nurse did this and it was SOOOOOO much better, it did not hurt at all.
Married and it feels so good!
My mother had two med-free births (one by choice, one not). She has always told me that the pushing part actually feels good. So if you make it to 10 centimeters and it's time to push...don't worry. It's going to feel better! (That's something to look forward to.)
Another suggestion: Since you are a runner, I thought I could put a running spin on this for you. My races were always tough for me. I pushed my body to the absolute limits. I remember crossing the finish line and almost collapsing so many times. I pushed so hard that I pooped my pants in every.single.race ... I'm not kidding (boy, did I just tell the world that?). How I got through it: I prayed in my mind the entire time I raced. Here was my prayer: "Lord, I will pick them up if you will put them down." (I was referring to my legs.) I swear to you that I felt God's presence helping me all the time. My point: If you are the spiritual type, don't try to do it alone. I would talk to the Lord the whole time. I would ask for help. And I wouldn't be ashamed of doing so. I really do think it helped give me courage racing, and in hind site ... I should have asked for help during labor. Would have been a smart move. Don't know why I didn't consider it.
As you also know, racing is 90% mental and 10% physical. You're mind will tell you that you need to quit WAY before your body has to quit. I'm sure labor is the same way. I think it's all about mental preparation. I would ask M_and_M for as much advice as possible on the subject. She had a very similar labor to mine (in terms of length...I have no idea on intensity b/c obviously we couldn't feel each other's pain...but I'm sure that was probably similar too) which was long. Days. Weeks. And she did it without a problem. If she can...you can too!
It definitely doesn't feel good when they put in the epi, but I wouldn't say that it hurts. For me, the worst part was having to stay still through contractions while they do it. Next time I'm definitely asking for it BEFORE hard labor hits!
And this alone is why I tell you to get advice from M_and_M. For me, the pain was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Off the charts and on a totally different scale than anything (and I've had two surgeries, broken my elbow, hyperextended my knee, pulled my groin muscle, etc). I have NO DOUBT that her pain and mine were probably in reality exactly the same / similar. However...it's all about your mindset. Her mindset was better than mine. She had mentally prepared more than I had. You CAN do it. It's just mind over matter.
OH--in reference to McGee it reminded me that even my Bradley Teacher said if you have to get induced--think about just getting the epi because at that point you are putting your body into labor with a drug and not natural so the labor part is much, much more intense in painful.Kind of like--if the pregnancy is fine and labor starts naturally then I believe it is a pain that can be handle but when you add in an intervention then I think you already disrupted the natural process. Not in a bad snotty judgemental kind of way but just my opinion kind of way.
Lilrunner---ha! my first triathlon I spent a whole lot of time talking to God about why it was a bad idea for me to do it and it I was never going to make it. This was during a mini tri and I started in the 30's wave and was passed by a woman with a 56 on her leg. I was so depressed that a Grandma passed me. Of course that my my sign from God to then use her as my goal for that age---to totally kick butt and make younger people (my kiddos) inspired.
Ironically in reading all of these--pushing was so much harder for me than the labor part. I think it was also the one area that I had not prepared for. I was so focused on how to make it 10cm that after that I was like--whatever. Then pushing was hard because I started listening to my doctor tell me when which of course is going to be off track from when your body wants you to push (you will always feel it before the machine can track it) so after I remembered I needed to control--the baby was out in 20 minutes.
LOL! Oh yeah, I never said it felt good!
but, like I said all I felt was pressure no pain.
I was induced and I had planned all along to get an epi. I applaud anyone who goes med-free or even attempts it. I just knew I wanted to be relaxed and try to enjoy evey moment of my son's birth and I knew if I was in uncontrolable pain that wouldn't happen.
The woman in the room next to be went med-free and I didn't even hear her scream. LOL I had been having contractions all weekend before I was induced and they were painful, but not too terrible. Once I was on the pit, that was a whole different story. Pit contractions are SO much worse and an entirely different kind of pain, or they were for me anyway. I was only on it for 45 minutes before asking for my epi. They came on SO strong and SO fast. They were every 2 minutes lasting a minute within 20 minutes.
I'm only relaying my pit labor to you because some women even going into labor by themselves have to be put on pit if their contractions aren't doing enough. I'm sure your med-free birth classes will cover this, but I just wanted to throw in my expirence.
I'm not telling you to get an epi- by any means- but it was great for me. I starting having a TON of anxiety when Dr broke my water and there was tons of thick meconium in it. He relayed all the complications that could arise and even though most are rare, it still really freaked me out. The epi has no narcotics, but it seriously made me so relaxed, all I wanted to do was close my eyes and lay there, and that's pretty much what I did. It was great and I was still anxious, but relaxed and my bp didn't get any higher.
My epi didn't hurt a single bit. The numbing shot felt like an ant bite, then I felt nothing- not a single thing. So, they don't have to hurt at all, and if they're done right they shouldn't. I still felt touch, I could still feel and move my legs, I could still feel contractions, just without the pain. It didn't slow my labor a bit and I had no problems knowing how to push- I only pushed for 44 minutes.
So, I know you were asking about med-free births, and I gave you my epi birth, but I know going into it the more expirences I read either way, the better it made me feel about the decision I was going to make.
This helps a lot
I think of my runs (or now my walks!) as time I can spend conversing with God...so I'm sure I could carry that over into labor.
Bride and McGee - thank you so much for your experiences with the epi! I'm going to go into it with the mindset that I'm going to do it med-free, but that getting the epi is not a failure. It's just plan B. It's nice to hear about your experiences with it because it makes it not the "bad guy" in my head - if that makes any sense at all.
All of you ladies are awesome!!
The way I looked at it was that I'd prepare to go totally med-free, and if I needed meds because I'd exhausted all my other pain-relief options, then I'd get them.
My water broke and I didn't start regular contractions. About five hours after my water breaking and no real labor progress, my doctor advised me that she wanted to augment my labor with a Pitocin drip. She said at that point that I might want to consider an epidural very seriously because of the intense effects of Pitocin, but she also said it was totally up to me.
I decided that I'd go as long as I could without asking for the epidural, and my husband and the nurses were just fantastically supportive and encouraging. I won't lie -- the Pitocin was not fun -- but I didn't ask for the epidural until I was absolutely exhausted and knew I needed some relief from the Pitocin if I was going to make it through pushing. By the time they got the epidural in, I was already through transition and fully dilated, so I had the epidural in while I labored down for an hour and then pushed for 45 minutes. The whole time, I didn't scream, I didn't cuss, I didn't throw things at DH; I just got very inwardly focused. I did a lot of praying and conscious relaxing into the contractions, and the prayer really did help!
I just feel like if you plan a med-free birth, you're giving yourself more options for pain management. Good luck for a happy delivery!