Non-medicated Childbirth?

I had a non-medicated birth for my fisrt child, and I used the Bradley method. I loved it! All 7 women in my class had non-medicated birth, so it was very successful. For my second child, I'll try some hypnobirthing classes.
Good luck!

I had all 3 of mine drug free and boy was I begging for drugs every single time. Too bad I went too fast to get any. They wouldn't have done me any good.

Research all the options, discuss with your doctor ALL the side effects you had with the meds and go from there. While a "natural" birth is touted as "best". Figure out what works best for you. And leave ALL the options open.

Childbirth is VERY painful and if you chose to feel it that's fine. But if you don't ... that's fine too. Teeth can be extracted without meds too ... but I sure as heck wouldn't do it.

I took a lamaze class with my oldest and it helped somewhat but after a certain point ... someone says "breathe through it" and I'm ready to rip their head off LOL.

Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for :) LOTS of options out there. NONE of them the "wrong" option.

I took Lamaze and that really helped. My ifrst was no drugs and I stuck to the lamaze method. It hurt but not as bad as my second non-med labor, when I didn't stick to the lamaze Method. I was waiting for drugs and not concentrating..w.ent too fast = no drugs. It does hurt a lot, but I was surprised that for me the worst part was the actual delivery. The labor pains hurt, but once I could push with them it lessened. Then when the head came out *OUCH* it burned really bad. That was a surprise for me. If you do need/want drugs there is nothing wrong with that either. Good luck!!!

Hi C.,
You've gotten some really good responses and I just wanted to share with you one of my favorite quotes that I find empowering. "There is a secret in our culture, it's not that birth is painful, but that women are strong." by Laura Stavoe Harm. I work as a doula in my local hospital, and I have found that the medical community (at least here) has very little faith in the strength of women. You are a strong being and I hope you can remember that strength in your labor. Your baby only gets one birth, I commend you for educating yourself. I recommend Pam Englands "Birthing from Within". Labor is a physical journey, but it starts with your head. Once your head is committed, your body will follow. I wish you luck and send you love.
Peace,
Townley

I had my daughter "all natural", and my son was induced, but without pain meds. I didn't read anything in particular that helped, but did concentrate on an image in my head and focused breathing to manage the pain. With my daugther, who was nearly 2 lbs. bigger than my son, the worst part was when she got a little stuck and I was very anxious- my very supportive sister who attended the delivery, helped me refocus my breathing, and I got through it just fine. A good labor partner is essential, and while my husband was technically my coach, my sister was a lot more reassuring and calm. Even my husband admits he was a nervous wreck and his training "went out the window" in the heat of delivery. Also, as a side note, I had an episiotomy with my daughter, and the pain from the cut was really no big deal- just as if cutting yourself with a knife when you're cooking: a little sting, but not an escruciating pain. I mention that because it was something I was really scared of before I went through it. Good luck in your quest, and may your baby be just big enough to be a normal healthy size :-)!

My 1st daughter I had with epi. Being my first child I said " No way with the pain I am going with meds" Well it was 12 hour labor and it was worth it. But my outlook has changed since I had my other daughter a year later. She came so fast that I didnt have time to get meds ( 2.5 hours) Yes there was alot of pain but by the time I even asked about my meds the nurse told me that I was feeling the worst of it at 9 cm. When she was born I felt so happy to see my little girl that I forgot about the pain.

My recovery time seemed to be faster with no meds.. I had more energy afterwards and alert. 2 years later and I honestly dont remember the pain that much just remember when I saw that beautiful face.

Good luck and congrats
A.

I also recommend the Birth Partner. There were great positions and techniques for making the birth easier. My second was delivered without an epidural. She was induced, but I had no pain medication. What worked the best for me (and we actually tested mid contraction to see if it mattered) was acupressure. I downloaded a few instructions from the internet, and then we worked through those until we found one that worked for me. In our case, this was having my husband press his thumbs into the dimples where my back meets my butt. (basically at the bikini line on your back) The contractions didn't disappear, but it made even the redlining of the transition - where the baby drops and turns around, basically as one giant contraction - much more bearable. Seriously, I wasn't screaming like in the movies. It was something I could breathe through.

I read several books by Ina and was able to take a few things away - mainly that if you can relax - heh, easier said than done - the baby should move out more easily. But, in general, I thought the book was a little more "earthy" than I am. I preferred the more matter-of -fact technique filled Birth Partner.

Congratulations!

Hi C. ?

Congratulatio on your third child!
Have you thought of a homebirth with a midewife and a doula?
I was a doula myself and was 41 when I had a homebirth, and I would do it again despite the pain, that was tremendous. I thought I wouldn't need a doula because the father of my child had attended himself 3 other births, among them the 2 of our son's siblings. But I'm telling you when finally after a long labor I finally called a friend doula and she arrived, my trust in my abilities of going through the pain and making progreesses raised immediatly. I wanted my parner with me as a physical support, but he couldn't comfort me despite the Hypnobirthing classes we had done together.
I am also a childbirth educator and my training with Pam England from" Birthing From Within" was a major help for me to cope with the pain and the anxiety of the birth.
I wish you the best birth you can and recommand strongly the book " Bithing From Within" from Pam England.

C.
All three of my children were born without medication. My husband and I used the Lamaze method and took 6 weeks of clsses using breathing techniques, massage and meditation. Epidurals are a relatively recent option, as our children are 27 years, 24 years and 18 years. I felt so wonderfully relieved after the birth experience and was not groggy, did not have any headaches or ill effects from the medication. I wish you all the best with your research and decision.

A. A

Hi C.,

There are a couple little known books that are very supportive and encourage natural birth. I recommend them to my birth clients who want more positive input.

Hey! Who's Having this Baby Anyway? by Breck Hawk, RN & Midwife
Journey into Motherhood by Sheri Menelli

Blessings for a wonderful birth!
H..

Hi C.,

Stick with the medication! Discuss the previous side effects with your doc and asked for his/her recommendation would be for alternative pain control! I believe (from personal experience with a 24 hour+ labor) your doc will know when to have med administered that will NOT slow your labor down too much and give you a easier delivery.

Blessings....

Check out the Alexander technique. Normally one starts much earlier in their pregnancy, but I used it later in mine. I just chickened out because I heard the woman in the room next to mine screaming her head off. HOwever, I made it to 7cms dialated all by myself with this breathing technique and I had ALL back labor. So it's a pretty powerful technique.

Well, as the first-time mom of a child about to be born at a home birth, I must admit I have strong biases about all the medical interventions, so I will try to temper myself. First thing, I suggest you get the movie "The Business of Being Born", to learn more about the serious effects (on you, on the birth process, and especially on the baby) of medicated births. The current trend is to "manage" birth, and can lead to an array of unnecessary interventions. I also suggest you read anything by Ina Mae Gaskin, a seasoned midwife. In particular, try "Ina Mae's Guide to Childbirth", a wonderful collection of birth stories, and a great book about pregnancy, labor and delivery. Best of luck to you...feel free to contact me with more questions about home births!

I strongly recommend Henci Goer's book, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. While the author is pro-natural-birth, it's a very even-handed discussion of all the sorts of interventions and treatments out there, with the pros and cons of each, and a TON of citations and references, so that mothers can make their own informed choices.

I would also strongly recommend The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin -- it's oriented towards the father or doula, basically towards the labor-support person, covering all the sorts of supportive measures that help a mother through the childbirth process. It also has a good discussion of when various interventions are a good idea and how to support the mom if she chooses to use them.

Try "The birth Partner". While it is written for your partner, it has great information and I found it very helpful for knowing what to expect and what questions to ask. I would also strongly recommend using a Doulah. The support they can offer and their calm, emotionally removed presence can be very helpful, especially during the roughest parts of labor. Good luck and I hope you have a beautiful birth.

Hi C.,
I had a natural childbirth with my daughter and it was a wonderful experience. We went through the Bradley method training (I see that others have already recommended books about this) and it was extremely helpful. We also hired a doula to work with us (who was also our Bradley instructor). The teamwork between my doula and husband worked great. My husband was able to totally focus on me, helping me to focus on other things, talk to me, pamper me. And the doula gave me great back rubs and was readily available for consultation and working through the contractions.

I see that you are due at the end of October and probably won't have time for the whole Bradley training (it goes 12 weeks). But the same thing happened to us and we were fortunate to find a trainer that let us still do the training as well as do some intensive classes with us so that we could get through it all. Unfortunately, I can't recommend anyone because my daughter's birth happened in Kentucky.

Also, another book that I wanted to recommend is "Birthing From Within" by Pam England and Rob Horowitz. It's a great prep book that for childbirth that "thinks outside of the box."

Blessings to you on your birth, B.

How long are you typically in labor? How high is your pain tolerance? How big do your kids' heads tend to be? I fully intended to have an epidural but went into preterm labor. They tried to stop the labor but didn't succeed. I proceeded so quickly (2.5 hours from water breaking to son emerging) that they couldn't give me an epidural. I have a very high pain tolerance and was fine -- it hurt *a lot*, but I could handle it. At the same time, I only had 2.5 hours of contractions, small heads run in my family, and my son was tiny from being so early. I certainly didn't have anything rip. My cousin did something called hynobirthing and really liked it. You might want to look into that.

hey!

i'd read "ina may's guide to natural childbirth" and "spiritual midwifery". also, try "the bradley method of natural childbirth". good luck! :)

Hypnobirthing was AMAZING!

My sister, both my sisters-in-law and I did this program and none of us needed to have any medication. It's been all over the news in the past year or two and I can personally attest to its effectiveness.

Here's the website:
http://www.hypnobirthing.com/

They have all the info on the website as well as Hypnobirthing teachers in your area. Make sure you take the classes along with the book/CD - that makes ALL the difference!

Good luck!
K..

Books I loved were:
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
Natural Childbirth The Bradley Way by Susan Mc Cutcheon
My first birth was a C-section because the doctor scared the crud out of me over just my daughter being a big sized baby as it turned out.
When I got pregnant a second time I took control and researched it myself and I was so glad I did. Yes there is pain but it is totally managable if you understand what is happening to your body and you use the focusing methods Bradley teaches. I was in labor for 36 hours and spent the first 24 at home doing everyday activities and I even went to my doctor's appointment. My doctor thought it was false labor because I was so calm- but 2:30am (almost exactly 24 hours from the start of my labor) my water broke and off to the hospital- 6 hours later my BIG son was born- 14cm head, 22 inches long and 8lbs 6oz and because I was so calm my 3 year old daughter got to be there for the whole thing, holding my hand for most of it making it the most beautiful experiance of my life. Nothing like the fear and pain involved with my C-section. I can not reccomend it highly enough!

Dear C.,

I wish you every success with your goal for a non-medicated birth. Surrounding yourself with positive people will be the key.

I had a Cesarean with the birth of my son due to him being breech and myself being uninformed about the possibility of turning him so close to my due date. Consequently, I was the 8th person to hold my son, not the first, and so I tried everything I could to have a vaginal delivery for the birth of my daughter.

My daughter, too, was breech, but this time I was with an OB/GYN that had midwives and that was crucial - not only to help me with alternatives to helping her turn naturally, but also with all-around information about birth and how to prepare. Having a midwife opened up so much more information to me that had not been volunteered to me the first time with an OB/GYN MD, and provoked me to ask so many more questions.

I also had a doula - a very experienced doula - who I trusted completely and who I knew would help me get through as much as I could, but keep me focussed. Both my husband and I agreed we would have gone to the hospital much sooner, if it had not been for her. By laboring at home in "comfort" and with less stress - I did good and was strong enough to be able to tell the nurses "not yet" when they kept asking if I wanted meds. (They seem to ask you this continuously when you are trying to avoid them!)

My goal was a vaginal delivery. I ended up with an un-medicated birth via midwife in the hospital. (An OB was present but only because it was mandated with a prior C/Section.) I was the first to hold my daughter and I was up
with her the first time she cried.

My recommendations: Midwife, doula and 2 books: Birthing from Within by Pam England, and The Alexander Technique Birth Book by Ilana Machover and Angela and Jonathan Drake.

Hope this helps.
Warm wishes...
S.