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Natural Birth
shutupanddance07
member
New and questions...
shutupanddance07
member
Hi! I have been mostly hanging around my BMB (November 2012!!!), and it was suggested that I check in here and see what you all have to say.
I'm planning a natural delivery in a free standing Birth Center. This is our first child. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about 3 years ago, and my doctor and I decided to try to go med free because my system is so sensitive to medications. SHe referred me to my current birth center, DH and I made a baby, and now here we are, Trimester 3, and I'm starting to panic a little...
I have always read that the two best ways to ensure an "easy labor" are to stay active and maintain a steady weight gain. I worked in a preschool program until last week, and am now doing almost daily prenatal yoga in addition to my crazy nesting in an attempt to remain active. My steady weight gain has become more like rapid weight gain over the past 6 weeks. I haven't changed my eating habits at all. People usually tell me that I'm "all baby". I'm up 32 lbs at 29 weeks. Yikes.
So here's my question(s), particularly for those who have already had a natural birth:
Did you find that weight gain had any bearing at all on your birth experience?
How bad does it hurt really? Are we talking ten on the pain scale for the entire time, or mostly between a 4 nd a 5, and the really painful part is just those few minutes you're actually delivering? I hear all these scary stories from people who think I'm nuts for not wanting drugs, but I really just want someone to tell me the gods honest truth what to expect so I can be prepared for it...
Thanks 
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Re: New and questions...
1) I put on 60lbs with each pregnancy and I'm pretty sure that and my poor fitness levels had no impact on my deliveries. I had two "easy" natural births with both.
I think what has a bigger impact is how long you labour for and the exhaustion that can create.
2) I think the pain is one of those things that it's almost impossible to explain. It's so particular to each person. For me the worst part is transition. That's the part where I start to think I'm dying and I can't possibly do this. Actually I always think, "I can handle this but I can't do MORE than this and it's clearly going to get worse" It never does.
The good thing is that once you hit transition the finish line is in sight.
I also hate the stinging of the baby crowning because I'm always convinced I will tear badly. I never have.
FWIW I love giving birth. yes it's hard work, and exhausting, but so is climbing a mountain, and people still do that too. DD1 was 10minutes old and I turned to DH and said, "let's have another one"
I go into childbirth thinking it's just an amazing thing to experience, and if it really is awful then it's just one day out of my life.
Good luck with your approaching birth. The ladies here are super helpful and supportive.
Elizabeth 5yrs old Jane 3yrs old
I have one word: endorphins. Endorphins are the natural painkiller your body makes. With my first birth I had pit and stadol. My second birth was 100% med-free. I remember when the endorphins hit my system during my second birth. I like it much better than the stadol I got at my first.
From:
https://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10184#endorphins
"In response to stress and pain, your body produces calming and pain-relieving hormones known as endorphins. The level of this natural opiate substance may rise toward the end of pregnancy. In unmedicated labors, it continues to rise steadily and steeply through the birth of the baby. (Most studies have found a sharp drop in endorphin levels with use of epidural or opioid pain medication.) High endorphin levels during labor and birth can produce an altered state of consciousness that can help you flow with the process, even if it is long and challenging. Despite the hard work of labor and birth, high endorphin levels can make you feel alert, attentive, and even euphoric after birth, as you begin to get to know and care for your baby. In this early, postpartum period, endorphins are believed to play a role in strengthening the mother-infant relationship. A drop in endorphin levels at this time may contribute to the "blues" that many women experience after birth."
Birth is safe as life gets - Harriette Hartigan
I gained 27 pounds with my first. 16 hour uncomplicated labour, until he got stuck due to poor positioning on his part. c-section after three hours of pushing.
I stopped tracking my weight gain with my second when I was up 40 pounds at 30-ish weeks. I had a very fast and uncomplicated labour and delivery, two hours from first contraction to birth.
Pain can vary. My first was painful, yes, but pretty much always manageable, as long as I had the right support and the right mindset. The biggest thing for me was keeping calm and maintaining an "I can do this/I am working with my body" mindset. As soon as I lost that (after the decision was made to have a c-section but before getting on the OR table) it was horrible. If you can find a place where you kind of go into your body mentally, you can do it.
With my second, the very fast labour didn't give me any chance to get into that mindset. The contractions were very painful from the get-go and no matter how much I tried to psych myself up between contractions, the moment the next one hit I was buckling at the knees and screaming. I blame that on the fast pace of the labour, with no early labour to help my body ease into it. There was no progression- it was BAM! transition and it sucked. Thankfully it was short, is all I can say. Every time I remember that birth, though, I remember the feeling of futility. I was berating myself so much, I felt so disappointed or like a failure or something. Here I was planning a homebirth and I was shrieking like a banshee with the first contractions. I kept telling myself to get a hold of myself and do this and I just didn't feel like I could. In hindsight I was obviously much further along than I thought I was- since I was in labour for 16 hours with DS1 I figured I still had hours and hours to go and couldn't figure out why I was handling it so poorly, but I'm sure now that I started labour pretty much in transition. It also didn't help that I was basically alone for my whole pre-pushing labour- my husband was getting my son ready to be picked up and I started pushing shortly after he left. So yeah. Again- support and a positive mindset are vital.
ETA: and, like someone said above, endorphins help. With my first, I think the endorphin rush is that "go inside your body" feeling I described. With my second, I don't think there was any time for them to kick in.
I gained a total of 40 lbs during pregnancy. That was alittle more than I wanted but I had a healthy BMI and was 138 lbs pre-pregnancy. I did not think the extra weight affected my labor and delivery at all. I am a very active person and continued to walk and exercise lightly throughout my entire pregnancy. By staying active and eating healthy I was able to have the strength and stamina I needed during labor. I was never exhausted or out of breath during my labor. Keep in mind everyone gains weight differently during pregnancy, so if you are eating healthy and staying active I would not worry about your weight! One a side note-I gained most of my weight by 30-32 weeks, after that I did not gain much because there was so much baby and not enough room for as much food, so I ended up snacking alot and never at big meals at the end of my pregnancy.
For me the pain of labor and delivery were very different. I was able to handle the contractions pretty easily but I made sure to get into comfortable positions and have my doula and DH help me during contractions. Initially they were not very bad but as they intensified and got closer together they hurt, but it was not excruciating pain (like an 8 on the 1-10 pain scale). Be sure to use positions that make you feel comfortable during labor like walking, leaning on a wall, sitting on the toilet, squatting, hands and knees ect. This will help ease your pain and help you with the contractions. For me I leaned on the wall during my early contractions and had my DH rub my back (I had intense back labor). This helped with the pain. As the contractions intensified I went into the tub and was on hands and knees and had my DH and doula pour hot water over my back. These two positions helped me cope with the pain.The worst part for me was second stage. The pressure of my LO in the birth canal was intense. I was not really prepared for the amount of pressure I was feeling. I though that was worse than the contractions. When I pushed my LO out I did feel the ring of fire but at that point I did not care! I was so glad to be done and felt relief that my LO was here!
The big thing I did to prepare for my labor and delivery was to psych myself up for it. Everyday I told myself it was going to hurt ALOT and it was going to be painful. It was going to be the hardest thing I every did but the pain and discomfort is only temporary and I could handle the pain. By doing this I was prepared for the pain and it was not overwhelming!
GL I know you can do it!!