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Birth Stories
star173
member
My Story- would you call it natural??
star173
member
I enjoyed reading birth stories so much, and I really wanted to document mine for later on, so be prepared...this is a long one. I kept track of what was going on and all the times. Enjoy!
I woke up at 6:15am on Thursday, October 2nd. Being so pregnant, I headed straight for the bathroom, only my pee beat me to the toilet..or so I thought. I figured this was the part of pregnancy no one talked about too much (except maybe on the nest). Then, stuff just kept on coming out...every time I moved or got up. I thought it could be my water leaking, but that happens so rarely, and I still had 3 weeks to go. When it didn't stop leaking, I figured I should call L&D. They said come in to get checked. I got permission to shower (thank GOD!!), and had Luis finish packing the bag. On our way there, Luis kept saying, "We're going to have a baby today!" and I kept saying, "I won't believe it until the doctor tells me. I think I'm just peeing on myself." to which he replied, "No one has that much pee!" Anyway, I digress..
At 8:30am, the doctor planned to do that test to see if it's your water or not, but she looked in there and said, "Yep, my friend, you're ruptured. I'm not even going to do the test." I still didn't believe it, by the way. They said I was 2cm and 60% effaced and that they'd admit me and start pitocin. Since I planned on natural birth, I asked if we could have a couple hours to see if things would pick up on their own. They agreed, which was great. I couldn't walk around much (due to risk of cord prolapse they said), but I was free to just labor on my own. Luis was attempting this acupressure stuff I printed out. I was checked again at 11:30am, and I progressed to 3cm, 70%, but the baby was still really high and the docs wanted to start pitocin. I agreed to the lowest setting (1), and they said they'd check me in 2 hours. At 1:30 I was almost 4cm, baby still high, pitocin level going up a bit. Every hour or so, they increased the pitocin by one or two, and the contractions started getting more intense. I was able to talk through them all afternoon though. 5:30 I got checked again- 5cm, baby still high, more pitocin..more frequent (but still bearable) contractions. Around 8:00, I'd say I was really in "active" labor. This would've been when I went to the hospital had my water not broken. Still though, as of my last check at 8:30, I was only 5cm and the baby hadn't moved down much. I started to see my birth plan unravel, but I knew it would be okay, and that the baby's health was most important. They increased the pitocin, but I don't remember what number it was. I had to breathe through all the contractions now, which were about 2-3 minutes apart. My husband and the nurse, Celeste, were absolutely WONDERFUL. I wouldn't have made it through without them. I was supposed to get checked between 10 and 10:30 for progress and to see what was next, since it had been so long since my water broke.
Well, at 9:15 or so, I wanted to give up. Luis said to wait until they checked me. I agreed....then 9;45 rolled around and I said, "I can't do it anymore. I am tired, I need a break, I want the epidural. I can't do this all night" The contractions were 1-2 minutes apart and sometimes they "coupled", (one contraction on top of the other). The anesthesiologist came right in, and I asked him for the lowest amount of meds he could give me. He said okay and we'd adjust it as needed. He seemed convinced I'd be asking for more medicine soon after. By 10:05 the epi was in place. I could still feel my contractions, but they were like my 5:30 contractions. She (Celeste) said I'd get a catheter in about 30 minutes once the epi really kicked in and I was more numb..at this point I could still feel my legs and all. I never did get that catheter. Here's the crazy part...
10:20...major urge to push. I told the nurses (I probably sounded like Satan) "I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO PUSH!!" The nurses told me not to push because I needed a doctor to deliver the baby, I told them- "Get a doctor because I'm pushing!!!!" Apparently, I was fully dilated and ready. Well, the epi did NOT have time to kick in, and I felt everything...except maybe the full strength of the contractions. I could feel the pushing, and at one point I screamed this bloodcurdling scream that I didn't even recognize- the doctor said, "That's the ring of fire! You're almost done." I pushed for a total of 20 minutes and at 10:40pm, she was born. It was amazing. I'm so glad I could still feel everything, even though it hurt. I couldn't really see what was going on, but Luis said the cord was wrapped around her neck 3 times and she swallowed a lot of amniotic fluid. They had to do something (I was busy getting my 2nd degree tear stitched to see) to clear out her stomach and she had a little trouble breathing. They took her to the nursery to be monitored, and everything was fine after a bit, thank God. She's perfect. She weighed 6lbs 15oz (my exact birth weight) and is 19 inches long.
I couldn't be happier with the way the birth went. While I did end up getting the epidural, it didn't work. I still felt every single inch of her being born, and I needed 3 shots of local in order to get stitched up. I also wonder if I was that far along when I got the epi, or if that is what helped her come so fast? Either way, I'm elated with motherhood. Nursing is hard work, but totally worth it. I don't know what else I can say. Praise God for our little blessing, Kadence Evelyn.
Some people in my life say I did have a natural birth, but I'm not sure. I feel like when I got the Pitocin it was no longer natural (drug free). What would you say? I'm not about to post the "I went natural" badge in my siggy, that's for sure.
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Re: My Story- would you call it natural??
Congratulations on your birth.
Re your question - I think the term natural is a) misunderstood and b) irrelevant.
Unmedicated is what people usually mean, and I guess you weren't unmedicated though you could definitely say you had no pain meds. Now I personally think that is nuts but you're welcome if you want that.
Birth is natural. Doesn't matter how it happens. If you want to split hairs you can say anything other than a c section is natural, any vag birth is natural. TAKING PAIN MEDS IS NATURAL! Trust me, ask any woman from 200 or 2000 years ago would she take a med with the profile of the current epidurals and I guarantee she would jump at it. If that doesn't make it "natural" what does?
Besides all that whatever the definition of natural it is irrelevant if you end up with a healthy baby.
So I'd say you probably didn't "go natural" by some definitions, but who cares? And their definition is not correct anyway.?
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No, it wasn't a natural birth, but it sounds like you had an amazing birth nonetheless.?
Badges are stupid. ?You don't need to justify your experience. ?;)?
Congrats! Re: would you call it natural:
No,but you did your best, you have a beautiful healthy baby, and next time you'll be better prepared to have a natural birth (refuse, refuse, refuse...)
Star, I think only you can decide if it was natural, or more importantly, if it was the birth experience you had wanted all along--not planned, but wanted. Regardless, I enjoyed reading your experience, especially the way you described your voice and your screaming! (I could relate.) Congratulations on your beautiful little girl.
I would like to post a question, since you have obviously been there (or to anyone else that has), I would really like to go natural when I deliver, but am afraid the pain will be just unbearable. Plus, I also have a fear of not wanting to have sex after doing natural childbirth. Any thoughts? Was the pain out of this world? How did you get through it?
AJ - I was without pain relief for several hours. IT was the worst pain ever in my entire life and I've had my brain squashed by a spinal fluid leak so badly that I blacked out plus 30 major surgeries. You can do it because you can literally (if you need to) tape your mouth shut so that you can't ask for the epi. But why you would is another matter. It is worse pain than you can possibly imagine. There is no need to go through that when epis are as safe as getting an IV these days!
As for sex, you have to wait 6 weeks anyway. We were climbing the walls by that point and it was fine.?
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AJ - you could consider looking into a doula for pain management in addition to any other interventions you might consider. My experience with doulas has been SO positive. They take care of you throughout your labor experience and help you find ways to manage the pain and to feel emotionally supported so that you can be mentally and physically strong during birth. Depending on your mental dedication to going natural, you can learn to embrace the contractions and manage them mentally and physically at the same time if you choose not to get an epidural. If you choose to embrace pain mentally, it can feel less like "suffering" and more like just "pain". Not that it's easy, but you won't suffer. Your body won't allow you to as long as you can mentally relax into the contractions. You should follow your instincts - but the mind-body connection can be incredibly strong!
I ENJOYED THIS BIRTH STORY VERY MUCH. Star you should be VERY proud of your experience regardless of what others would judge it as being "natural" or "unnatural." It was YOUR birth and you should be proud of how well you handled everything! Congratulations on your pretty baby girl.
God that was the biggest load of nonsense I've read for a while. Pain not suffering? You clearly haven't suffered enough pain to know what pain is. What drugs were you on? LSD?
Crazy talk. Birth hurts like hell. Until the epidural. ?Then it is bliss. If you're scared of the epidural you can survive birth without it of course, but to call it less than utter agonizing suffering is just delusional.?