I have heard that a lot of hospitals make uterine massage standard practice, but I believe it's been proven that it's not necessary in all/most births. By all means, if there was a bleeding concern, I'd prefer it to happen, but not just as a precaution. I'd rather start with nursing as my first time of defense.
It was done to me post c section, and that was seriously not cool.
_______________________________________________
Me: 33 DH: 32 Married 7/18/15 1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16 Team green turned BLUE! 2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18 Team green turned PINK! Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
Posting without having read anything so I'll go back and catch up after.
I am hoping to go unmedicated this time. It was my plan for DS but thanks to bad back labor and contractions that were on top of each other (even my OB was surprised by how many I was having back to back without a break in between) I ended up getting an epidural. We realized later he was sunny side up for most of labor which caused the back labor and unending contractions. Thankfully he turned himself before it was time to push and I was able to deliver without hitting the button to give me another dose from the epi.
I think I spent too much time reading birth stories and not enough time reading about coping mechanisms and good laboring positions. I'm going to spend more time learning about laboring positions to help ease pain from back labor in case it happens again. Yes the epidural went fine, but women have been birthing babies forever and just because I had a good experience the first time doesn't guarantee I'd have the same experience this time so I would much prefer to give unmedicated a try again.
I have Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. The first half is all birth stories, the second half is tips and suggestions. I loved reading the birth stories, but I only made it through the first half with DS. This time I'm going to start at part 2 and read everything I missed out on the first time.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
Is it common for women to get an ultrasound when they are admitted for birth? I am amazed to see how many women had a sunny side up baby without knowing it! And how hard is it to turn the baby?
@Redpuma119 They usually go off back labor symptoms to tell. They try to position you different ways to get baby to turn. I had a lot of back labor but DS ended up turning into position just in time.
1-Have I imagined things, or is there an option with an epidural to turn it way down? If I do have an induction, and I'm given that painful Pitocin, I'd like that option. 2-Mamas who have gone unmedicated, talk to us about the pain. I know it is different with all labors, but what did it feel like to you?
I was medicated with DS (did not originally plan to be which is why I'm hanging out in this thread), but still have an answer for #1.
1. They placed my epidural with an initial dose. I was given a button that I was allowed to hit every 15 minutes to give me another dose. I hit it twice, all before 1am. I did not hit it again until after I delivered DS just before 9am in order to dull the pain from the few stitches I needed to get. I couldn't get out of bed, but I could feel and move my legs. I don't know if it had completely worn off or not (I'm assuming it had because I could feel the stitches) but when it came time to push, I loved that I could feel exactly what I was doing. I think it really helped with the actual delivery because I knew what my body was doing.
I don't know if this is a common approach to setting up an epidural, but this is the standard approach at my hospital.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
@pourmeamocktail - I am so sorry you went through that. You've mentioned how rough it was in other threads, but it is crazy to hear the whole story. I can't imagine having gone through that!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
Is it common for women to get an ultrasound when they are admitted for birth? I am amazed to see how many women had a sunny side up baby without knowing it! And how hard is it to turn the baby?
I did not have an u/s when I was admitted, but I went into labor on a Monday and at my u/s the previous Friday he was not sunny side up. So at some point over the weekend he rolled and didn't get back in time before contractions started.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
@Redpuma119 I didn’t get an ultrasound at birth either. My last one was at 20 weeks. The doctors told me when he flipped so his head was down based on feeling my belly, but there wasn’t a good way of knowing which way he was facing. It’s just a fun surprise when you go to deliver
Do you plan on having an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Reasons?
I am hoping for an unmedicated birth again. I believe that our bodies are made to do this on their own and that interventions often lead to a cascade of other interventions and often lead to outcomes that are less than ideal. However, I fully understand that some interventions are necessary or just really helpful, and I'm open to the fact that things may change. I like to be prepared with the knowledge for a variety of possibilities, but my preference is strongly for an unmedicated/low intervention birth. I also understand that hospitals can be lifesaving, and the main reason I haven't gone with a birth center is that the one near us isn't that close to a hospital. I want to avoid unnecessary intervention but absolutely want access to it if needed.
Have you had an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Feel free to share your story.
My labor with my daughter was long but very low-intensity at the beginning. I was at home with constant contractions for about 24 hours, which had started but stopped even earlier than that. My contractions were never textbook as far as timing/spacing/duration, but they did what they were supposed to do as far as giving birth. When I went to the hospital they were about 6-7 minutes apart when I sat but about 3-4 minutes apart when I walked around (so I could see a huge benefit in moving for me personally!) I was 5cm dilated when I was checked at L&D, and we were told that our LO was posterior/sunny side up. We walked around the halls for quite a while, and after about 1-1/2 hrs I was over 8cm. My MW broke my water, but then it was several more hours until I got to transition and then started pushing. I was in the shower when I went through transition. I pushed for about 90 minutes, mostly squatting with support from a squat bar they had (and I think rarely used). I do think that my daughter's position probably made things slower than they would have been otherwise.
I was fortunate that I didn't have to fight for any of the main things I wanted. They did intermittent monitoring so I was completely free to move around and try different positions, etc. I had a CNM who was very supportive. We didn't have complications so I didn't have to deal with any scenarios where someone was pushing me towards something I didn't want. That stuff all just comes down to luck or whatever.
I had some excess bleeding after the birth, so they gave me a shot of pitocin. I had very low blood pressure and was super dizzy for a long time, so they ended up giving me methergine as well to contract the uterus and stop the bleeding. I do have a slight bleeding issue, which I didn't know about at the time but was probably related. I will be sure we have a plan to control bleeding in place this time (probably won't be much different from what happened before but I get worried about bleeding out.) This is where I'm fine with medication and intervention.
Like someone else said (sorry, who said what is blurring together right now!), I think labor is more painful if you think of it as painful. There is pain for sure. But - at least in my memory, and maybe it's inaccurate - I remember it being super INTENSE more than super PAINFUL. It required all of my concentration to get through those later contractions. But your body is working towards a goal, and working with it made things so much smoother than fighting the potential pain. There are a lot of extenuating circumstances of course. I'm not saying that all births are beautiful and you're all going to love it, but there's this pop culture idea around it that it's awful and unbearable and I don't think that has to be true.
Any recommended reading/podcast/etc?
I read Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally by Janet Balaskas and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth last time.
On my list this time are Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds by Cynthia Gabriel and Simply Give Birth by Heather Cushman-Dowde.
2/13 Blighted ovum, D&C -- 6/13 MC -- 8/14 DD born -- 3/17 MC -- 9/18 DD2 born Expecting again -- EDD 7/27/20
@Redpuma119 I didn’t have an ultrasound in labor. The last one I had was 2 days earlier at my regular OB appt. DD came out sunny side up and that is way more painful (or so I’ve heard since that’s the only way I’ve done it). They didn’t try to turn her but the OB did reach in and move her arm down which had been up by her ear. Ouch! (The good news is, she won’t remember labor and I love her too much to hold it against her.)
I had hoped for an unmedicated birth last time but had severe pre-eclampsia and a rough induction. This time assuming all goes well and I can do a VBAC I’m hoping to do it unmedicated. My delivery was rough because my kidneys were shutting down and couldn’t filter out the magnesium (for the pre-e), so I was in and out the whole time and don’t remember a lot of her actual birth. I’m hoping this time to just rely on music, explosions in the sky Pandora was perfect last time to relax, and the tub to get me through!
I had my daughter at a free-standing birth center, so no meds. I had my daughter and then my uterus did not contract right away, so I was bleeding. They cut the cord quickly and then gave me a shot of pitocin in the thigh for the bleeding. My placenta also did not detach right away. In my state, the placenta must deliver within an hour of birth or you have to go to the hospital. So I was nursing her and pushing with every contraction. The midwife was putting gentle pressure on the cord and pressed a little on the fundus while I was pushing. But it wasn't very painful at all. I ultimately had to get up and sit on the toilet and push until it delivered, then got back in bed. They did a little massage after that, but not much. Just for a couple minutes and it was not very painful. They did not do it again.
I went home about three hours after she was born. They had me feel my own belly to feel for my uterus. They said after I'd been lying down for awhile or sleeping, my uterus would soften, and I would need to massage it myself until it was firm or I would bleed when I stood up.
So I did it to myself for a day or two. And that wasn't painful either! I didn't have to rub hard. Just give a few presses and deep rubs on my lower abdomen and it firmed right up.
I don't know if my experience was unusual unusual or not.
So I have to give birth at a hospital for other medical reasons. But I have decided no epidural at all. My limbs sometimes fall asleep especially my hands because of carpal tunnel and not being able to feel the lower part of my body woukd make me panic. So to keep my mental state and health in check I decided to avoid an epidural. I'm going to be talking to my doctor about alternative options that are more low impact but might help take the pain a little. I also don't want to do an epidural because my sister ended up with a spinal headache and I've heard of other people having issues afterwards as well. Plus I really don't want that catheter lol I want to be able to get up and use the bathroom myself and I would like to be able to get up and walk around if I want to and not be restricted to the bed because I'm temporarily paralyzed. I also think that my body will respond better if it can feel what is happening to it. So far I have felt every growing pain and change that my body has gone through and I think I adjust a little better because of it. So I don't want to take that away. I'm really looking forward to see how this all turns out. Like I said this is my plan but as we all know plans don't always go accordingly. Perhaps the best I can hope for is to try to avoid a C-section, but I was born via C-section and there's nothing wrong with them. I'm just overweight and it would take longer for me to heal.
@SkilledSailor I stumbled across this study in my research on midwives and birth centers. I found it to be slightly biased, but after reading it I decided I needed to interview the birth centers in my area.
Do you plan on having an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Reasons? I plan on unmedicated, and instead using pain management techniques. We found a LOVELY birth center in our area with a team of midwives (and an OB!) that we were comfortable and confident in their abilities. We've hired a doula as well to help us prep and have some extra support for my boyfriend. I'm open minded about a transfer (for safety reasons) but I'm confident with the support system we have that if we end up in the hospital I'll be able to handle it much better.
Have you had an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Feel free to share your story. My first birth experience was awful from the moment I stepped in the hospital. I wasn't able to manage my anxiety until I was home with my newborn, and I've just recently come to terms with what went on. I understand now labor and birth are natural occurrences and can be treated as with a healthy, low risk pregnancy. I was 20 when my DS was born, and very uneducated. I believe a lot of what went on could have been avoided had I simply educated myself. I had been taken off bed rest (I'd been dilated at 4cm since 32 weeks) just days before my labor started, and my water broke before my contractions started. So I was on the 24hr time limit to deliver before I even figured out what was going on. After 12 hours in the hospital (18 hours after water broke), with constant monitoring and an IV (so pretty much stuck in bed) my labor stalled and they suggested pitocin. After the pitocin was administered my pain levels went from 0-10 with no breaks in between contractions, so I requested an epi and with it came a catheter. My doctor arrived at 7 am, and I gave birth shortly after. It took another couple of hours for the epidural to wear off, and then a couple more hours to feel confident in getting out of bed. This was my first hospitalization, first IV, first hospital experience in general. I was thankful to have my sister with me for some assistance and support, but she was also exhausted after being up with me all night and had her own child to get home too. I realize now things could have been different had I been more aware of how hospitals handle birth (more procedural and preparing for the worst).
Any recommended reading/podcast/etc? I haven't found any worth recommending yet besides the study mentioned above. My doula sent me a recommended reading list and I haven't gotten around to it yet. Just educate, educate, educate. Again, I believe so much of my first experience could have been avoided and managed better by myself had I been more informed.
Is it common for women to get an ultrasound when they are admitted for birth? I am amazed to see how many women had a sunny side up baby without knowing it! And how hard is it to turn the baby?
I don't know how common ultrasounds are, but from what I can understand, you can tell by your labor if your baby is posterior or not. My first was positioned perfectly, and although her birth was painful and required all of me, I had no idea how much harder it could be until I had my second, who was posterior. She was head down, but on her side for a lot of my pregnancy, despite regular trips to the chiropractor. I didn't know what back labor was until I was in it, and it felt like something sharp was trying to rip out of my back (turns out, this is because she was sunny side up!). It was a whole new ball game of pain and even though my labor was shorter (6 hours total), I was ready to throw in the towel and asked for an epidural. I couldn't tell anything about my progression because all I could think about was the pain, but my MW knew, and somehow, as the epidural cart was being wheeled in, she got me up into the bed (I was on a birth ball leaning against the bed while my husband pushed against my hips with all of his might) and I don't know if she put a spell on my baby, or she reached in there and turned her herself (I'm kidding, often babies turn last minute in the birth canal), but my baby was born less than 15 minutes later and she came out face down. Pushing with my first happened on its own, my body just did it and I simply hung on for the ride, but for my second, I pushed her out of my own strength (or so it felt). I think positioning is so important, and I didn't realize just how much so until I went through it myself. This time, if baby isn't in just the right position a few weeks prior to birth, I am going to do whatever kind of trapeze work needed to get him/her into the right spot!!
I'm going to post first and then go back and read-
Do you plan on having an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Reasons? Yes - it was really empowering the first time and I think it really helped me get off to a great start in bonding with DS because of the natural high I was on. Also want to avoid a domino effect of interventions.
Have you had an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Feel free to share your story. Yes. With DS I had a very smooth, epi-free birth, story in spoiler.
I went into labor naturally, a few hours after sex (lol) around midnight at 37w5d. I was lying in bed still awake when I felt (and heard!) this rubber band popping sensation. Two seconds later I shifted in bed and felt water gushing. I sat up in bed and a lot more came out. Woke up my husband and had him grab me a towel. (Started shaking like a leaf in a Oh shit! This is happening! moment) About 10 minutes after my water broke, I was having consistent contractions about 3 mins apart, called the OB line and was told to go to L&D.
I was admitted, they checked the fluid to make sure it wasn't pee (biggest eyeroll) and had me hooked up for monitoring. I was about 1.5cm at this point. I let them know early on I didn't want to be offered an epidural and they respected that. When planning for L&D, I had anticipated that I'd want to walk around to labor through the contractions, bounce on a ball, shower, do all the things. That could not have been further from reality, lol. Literally all I wanted was to lie in that bad, close my eyes, and not have anyone bother me or even look at me. So the fact that they had me hooked up to monitors was not a problem at all. My dr told me ahead of time that the hospital had mobile monitoring units available on a first come, first served basis, but I didn't even ask for it. I just wanted to be still, relax and focus on visualizations. When I got to about 4-5 cm, I asked about non-epi pain options and they offered Nubain in my IV which did almost nothing. From that point on, I started to progress really quickly though and only ended up with one dose of it before they said they wouldn't give anymore leading up to pushing time.
When I was about 9cm, in the transition phase (truly the hardest part- so much pressure and an urge to push when you can't yet, contractions are on top of each other with no break), they gave me a peanut ball between my thighs and turned me on my side to get DS to descend a bit more. A short while later it was time to push. I pushed for about 40 minutes and then he was here! They gave me an oxygen mask while pushing but I didn't need any true interventions. My labor lasted just under 10 hours from water breaking to first little cries. I had a second degree tear and my OB numbed the area locally before stitching me up. I could feel the faintest little needle pokes but it really wasn't bad bc I was staring at our sweet babe.
Any recommended reading/podcast/etc? Literally the only thing I did to prepare for labor was to read Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. I'm going to read it again in third tri. The birth stories and the tips for mental prep were HUGE for me. My biggest takeaway was this: usually when you're feeling pain in any other context outside of labor, it's damage being done to the body (ie, stubbing your toe, paper cut, things like that) but the pain from labor is NOT the same- it's your body doing what it's supposed to. This helped me sort of relax into the pain and visualize dilation. I'll be looking for podcast recs when I go back and read previous posts!
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me: 27 | husband: 35 IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16 baby #1born 2.19.16
@spottedginger your description of what labor pains fee like is really on point. It’s such a unique sensation. And I also surprised myself in how I preferred to cope with the contractions, I just wanted to be still and I don’t think I made a peep the whole time until it was time to push and then it was a lot of whispering expletives under my breath haha. I didn’t really have the energy to moan or make noise.
I also forgot to mention that, if you’re laboring without an epidural, being able to push is a huge, welcome relief. Do not fear the pushing stage. You will feel so much pressure in the vag/butt area during transition, and being able to push will feel good most likely. The ring of fire was painful but it lasts literally only seconds and then baby is out. I didn’t even feel the placenta come out other than the pressure of my dr lightly tugging on the cord
Fundal massage/uterine massage- for me it wasn’t as bad as I’d heard other moms make it out to be. I only remember the first one they did because I expected it to be really really painful. I don’t even remember if they did it again after that.
Something else that I think is unique to epi-free birth: One of my nurses stuck around after labor to help to help me pee. They said I had an hour (maybe 2?) after birth to pee on my own or else they’d put a catheter in to prevent infection. It was surprisingly hard to get any pee out but I eventually did on my second attempt.
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me: 27 | husband: 35 IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16 baby #1born 2.19.16
@ashh2018 have you thought about hiring a doula to help with your anxiety? If you’re near a large city, you may even be able to find one that specializes in that
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me: 27 | husband: 35 IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16 baby #1born 2.19.16
@fwtx5815 I am more nervous about delivering the placenta, the uterine massage and the stitching up afterwards than I am about labor. I know everyone is different but it definitely calmed me a little to hear that you didn't find that as painful.
I'm hoping to have an unmedicated/low intervention birth this time.
With DS (5 years ago this fall) I tried unmedicated and no intervention-- for 28 hours after my water broke, but only made it to 3 cms, so we had to leave the birth center for the hospital for pitocin. Many hours of pitocin without any pain relief, and at 40 hours after my water broke I was told- epidural or c-section, because at that point I had a high fever and was vomiting anything and everything. The epidural did help me sleep for 45 minutes and get to 10 cm, then stopped working completely.
Made it to 10 cm, pushed for 3 hours on full pitocin and with no pain interventions, and my 9.5 pound posterior baby said he wasn't budging. So I ended up with a c-section. There were no issues and I will do it again if necessary, but my doctor thinks my VBAC odds are good, so we're just going to let nature do it's thing and if push comes to shove, I'll have another c-section.
@fwtx5815 I am more nervous about delivering the placenta, the uterine massage and the stitching up afterwards than I am about labor. I know everyone is different but it definitely calmed me a little to hear that you didn't find that as painful.
I honestly don't remember the uterine massage at all. I assume they did it, but I don't remember it all, so I guess it didn't bother me? I didn't feel the placenta being delivered. I did have to push, but it was kinda - eh- ug- and it's out. No tears, no stitches for me.
@fwtx5815 I also don't really remember delivering the placenta (just being sad I didn't get to see it). I think I had a uterine massage but it wasn't too bad.
fwtx5815 I am more nervous about delivering the placenta, the uterine massage and the stitching up afterwards than I am about labor. I know everyone is different but it definitely calmed me a little to hear that you didn't find that as painful.
Delivering the placenta was no big deal for me, I kind of felt it come out but it wasn't painful and I was snuggling my baby so I was barely paying attention. I do remember that the MW told me it was very large. I didn't have to have stitches. The uterine massage was kind of painful but it wasn't awful; it didn't ever last very long. And I had them do it quite a bit because my uterus wasn't toning up and I was still bleeding quite a bit. I'm not worried about any of that again (except possibly tearing and needing stitches, that sounds very unfun!)
2/13 Blighted ovum, D&C -- 6/13 MC -- 8/14 DD born -- 3/17 MC -- 9/18 DD2 born Expecting again -- EDD 7/27/20
I was going to have them show me the placenta but by the time he was out and they offered, I just didn’t care. It was easy to deliver- more like an after thought. They felt my belly to make sure it was contracting immediately after birth and once a day before discharge, but I never had any painful massages.
Seeing pictures of a placenta was enough for me. DNW to see one in person even if it's mine. MH watched DS be born and I distinctly remember telling him he did not want to see what came next. That got a laugh from the OB and nurse.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
My husband was super fascinated by seeing the placenta and he talked me into looking at it. Would not have wanted to otherwise, once I saw it I thought it was kinda cool (surprised by the size), but don't care to ask next time.
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me: 27 | husband: 35 IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16 baby #1born 2.19.16
I was surprised by 2 things when delivering DD: 1. I really liked having a mirror so I could see her progress for myself. Reading about that I though ‘eww definitely not!’ But it was really helpful. 2. I thought I would want to see the placenta, if only to make sure it came out whole. Once the time came I was too busy looking at my baby, and just asked my doula if it was in one piece. Maybe I’ll take a look this time? It is really cool that our bodies make this whole new organ!
@arbell615 - I watched myself deliver DS with a mirror too!! It was so awesome!! I had never even thought of using one but the nurse asked if I was interested and I said yes thinking I could just not look if I decided I didn't want to. I was so glad she offered and I will ask for one this time if they don't offer first! I found it extremely motivating and helpful being able to actually see my progress pushing.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
Just signed on with my doula today, hooray! Making this all feel more real, and I feel like I'm finally doing something to get ready.
_______________________________________________
Me: 33 DH: 32 Married 7/18/15 1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16 Team green turned BLUE! 2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18 Team green turned PINK! Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
You guys are convincing me to do the mirror next time. I was offered it with DS but I figured the pain of crowning would be enough and that the visual would amplify the pain, but maybe I could’ve pushed for less time if I could see progress.
On a similar note, I told DH ahead of time not to look in that general area while I was pushing but he didn’t listen. He watched all of it and was in such awe, but then was too squicked out to cut the cord lol.
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me: 27 | husband: 35 IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16 baby #1born 2.19.16
@fwtx5815 I told DH not to look too, until the nurse told me she could see DD (before they brought the mirror in) and I didn’t believe her so I made him check!!
You guys are convincing me to do the mirror next time. I was offered it with DS but I figured the pain of crowning would be enough and that the visual would amplify the pain, but maybe I could’ve pushed for less time if I could see progress.
On a similar note, I told DH ahead of time not to look in that general area while I was pushing but he didn’t listen. He watched all of it and was in such awe, but then was too squicked out to cut the cord lol.
LOL. MH watched me push out DS then had no wish to cut the cord too!!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________ MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks DS born 9/13/16 BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
Re: Unmedicated/Low Intervention Births
It was done to me post c section, and that was seriously not cool.
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
Also just know you don’t have to have birth classes. I didn’t I hired a doula and she helped give me help and prep throughout my pregnancy.
BFP#1: 11/15/2010 * Missed M/C 12/28 * D&C 12/29/2010
BFP#5 12/26/2017 *SURPRISE* Due 09/02/2018
I am hoping to go unmedicated this time. It was my plan for DS but thanks to bad back labor and contractions that were on top of each other (even my OB was surprised by how many I was having back to back without a break in between) I ended up getting an epidural. We realized later he was sunny side up for most of labor which caused the back labor and unending contractions. Thankfully he turned himself before it was time to push and I was able to deliver without hitting the button to give me another dose from the epi.
I think I spent too much time reading birth stories and not enough time reading about coping mechanisms and good laboring positions. I'm going to spend more time learning about laboring positions to help ease pain from back labor in case it happens again. Yes the epidural went fine, but women have been birthing babies forever and just because I had a good experience the first time doesn't guarantee I'd have the same experience this time so I would much prefer to give unmedicated a try again.
I have Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. The first half is all birth stories, the second half is tips and suggestions. I loved reading the birth stories, but I only made it through the first half with DS. This time I'm going to start at part 2 and read everything I missed out on the first time.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
1. They placed my epidural with an initial dose. I was given a button that I was allowed to hit every 15 minutes to give me another dose. I hit it twice, all before 1am. I did not hit it again until after I delivered DS just before 9am in order to dull the pain from the few stitches I needed to get. I couldn't get out of bed, but I could feel and move my legs. I don't know if it had completely worn off or not (I'm assuming it had because I could feel the stitches) but when it came time to push, I loved that I could feel exactly what I was doing. I think it really helped with the actual delivery because I knew what my body was doing.
I don't know if this is a common approach to setting up an epidural, but this is the standard approach at my hospital.
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
I am hoping for an unmedicated birth again. I believe that our bodies are made to do this on their own and that interventions often lead to a cascade of other interventions and often lead to outcomes that are less than ideal. However, I fully understand that some interventions are necessary or just really helpful, and I'm open to the fact that things may change. I like to be prepared with the knowledge for a variety of possibilities, but my preference is strongly for an unmedicated/low intervention birth. I also understand that hospitals can be lifesaving, and the main reason I haven't gone with a birth center is that the one near us isn't that close to a hospital. I want to avoid unnecessary intervention but absolutely want access to it if needed.
Have you had an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Feel free to share your story.
My labor with my daughter was long but very low-intensity at the beginning. I was at home with constant contractions for about 24 hours, which had started but stopped even earlier than that. My contractions were never textbook as far as timing/spacing/duration, but they did what they were supposed to do as far as giving birth. When I went to the hospital they were about 6-7 minutes apart when I sat but about 3-4 minutes apart when I walked around (so I could see a huge benefit in moving for me personally!) I was 5cm dilated when I was checked at L&D, and we were told that our LO was posterior/sunny side up. We walked around the halls for quite a while, and after about 1-1/2 hrs I was over 8cm. My MW broke my water, but then it was several more hours until I got to transition and then started pushing. I was in the shower when I went through transition. I pushed for about 90 minutes, mostly squatting with support from a squat bar they had (and I think rarely used). I do think that my daughter's position probably made things slower than they would have been otherwise.
I was fortunate that I didn't have to fight for any of the main things I wanted. They did intermittent monitoring so I was completely free to move around and try different positions, etc. I had a CNM who was very supportive. We didn't have complications so I didn't have to deal with any scenarios where someone was pushing me towards something I didn't want. That stuff all just comes down to luck or whatever.
I had some excess bleeding after the birth, so they gave me a shot of pitocin. I had very low blood pressure and was super dizzy for a long time, so they ended up giving me methergine as well to contract the uterus and stop the bleeding. I do have a slight bleeding issue, which I didn't know about at the time but was probably related. I will be sure we have a plan to control bleeding in place this time (probably won't be much different from what happened before but I get worried about bleeding out.) This is where I'm fine with medication and intervention.
Like someone else said (sorry, who said what is blurring together right now!), I think labor is more painful if you think of it as painful. There is pain for sure. But - at least in my memory, and maybe it's inaccurate - I remember it being super INTENSE more than super PAINFUL. It required all of my concentration to get through those later contractions. But your body is working towards a goal, and working with it made things so much smoother than fighting the potential pain. There are a lot of extenuating circumstances of course. I'm not saying that all births are beautiful and you're all going to love it, but there's this pop culture idea around it that it's awful and unbearable and I don't think that has to be true.
Any recommended reading/podcast/etc?
I read Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally by Janet Balaskas and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth last time.
On my list this time are Natural Hospital Birth: The Best of Both Worlds by Cynthia Gabriel and Simply Give Birth by Heather Cushman-Dowde.
Expecting again -- EDD 7/27/20
https://evidencebasedbirth.com/painless-birth-pain-perception-childbirth/
Re- uterine massage
I had my daughter at a free-standing birth center, so no meds. I had my daughter and then my uterus did not contract right away, so I was bleeding. They cut the cord quickly and then gave me a shot of pitocin in the thigh for the bleeding. My placenta also did not detach right away. In my state, the placenta must deliver within an hour of birth or you have to go to the hospital. So I was nursing her and pushing with every contraction. The midwife was putting gentle pressure on the cord and pressed a little on the fundus while I was pushing. But it wasn't very painful at all. I ultimately had to get up and sit on the toilet and push until it delivered, then got back in bed. They did a little massage after that, but not much. Just for a couple minutes and it was not very painful. They did not do it again.
I went home about three hours after she was born. They had me feel my own belly to feel for my uterus. They said after I'd been lying down for awhile or sleeping, my uterus would soften, and I would need to massage it myself until it was firm or I would bleed when I stood up.
So I did it to myself for a day or two. And that wasn't painful either! I didn't have to rub hard. Just give a few presses and deep rubs on my lower abdomen and it firmed right up.
I don't know if my experience was unusual unusual or not.
I'm really looking forward to see how this all turns out. Like I said this is my plan but as we all know plans don't always go accordingly. Perhaps the best I can hope for is to try to avoid a C-section, but I was born via C-section and there's nothing wrong with them. I'm just overweight and it would take longer for me to heal.
Do you plan on having an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Reasons? I plan on unmedicated, and instead using pain management techniques. We found a LOVELY birth center in our area with a team of midwives (and an OB!) that we were comfortable and confident in their abilities. We've hired a doula as well to help us prep and have some extra support for my boyfriend. I'm open minded about a transfer (for safety reasons) but I'm confident with the support system we have that if we end up in the hospital I'll be able to handle it much better.
Have you had an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Feel free to share your story. My first birth experience was awful from the moment I stepped in the hospital. I wasn't able to manage my anxiety until I was home with my newborn, and I've just recently come to terms with what went on. I understand now labor and birth are natural occurrences and can be treated as with a healthy, low risk pregnancy. I was 20 when my DS was born, and very uneducated. I believe a lot of what went on could have been avoided had I simply educated myself. I had been taken off bed rest (I'd been dilated at 4cm since 32 weeks) just days before my labor started, and my water broke before my contractions started. So I was on the 24hr time limit to deliver before I even figured out what was going on. After 12 hours in the hospital (18 hours after water broke), with constant monitoring and an IV (so pretty much stuck in bed) my labor stalled and they suggested pitocin. After the pitocin was administered my pain levels went from 0-10 with no breaks in between contractions, so I requested an epi and with it came a catheter. My doctor arrived at 7 am, and I gave birth shortly after. It took another couple of hours for the epidural to wear off, and then a couple more hours to feel confident in getting out of bed. This was my first hospitalization, first IV, first hospital experience in general. I was thankful to have my sister with me for some assistance and support, but she was also exhausted after being up with me all night and had her own child to get home too. I realize now things could have been different had I been more aware of how hospitals handle birth (more procedural and preparing for the worst).
Any recommended reading/podcast/etc?
I haven't found any worth recommending yet besides the study mentioned above. My doula sent me a recommended reading list and I haven't gotten around to it yet. Just educate, educate, educate. Again, I believe so much of my first experience could have been avoided and managed better by myself had I been more informed.
I don't know how common ultrasounds are, but from what I can understand, you can tell by your labor if your baby is posterior or not. My first was positioned perfectly, and although her birth was painful and required all of me, I had no idea how much harder it could be until I had my second, who was posterior. She was head down, but on her side for a lot of my pregnancy, despite regular trips to the chiropractor. I didn't know what back labor was until I was in it, and it felt like something sharp was trying to rip out of my back (turns out, this is because she was sunny side up!). It was a whole new ball game of pain and even though my labor was shorter (6 hours total), I was ready to throw in the towel and asked for an epidural. I couldn't tell anything about my progression because all I could think about was the pain, but my MW knew, and somehow, as the epidural cart was being wheeled in, she got me up into the bed (I was on a birth ball leaning against the bed while my husband pushed against my hips with all of his might) and I don't know if she put a spell on my baby, or she reached in there and turned her herself (I'm kidding, often babies turn last minute in the birth canal), but my baby was born less than 15 minutes later and she came out face down. Pushing with my first happened on its own, my body just did it and I simply hung on for the ride, but for my second, I pushed her out of my own strength (or so it felt). I think positioning is so important, and I didn't realize just how much so until I went through it myself. This time, if baby isn't in just the right position a few weeks prior to birth, I am going to do whatever kind of trapeze work needed to get him/her into the right spot!!
Do you plan on having an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Reasons?
Yes - it was really empowering the first time and I think it really helped me get off to a great start in bonding with DS because of the natural high I was on. Also want to avoid a domino effect of interventions.
Have you had an unmedicated/low intervention birth? Feel free to share your story.
Yes. With DS I had a very smooth, epi-free birth, story in spoiler.
I was admitted, they checked the fluid to make sure it wasn't pee (biggest eyeroll) and had me hooked up for monitoring. I was about 1.5cm at this point. I let them know early on I didn't want to be offered an epidural and they respected that. When planning for L&D, I had anticipated that I'd want to walk around to labor through the contractions, bounce on a ball, shower, do all the things. That could not have been further from reality, lol. Literally all I wanted was to lie in that bad, close my eyes, and not have anyone bother me or even look at me. So the fact that they had me hooked up to monitors was not a problem at all. My dr told me ahead of time that the hospital had mobile monitoring units available on a first come, first served basis, but I didn't even ask for it. I just wanted to be still, relax and focus on visualizations. When I got to about 4-5 cm, I asked about non-epi pain options and they offered Nubain in my IV which did almost nothing. From that point on, I started to progress really quickly though and only ended up with one dose of it before they said they wouldn't give anymore leading up to pushing time.
When I was about 9cm, in the transition phase (truly the hardest part- so much pressure and an urge to push when you can't yet, contractions are on top of each other with no break), they gave me a peanut ball between my thighs and turned me on my side to get DS to descend a bit more. A short while later it was time to push. I pushed for about 40 minutes and then he was here! They gave me an oxygen mask while pushing but I didn't need any true interventions. My labor lasted just under 10 hours from water breaking to first little cries. I had a second degree tear and my OB numbed the area locally before stitching me up. I could feel the faintest little needle pokes but it really wasn't bad bc I was staring at our sweet babe.
Any recommended reading/podcast/etc?
Literally the only thing I did to prepare for labor was to read Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. I'm going to read it again in third tri. The birth stories and the tips for mental prep were HUGE for me. My biggest takeaway was this: usually when you're feeling pain in any other context outside of labor, it's damage being done to the body (ie, stubbing your toe, paper cut, things like that) but the pain from labor is NOT the same- it's your body doing what it's supposed to. This helped me sort of relax into the pain and visualize dilation. I'll be looking for podcast recs when I go back and read previous posts!
me: 27 | husband: 35
IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP
BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16
baby #1 born 2.19.16
TTC #2 in April 2017
BFP 12.30.17 - EDD 9.6.18
Fertility Friend Chart
I also forgot to mention that, if you’re laboring without an epidural, being able to push is a huge, welcome relief. Do not fear the pushing stage. You will feel so much pressure in the vag/butt area during transition, and being able to push will feel good most likely. The ring of fire was painful but it lasts literally only seconds and then baby is out. I didn’t even feel the placenta come out other than the pressure of my dr lightly tugging on the cord
Fundal massage/uterine massage- for me it wasn’t as bad as I’d heard other moms make it out to be. I only remember the first one they did because I expected it to be really really painful. I don’t even remember if they did it again after that.
Something else that I think is unique to epi-free birth: One of my nurses stuck around after labor to help to help me pee. They said I had an hour (maybe 2?) after birth to pee on my own or else they’d put a catheter in to prevent infection. It was surprisingly hard to get any pee out but I eventually did on my second attempt.
me: 27 | husband: 35
IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP
BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16
baby #1 born 2.19.16
TTC #2 in April 2017
BFP 12.30.17 - EDD 9.6.18
Fertility Friend Chart
me: 27 | husband: 35
IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP
BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16
baby #1 born 2.19.16
TTC #2 in April 2017
BFP 12.30.17 - EDD 9.6.18
Fertility Friend Chart
With DS (5 years ago this fall) I tried unmedicated and no intervention-- for 28 hours after my water broke, but only made it to 3 cms, so we had to leave the birth center for the hospital for pitocin. Many hours of pitocin without any pain relief, and at 40 hours after my water broke I was told- epidural or c-section, because at that point I had a high fever and was vomiting anything and everything. The epidural did help me sleep for 45 minutes and get to 10 cm, then stopped working completely.
Made it to 10 cm, pushed for 3 hours on full pitocin and with no pain interventions, and my 9.5 pound posterior baby said he wasn't budging. So I ended up with a c-section. There were no issues and I will do it again if necessary, but my doctor thinks my VBAC odds are good, so we're just going to let nature do it's thing and if push comes to shove, I'll have another c-section.
No tears, no stitches for me.
ETA @Redpuma119
Expecting again -- EDD 7/27/20
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
me: 27 | husband: 35
IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP
BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16
baby #1 born 2.19.16
TTC #2 in April 2017
BFP 12.30.17 - EDD 9.6.18
Fertility Friend Chart
1. I really liked having a mirror so I could see her progress for myself. Reading about that I though ‘eww definitely not!’ But it was really helpful.
2. I thought I would want to see the placenta, if only to make sure it came out whole. Once the time came I was too busy looking at my baby, and just asked my doula if it was in one piece. Maybe I’ll take a look this time? It is really cool that our bodies make this whole new organ!
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
DH: 32
Married 7/18/15
1st born at 35+4 on 6/6/16
Team green turned BLUE!
2nd born at 38+6 on 8/30/18
Team green turned PINK!
Due with #3 on 6/6/20 Team Green
On a similar note, I told DH ahead of time not to look in that general area while I was pushing but he didn’t listen.
me: 27 | husband: 35
IR PCOS dx Sept. 2014
married May 2015 --> started NTNP
BFP 6.28.15 - EDD 3.6.16
baby #1 born 2.19.16
TTC #2 in April 2017
BFP 12.30.17 - EDD 9.6.18
Fertility Friend Chart
MMC 8/5/15 at 8 weeks
DS born 9/13/16
BFP 1/13/18 - EDD 9/20/18 - It's a boy!
How are you preparing for labor? Classes? Books? Online learning?
Any secret tricks? Special music? Motivational posters?