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Natural Birth
Any MSP moms considering or gone through a natural birth? I'm fairly certain I would like to have a natural birth at a hospital, and am looking for good classes to take that will help prepare me for the process, and coping through the pain. Any suggestions? I know the hospital offers courses (we are birthing at Abbott), but would love to hear from moms who have taken courses and what other courses you have taken. Was the child prep course sufficient for your natural birth experience? Please explain why if it was or was not. Thank you for your help in advance!
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Re: Natural Birth
Hi! I am going to try for a natural birth, but it's my first child, so we'll see how it goes. I am going to be taking Hypnobabies classes. I have heard good things about them. I think the other most common classes for natural child birth are Bradley classes, but I've heard more mixed reviews about them. I've heard that some Bradley classes have a lot of horror stories about hospitals, and that Hypnobabies classes tend to be more positive. But I'm sure it depends on the class.
Good luck to you!
I did have to be induced, but gave birth pain med free at Methodist. They worked with me to make sure that my wishes to have as few interventions as possible were followed even though I was a high risk pregnancy. While on pitocin I did have to be on IV, but they put me on a rolling one and gave me waterproof, wireless monitors so that I could continue to move around. They had me go through transition in a warm tub to ease the pain.
The only class we took was the one day all in one childbirth and baby care class at Amman. It was fully sufficient for us, but I have had migraines since childhood so I had a lot of pain coping mechanisms. As always, your mileage may vary and you should go with what you feel you need.
I would look into classes at Blooma or BabyLove if you are looking for a med-free birth.
Honestly, I don't think you are going to find as much support at a place like Abbott or United for a med-free birth. The hospitals with the higher level NICUs are used to seeing women with complications and have high c/s rates and I honestly feel that a lot of the nurses are not as prepared to deal with uncomplicated births.
Everyone at Methodist was very supportive of my desires for a med-free VBAC (although I did end up with an epidural after a full day of labor and I believe it helped my body relax so I could continue to dilate after I stalled). But I had a nurse even perform healing touch and it was fabulous.
But like I said, Blooma or BabyLove are going to be your best options for classes. Don't take the hospital classes.
I'm always glad when you post about your Methodist experience since I'll be delivering there this time:)
I disagree with this. I gave birth at Abbott and it was a wonderful experience. When I arrived and was admitted, they asked me what my pain management plan was. I let them know I would was planning a med free birth. They were very supportive of this and did not once offer or push pain medications to me. They were very accommodating with options such use of a birthing ball, birthing tub, shower, etc. I had 2 nurses during my labor and both were excellent. I highly recommend Abbott!
(not that this answers your original question; I just had to comment on it).
Great point about how the point of all the non-pain med and med options allowing women to relax to let their body do what it needs to do to get the baby out. I had a preference for a nonmedicated birth, but decided to keep an open mind to whatever birth scenario I ended up having. After needing cervidil+pitocin, having back labor, and very little sleep the previous two nights, I opted for an epidural which allowed me to take a two hour nap during labor during which I finished dialating. At that point, going med-free was too stressful and slowing me down. My water had broken, so it was important to get the baby out sooner rather than later.
When I was pregnant, I had thought about taking Bradley classes or something like that to help with pain management, but realized there was no guarantee I wouldn't end up with a complication that would require a c-section or other intervention that would make a med-free birth impossible. Personally, I would hate to spend all that time and money focusing on going med-free, and then not be able to use that knowledge.
Ultimately, I think every woman should do what she feels she most wants to do. I know many women go through back labor and/or pitocin unmedicated, and feel good about having done so - and that's great. If we have another child, I'll probably go with the same approach of trying for med-free if my birth situation allows for it, but won't feel too bad if it doesn't happen. I do think though it is wise for women to keep an open mind and not feel like a failure if they prefer to go unmedicated and end up not doing so.