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Natural Birth
cbrookegrow
member
Intro and question (Long)
cbrookegrow
member
Hello! My name is Brooke and my DH and I are expecting our first baby (a boy!) in September. A little background on my feelings toward labor and delivery: before I got pregnant I was terrified of having a baby. Well, once I got pregnant those fears actually stopped. I tried to focus on the little boy at the end and I haven't had many freakout moments. I always knew I didn't want a c-section or to be induced and those two thoughts have crept up more than the fear of the unknown. In regards to pain medicine, I've always said I'd like to go as long as I can without it, but knowing my ability to handle pain figured I'd get it.
In the past few weeks, though, I've decided I want to go natural. This thought completely took my husband and I by surprise. I picked up some books, have been reading lots of birth stories, watching videos and practicing my breathing learned in Lamaze. Last night we watched "The Business of being Born" and that just solidified my feelings.
I love my Dr, because is more conservative and is pretty laid back. I feel that if I had realized my feelings toward natural birth earlier I might have gone with a practice that had a midwife. Now I feel like its too late to change everything, but I am going to really talk with him at my appointment Thursday about my feelings.
I'm hoping you ladies can give me some advice on questions I need to make sure and ask him. Also, if any of you have any advice of going natural with a regular Dr. I would appreciate your input.
Here are a couple of my concerns:
I don't want to be rushed or put on a clock of how long it should take for LO to arrive, so I'm thinking maybe labor at home for as long as I can. I'm afraid if I am not progressing fast enough they will want to use pitocin and then from there I'll need an epidural.
I don't want to be restricted to just laying in the bed, how lenient are hospitals about fetal monitoring?
Is a birth plan fundamental in making going natural a success?
If you read all of this I appreciate it and any advice you have to offer.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Intro and question (Long)
Also, it is not too late. If you want a midwife, go get yourself a midwife! :-)
Good luck!
Not all OBs are created equal. Not all of them want their patients to get epis, or be induced, or have c-sections. It's possible to have a natural-birth loving, and encouraging, OB. I understand that they can be few and far between, but it doesn't sound like you've talked to your OB at all about wanting to go natural, so I'd really give him a chance if you like him.
Ask him how long he'll let you labor in different situations: if you're stalled at 4cm for x number of hours, what happens? What at about 8 cm? How long do you have from your membranes rupturing until he wants active labor to be happening, and how long until baby has to be delivered until he says c-section? How often does he encourage patients to get epidurals? Without medical cause (like pre-e) how late would he let you go without induction - 41 or 42 weeks? If you need to be induced, would he start with a foley bulb, cervadil, before moving to low-dose pit?
The hospital would be able to tell you about IV/hep lock requirements and fetal monitoring.
I didn't have a birth plan, and I had a natural birth. You need to be educated about interventions to know how to avoid them and when they are necessary, and you and your doc should be on the same page. But if you and your body just labor the way you want and need to labor, it shouldn't be an issue.
All that said, if you're uncomfortable with him, it's not too late to switch.
As others have said - not too late to switch if that's what you want. I changed from OBs to a midwife practice at 32 wks. Good idea to talk to your OB about natural birth and then you can decide whether to stay with him based on his responses.
Certainly ask about getting a hep lock instead of an IV and having intermittent monitoring instead of continuous monitoring to ensure you can move around. Hospitals can have their own policies on these, but having your care provider on board can make a huge difference, especially if you are trying to go against the hospital's normal way of doing things. Also talk to him about when he would want to induce and whether you can wait longer than that if you do fetal non-stress tests instead. Also ask about when he puts patients on the clock and how rigid his ideas of progress are. I would be uncomfortable with being put on a clock or being given pitocin or anything to speed things along without my water being broken. As you seem to know, laboring at home for as long as possible is definitely the route to go. Good luck!
DS, May 2011
I don't want to be rushed or put on a clock of how long it should take for LO to arrive, so I'm thinking maybe labor at home for as long as I can. I'm afraid if I am not progressing fast enough they will want to use pitocin and then from there I'll need an epidural.
This is how I feel as well. My OB stressed to me that if I just want to come in and get checked, I am always free to leave. No one will force me to check into l & d. He reminded me that the most important number is the contractions- not what you are dilated. You can always say no to pit, as long as baby and you are doing fine. I'm going to do the: "Can you give us one more hour?" as in- one more hour to change positions/walk/etc.
I don't want to be restricted to just laying in the bed, how lenient are hospitals about fetal monitoring?
Ask for a hep-lock. They have to put one in, just in case something were to happen and you needed fluids ASAP, but if you are prepared for a natural birth, you should be allowed just the hep-lock, with freedom to move around. If you are low risk, you should be allowed intermitten monitoring, which will allow you to move freely.
Is a birth plan fundamental in making going natural a success?
Not in the least. Preparation is key! If you are prepared and your OB can see that, everyone will take you more seriously. It isn't about, "I want to try to do it naturally" but more about "I am going to do it naturally." My OB knows I have been working hard these past 9 months to get ready mentally and physically for a NB, so he is confident that I can/will do it, granted everything goes well.
** Side note!**
Even though I am planning for a NB, I have to keep an open mind that anything can happen during the labor process. In the end, all I want is a healthy baby. My birth plan is pretty short and to the point, epidural isn't even in my vocabulary anymore, and we are planning on having a doula to help DH with helping me during labor. A great support staff is so important- the more confident you feel the more of a success rate you might have.
Good luck! I'm two weeks from my due date, so I am looking forward to sharing my story will all the NB-ers!
This exactly. With DD, my OB started asking me around 30 weeks what I had thought about birth plan wise. I told him I wanted to go as long as possible with nothing and really hoped for a natural birth, but that I was aware things could change. He was absolutely on board and discussed it with me at every appt after that to make sure that's what I still wanted. HE brought it up an thought it was wonderful this was my plan. Now, when I went into actual labor, and it was horrific back labor, I showed up at the hospital at 9pm after a full 24hrs of laboring at home BEGGING for an epidural. They got me into a room, checked me, (I was dilated 1cm, unbelievable!) and called my OB. The nurse came in and let me know she spoke to my OB and he wanted to remind ome of my birth plan and wanted me to try some different things so that I could stick to that plan. Seriously, my OB was such an advocate for ME! He is amazing. I labored (again, horrific back labor) for 6 hours longer at the hospital until my water broke on it's own and I was dilated to a 3. After being in frequent communication with my OB, my nurse told me I could now get the epidural if wanted but reminded me again that my OB wanted to remind me of breathing and relaxation techniques to try and go with my natural plan. I basically told her to shove it and get the anesthesiologist in there to give me my epidural immediately. Talk to your doc! They are few and far between as poster said, but some of them ARE pro you, your plan, and au natural!
I really hope I can escape back labor and do it naturally this time. I'm going to lurk a lot more over here in those hopes!
1. talk to your husband about what you want so that you have backup and support when you're too exhausted to think clearly
2. talk to your doctor about what to expect in the delivery room and how you would like things to go
3. as soon as you get to the hospital, talk to your nurses about how you would like to handle pain management
I understand the doctor's and nurses point of view. As being organic and natural is the in thing, there are many women who opt for that route only to end up screaming for epidurals when it's too late. They also see husbands or family members bullying the mother into gritting her teeth and bearing it. If you treat them all as members of your team (which they are), it should all go smoothly.
For me personally, I knew I couldn't go with no pain killers. (I hate that word, natural. As if there is something wrong with every other choice). I went to the hospital thrice in early labor and luckily they were able to slow my contractions.
My contractions started off 2 mns apart then were right on top of each other. They were so violent that I threw up until there was nothing in my stomach and I would still be heaving. When I gave birth, we started off with some pain pills that took the edge off. Then we upped those, then IV, then the epidural. Despite my violent contractions, LO took about a day and a half getting here.
I was high risk and couldn't move too far from the bed. If not for the medication, I would not have been able to find that extra effort to push that my OB needed for me to not have a c-section. (Toward the end, I was exhausted and was given oxygen)