@mayoduck I think that it's very important for all moms to learn at least some level of comfort measures to prepare for birth, because if you end up going into labor on your own, it's unless you have other reasons for admittance most hospitals won't admit you until you're 4-6cm (to my understanding). That leaves nearly half of your dilation for you to deal with on your own. And some women have prodominal labor contractions for weeks before actually going into full blown labor. So I wholeheartedly agree with you that even if you're not planning a med-free birth, having some tools up your sleeve to help you manage the pain is a great idea.
Maybe we can do a series of threads like our product spotlight to highlight different methods of pain relief during labor like hypno birthing, hydrotherapy, Bradley method, massage and pressure points, etc.
DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
I just want to preface by stating that I did not have a med free birth the first time, but I wanted to and I’d love to try again with this one.
STM+, did you attempt and/or have you had a med-free birth before? How did that go?
My plan was to go without meds for as long as possible. That said, I did little to prep myself, meaning I didn’t take any type of breathing classes beforehand and I really didn’t do enough of my own research. My first mistake was not going to a midwifery. My doctors were great, but natural birthing wasn’t important to them. At 40 weeks, I had a slight fever and they made me go in out of precaution. I was 3 cm and they broke my water “to speed things up”. My pain level went from 1 to 10 in a matter of 10 minutes. I was throwing up from the pain. I ended up getting a epi after a few hours. 10 hours later, I started pushing. After 4 hours, they used a vacuum since he wasn’t moving. That’s the short story, but what I took from that experience is that my body wasn’t ready to labor. I strongly believe if my water had not been broken, things would have been very different.
-Why do you want a med-free birth, and if you've already had one, why do you want to do it again?
Women have been birthing for many years without intervention and I believe I can do it.
-Any techniques for coping with pain? Any you hope to do or study prior to birth?
I’m taking a 5 week natural birthing technique class run by a doula.
-Questions? Comments? Anything else?
It’s helpful and motivating hearing from women who have done this before.
So I started reading “Husband Coached Childbirth” and “Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way” and I find it very helpful. There are some details that would have been helpful even with my last medicated birth, like holding your knees out instead of just back to reduce tearing (I had 3rd degree last time) and the combo of suggesting specific positions AND methods for dealing with the pain. Last time I was able to breathe through contractions until about 6cm but I think some of the positions I was in (mostly all 4’s on the bed) weren’t helpful for the relaxation i was trying to achieve. I’m halfway through the second one and I highly recommend that book already.
DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
Are there any books you guys would recommend having husbands read? Would Husband Coached Childbirth be good? I really want a natural, intervention-free birth. I just finished Ina May’s book and plan on reading the Bradley method next, and I am really confident in my body and capability and willingness to do this. My biggest concern is that I am AD military, so my insurance will only cover giving birth in our hospital on base. I am considering paying out of pocket for a home birth or birth center birth, but insurance may not cover it if I need a transfer for any reason then, and even though the chances of that are slim, it’s really making me hesitant to do. I am also moving in the next month, so I haven’t met either the midwife I’ve been speaking to or any of the doctors/midwives at the hospital. They do have a fairly low c section rate for first time moms (10-11%) but they all practice standard interventions in terms of induction a week past your due date, c section if active labor takes more than 24 hours, etc. They also don’t have a tub for laboring but I think that I can labor at home as long as possible and go in just in time for delivery. My concern is that if it doesn’t go perfectly smoothly, my husband seems reluctant to advocate for me if it’s against the doctor’s advice. We just had a big fight about episiotomies - I am completely against getting one, and I don’t think it will ever be necessary. But we’re listening to birth hour podcasts and it just came up where the woman had one because she wasn’t stretching enough. So he thinks I’m being too hard headed and won’t be able to adapt if it doesn’t go perfectly. Whereas I think if you say you’re ok with that or other interventions, they’ll be way too quick to use them. I am planning on having a doula, but I’m worried that if interventions are mentioned, my husband will side with the doctors and get frustrated with me if I’m not on board. It’s really scary to think that I may not be able to trust my doctors OR my husband to support me with the birth I want. Anyway, sorry for the novel, just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for books or other ways to get him to support me, or if I can rely more on my doula for this, or any other tips.
@babycolima12 have you considered getting a doula? It sounds like the service of a doula would be right up your alley.
As for the Husband Coached Childbirth, I just finished reading it. The one I read was the 5th edition but it was originally written in like 1947, so it was a little hard to read because it kind of got off topic in places and some of the things they wrote about were a little dated and it definitely came across as judgy about certain things. That said I did learn a couple things, including things I plan to include in my birth plan regardless of if I decide I need meds (like holding my knees back instead of out is likely why I had a 3rd degree tear last time).
I am finding Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way much easier to read. It has more pictures and fewer references to women as livestock. It also offers a lot more scenarios for you and your partner to practice to get ready for what each of you should expect of each other. If you can only convince him to read one book on Bradley method, I’d take this one over Dr. Bradley’s original text.
DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
@meggyme Thank you for the recommendations! Yes, I think a doula will be really valuable, I want to start interviewing as soon as we move. But I really want my husband to be on board too. Hopefully talking to her will help him trust her too, but I’ll have him read the interventions part of Ina May’s book, and I just ordered the Bradley book so I’ll read it first and then refer him to the specific parts I think are important
@babycolima12 - I just thought I'd throw it out there that episiotomies are not necessarily a bad thing. I had a third degree tear with one birth. It was after her head was out but as her shoulders came. He said it was a little strange that I tore then but it's just my unique physiology. With my next birth, he gave me an episiotomy as he could see I was about to tear again. (I was unaware of it because of the pain that came with crowning and unmedicated birth). I needed a ton of stitches after the natural tear but only 2 with the cut. Recovery after the cut was worlds easier and shorter than recovering after the tear. So that was just my experience, yours and others may be different but I just thought I'd try to alleviate some of your fear of episiotomies.
@babycolima12 if you’re trying to get DH’s buy-in I’d suggest looking into a natural birthing class you two can take together. MH was honestly a bit confused as to why I wanted to go un-medicated, but after the class we took, which talked about possible consequences of various interventions, he was on board and supportive.
I would like to attempt a med free birth but this is my first so I'm not really sure what I'm getting myself into. DH and I are going to take a one day birth class in early January. I would love a doula but unfortunately they are just too expensive and our insurance doesn't cover it. I will definitely be looking into some of these book suggestions!
@babycolima12 I also had an episiotomy. My OB did it as a preventive measure, because he said I would tear anyways in that moment. It was no big deal and I didn't even know he had cut me despite being med free. A few stitches and recovery was no big deal.
@novelblessings@Lbloom I think the scariest part about your stories is the fact that the pain of natural childbirth is so bad that you didn't notice a surgical incision made to a very delicate area (shudder!)
@mayoduck not necessarily. Look into pressure episiotomies. If done at the right time there's no blood circulation to the area (during crowning when it's needed) and the area is kind of naturally numbed. I haven't had one personally but was reading about them. I did tear pretty badly naturally and the recovery was tough, but I don't have an episiotomy to compare it to.
DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
@lbloom and @novelblessings - thanks for the input on episiotomies. I had read that the consensus was that they were outdated and there was no evidence to support that they minimize tearing compared to natural tearing, and that often they probably exacerbate it. Obviously I need to do more research (or hopefully have a doctor/midwife that I trust).
@lelkcot - thanks, I am hoping we'll be able to find a good class when we move. It's such a pain to move at this point, we're moving over Thanksgiving and then by the time we find a place and get settled, I feel like it will be Christmastime and we'll have to wait until January. Which is probably fine. But I like being ahead of the game
@babycolima12 I have to echo what the others have said.... it truely is best to go in with preferences, but be open to whatever happens. We only have so much control over it! Nobody goes into labour wanting an episiotomy but sometimes they appear to be necessary. After nearly 4 hours of pushing with DD I wasn't able to get her out. Her head would come close, then retreat back with each contraction. I was exhausted. I had nothing left to give. I was surviving on no sleep in the last 24 hours, and only a few sips of OJ in the last 12 hours. The dr patiently explained that her head wasn't coming and I'd need an episiotomy (or forceps and vacuum, which would likely require an episiotomy anyway). I asked for 5 mins to try to get her out, but after those 5 mins I acquiesced. She came out right after the episiotomy was performed. I didn't tear any further than the episiotomy. It sucked to heal from, for sure, but no different than my friends who had to recover from 4th degree (natural) tearing. Anyways, I hope you don't have to experience one but they really can be necessary in some cases (or at least facilitate baby coming out). At least where I am, they aren't routine anymore - I believe a lot of the backlash against them is that they used to be performed routinely, probably whether they were truly necessary or not.
@mayoduck actually that wasn’t it at all. I just didn’t notice. When I was pushing there was some pain when she crowned which was annoying but it was more of a relief than anything. The contractions were worse but again still manageable. You have so many hormones being released you don’t notice certain things.
@novelblessings I thought crowning was worse than contractions! At least it only lasted a moment. Isn't it funny how unique each birth can be for each woman!
I just realized I hadn't contributed here. So here we go. I'll try to keep it short and sweet.
My first priority was finding a provider that wouldn't be pushy. My OBGYN specializes in "Non-Interventional Childbirth". As far as my birth plan went... I'm in an area where there is one group of midwives to do home births, but I was honestly fine with delivering in a hospital. I wanted a doula. I wanted to go as long as possible without intervention. I didn't want my water broken. I wanted to be able to get up and move around, use a yoga/exercise ball, take a walk, etc. I didn't want any IVs. If I had to be induced, I was more warm to the idea of an epidural because I read Pitocin could take a toll on your body. If a c-section was needed, most likely it was an emergency, and I was OK with that.
Fast forward to my 37 week appointment on a Thursday... I found out baby (didn't know if baby was boy/girl, yet) hadn't gained any weight from week 36. I was sent to a specialist and the specialist confirmed. With that IUGR diagnosis, I was to be checked in to the hospital at 10 that night for induction. The hospital I originally wanted was booked, so I was sent to the larger location which I was OK with because they have a better quality NICU and we weren't sure if we would need it or not. I tested positive for group B strep, so, unfortunately, I had to have IVs.
By Friday, nothing had changed. The 24 hour dose of cervadil and pitocin did nothing. My DH was a little impatient and anxious (thank goodness my in-laws were around to keep him occupied), so we asked the Dr more about the plan going forward. Because baby wasn't in any distress, this was not an emergency situation so we were going to "be patient" and wait for everything to follow in the normal order (I had to stifle a laugh when the Dr mentioned being patient because that is not DH's strong suit, haha). The Dr "allowed" for me to eat, gave me something for better rest, and we began dose 2.
By Saturday evening, I was dilated 1-2 cm. My Dr broke my water, and that's honestly when things got moving. Early morning going to the bathroom, I definitely was losing my mucus plug. At 7 or so I was 3 or 4 cm. By 11 am, I couldn't talk through my contractions. They were going to check how far I was dilated again, but, as I was starting to get mildly uncomfortable, I went ahead and got the epidural placed before they checked. Well, the epidural was placed, and I was 8-9. We called the doula, and I began pushing around 1 pm. The nurse joked with me that I should be glad it was time to push - I was supposed to get another bag of penicillin for the group B (I went through about 15 bags, IIRC). About halfway through, my Dr mentioned I was naturally tearing, but stopped, so she asked for permission to cut; I gave her permission. So, I pushed for 30ish minutes and out came my daughter!
Even though everything went away from what I expected, I was still able to have a wonderful experience. Because of my group B strep, I had to have an IV for the dosage to be delivered. I worked with the nurses closely because some of the bags were dripping straight out of the fridge; the cold was causing me a LOT of pain at the IV site. So, we experimented and discovered if they let it warm to room temp, it was fine. Also, I asked the nurses to ease the fluid drip a lot. I was getting up every hour the first night to pee, so clearly I was well-hydrated. I was glad my water was forcibly broken or Lord knows how long I would have been there. I was glad my doula was there because she looked after me while my DH and mom were looking over our daughter (can't blame them, but I would have been lonely delivering the placenta, getting all stitched up and shaky).
I am studying hypno=babies more closely this time around. I know now, even with each delivery being different, that I made it to 8-9 cm without aid, there's no doubt in my mind I can make it all the way. (Sorry, this ended up being a novel.)
You guys all have some interesting experiences. I do want to clarify my last post, my husband and I talked it out again and it came down to the fact that we were arguing about different things. He wanted to make sure that I will be ok with deviations to my birth plan in emergency situations (of course I am - that's ultimately why I'm choosing the hospital rather than a home birth, for the rare but possible emergency situations). I, on the other hand, am more worried about interventions suggested because I haven't hit certain milestones at arbitrary times set by the OB. I haven't met the OBs or midwives I will be working with yet, and the one conversations I had with one of the midwives didn't give me the feeling that I can trust their judgement the way I could trust some of the other midwives I've spoken to. The midwives and OBs that I'm stuck with practice to the same standard, and it sounds like the midwives practice more like OBs rather than OBs practicing like midwives. And I wouldn't be able to predict if a midwife or OB would be on call when I go into labor. Anyway, they have certain points in the labor where if you're not progressing, they step in with certain interventions, and that's the kind of thing I want to avoid. I don't want my husband to agree with them just because they are wearing a white coat. I do know that most births don't go according to a plan, and if I had a midwife I trusted than I would be much less worried about having to advocate for myself, and would be more open to her suggestions. That's why I want to do the research and arm my husband as well, and find a doula I can trust. I do like what @laur84ns did with asking for more time to push before agreeing to the episiotomy, that's a tactic that may work for me.
@babycolima12 Ah, that makes sense. I agree that the arbitrary or unexplained interventions are usually the ones that leave women feeling resentful, angry, hurt, or even violated. I was worried about the arbitrary "time" related interventions going into it too - would I be pressured into an episiotomy, pitocin, a c section simply because the dr wanted to speed things up?! - but that just was not the case. The dr and nurses were all very caring and despite me having a long labour (went thru several nurse shift changes) I never once felt they did the episiotomy just to speed things up. They were happy to show me in a mirror that she just wasn't coming out, and gave me more time to push on my own. Had the dr given me an episiotomy without asking (I have heard such horror stories) in the absence of a true threat to life/health emergency, I would've been livid! That wasn't my experience and I certainly hope it isn't yours!
So I live near a major learning hospital and just found out that the nursing school has a volunteer doula program where the nurses do not have the experience of a professional doula but they have some specialized training and they are volunteers so their services are free. If you are interested in a doula but can't afford the cost, it may be worth looking into whether any nearby Nursing Schools offer this type of program.
@laur84ns that's exactly how I feel - thanks for understanding! I do think I would feel ok if my labor went the way yours did, and I really hope I have a similar staff to work with. I know the goal at the end of the day is to have a baby to hold, but I really want to enjoy the process too. I will try to be more optimistic about being able to trust them. But really just anxious to get there and meet them.
@maggiemadeit I had a similar experience to you in that DD was almost 10lbs and sunny side up so I ended up with a CS despite getting to pushing stage. I wanted to ask does your MW have any concerns regarding size causing difficulty in vaginal delivery?
I want a vbac which my OB is on board with but she wants to induce me around 39-40 weeks bc she is afraid if the baby gets too big I will end up in the same situation as with DD. Is that something that has been brought up to you? I’m wondering if that is her preference (and I should look into another provider) or if it really may be an issue. I feel a little lost on the vbac front so any input would be great!
I have spoken to the midwives and also met with an OB in the practice at my last appointment. They asked if there was a reason the baby was so big (no one in the hospital would believe I didn’t have GD!), Or if my pelvis was too small, (how on earth would I know?). I think they wanted to make sure that there wasn’t an underlying reason not to try for a vaginal birth.
The midwife and OB both told me we could get a late ultrasound to check on the size, but they didn’t recommend it because according to them there is no evidence that the predicted size will effect the outcome for VBAC, and I guess the predictions from ultrasound are not very accurate late in pregnancy anyway. My practice also doesn’t really do inductions before 40 weeks without a medical reason. I had a foley induction at 41 weeks with my first and I have always wondered if I could have delievered naturally if I had waited for labor to start on it’s own.
I would defintiely recommend doing some research on VBAC and specifically on evidence based practices. An induction to avoid a c section sounds like a preference rather than a medical necessity to me, but I’m not a doctor, (well not that kind of doctor anyway), and of course I don’t know all the specifics. You may want to think about a different provider, or maybe sticking with yours and hiring a doula to advocate for you when the time comes.
Somewhere on this board we had a pretty good VBAC thread going that had some good information and links that might be useful.
Good luck! Wishing for you the kind of birth you want and a healthy baby. Who knows, I may end up joining you as a February mom if this one comes a few days early!
@maggiemadeit thank you so much for your in depth answer! I really appreciate it! I was induced bc I was AMA (just turned 35 a month before I had DD) and I really think that is why I ended up with a cs. I just feel like if I am allowed to wait until I go into labor on my own then I can do this vbac. But I also don’t want to put my baby in risk and go against medical advice. So I’m walking that line right now. I will check out that vbac thread on here and do so more research. I do plan to hiring a doula to help me with this birth as well as advocating for me.
I hope both of us get the vbacs we hope for! Thanks again!
@allthingsgo you could also look up a lady named Nicole Joy, she is a doula who I just heard share her birth story on a podcast (babes and babies, it's a pretty silly and fun podcast). All 3 of her kids were over 9 lbs and the first was a c section due to the size of the baby (although not sunny side up, haha I love how you put that!) but the second two she had v-bac with no tearing. Her most recent she actually ended up having at home because there was just no time to go to the hospital. On her website she has free birth plans and free labor classes. It was really inspiring to listen to her story! I'm pretty sure her website is just Nicolejoy.com but if that doesn't work try Nichole, haha.
One of my old coworkers had a 10 pound baby unmedicated, and she's tiny - maybe 5'1"? I am in complete awe of her. I think the fact that she's in phenomenal shape had a lot to do with it, she's a runner and walks two miles to and from work every day. She has said that if she knew he'd be a 10 pounder she probably wouldn't have tried to go unmedicated, though.
@abbykwail thanks so much for that info! I will look her up!
And thanks @Lbloom for bumping that thread for me! There is a lot of great info in there. It’s wonderful to see so many people trying for VBACs. Makes me even more motivated to!
Thanks, everyone for sharing your stories. I'm grateful to hear about all of these experiences. I'm chiming in late, and I'm a little verbose, but here goes:
-STM+, did you attempt and/or have you had a med-free birth before? How did that go? Despite being two weeks late with my daughter, I was able to have a pretty smooth birth delivered by my midwife in the hospital. Most of the birth went as-planned, but one of the things I did not expect was having intense contractions one on top of the other. I had imagined having time, however briefly, to reset or refocus on my breathing in between contractions. This was definitely not the case.
To rewind, I had labored at home first, pretty comfortably, for four hours with my husband and doula. Having our doula was amazing because she reassured my husband a lot that since I was talking and moving around really easily, she thought is was too early to go to the hospital (despite the contractions starting to get closer together). She reminded both of us of comfortable positions we could try, and for me to stay hydrated and nourished. She also saved me with the tip of going to the bathroom while sitting on the toilet backwards. My husband helped me with this and I was SO glad because I had to go a few times during labor but squatting in a normal position on the toilet just wasn't possible. Ha! She was already worth all the money!! Eventually, the doula recommended we get to the hospital, and that was the result of my contractions pretty suddenly jumping on top of each other, and picking up exponentially in intensity. I went from being able to talk and observe everything around me, to being 100% in my own zone, unwilling to listen to much coaching and unable to respond to many questions. I'll fast-forward through the details about the rest of the birth, but I wanted to point out the following: - The car ride was not fun, not fun at all. If you have a hike to your place of birth (mine was 40 min down a winding canyon), you might want to consider an earlier departure than I did. - The nurses insisted on electronic fetal monitoring throughout my labor because they were scared because the baby was two weeks late and that her heart rate was lower than desired. I would urge each of you to use your own judgment and determine whether that's advice that you want to heed. I continued to remove the monitor because of everything in my l&d, wearing that monitor was by far the most uncomfortable thing. - My midwife ultimately had me start pushing before I was fully dilated and there was a sense of urgency in the room to get the baby out. She opted for an episiotomy and told me later it was the first one she had done in over a decade. I can attest that I hardly felt it. Likely due to the pressure cut, but also because it was a moment of the highest adrenaline I had felt all day. I was being told to push because my baby was about to be here, which was incredible. - I delivered a healthy, amazing girl without many interventions. Her birth was an amazing experience. I hope that's what many moms who haven't been able to experience an unmedicated birth yet can take away; no, it wasn't comfortable, and yes there was pain (even though I don't remember most of the pain now!), but it was amazing to go through all of that, and in a strange way, I am excited to do it again.
-Why do you want a med-free birth, and if you've already had one, why do you want to do it again? I really do want to feel everything during my labor (yep, I'm positive I'll be kicking myself later for saying that). I might have eaten too much of all the granola, but I love this mom's club we have and I love how our bodies are able to do this. I think of all the other female mammals in the wild, and our cavewomen ancestors, and it inspires me to give birth in an environment where I, and the people around me, are trusting my body to do what it needs to do to deliver my baby. While I am grateful to our modern technology and ability to save lives during labor, I want to experience as much of it as I can on my own without having our advanced tools and knowledge intervene.
-Any techniques for coping with pain? Any you hope to do or study prior to birth? The best thing I remember was being able to hug my husband through the worst contractions. I don't mean this romantically; he was literally bracing me as I dug my head into his chest and my fingers into his back. He later told me that he had taken a few breaks from this because it had exhausted him, too. I guess my doula took over those few times and I hadn't even noticed! I also remember that being able to walk around and sway my hips as much as possible earlier on in my labor felt really good.
-Questions? Comments? Anything else? I'm excited to continue reading about everyone else's experiences and aspirations for birth. I also think that the consideration of an unmedicated birth alone is so admirable and I applaud all of you ladies, especially those of you who have expressed your uncertainty on this topic but are still curious about and maybe, possibly considering this route!
Just started reading "Hypnobirthing" by Marie Mongan and I must say, it's really inspiring and empowering so far. I definitely would love a calm, fear-free birth, whether that includes medication or not. Ina May's Guide and The Bradley Method are also on my reading list.
Bumping this thread because I've been reading and thinking a lot about the med free birth that I hope to have this time around. I've just finished "Natural Hospital Birth" by Cynthia Gabriel and am working my way through Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I have a few other natural birthing books on hold at the library. I also have a doula booked/hired. However it's started to occur to me that simply reading about natural birth and relying on my doula during labour might not be the best strategy. I'd feel a lot more confident if I could find a book/video/blog etc outlining different types of pain coping strategies so I can have a few in my back pocket during labour. As @Shelbyville30 mentioned above, I feel like I need to mentally and emotionally prepare for a med free birth rather than just reading a few books and winging but it.
I've just reread this entire thread and made note of other books to check out, mindfulness techniques, visualizations and affirmations, etc. Just thought I'd bump this in case anyone has come across any helpful resources lately, specifically when it comes to pain management techniques.
@laur84ns I found evidence based birth’s article series on pain management techniques very interesting and informative. I also read a couple Bradley method books that had much more useful explanations and exercises. I attempted to use deep breathing and hypnobirthing type techniques (didn’t actually do a home study or class, just hypnobirthing style meditations) and it all went out the window pretty quick.
This time I have a better doula who will be preparing with me and hopefully able to attend my birth (unlike last time) and a better idea of what positions will help me relax through contractions, instead of just grit and bear them until I can’t anymore.
DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
Thanks, @meggyme! My doula often talks about the evidence based birth site so I'll definitely check out their series on pain management. Good to know that the Bradley books have some actual exercises/techniques in them - I'll have to check those out! Yah I think if I just have to try to get through/bear the contractions I might not make it too far .... I've been reading a ton of natural birth stories and it sounds like the women who prepared ahead of time with some coping/breathing techniques or affirmations and visualizations, tend to be the women who are able to 'relax in to' or 'give in to' the contractions and get through their labours without meds!
@laur84ns There’s one that I’ve recommended here before, I think the title was Husband Coached Birthing or something like that. It had some great relaxation exercises, as well as recommended positions. I think @maggiemadeit has used Bradley method in practice and might have some other insights.
DD1: June '16 DD2: March ‘19 :::: Married since 2011 :::: USN Wife ::::
@laur84ns I really enjoyed “natural birth the Bradley way”. I didn’t have the time or money to take a whole Bradley class, but this book really gave me a lot of techniques and imagery to use during labor. The first part is a very detailed explanation of what happens to your body during labor, but it gets good after that.
FWIW, I labored for 24 hours after a foley induction without any pain medication and was stuck at transition for >4 hours. It didn’t end in a successful vaginal delivery, but it had nothing to do with my pain tolerance or birthing prep. I highly recommend this book, and I am rereading it again to prepare for a VBAC.
Re: The med-free birth thread
Maybe we can do a series of threads like our product spotlight to highlight different methods of pain relief during labor like hypno birthing, hydrotherapy, Bradley method, massage and pressure points, etc.
STM+, did you attempt and/or have you had a med-free birth before? How did that go?
My plan was to go without meds for as long as possible. That said, I did little to prep myself, meaning I didn’t take any type of breathing classes beforehand and I really didn’t do enough of my own research. My first mistake was not going to a midwifery. My doctors were great, but natural birthing wasn’t important to them. At 40 weeks, I had a slight fever and they made me go in out of precaution. I was 3 cm and they broke my water “to speed things up”. My pain level went from 1 to 10 in a matter of 10 minutes. I was throwing up from the pain. I ended up getting a epi after a few hours. 10 hours later, I started pushing. After 4 hours, they used a vacuum since he wasn’t moving. That’s the short story, but what I took from that experience is that my body wasn’t ready to labor. I strongly believe if my water had not been broken, things would have been very different.
-Why do you want a med-free
birth, and if you've already had one, why do you want to do it again?
Women have been birthing for many years without intervention and I believe I can do it.
-Any techniques for coping with pain? Any you hope to do or study prior to birth?
I’m taking a 5 week natural birthing technique class run by a doula.
-Questions? Comments? Anything else?
It’s helpful and motivating hearing from women who have done this before.
As for the Husband Coached Childbirth, I just finished reading it. The one I read was the 5th edition but it was originally written in like 1947, so it was a little hard to read because it kind of got off topic in places and some of the things they wrote about were a little dated and it definitely came across as judgy about certain things. That said I did learn a couple things, including things I plan to include in my birth plan regardless of if I decide I need meds (like holding my knees back instead of out is likely why I had a 3rd degree tear last time).
I am finding Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way much easier to read. It has more pictures and fewer references to women as livestock. It also offers a lot more scenarios for you and your partner to practice to get ready for what each of you should expect of each other. If you can only convince him to read one book on Bradley method, I’d take this one over Dr. Bradley’s original text.
@lelkcot - thanks, I am hoping we'll be able to find a good class when we move. It's such a pain to move at this point, we're moving over Thanksgiving and then by the time we find a place and get settled, I feel like it will be Christmastime and we'll have to wait until January. Which is probably fine. But I like being ahead of the game
Anyways, I hope you don't have to experience one but they really can be necessary in some cases (or at least facilitate baby coming out). At least where I am, they aren't routine anymore - I believe a lot of the backlash against them is that they used to be performed routinely, probably whether they were truly necessary or not.
My first priority was finding a provider that wouldn't be pushy. My OBGYN specializes in "Non-Interventional Childbirth". As far as my birth plan went... I'm in an area where there is one group of midwives to do home births, but I was honestly fine with delivering in a hospital. I wanted a doula. I wanted to go as long as possible without intervention. I didn't want my water broken. I wanted to be able to get up and move around, use a yoga/exercise ball, take a walk, etc. I didn't want any IVs. If I had to be induced, I was more warm to the idea of an epidural because I read Pitocin could take a toll on your body. If a c-section was needed, most likely it was an emergency, and I was OK with that.
Fast forward to my 37 week appointment on a Thursday... I found out baby (didn't know if baby was boy/girl, yet) hadn't gained any weight from week 36. I was sent to a specialist and the specialist confirmed. With that IUGR diagnosis, I was to be checked in to the hospital at 10 that night for induction. The hospital I originally wanted was booked, so I was sent to the larger location which I was OK with because they have a better quality NICU and we weren't sure if we would need it or not. I tested positive for group B strep, so, unfortunately, I had to have IVs.
By Friday, nothing had changed. The 24 hour dose of cervadil and pitocin did nothing. My DH was a little impatient and anxious (thank goodness my in-laws were around to keep him occupied), so we asked the Dr more about the plan going forward. Because baby wasn't in any distress, this was not an emergency situation so we were going to "be patient" and wait for everything to follow in the normal order (I had to stifle a laugh when the Dr mentioned being patient because that is not DH's strong suit, haha). The Dr "allowed" for me to eat, gave me something for better rest, and we began dose 2.
By Saturday evening, I was dilated 1-2 cm. My Dr broke my water, and that's honestly when things got moving. Early morning going to the bathroom, I definitely was losing my mucus plug. At 7 or so I was 3 or 4 cm. By 11 am, I couldn't talk through my contractions. They were going to check how far I was dilated again, but, as I was starting to get mildly uncomfortable, I went ahead and got the epidural placed before they checked. Well, the epidural was placed, and I was 8-9. We called the doula, and I began pushing around 1 pm. The nurse joked with me that I should be glad it was time to push - I was supposed to get another bag of penicillin for the group B (I went through about 15 bags, IIRC). About halfway through, my Dr mentioned I was naturally tearing, but stopped, so she asked for permission to cut; I gave her permission. So, I pushed for 30ish minutes and out came my daughter!
Even though everything went away from what I expected, I was still able to have a wonderful experience. Because of my group B strep, I had to have an IV for the dosage to be delivered. I worked with the nurses closely because some of the bags were dripping straight out of the fridge; the cold was causing me a LOT of pain at the IV site. So, we experimented and discovered if they let it warm to room temp, it was fine. Also, I asked the nurses to ease the fluid drip a lot. I was getting up every hour the first night to pee, so clearly I was well-hydrated. I was glad my water was forcibly broken or Lord knows how long I would have been there. I was glad my doula was there because she looked after me while my DH and mom were looking over our daughter (can't blame them, but I would have been lonely delivering the placenta, getting all stitched up and shaky).
I am studying hypno=babies more closely this time around. I know now, even with each delivery being different, that I made it to 8-9 cm without aid, there's no doubt in my mind I can make it all the way. (Sorry, this ended up being a novel.)
@maggiemadeit I had a similar experience to you in that DD was almost 10lbs and sunny side up so I ended up with a CS despite getting to pushing stage. I wanted to ask does your MW have any concerns regarding size causing difficulty in vaginal delivery?
I want a vbac which my OB is on board with but she wants to induce me around 39-40 weeks bc she is afraid if the baby gets too big I will end up in the same situation as with DD. Is that something that has been brought up to you? I’m wondering if that is her preference (and I should look into another provider) or if it really may be an issue. I feel a little lost on the vbac front so any input would be great!
I have spoken to the midwives and also met with an OB in the practice at my last appointment. They asked if there was a reason the baby was so big (no one in the hospital would believe I didn’t have GD!), Or if my pelvis was too small, (how on earth would I know?). I think they wanted to make sure that there wasn’t an underlying reason not to try for a vaginal birth.
The midwife and OB both told me we could get a late ultrasound to check on the size, but they didn’t recommend it because according to them there is no evidence that the predicted size will effect the outcome for VBAC, and I guess the predictions from ultrasound are not very accurate late in pregnancy anyway. My practice also doesn’t really do inductions before 40 weeks without a medical reason. I had a foley induction at 41 weeks with my first and I have always wondered if I could have delievered naturally if I had waited for labor to start on it’s own.
I would defintiely recommend doing some research on VBAC and specifically on evidence based practices. An induction to avoid a c section sounds like a preference rather than a medical necessity to me, but I’m not a doctor, (well not that kind of doctor anyway), and of course I don’t know all the specifics. You may want to think about a different provider, or maybe sticking with yours and hiring a doula to advocate for you when the time comes.
Somewhere on this board we had a pretty good VBAC thread going that had some good information and links that might be useful.
Good luck! Wishing for you the kind of birth you want and a healthy baby. Who knows, I may end up joining you as a February mom if this one comes a few days early!
I hope both of us get the vbacs we hope for! Thanks again!
@Lbloom thanks for bumping the VBAC thread!
And thanks @Lbloom for bumping that thread for me! There is a lot of great info in there. It’s wonderful to see so many people trying for VBACs. Makes me even more motivated to!
-STM+, did you attempt and/or have you had a med-free birth before? How did that go?
Despite being two weeks late with my daughter, I was able to have a pretty smooth birth delivered by my midwife in the hospital. Most of the birth went as-planned, but one of the things I did not expect was having intense contractions one on top of the other. I had imagined having time, however briefly, to reset or refocus on my breathing in between contractions. This was definitely not the case.
To rewind, I had labored at home first, pretty comfortably, for four hours with my husband and doula. Having our doula was amazing because she reassured my husband a lot that since I was talking and moving around really easily, she thought is was too early to go to the hospital (despite the contractions starting to get closer together). She reminded both of us of comfortable positions we could try, and for me to stay hydrated and nourished. She also saved me with the tip of going to the bathroom while sitting on the toilet backwards. My husband helped me with this and I was SO glad because I had to go a few times during labor but squatting in a normal position on the toilet just wasn't possible. Ha! She was already worth all the money!! Eventually, the doula recommended we get to the hospital, and that was the result of my contractions pretty suddenly jumping on top of each other, and picking up exponentially in intensity. I went from being able to talk and observe everything around me, to being 100% in my own zone, unwilling to listen to much coaching and unable to respond to many questions. I'll fast-forward through the details about the rest of the birth, but I wanted to point out the following:
- The car ride was not fun, not fun at all. If you have a hike to your place of birth (mine was 40 min down a winding canyon), you might want to consider an earlier departure than I did.
- The nurses insisted on electronic fetal monitoring throughout my labor because they were scared because the baby was two weeks late and that her heart rate was lower than desired. I would urge each of you to use your own judgment and determine whether that's advice that you want to heed. I continued to remove the monitor because of everything in my l&d, wearing that monitor was by far the most uncomfortable thing.
- My midwife ultimately had me start pushing before I was fully dilated and there was a sense of urgency in the room to get the baby out. She opted for an episiotomy and told me later it was the first one she had done in over a decade. I can attest that I hardly felt it. Likely due to the pressure cut, but also because it was a moment of the highest adrenaline I had felt all day. I was being told to push because my baby was about to be here, which was incredible.
- I delivered a healthy, amazing girl without many interventions. Her birth was an amazing experience. I hope that's what many moms who haven't been able to experience an unmedicated birth yet can take away; no, it wasn't comfortable, and yes there was pain (even though I don't remember most of the pain now!), but it was amazing to go through all of that, and in a strange way, I am excited to do it again.
-Why do you want a med-free birth, and if you've already had one, why do you want to do it again?
I really do want to feel everything during my labor (yep, I'm positive I'll be kicking myself later for saying that). I might have eaten too much of all the granola, but I love this mom's club we have and I love how our bodies are able to do this. I think of all the other female mammals in the wild, and our cavewomen ancestors, and it inspires me to give birth in an environment where I, and the people around me, are trusting my body to do what it needs to do to deliver my baby. While I am grateful to our modern technology and ability to save lives during labor, I want to experience as much of it as I can on my own without having our advanced tools and knowledge intervene.
-Any techniques for coping with pain? Any you hope to do or study prior to birth?
The best thing I remember was being able to hug my husband through the worst contractions. I don't mean this romantically; he was literally bracing me as I dug my head into his chest and my fingers into his back. He later told me that he had taken a few breaks from this because it had exhausted him, too. I guess my doula took over those few times and I hadn't even noticed! I also remember that being able to walk around and sway my hips as much as possible earlier on in my labor felt really good.
-Questions? Comments? Anything else?
I'm excited to continue reading about everyone else's experiences and aspirations for birth. I also think that the consideration of an unmedicated birth alone is so admirable and I applaud all of you ladies, especially those of you who have expressed your uncertainty on this topic but are still curious about and maybe, possibly considering this route!
I've just reread this entire thread and made note of other books to check out, mindfulness techniques, visualizations and affirmations, etc. Just thought I'd bump this in case anyone has come across any helpful resources lately, specifically when it comes to pain management techniques.
This time I have a better doula who will be preparing with me and hopefully able to attend my birth (unlike last time) and a better idea of what positions will help me relax through contractions, instead of just grit and bear them until I can’t anymore.
Yah I think if I just have to try to get through/bear the contractions I might not make it too far .... I've been reading a ton of natural birth stories and it sounds like the women who prepared ahead of time with some coping/breathing techniques or affirmations and visualizations, tend to be the women who are able to 'relax in to' or 'give in to' the contractions and get through their labours without meds!
birth the Bradley way”. I didn’t have the time or money to take a whole Bradley class, but this book really gave me a lot of techniques and imagery to use during labor. The first part is a very detailed explanation of what happens to your body during labor, but it gets good after that.
FWIW, I labored for 24 hours after a foley induction without any pain medication and was stuck at transition for >4 hours. It didn’t end in a successful vaginal delivery, but it had nothing to do with my pain tolerance or birthing prep. I highly recommend this book, and I am rereading it again to prepare for a VBAC.