until my due date! This is my first and I'm so excited and maybe just a bit scared. I'm not scared about my baby, I think I will be a good mom and I can't wait for my baby boy and I to discover each other! Yet, I could use some advice for natural birthing. I am giving birth in the hospital and my husband will be there as well as my sister who will act as my doula. I have been taking prenatal yoga since the beginning and it is now taught by a midwife so I feel like I get alot of valuable information from her and we work on breathing techniques as well as positioning. I had back surgery about 18 years ago and I still have a stainless steel rod in my spine, so I pretty much view the whole spinal injection as not even an option for me. Yet as I get closer to the date, I get a bit more nervous. Especially with the doubtmongers (is that even a word? ) like this one lady who works at the hospital who says "hardly anyone goes natural anymore". Stuff like that just pisses me off because I know it can be done....maybe I just want reassurance that I can do it!! Anyway, sorry about the rant! I'd like to hear some stories from you mamas who did go natural (preferably from those who labored at a hospital....I know it's easier to do it natural when there is no temptation of medication around).
I went to my doctor on Thursday. Currently, 1 cm dialated, having a hospital birth and am due on the 19th. I am also going drug free due to a spinal injury (collapsed spinal cord when I was a child). I believe that we CAN do this drug free! Cave women did it, our grandmother's did it... hell.. my mom even did it. So! If they can do it, I can do it. If I can do it, you can do it! I just keep telling myself that this is important for me. I keep telling myself that the women I love and respect most did it, and I strive to be just as strong as they are. Would that help you? It is hard to deal with all the nay-sayers. I have encountered them too... ranging from everything from my intention to cloth diaper, to breastfeeding to having a natural birth. I tend to give them a giant mental "fuck you"... lol... it tends to help. Also, having my husband's support and complete backing in all these things helps too! He has actually told people to shut up because they are upsetting me! hahaha. Is your doctor supportive of your intention to have drug free delivery? Do you have many copies of your birthing plan ready to go to the hospital with you? Does your husband feel as strongly about this as you do? Keep me updated?! You can do it Sister! I have complete faith in your ability to do this! -regan
You guys CAN do it naturally, no matter what anyone tries to tell you. I had my first daughter naturally, and sure it hurt like hell, but the pain eventually ends, I took one look at my daughter, and was assured that I did it the right way. For my 2nd daughter, I chose to take Nubain (sp?) which basicly relaxed me in between contractions. I chose to take something because I was in so much pain with my fist child, that I did not feel like I was in control, I was psycho-mean to my husband, and i just wanted to feel like this was the beuatiful event that I ahd anticipated the first time. And with this one, again the pain ended, I took one look at my beautiful girl, and was assured I did the right thing. With my 3rd daughter, I had planned to do it naturally again, especially since i was anticipating a quick labor, but at some point I screamed out something along the lines of "fuck this ,I need an epidural" and they quickly gave me one, said it would be about 10 minutes before i would feel the effects, and before I even felt the epi I was holding my 3rd little girl! So, I have 3 beautiful daughters, one natural, one with a medicine that my midwife called 'an attitude adjuster' , and one done with an epidural that was given very late. Now I am pregnant with my 4th (Its a boy!!!!) and faced with the decision of which way worked best for me. Ultimately, because I am older now, and this pregnancy is affecting me much differently ( I am 8 weeks from my due date, and in constant pain, I feel like I am going into labor every minute of every day) I think I am going to go for the epidural. I just never want to feel that sort of pain again! That however is my personal decision, based on my own experiences, my own fears, and knowing my body, and how my labors tend to go. I think that it is wonderful when women choose to go natural. Don't let people tell you that it can't or shouldn't be done because it can, and if that is the way that you want it done, than that is the way that it should be done. Congrats to you both, and best of luck to you. When are your due dates? Mine is Oct.5, and I am so excited as this is my first boy!!
i have 2 kids and i had them both naturally. they were both delivered in the hospital, though my daughter was supposed to be born in the birthing center. it hurts, but the pain is...over there...kinda out of body. you aren't really thinking about the pain most of the time; you are thinking about getting the kid OUT! and like somebody said, as soon as it's over, as soon as the head is delivered, the pain is gone, and you have a healthy, alert, non-drugged baby. to tell the truth, i hated being pregnant much more than i hated the birthing. i had to be pregnant for much longer! you can do it!
You can do it! Yeah, there's a lot of women out there getting epidurals, but they also usually, for the most part, plan on getting one the minute the pregnancy test comes back positive. There's some mama's who need meds if they haven't slept in hours and hours and hours and have NO engery. I had one...I would have prefered not to, but I only got it because of the pitocin they gave me without consent, which made my contractions hell. And by that point, I felt so sick (I had the flu), dehydrated and hungry (my OB resticted all food, water and ice chips), and I had been in labour for 36 hours. I needed to sleep, even if it was only for the 2 hours I got in. But I'm sure that if you are determinded to do this naturally, you can do it. I'm going the natural way next time, too. If you can really build you confidence in your ability to do this naturally, I'm sure you'll be just fine! Shrug off the 'doubtmongers'....put it this way, no matter what you do, someone isn't going to be happy with your decision. You know what's right for you.
