Obviously just one person's opinion but... my uncle is an anesthesiologist and he's told me that he wouldn't recommend an epi so long as the mother was comfortable going without. He said almost all of them go right, but when they wrong it can be really rough and just draw out an otherwise uncomplicated labor.
A friend of mine just had a baby by c-section 3 months ago and hers traveled up her spine and she couldn't breathe and because everyone was so focused on delivering the baby, no one noticed that she was having breathing difficulties except her friend who was by her side. IDK where the anesthesiologist was.
That happened to my exSIL too. She was so terrified and she went all natural after that! Some people only get numb on one side of their body. Craziness. That's why I'm hoping to opt out.
I'm TERRIFIED of needles so I'm going to attempt mostly natural. I don't mind some lighter pain meds but I don't even want an IV if possible. I have read that some places use laughing gas to help take the edge off and I am extremely interested in that if I can talk the hospital into it. Has anyone else used nitrous oxide? I also want to labor at home for as long as possible and then labor in water at the hospital until it's time to push. I'm hiring a doula too to help with my plan. I have a high tolerance for pain so I'm hoping that will help me sick to the plan. I also plan on doing delayed cord clamping and no eye ointment. I'm still considering some of the other stuff.
Alright... I've seen two of you now say no eye ointment. Why?
No snark, honest question.
I'm just trying to avoid anything unnecessary. From my understanding, the eye ointment is used to prevent blindness from infections the mother has like chlamydia or gonorrhea. I am certain that I have neither and am not at risk to get either. I don't think the ointment is harmful for the most part but I just want to stick to only the completely necessary stuff.
I'm being induced and I may end up with a c-section. I'm high risk and I want an epidural. My birth plan is a piece of paper saying: No Episiotomy. No Cytotech. No calling me girl at all because I find it offensive. That's it. I think all births are brave regardless of how you birth your baby.
This is such a helpful thread. I have already learned alot about birth plans and what I need to research more.
This is my first baby, although I know birth plans are just that.. a plan. They will changed based on the situation at hand with me and the baby. I am scared of needles but will do what I need to take care of myself and baby. I would like to try a non-medicated delivery. However, I will be first to admit that I dont have a high tolerance for pain.
Here are a few things I am thinking:
~ non medicated if I am able, if not vaginal with epi! ( pray I dont pass out )
~ no episiotomy
~ no forceps ( a friend of mine had complications after they scratched the walls inside her vagina and caused a hematomia She had to have surgery to remove it. Very scary!)
~ I would like for the delayed cord clamping. ( I would love more information about this,from what I have read so far it seems like a good idea)
My hope last time was to have an unmedicated birth. I ended up with an epidural and then a c-section but I am thankful I had my "dream" birth plan written down. Even though many things did not work out, some things went as planned. My husband got immediate skin to skin (which is not common during a c-section) but I specifically said I wanted that if I ended up with a c section. We did delayed cord clamping and did not have the eye ointment administered.
My midwife this time around asks for wishes and both goals to be written down so they can review it before.
I'm just so used to life not going how I "plan" so I'm just going with the flow. I don't intend to get an epi. However I'm dealing with back pain now and if I have back labor, I will go for the epi. Just can't deal with any more back pain! I'd also like delayed chord clamping and immediate skin to skin like others. My one hope above all hopes is I can have a VBAC because c sections really suck IMO. But if I have to have a section, I'm prepared for that too.
I got an epi last time and may do so again. I fell asleep for a bit. I think I'll ask for it low dose bcz last time I couldn't feel my legs for hours after. I wasn't a fan of that since they wanted to push me to get up and walk to the bathroom.
Going with the flow..my first two deliveries were very fast. The second was too fast for an epidural. I will probably go without the epidural again this time. Skin to skin and breastfeeding immediately, but that's what my hospital does anyway.
Mom to Benjamin 6/2011 and Lena 5/2013; baby 3 on the way
We have no birth plan as my midwife is all about letting me do my own thing. I'm working on a transfer plan in case of emergency though if I'm under distress and need my midwife or my husband advocate for me. We won't be doing eye ointment either. It's unnecessary for std free women. I know my husband has no time to catch an std and I know I'm not at risk so why put an ointment only necessary in those cases in my newborns eyes?
I planned to do natural with ds and I couldn't take it. I just assume I'll get another epidural. Mostly I plan to not think about delivery much until I have to. Then I start thinking about things going wrong and get freaked out!
I plan to have a healthy baby. That's about it. I'll prob get an epi. But i don't have a birth plan. I plan to be educated about my options, but I prefer not to have any expectations on how it will go. I don't want to be distracted by whether or not I can follow a set plan and not be able to just enjoy the amazing moment of meeting my baby.
Last time I didn't really even do a birth plan. I'm pretty go with the flow and just took it as it came. I ended up going for the epi last time but I progressed so fast they didn't realize I was almost 10 cm when they placed it and it didn't take anyway. So I know I can do it without which is motivation. Next time I either would like to try it without the epi or get it wayyyy earlier. My midwife said that next time the epi might not work for me either since they tried three times and couldn't get it. So we will see what happens.
I am culturally biased. From a country (the Netherlands) where a third of babies are born at home. My mother in law actually delivered all her seven kids at home. Low c-section rate. Most couples go home a few hours after birth. Low intervention rate. I guess it's called natural.
Now I'm here I was first a bit afraid, hearing about the high c-section rate and doctors are afraid of litigation, more risk-averse behaviour. Last week I spoke to my doctor planning to look her in the eye when I brought up the idea about not getting an epi and wanting to walk around during labour. I don't want to be viewed as some sort of cave woman and I want the doctor to be ok with everything. she was very reassuring told me about the options, and all different ways women give birth (Americans like to customize their births just as much as their meals in restaurants haha) and even gave me a few phone nrs of doula's.
Now i'm reading more, especially about epidural, I am more nuanced. It seems that women with epi seem to be more relaxed, better rested after birth (which may be extra important because I only get 6 weeks leave , and also better rested during labour to push, and juse generally have less agony. And it doesn't affect the baby. Downsides: you are suddenly a real patient, with a catheter and possibly an iv with pitocin and nor being able to walk or to take different positions such as squatting during labour, or walk to pee or hold your baby. At least that's what I understood so far. (Correct me if I'm wrong)
Now I think i'll just see what happens. Hire a doula to help me (also postpartum which I fins equally important), and if it's progressing well then I may do without, otherwise I could always still get it. Most importantly I trust the doctors and anesthesiologists and nurses a lot, that they have my best interest at heart and know way more about labour than I do. So I leave it up to them and just try to stay healthy and do everything to avoid c-section.
Oh by the way, I am certainly getting some yoga or meditation or other lessons to help me breathe and relax and maybe (hopefully) help the labour progress better... I think that that may be very helpful.
My very vague plan so far is to have an epi, but try to wait as long as possible (ideally like, 6-7 centimeters? - no idea I'm a FTM.) Anyway, and then get one at that point. If I am somehow doing awesome with the pain at that juncture, maybe I'll just keep going without the epidural, but I doubt it.
Other than that, I want a vaginal birth, if possible, but more than anything I want a healthy baby and a healthy me at the other end, so I'm flexible with however that needs to come about.
My friend who is most devoted to natural labor (and all things natural, really) ended up, to her surprise, getting an epidural for her third baby because she had back labor and was shaking so hard from the pain she was practically convulsing. So I am keeping an open mind!
I definitely want an epi as soon as possible. I went into my first with idea that I would wait and see how it went but I waited too long and by the time I really wanted one I had to wait an hour for the anesthesiologist to get back to me. I am scared about the labor going too fast and not having time for an epi. Other plans, skin to skin immediately, and attempting to breast feed right away.
I didn't write a birth plan with my first, I had a general idea and my doctor had the same beliefs as I. When I arrived at L&D the admitting nurse asked me if I had a birth plan and when I said I didn't have a written plan I feel she didn't take me seriously. I think she also judged my appearance and thought that I was a young girl who wasn't really in labor. She took forever just to check my cervix, when she did she gasped and said omg, you are at a 5, you are having this baby today. That finally shut her up and got me admitted. Luckily the rest of the nurses were excellent.
Feb 2016 Siggy Challenge, Favorite Thing About Fall
@DrillSergeantCat It isn't necessary in my case. It is used to prevent the transmission of STDs to baby's eyes in the birth canal, which can lead to blindness. While I think it's a great public health development and I don't disagree with routine administration, it is not the right choice for us because it is an unnecessary antibiotic.
Re: Eye ointment, this was given to my son and will be given to future babies as well. While the risk of infection and blindness is rare (3/1000) the risks of the eye ointment are minimal, (temporary blurriness of vision, irritation). I choose these side effects on the extreme off chance that the baby gets an infection during childbirth.
Feb 2016 Siggy Challenge, Favorite Thing About Fall
I'm opting for a scheduled c-section. I don't know if I'll change my mind, but my mom and aunts have me convinced that it's a perfectly acceptable decision. I assumed that I would feel differently in my second trimester, but no. Still sticking to my original plan.
My plan is to take each moment as it comes and be as active as possible, although I'm hoping for a vbac so will probably have to be monitored at some point. Baby will have to come out one way or another
My birth plan is "get it out of me and give me every drug on the menu" numb me up and push on my belly till it pops out...seen it in the movies, totally realistic goal
@MamaFroFro I thought the RCS was 1000X times better than the first unplanned. You know exactly what to expect and everything was so much more relaxed.
MMC Aug 2010 DS1 Jan 2012 DS2 July 2013 DS3 February 2016
Praying for a VBAC this time (one of the OBs in my practice said she'll only let me go a day or 2 past 40 weeks before making me to a csection. I'm going to do my best to sweet talk the other OBs and midwives into agreeing to a better schedule). I'll probably labor naturally for a while and use the amazing laboring tub that my hospital has. I'll likely end up with an epidural at some point later on in labor.
Backstory: My original birth plan last time was all natural, no drugs, skin-to-skin and breastfeeding immediately after delivery. Hypnobirthing.
This is how it really went down: Admitted to hospital after 36 week appt for no amniotic fluid. Foley bulb overnight brought me to 3cm dilated. Induced at 7am. By 10am, reached 5cm dilated. That's where I stalled. Contractions from ~8/9am to midnight. maxed out the Pitocin. The nurses tried everything to keep me from needing a C-section. Narcotics, check. Epidural, check. Turn off Pitocin, wait a half hour and then crank it up to the highest amount and turn it back on, check. At 12:01am, my baby boy was born by cesarean. I was so drugged out from the narcotics that I have little recollection of the first 5 hours of my son's life. I was in and out of consciousness in the operating room to the point where my husband thought I was dead and was terrified.
I would really like to experience the birth of this baby a little better. The silver lining of the story is that even after all of that trauma and my baby being formula fed his first meals, he learned to latch very easily and was great at breastfeeding. The recovery wasn't as bad as I expected it to be and I was up and walking by that afternoon.
My plan is to take each moment as it comes and be as active as possible, although I'm hoping for a vbac so will probably have to be monitored at some point. Baby will have to come out one way or another
Does your hospital offer remote monitoring? My hospital has these cool monitoring devices that strap on and wirelessly transmit to the monitor. They're even waterproof so I could use them in the laboring tub.
I don't have a plan yet, but every time I start to discuss it, my husband says "YOU ARE GETTING THE DRUGS!" I have a very low pain tolerance!
I do want to avoid a c-section if possible, but I realize I may have to have one. Honestly, the only thing I have planned is that I don't want anyone from my family of my husband's family in the hospital with me. Just the two of us. I don't want to induce labor, but I'm also nervous about the time of year we are due--the roads could be very bad in Chicago on February 24th!
Due Date: Feb. 24, 2016
Team--Pink (but our nursery is Orange, Blue, & Purple!)
Feb 2016 September Siggy Challenge: Things I Love About Fall--Pumpkins!
I'm not against an epi at all, as I had one with my first. It wasn't the plan but after 23 hours of laboring alone (hubs was deployed) I was emotionally done. I didn't feel the injection at all and I'm terrified of needles. It was definitely needed. The reason I'm going to a midwife this time is I feel like the epidural made if harder for me to push so I pushed almost two hours which cause complications and the OB ended up using the vacuum and that caused my daughter to have two hematomas which put her at risk for jaundice. She also was in the canal too long and pooped so she had a fever. Once the epidural wore off I was able to push her out relatively easy. But since the damage had been done i didn't see my daughter for hours. I've had back pain in that spot ever since and DD just turned two. That's not everyone's experience and it usually goes very smoothly. But due to my My experience combined with the back pain and the poor reviews of OBs in my area, I oppted for a natural birth. I feel like, for me personally, this particular midwife, her birthing center and water birth are my best chance for a natural, med free delivery.
I am scared to death of epidurals so I'll probably go the unmedicated route again. I do want to wait to cut the cord until the blood from the cord has all emptied into baby, though.
This is my first baby, so please excuse me if I sound dumb asking these questions but.. Does it bleed a lot of cut too early? Also I was planning on donating my cord blood but would it be better to wait until it goes fully into the baby instead? Is that even an option? Our OB is constantly full since we live on a huge base and I don't really get the time to ask these questions.
I am scared to death of epidurals so I'll probably go the unmedicated route again. I do want to wait to cut the cord until the blood from the cord has all emptied into baby, though.
This is my first baby, so please excuse me if I sound dumb asking these questions but..
Does it bleed a lot of cut too early?
Also I was planning on donating my cord blood but would it be better to wait until it goes fully into the baby instead? Is that even an option? Our OB is constantly full since we live on a huge base and I don't really get the time to ask these questions.
They clamp it so it doesn't bleed a lot, but there's still a lot of blood in the placenta and cord that hasn't made it to the baby yet. Allowing the cord to stop beating helps to prevent the baby from becoming anemic. You can bank your cord blood, I'm not sure about donating it, though.
I'm going to be brave and choose major abdominal surgery. This will be my 3rd C/S.
Are you awake during it? Or can you opt to be out asleep? My mom had to be awake during hers and I remember my dad saying he looked too quickly because she was talking and her intestines were just chilling on the table next to her. I'm horrified that I'll be awake and move and then just ahh! But I really want to have a c-section. I have PCOS and am lucky I even got pregnant but the strain of pushing the baby out will likely cause my cysts to rupture. My doctor said a c section is smart but I'm nervous because of my dad!
Re: Birth Plans..
That happened to my exSIL too. She was so terrified and she went all natural after that! Some people only get numb on one side of their body. Craziness. That's why I'm hoping to opt out.
No Episiotomy.
No Cytotech.
No calling me girl at all because I find it offensive.
That's it.
I think all births are brave regardless of how you birth your baby.
My midwife this time around asks for wishes and both goals to be written down so they can review it before.
Mom to Benjamin 6/2011 and Lena 5/2013; baby 3 on the way
Married since 8/7/10
Now I'm here I was first a bit afraid, hearing about the high c-section rate and doctors are afraid of litigation, more risk-averse behaviour. Last week I spoke to my doctor planning to look her in the eye when I brought up the idea about not getting an epi and wanting to walk around during labour. I don't want to be viewed as some sort of cave woman and I want the doctor to be ok with everything. she was very reassuring told me about the options, and all different ways women give birth (Americans like to customize their births just as much as their meals in restaurants haha) and even gave me a few phone nrs of doula's.
Now i'm reading more, especially about epidural, I am more nuanced. It seems that women with epi seem to be more relaxed, better rested after birth (which may be extra important because I only get 6 weeks leave
Now I think i'll just see what happens. Hire a doula to help me (also postpartum which I fins equally important), and if it's progressing well then I may do without, otherwise I could always still get it. Most importantly I trust the doctors and anesthesiologists and nurses a lot, that they have my best interest at heart and know way more about labour than I do. So I leave it up to them and just try to stay healthy and do everything to avoid c-section.
Feb 2016 Siggy Challenge, Favorite Thing About Fall
Feb 2016 Siggy Challenge, Favorite Thing About Fall
I assumed that I would feel differently in my second trimester, but no. Still sticking to my original plan.
DS1 Jan 2012
DS2 July 2013
DS3 February 2016
Make a pregnancy ticker
DS1 Jan 2012
DS2 July 2013
DS3 February 2016
Praying for a VBAC this time (one of the OBs in my practice said she'll only let me go a day or 2 past 40 weeks before making me to a csection. I'm going to do my best to sweet talk the other OBs and midwives into agreeing to a better schedule). I'll probably labor naturally for a while and use the amazing laboring tub that my hospital has. I'll likely end up with an epidural at some point later on in labor.
Backstory:
My original birth plan last time was all natural, no drugs, skin-to-skin and breastfeeding immediately after delivery. Hypnobirthing.
This is how it really went down:
Admitted to hospital after 36 week appt for no amniotic fluid. Foley bulb overnight brought me to 3cm dilated. Induced at 7am. By 10am, reached 5cm dilated. That's where I stalled. Contractions from ~8/9am to midnight. maxed out the Pitocin. The nurses tried everything to keep me from needing a C-section. Narcotics, check. Epidural, check. Turn off Pitocin, wait a half hour and then crank it up to the highest amount and turn it back on, check. At 12:01am, my baby boy was born by cesarean. I was so drugged out from the narcotics that I have little recollection of the first 5 hours of my son's life. I was in and out of consciousness in the operating room to the point where my husband thought I was dead and was terrified.
I would really like to experience the birth of this baby a little better. The silver lining of the story is that even after all of that trauma and my baby being formula fed his first meals, he learned to latch very easily and was great at breastfeeding. The recovery wasn't as bad as I expected it to be and I was up and walking by that afternoon.
Baby F.......02/02/2016
Feb16 August Siggy Challenge
Favorite TV Mom
Does it bleed a lot of cut too early?
Also I was planning on donating my cord blood but would it be better to wait until it goes fully into the baby instead? Is that even an option? Our OB is constantly full since we live on a huge base and I don't really get the time to ask these questions.