Curious :) ???

Gemz1989 · January 2014

Hi all, this is going to be my first baby and I plan to go natural as in vaginal delivery without an epidural or other injection drugs. At the most I will have gas and air

. Just wondering what all of your experiences have been like in previous labours. How you all coped etc. I'm due 25th February and really looking forward to it

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aylafsu88 · January 2014

My labor was 11 hours long from start to finish. It started with a high rupture and a slow leak of water. Contractions started right away at 10 mintues apart. I had an an anterior placenta and my doula thought my LO was OP as my contractions never established a solid pattern like 5-1-1 etc. I did a lot of laboring on hands and knees in my tub. The water was a huge help with pain and that position was the one I felt most comfortable in. My H and doula also applied counter pressure to my lower back as I had horrible back labor. I stayed at home for most of my labor and went to the hospital when I knew LO was coming. I arrived in transition and my water broke the rest of the way. I was 6 cm and progressed very quickly. In less than 2 hours I was holding LO. For me the worst part was pushing. My LO had a nuchal hand and I ended up with a second degree internal tear. My OB was great and used warm compresses and massage to help avoid a larger tear.

rooftop · January 2014

I had 75 1/2 hours of labor due to poor fetal head position with water breaking around hour 60. It was a long haul but over all very managable. Once I was allowed to start pushing I pushed 8 times and had a beautiful 7lbs 15 oz baby girl via waterbirth. I applied perineal counterpressure myself and had no vaginal tearing. Crowning was the hardest part but it was over within a few minutes.

ETA I used hypnobabies as my coping mechanism as well as sterile water papules to counteract the back labor

sschwege · January 2014

I had two med-free hospital births. I used Hypnobirthing both times and had a great experience. I also had two support people in my room. The first time it was DH and MIL, the second time it was DH and my mom.

My first was 17.5 hours from start to finish. Labored at home for the first 10 hours and arrived at the hospital 6cm dilated. Pushed for an hour with her and had two second degree tears to the side (it happened when her shoulder momentarily got stuck).

My second was 5 hours from start to finish (2-2 1/2 hours of 'real' contractions before it felt like Braxton Hicks). Arrived fully dilated and pushed twice. Had a second degree tear down and a first degree tear up.

Both times it was challenging, but manageable. I think the only part that was bad was the 'ring of fire', but that's over really quick and then you have your baby

For me the key was to keep trying things until I found something that worked. I would spend some time on my hands and knees rocking back and forth, then go to my exercise ball and swirl my hips while sitting on it, DH used tennis balls on my back as counter pressure as well as a warm rice sock, the bath was pure heaven, DH had a big jug of water and would pour it over my stomach during a contraction. That's the big thing is to have a large bag of tricks ready for when the day arrives because you never know what will be helpful and what won't. And what's helping in the beginning might not work at the end. Good luck you are getting really close!

SidraJedi · January 2014

I was due feb 26 last year. Baby came two weeks late. I had acupuncture for three days to induce. Labor lasted 12 hours, LO was 8lb 13oz, 14in head circumference. I had some back labor as LO turned. I had a home birth.

Contractions came hard and almost right on top of each other fairly early on, but I tried to focus on the fact that it was temporary and that relaxing would help to speed things up! I found singing/oming to be helpful. I felt horrible, like I wanted to die, and so tired during labor. I couldn't lay on my back or sit down on anything but the toilet bc it hurt my back and tailbone. Pushing was a relief though the ring if fire hurt pretty bad.

When it was over I had a precious baby girl and a third degree tear and a perforated urethra. I had hemorrhoids for about six months after but other than that the healing was fast. My MW said that I was lucky to have wide birthing hips made for having lots if babies: she didn't know when I had transitioned or was ready to push bc I bore it all pretty well. She claimed that she could always tell when a momma was "ready", but was surprised when she checked me and baby's head was "right there"

The tear might have been better if I pushed for longer but I wanted to be done and to sleep!

mb314 · January 2014

I had a relatively short labor - about 8 - 10 hours. At home, I coped by being in the shower. And once I got to the hospital, my hospital had a labor tub. The tub was amazing for pain management! I don't think I could have done it without it. The time in the car and in the hospital waiting to get into the tub was probably the hardest part of the labor. I never asked for an epidural because I knew that getting one would involve me having to leave the comfort of the tub. Breathing deeply helped too.

I had constant cramping in between contractions from the beginning, so even though I had a relatively short labor, it was intense. I never got a break from pain in between contractions.

The pushing part was not a big deal for me (only pushed for about 20 minutes). It went quickly and I didn't think the pain was that bad then. I did have some tears, but I didn't feel them.

mrsblueeyes · January 2014

I think you're going to do great because you have a wonderful mentality about birth and I love how you said "I'm really looking forward too it"

My labor was 6.5 hours start to finish and I started with contractions every 4 minutes from the beginning which built in intensity and moved to every 2 minutes after a few hours. I labored at home in the tub and used hypnobirthing tracks. I was very relaxed. At the hospital I listened to my tracks some more and then moved into the tub, which was helpful. Transition was tough but short. I never was checked after I came in, so I'm not sure when I was complete and could have started pushing. Instead I had a very impressive fetal ejection reflex an pushed the baby out the second contraction (no control over pushing at that point) 2cd degree tear but I didn't really feel it.

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