Natural birth?

Question

I am currently eighteen weeks and around this time you are offered different birth methods. I personally want to go through natural birth in a hospital. For women who have gone through natural birth what was it like and what worked for you. How did you feel afterwards and for the women who choose the drugs...what made you choose them.

Answer 1

Yikes. Childbirth is NOT a medical procedure. It is natural and normal and you can do it without pain medication. I've had 4 children, the first 2 with epidural the last 2 with no pain meds at all. I would definitely recommend natural childbirth. No lingering effects from IVs or drugs, and you are not strapped in a bed so you can manage the pain in so many other ways. If you go naturally, get up AND MOVE. It will be so much more painful to be lying in bed. Walk, rock, sway, stretch, do whatever you have to do to get through each contraction and keep reminding yourself that you are STRONG! Wait until the pain from the contractions becomes almost unbearable and then get in a hot bathtub and soak until the nurses make you get out! This is an unbelievable way to manage labor pain and I would not have been able to get through natural childbirth without this! When it comes time to push, don't let them make you lie on your back in bed, it has been proven that women experience more pain during childbirth in this position than any other! It sounds wierd, but I gave birth to my son "Doggy style"- on all fours and it took only one push and was significantly less painful than my other births(even with the epidurals). Remember, that you will feel so much better about yourself after experiencing natural childbirth than if you get the drugs when you didn't plan on doing that. You want to come away from your birth experience with a healthy baby, of course, but if everything is normal, there's no reason to not do it naturally. No woman ever died from the pain and as soon as it's over and you see your baby, it will all be worth it and you'll feel so proud of yourself. Hope this was encouraging and helpful.

Answer 2

I had wanted a natural birth the whole time. I got til when my water broke. Then I demanded drugs and got some in my IV. But if I just would have waited... Only an hour later my son was born. The pain was awful for me because I have no pain tolerance. But I am definitely sticking it out next time. I was too groggy from the pain meds. I only remember maybe half of the birth. And I was too out of it afterwards to breastfeed him or even hold him. I didn't get to hold him until an hour or two later.

As long as you don't have any complications.. Or your labor doesn't go on for ages.. Natural birth really isn't that bad. The hardest part is getting your focus off the pain and remembering to breath. Make sure you have support, someone who researched different methods and can help you.

Answer 3

I pretty much wanted to wait and see how long I could go, but I always had it in the back of my head that I was going to get an epidural. And the reason I didn't get one right away is because I was afraid of the needle! My water broke at midnight. I felt no contractions in the hospital until 5:30am. I was handling them pretty well with not as severe pain as I initially thought, but then I threw up from the cramps. And that is when I decided to have the epidural. I felt bad that my husband and nurse were holding my hair back! I know, stupid reason to feel bad, but I did. So I had the epidural at about 8:30 am and immediately felt relief and started talking again. For me, it helped me enjoy labor more. Once I started pushing, she was out after about 5 contractions. I felt great, and my baby was fine. Go with what you think is best. Everyone has different opinions and beliefs. Don't let anyone make you feel bad if you need medicine. If you do go natural whatever the reason, I'm sure you will be just fine too. Congratulations!

Answer 4

I went into labor knowing what I wanted (vaginal delivery, no episiotomy, and I would TRY no drugs) but not EXPECTING it all. You really have no idea what will happen during labor, so go in with an open mind and be prepared for anything.

By the time I was just 3 cm dialated I couldn't take it any more, and had an epidural. I'm so glad I did. The pain was unbearable, and with the epidural I slept through most of my labor. When I woke up, the nurse checked me and the head was right there. I just pushed a couple of times and out came my baby! Good luck with whatever you choose. It's really up to you, but don't shy away from drugs if you really need them. (I was worried about epidural pain, but believe me, after contractions there is no pain that compares... the epidural was like a little mosquito bite)

Answer 5

Natural birth is surely what I went through 5 years ago! Not by choice.....when i was going to the hospital to get induced they took some blood and told me my white blood cell count was very low so i couldn't have an epidural. They broke my water and after that it was very painful for me to go though but after it was over i could get up and walk around! also i could feel when it was time to push i didn't need anyone to tell me to push. now iam 30 weeks and I am going to have natural birth again.Once you go through it once you can do it agian.um......i was feeling better 2days after i came home also. Good luck to you and i hope i helped you a little bit. remember you can try natural at first then you can always have the epidural as a back up just in case.

Answer 6

is this your first baby?
i had a little girl, my first, 8 months ago. the labor and delivery were at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago and i chose an epidural. I got the epidural at 5 centimeters (it didn't work the first time, so I labored for 2 hours, actually longer, without an epidural) but it was no big deal because they readministered the epidural and after about 15 minutes it started working and i couldn't feel any pain, just pressure like bad cramps.
i felt fine during the whole process. i actually loved it. sounds weird but i did. the whole experience was amazing.
when you get an epidural, there sometimes is some itchiness. for example, my legs itched. it was uncomfortable at all thougth. the only thing that kind of hurt throughout the whole administering of the epidural, was getting the IV.
i didn't feel weird afterwards. my baby was beautitul and healthy and responsive. so with our next one, i may get another epidural OR i may tro to do it naturally.
if this is your first baby, then by all means, have him/her in the hospital. you don't know what your history with childbirth is so it's the safest place to be.
GOOD LUCK and CONGRATULATIONS!

Answer 7

I have 3 children, with the first 2 I had an epidural. I did not feel much of the labor, and did not have control of my body when it came time to push. They eventually had to turn it off (in both cases) and let it wear off to some extent so I could actually push. Afterwards, I had a considerable amount of discomfort and shooting pains in my legs and back (this is common) for up to a year.

So for my 3rd, I was determined to go natural, which I did. Yes, it is painful however the pain goes away and is bearable knowing that it goes away. I was up, walking around within 2 hours of her arrival and did not have the sluggish after-affects of the epidural.

I HIGHLY recommend going natural if you would like.

Remember, everyone has their own opinions, success stories, and horror stories. You are the ONLY one who can make that decision.

p.s. my children were all normal healthy sizes 7.11, 8.9, and 7.4

Answer 8

I choose the drug's with my daughter because I was sssoooo scared of doing it natural! For me the drug's sucked so bad! Yeah I couldn't feel anything but I feel like I missed out on alot. My little one was early so she was taken straight to NICU and I only got to see her for about 30sec. before they took her and because I had the epidural I had to wait hours before I was able to go down and see her again. Plus after the epidural wore off (all at once I might add) it was just a sudden hit of PAIN and I mean the worst pain of my life! I was in major pain after everything for about 2 hours. When ever I have another baby I will do it naturally. I work with a women that had all 3 of her babies naturally and she said she wouldn't change a thing. Good luck in what ever way you choose! And Congrats on the little one!!!

Answer 9

I ended up getting an epidural. It worked great, except I couldn't move my legs once it took affect and it made me sick (I have blood sugar issues). I would do it again though as I was having back pain so bad that I wanted to pass out. I think do what works best for you. If during the first stages of labor you are fine,then stick with natural. If you can't handle that, then go with the other. Believe me you will know. Just make sure and make up your mind, otherwise you may want them later and you will be too far into labor to have it. Good luck.

Answer 10

For my first child that is now 10 I had IV drugs and it went pretty good I really felt fine after words. For my last two that are ages 6 and 11 months I had the interthicial ( not sure if I spelled that right) and it sucked. After about 1 hour of having the drug it wore off and I felt everything it hurt really bad! I had awful side affects and I kept throwing up for over 12 hours and was not able to hold my baby for over 12 hours cuz everytime that I moved I had to throw up. It was the worst experience of my life. I think that with my next one that is due in August I am gioing all natural. Hope I was of help to you and good luck trying to figure out what you are going to do.