I'm not sure if anyone has posted anything about this yet (I was reading the other posts, but I might have missed it), but do any STMs+ here have experience with a water birth? Medicated or unmedicated? I'm intrigued by that option, and the hospital I'll be delivering at has birthing tubs so I've been doing some research. I'm just curious if anyone has firsthand experience to share for us FTMs, good or bad.
@intheluep I could be wrong, but I don't believe they will allow a medicated water birth. I personally do not have experience with past water births but I have heard so many positive things. I'll be honest, the thought of sitting in a tub full of my own birthing fluids really skeeves me out, so it is not for me, but the benefits of water during labour and delivery are pretty undeniable. I spent most of my labouring time in the hospital in the shower with both of my girls, and also stood in the shower at home for what seemed like hours while I was labouring with DD2. Its amazing what the steady flow of water can do to relax your body during contractions.
@mcewen3 my exact reason for not having a water birth 😂 I know everything that comes out during birth, I'd rather not swim in it lol.
@intheluep you can't have a medicated water birth, once you get an epidural you can't feel anything from your belly down and are confined to a bed for the remainder of your delivery. And likely for some time after. I didn't get feeling completely back for about 4 hours after birth.
I haven't had an unmedicated birth yet, though. Trying for it this time.
@mcewen3@eatinwatermelonseeds thanks for the info!! I didn't realize I couldn't be medicated during a water birth, I'll have to think about that. I'm so terrified of fully committing to an unmedicated birth because, as a first time mom, I don't even know how bad contractions are and/or how I'll handle them. And truthfully, while I LOVE the idea of a water birth, sitting in my own fluids does freaks me out too. 😂
At the same time, I hear so many people say epidurals are "bad for the baby," but I feel like once everything is happening, I'm going to want SOME relief. And people get epidurals everyday right? If they were so harmful to the baby, they wouldn't offer them.
I don't know, I'm so indecisive. Thankfully I have about 31 more weeks to figure it out!!
@intheluep that's exactly how I was with my first. And realistically when the time came, I wanted an epidural immediately after the first active labor contraction 😂 I feel better prepared this time. You're right, people get epidurals every day. And while I do believe in there being benefits to unmedicated births, there's nothing inherently wrong with an epidural.
@intheluep I think epidurals pose very little risk to the baby, but can have a negative affect on mom's ability to labour effectively, which in some cases, can lead to stalled labours, further interventions, baby distress, and in extreme cases, a snow ball effect that eventually ends in c-section. Unmedicated, you are able to move around more, use different positions to push etc.
That said, for some women, an epidural is exactly what they need. I don't believe there's any risk to the baby related to the epidural itself.
DD1: June 2014 - VBM4lyfe DD2: October 2016 DC3: coming May 2019
@intheluep@eatinwatermelonseeds and @k2k2tog are wise. Also, if your hospital has birthing tubs in the delivery rooms then perhaps just talk to your OB before about your options. I would think that if they are right there you could probably start by labouring in the tub, if you're feeling good then continue, if not, you can always move to the bed for the epidural. Labour is so different for each person, so its so hard to know ahead of time how you will be able to manage.
@intheluep another thing to look into is whether your hospital allows water births. None of the hospitals in my area allow you to deliver in the tub. They allow you to labor in it, but you have to get out before you deliver.
@intheluep if you’re interested in an unmedicated birth, I’d look into Bradley Method classes in your area. BUT I would take them with a big big grain of salt and do your own research. They can be pretty crunchy and I think sometimes they forget medicine is GOOD too. Just always question everything. Question Bradley Method, question your doctor, do your own research but make sure it’s good research and not stuff you’re reading on opinion sites as those are obviously biased. Studies are my favorite way to go. But anyway, I did Bradley Method with my first and it made me feel much more comfortable about birth and did give me great pain management techniques - that’s all I focused on in the class, everything else was propaganda and noise to me. A doula is also a great resource for helping you get through the pain. They’re not for me but I’ve had many friends who have loved theirs.
From a Canadian perspective, I was not bombarded with procedures and paperwork after DD1 was born. We didn’t see any paperwork at all until we were settled in our postpartum room , about 2-3 hours after the birth. They did leave me to bond, skin to skin, and try to breast feed for at least an hour (I think? Things are actually kind of fuzzy. Can’t imagine why) before they weighed her and put the vitK stuff on her eyes. They didn’t do much in terms of tests and things until the next morning, so we had 12 hours mostly uninterrupted. With midwives, depending on where you are, they will only require you to stay for 3 hours after the birth, and all that postpartum testing can be done at home.
Cheers to Canada! 😉🇨🇦. Thanks so much for your thoughts. I'm delivering in a hospital near Toronto and hope my experience is similar to yours.
@intheluep from my experience, an epidural helped my labor. When the pitocin-induced contractions really hit, I suddenly felt overwhelmed and nervous. I asked for the epi and was able to relax, nap, and let my body and the induction drugs do their thing. Yay science!
@mrskoz428 That's so tough having a house guest towards the end of your pregnancy. My in-laws were trying to be here for DD's birth, but I ended up being induced 5 weeks early. Thank GOD they weren't at the house when we came home. I seriously needed to just be alone with DH and the baby.
@fatmonica I'm hoping to go into labor naturally too. Being induced was tough - I'd love to see when this baby actually decides to come.
Overall, I feel I had a great birth experience, minus the scary start (pre-e). I went in for my regular 35 week appointment and was told "you're not leaving here without a baby". I had to go on magnesium due to seizure risk, which basically meant I had to labor on my back, in bed the entire time. I made it to 5-6 cm before getting the epidural. The pushing part was great - I could feel my legs just enough but had zero pain. Epidurals are amazing. I'm hoping for a similar experience this time around, minus the induction!
We got a good amount of time with DD but because of the meconium we couldn't do delayed cord clamping since she had to get cleaned up right away. In addition to not to much epidural medication so I can feel myself push and making sure someone is here to watch DD if I go into labor early, I really really want to do delayed cord clamping this time. I got slightly anemic at the end of my last pregnancy so was fanatical about DD's iron levels when we started solids. I'd like to be less concerned about that this time (so also trying to not become anemic again).
I’ve heard pitocin makes contractions so much harder. I’ve had two births, both with no meds, and I don’t think I would have been able to handle contractions that were any harder. I feel like there definitely are situations in the modern birthing process where epidurals can be exactly what mom needs to have a healthy baby, especially in the case of inductions. @DuchessOfCambridge has some great advice in her post above. If you think you might want a natural birth do your research. Research different procedures, read positive birth stories, learn different relaxation techniques. Look into birthing classes like Bradley, we did them, and consider getting a doula. We had one and she was just amazing.
Ivy: July 2010 | Stella: Dec 2012 | BFP#3: MMC at 11Wk's, July 2017 | Wyatt: April 2019 | BFP#5: Twin Girls due Sept 2020
@secicc12 Well, and we warned him I’ll either be super pregnant or we’ll have a newborn. He didn’t seem to mind. I’m sure it will be just fine, but I’m nervous, nevertheless.
I was induced with my first and responded to the pitocin very well. I also went into that birth with the idea that I would get an epidural if I needed one, with the understanding that the anesthesiologist may not be able to get to me right away. I thought the contractions would be too much for me and that an epidural would help me be relaxed for the rest of labor. I won’t mind if I have to be induced again this time. I wasn’t willing to go more than one week beyond my due date (ivf, so we knew the exact date). My hope this time is that the delivery goes as smoothly but that baby doesn’t have meconium that needs sucked out like last time. I’m delivering with the same team of amazing doctors, at least that’s my hope of no one has left the practice. I know my main OB is still the same!
@robyn2201 I got to 10cm with no meds. It was obviously really freaking painful but my contractions weren’t close enough together so I was given pitocin. Everything they say is true. I was able to deal with it for a little bit but it really pushed me over the edge and that’s when I begged for the epidural. I was scream-crying at that point whereas before with no pitocin, I was loud but more breathing, not crying.
By the way, don’t let anyone shame you for being loud during L&D. It HURTS you guys. We say ow when we get hurt and this is the worst pain I’ve ever felt so yes, I was going to react to that. I saw some stupid article shared a while ago online about how this one woman found it so annoying that so many women in L&D were making so much noise and they should have been able to control themselves better and work through the pain silently. Like, go eff yourself. Men are bad enough, we don’t need other women doing this to each other too.
@DuchessOfCambridge 🙌🙌🙌 my mom told me she almost cried for me because she could here me screaming when I was pushing with DD1. I honestly don’t even remember it and couldn’t care less if someone was bothered by my pain cries.
I was induced with my first but every time I hear another pitocin story I am so thankful I was able to progress without it. The Cervidil insertion was just enough of a push for my body to get things started. I was pretty dead set against an induction to begin with, but at 41+2 my cervix was still hard and closed and my doctor was not pleased. So we comprised. She would do the Cervidil insertion once, and if I showed the slightest bit of progress then she’d leave me alone for another couple days before we did anything else. Luckily once was enough and DD1 showed up a full 24hrs later.
So, it has been officially recommended that I DON'T try for another home birth and that this baby is born in the hospital. So now, I feel like I'm rethinking everything I want for labour and delivery. My last birth went super fast so I know I can't linger much once I determine it's the real thing. My in laws and my parents are both ~30 minutes away, so we'll need to call them pretty much right away to come stay with DD1 and DD2.
Fingers crossed, everything goes smoothly at the hospital and I don't need anyone in our room other than the midwives (there are always 2) and DH. No meds. I hoping for no needles in my arms at all. Monitoring only using the handheld fetal monitor. Essentially, I don't want to be hooked up to anything at all. My midwife mentioned that we could consider early discharge - I haven't decided on that yet. I might prefer a chance to rest, but I think we'll play that one by ear.
DD1: June 2014 - VBM4lyfe DD2: October 2016 DC3: coming May 2019
@k2k2tog at least you got this warning sooner rather than later. I’m sorry you can’t have your dream delivery but hopeful for you that as long as baby cooperates, you can have your detached l&d that you want!
@k2k2tog I've been nervous about it going fast and having someone to watch DS. I'm hoping I have a similar experience to what I had last time. I had bh half my second trimester and my whole third, they were painful. It turned out, they felt identical to early labor, go figure. But about 5 hours into them that day, I noticed they were getting closer together and stronger than normal. I think around like 8pm I knew I was having a baby that night. So, we went home and I went to bed (dh ran around the house frantically cleaning and getting ready) and at 11:30pm active labor started. I think if it happens like that, I'll be able to just bring my son for a sleepover at my friend's house and go in whenever we feel like. Hopefully.
@k2k2tog I definitely thought I replied this yesterday but I'm sorry you aren't getting the birth you want. I hope you still have a positive experience that goes your way!
Here's my birth plan: 1) make it to the hospital with enough time for the epidural 2) make sure they keep my blood pressure under control (it went crazy during labor with DD) 3) everyone stays alive 4) cherry on top would be for my milk to come in faster than last time and no NICU time
my start to finish labor with ds was 6.5 hours. Water broke, got to hospital, baby in arms 4 hours later. Goal: make it to hospital in time for Epi and everyone isn’t healthy. The rest will come as its meant. I learned last time i can’t over plan!
My hope is for this birth to go similar to DD's. I mean, a few less hours of early labor (47ish hrs of prodromal labor, followed by only 3-1/2 of active labor before she was born) and no tearing would be nice, but overall I had exactly the birth I wanted. I went unmedicated and while I can't say it was pain-free, my word would be "uncomfortable" more than "raging pain," like most describe. I was able to labor at home for a long time and at the hospital I could move as I wanted, had intermittent monitoring and no IV, and felt so good after birth; we even left before she was 33hrs old. My doctor was pretty on board with my birth plan, as was my l&d nurse, and DH and I did a lot of talking about how he could be a strong advocate while I was doing the hard work. I might hire a doula this time, and do kinda wish that I could use a birth center (none of the local ones will take me due to AMA and some other health issues I have).
For those considering natural/unmedicated birth, I can't speak highly enough of Hypnobabies. Yes, it's a little "crunchy," but it was such a good prep and really gave me the tools to manage my discomfort before, during, and after birth.
My hospital will let you labor in the tub until your water breaks, then you're out. I didn't get to take advantage of that, but did take several long showers while we were still at home.
Lastly, I want to recommend evidencebasedbirth.com as a good resource while you are planning your birth plans. It's written by a nurse, who summarizes the research on different birth related topics, from pain management, to induction types, to all of the post-birth tests and injections that they want to do for baby.
Re: Hopes and fears for labour and delivery
@intheluep you can't have a medicated water birth, once you get an epidural you can't feel anything from your belly down and are confined to a bed for the remainder of your delivery. And likely for some time after. I didn't get feeling completely back for about 4 hours after birth.
I haven't had an unmedicated birth yet, though. Trying for it this time.
At the same time, I hear so many people say epidurals are "bad for the baby," but I feel like once everything is happening, I'm going to want SOME relief. And people get epidurals everyday right? If they were so harmful to the baby, they wouldn't offer them.
I don't know, I'm so indecisive. Thankfully I have about 31 more weeks to figure it out!!
That said, for some women, an epidural is exactly what they need. I don't believe there's any risk to the baby related to the epidural itself.
DD1: June 2014 - VBM4lyfe
DD2: October 2016
DC3: coming May 2019
@fatmonica I'm hoping to go into labor naturally too. Being induced was tough - I'd love to see when this baby actually decides to come.
Overall, I feel I had a great birth experience, minus the scary start (pre-e). I went in for my regular 35 week appointment and was told "you're not leaving here without a baby". I had to go on magnesium due to seizure risk, which basically meant I had to labor on my back, in bed the entire time. I made it to 5-6 cm before getting the epidural. The pushing part was great - I could feel my legs just enough but had zero pain. Epidurals are amazing. I'm hoping for a similar experience this time around, minus the induction!
By the way, don’t let anyone shame you for being loud during L&D. It HURTS you guys. We say ow when we get hurt and this is the worst pain I’ve ever felt so yes, I was going to react to that. I saw some stupid article shared a while ago online about how this one woman found it so annoying that so many women in L&D were making so much noise and they should have been able to control themselves better and work through the pain silently. Like, go eff yourself. Men are bad enough, we don’t need other women doing this to each other too.
I was induced with my first but every time I hear another pitocin story I am so thankful I was able to progress without it. The Cervidil insertion was just enough of a push for my body to get things started. I was pretty dead set against an induction to begin with, but at 41+2 my cervix was still hard and closed and my doctor was not pleased. So we comprised. She would do the Cervidil insertion once, and if I showed the slightest bit of progress then she’d leave me alone for another couple days before we did anything else. Luckily once was enough and DD1 showed up a full 24hrs later.
So, it has been officially recommended that I DON'T try for another home birth and that this baby is born in the hospital. So now, I feel like I'm rethinking everything I want for labour and delivery. My last birth went super fast so I know I can't linger much once I determine it's the real thing. My in laws and my parents are both ~30 minutes away, so we'll need to call them pretty much right away to come stay with DD1 and DD2.
Fingers crossed, everything goes smoothly at the hospital and I don't need anyone in our room other than the midwives (there are always 2) and DH. No meds. I hoping for no needles in my arms at all. Monitoring only using the handheld fetal monitor. Essentially, I don't want to be hooked up to anything at all. My midwife mentioned that we could consider early discharge - I haven't decided on that yet. I might prefer a chance to rest, but I think we'll play that one by ear.
DD1: June 2014 - VBM4lyfe
DD2: October 2016
DC3: coming May 2019
1) make it to the hospital with enough time for the epidural
2) make sure they keep my blood pressure under control (it went crazy during labor with DD)
3) everyone stays alive
4) cherry on top would be for my milk to come in faster than last time and no NICU time