Birth, Natural or Not?

I love hearing peoples birth stories. I will have to write about mine one day. i am a firm believer in mother’s choice. I cannot not stand pushy moms saying you should do this or that. What works for one may not work for another. after what I felt was a tramatic second childbirth(including my baby falling out onto the bed)I couldnt even think of breast feeding and I got alot of flack. Did i have guilt for sure. But I also am 44 dd that already kill my shoulders and back. I did have cervical gel the second time and not pit so I dont know if that is what the difference was. But I always say had I given birth to my son first I may not have had another after that birth experience. But it is not true because you forget and now I would love another! Good luck to you,in whatever choices you make.

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Great post Drea, thanks for sharing.

I had two very different birth one end up with a emergency C-section the second natural birth to a preemie.

For our first Rebekah I woke up a 2 am and my water had just broke, so called the hospital and they told be to get in to be check. So at 3 am they check me and I was 4 cm so they keep me in, I walk a bit,sat on the birthing ball at 5 am was in lots of pain so they check me and I was 6-7 cm so they told me I could go in the hot tub, I stayed there for about 15 min and I just needed to get out was restless and lots of back pain.

they check me again I was 8.5 cm so I had for the laughing gas. Well took 2 big breath from it and told the nurse that it was broken cause it was only oxygen coming out! (I used to work as a nurse in that unit so I know how certain machine worked LOL)

They check me again at 6 am and I was 10cm and told me to push. That is where thing went a bit wrong, I was pushing as hard as I could but baby was not coming down after 4 hours of pushing the student Dr that we had call the Gynecologist to come because I was sore that very tired and yet had anything for pain. So she came and told me she had to go in (Yes with no pain killer or Epi to check the position of baby and if baby was in wrong position she needed to try to move him or her)At that point I didn;t care anymore I wanted baby out!!! After a couple minutes trying to move baby she look at me and said “Well baby is sideways and it’s not a head pushing down but a shoulder” We need to get baby out now!

So in 15 min I got a Epi, was transfer to the surgery room, prep for a c-section and 10 minutes later Rebekah was born.

Nursing Rebekah was a bit difficult at first because they came me lots of painkillers during the c-section and 2 hours later (lots of muscles relaxer cause 4 hours of pushing was hard on me!!!) so it took about 3 months for Rebekah to nurse properly, got breast infection, depression, crack that whole thing but we nurse until she weans herself at 15 months.

Sarah was way easier, water broke at 33.3 weeks, was send to bedrest until I reach 34 weeks. The morning of 34 weeks they wanted to induced me (I refused) so I walk for a couple hours took a nap woke up by a contraction and need to go potty, about 5 min later another contraction very intense and ask to be check I was 5cm after 2 contraction,got transfer to labor and delivery.

Within 2 hours I was at 10 and after 15 minutes of pushing (or not trying to push baby to fast because doctor was on her way). No meds was given to me (they did not have time LOL) Sarah was born and I nurse immediately, was still nursing her while Doctor arrived and said “Well baby seams fine let baby nurse” I keep her with me for 4 hours, she had to get to the nursery to be check and be in a incubator (I was fighting to keep her with me cause she was fine!!!) but nursing was very enjoyable no pain no infection and just a few hours after giving birth I was tidying up my room and wanting to go home! I felt great!

I know this is a long comment but I experience both med and non med birth and non medicated one was far the best experience for me and baby.

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I always had on a hospital gown while in labor and during delivery with all four. I didn’t even want the nurses in the room while I nursed…but I did get over that quick ;) I had an epidural with all four and I think it really depends on your anesthesiologist and on how you respond to medication. With all four I was able to feel the baby coming out…actually with the last two I felt a lot more than just pressure ;) I had to have Pitocin with all of our births and I’ve been thanking God that someone had the idea of an epidural as I was able to laugh and talk with my Doctor and the nurses and I loved being able to smile and giggle with my husband as we awaited our little ones entry :) After our last baby was born I was up and walking around, showering, pretty much whatever I wanted to do, just an hour after he came…the nurses fussed at me but I really felt great :) After our first birth I refused a catheter with the other three since recovering from that was much worse than recovering from the birth. I think it’s really important for women to not only know their options but also to have a Doctor who is completely on their side and understands exactly what the parents want…it really makes all the difference in the world! :)

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For some reason there are big boxes over your post with locks on them, saying Content Protected By Owner… so I can’t read it! What’s up?

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IF YOU CANT VIEW THE POST LET ME KNOW… I will email u the post stacey :) i think the problem is that my photos used are from zenfolio (what i use for clients to view their pics) and that might be why…

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Hi Drea, may I have the name of the song on the slide show presentation you posted? It is such a beautiful song!

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Awesome post. Anytime I thought about giving birth I always envisioned having an epi. I couldn’t imagine going through all that pain without any help at all. Well, come delivery Emmett was coming so fast that I didn’t have a choice in a natural delivery – there wasn’t time for anything else. And you know what – wasn’t all that bad. I found the contractions to be the most difficult (even though I only had them for an hour), pushing was great because it gave me something to focus on besides the pain. The only problem was that after delivery I had to have a catheter and that was the most painful part of my birthing experience. The body truly is amazing.

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Hey Drea,
This doesn’t really have that much to do with your post, but I just wanted to ask you something. I know in the past you have mentioned that you and Travis were hoping to have a little girl one day. How do you feel about the Chinese Conception Chart? Is it something you would try? I understand that ultimately all you can ever hope and pray for is a healthy baby, regardless of the gender. I guess I’m just curious to know if you and Travis feel like you should not try to interfere with God’s plan, or if it’s ok to at least “try” for what you’re hoping to get. I know no one has the power to change God’s plan except God, but I just like hearing your perspective on things.
Thanks

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All of these issues (epidural, pitocin, rate of C-Sections, etc.) is stuff that should be asked about of your OB/GYN back at the beginning of the pregnancy. That way when you get to the hospital, you know what his/her philosophy is and whether you are compatible with it.
I’ve had all 5 of my births naturally – all needed the water to be broken at a certain point, all needed a little help with the pitocin, none were C-section, and one was induced b/c he was overdue. I’ve had babies in 3 different states and 4 different hospitals. I’ve never had a “pushy” Dr. but then I knew ahead of time what his thoughts were on these issues.
I also recognize that in the moments of birthing and delivery – my health and the health of my baby is in their hands and I trust that they will make good decisions based on our well-being.
Good luck with trying not to get an IV. I really hope you don’t have to. I’ve always been told I have to (I have really bad veins, and scars from each IV I’ve had) because in the event of an emergency, it would already be there. That makes sense to me, although it’s not very happy. :)
With baby #6 due in April, I’m thinking about getting an epidural. The last labor was extremely painful b/c I’ve got a “lazy uterus” from having been stretched so many times. I’m not scared of the pain, haha, just worn out thinking about going through it again, and in this modern day if there is something safe that will ease that, then I might just do it. I figure I’ve paid my dues!

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As a mom who’s had 2 c-sections, I really appreciate that you didn’t come off as “natural is the only way to go and if you don’t you’re not as good of a woman/mom as me”. I’ve had a LOT of women make me feel that way and it really ticks me off! :)
With my first, it was discovered that my amniotic fluid was very low at 36 weeks. Since that is an indicator on how much pee baby is producing, among other things, my OB didn’t feel it was safe to let me go any farther. (I love my OB by the way. She’s great and has never ever been pushy about anything) We had just moved an hour away 2 days before I got this phone call, so things were insane. We checked into the hospital and for THREE DAYS they tried to get Anna to come out. It was horrible. So many things they tried and none of it worked. I hate Pitocin! I never dilated to more than a 1.5 and they still gave it to me! I had non-stop, off the charts contractions for 8 hrs. They wouldn’t allow an epidural b/c if I ended up w/ a c/s they wanted a spinal, not an epidural. I wish I would have spoken up after 2 days and said, this is enough. No more. If it’s this important to get her out, do a c-section. But, first time mom I didn’t do it. That’s what I regret the most about her birth. By the time they finally did the c-section I was so exhausted. I don’t remember much about the details of what happened–I just know that she was born and I wasn’t in pain! She had low blood sugar and low temp so I wasn’t able to nurse her right away :( I don’t feel like that has affected our bond in any way (she’s 4.5 now!).
When #2 came along, my husband and I read all the info on VBAC and decided it would be best for us to do another c/s. The chances of me losing amniotic fluid again were high and I did NOT want to go through all that again. He was born at 39 weeks (I was ready a MONTH before that!! haha), huge, healthy and perfect. I nursed very soon after birth. This was a different hospital and the nurses (except one) and staff were horrible. I went home a day earlier than I should have, but I had to get out of there. I didn’t have a chance to watch the video (we have netflix–love it!), but someone commented about c/s being at the end of shifts. Neither of mine were–Anna was born just before 5pm and Jacob’s was at 9am (shift changes are usually 7am, 7pm, 11pm…I think there’s one more in there somewhere).
I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on some major life event…I still gave birth after all! :) Anyway, just wanted to share. Thanks for your post! We’re all moms, by whatever road! :)

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I loved this post Drea! I’m a HUGE natural birth advocate as well and I loved The Business of Being Born. In fact, I was going to comment on your other post (where you told us you were going to watch it) but you mentioned you didn’t want to know until after you watched… ;) When I’m a doula (and later, a midwife) I plan on recommending that video to my to-be mamas. Not to push the drug free labor thing, but to help educate them! too many women go into labor not knowing a THING except that they know they “need that epidural”.

Anyway, I had 2 completely different births as well. My first was the “classic” medicated birth that ended in a near C-Section. It was horrible. Miserable. months of recovery. I hated that birth. My 2nd I was more prepared for. I prepared for a natural delivery, I practiced before hand (as silly as that sounds) and I was ready for it. It. Was. AMAZING. I was up and walking myself to the bathroom less than an hour after birth, with a smile on my face!

If you haven’t heard of it yet (I didn’t read the comments, so I’m not sure if anyone’s mentioned it) you should read “Husband-Coached Childbirth” by Robert Bradley (the method of birthing is called the “Bradley Method”). Even if you don’t decide to go drug free, it’s an EXCELLENT resource and fantastic for prepping for labor. There are so many great tips for getting your body ready for delivery, I highly highly recommend it.

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drea, i’d like to give you my point of view. i have 3 children (8, 6 and 2). my oldest is my son. with him, i planned a natural birth, but due to him being posterior, i ended up agreeing to an epidural (and pit as well). my 2 girls were both born at home, no pain meds at all. let me tell you, contractions of Pit are soooooo much harder than ‘natural’ contractions! not to say that natural labour is a breeze.. it’s definitely hard work! but natural labour is so much easier to handle than Pit. also, from my perspective, the epidural took away the *pain*, but it also took away some of the *joy*. of course, with the birth of any child, no matter how they come, you always feel joy. but with my girls, the joy that i felt was so much more intense. with my son, i felt more like “i’m so glad it’s over”, and with the girls, i immediately forgot any pain that i ever felt in my life, and i felt so “high”. not to mention the sense of accomplishment… they always say that you don’t get a medal for natural birth… but with me, i felt like i did! i was like “i pushed a whole baby out, all by myself!”

if you want to try a natural labour (and i highly recommend it!), you should try to stay upright as much as possible.. walk, sway, let gravity help you out. say no to continous fetal monitoring… intermittent monitoring (with a hand held doppler, like at the doctor/midwife’s office) is proven to be equally effective. hire a doula! they work wonders for natual pain management. they can also help with learning how to nurse.

you do not have to be completely naked. some women feel more comfortable naked, some not. personally, i kept a sports bra on the whole time, and an oversized t-shirt for most of it… when labour became more intense, i got hot and took the t-shirt off. you just gotta do what feels right in the moment.

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My first birth was with drugs and my second was without drugs and the way I see it, why go through pain when you don’t have to. But if a woman wants to have an all natural birth, more power to her. I’m all for pain free. My water broke on it’s own on my first but I was not contracting at all and after 9 hours of no signs of labour other than leaking fluid, I was given pitocin to start the contractions. I got that at 9:30 in the morning and she was born at 9:13 that night. I also had an epidural which was heavenly and I was still able to feel the contractions and I knew when to push. I was given nubane a few hours before the epidural and I’m so glad I did because I was able to get some sleep after not sleeping all night long. I also got to watch the birth and it was the most amazing and beautiful thing I have ever seen. I will never forget it! My second birth went fast, I contracted on my own but my water had to be broken. I got to the hospital around 10:30 in the morning, was moved to a labour and delivery room around 12:30 and she was born at 2:39 that afternoon. I pushed for maybe 10 mins and if the dr hadn’t been right there, she would have ended up on the floor. I didn’t get to see her born nor did I want to. I just wanted the experience to be over so for me, a birth with pain meds is preferred over one without.

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