My cute sister-in-law Ellie, getting ready to have Sylvie.
Here's the dilemma I've faced. I'd like to go through labor and delivery as naturally as possible. That's not to say I'm not open to an epidural. I'd just like to let my body do as much as it can before having an epidural. I know everything can change once I get into labor, but I've heard good things and bad things about either going natural or having an epidural. The thing that worries me about having an epidural is that people have told me when it comes to pushing, you still feel a lot. Since that's the only part of labor I'm super worried about, why get an epidural if it's not going to take all the pain away?
I'd love to hear your opinions on either... particularly if you've had babies both ways.
I probably sound a little naive, but that's why I have you, my readers, to help inform me with your experience. :)
23 comments:
Can you hear me laughing?? Why suffer?
An epidural is the only way to go. Pain ruins the experience. Yes, there may be some feeling still but certainly less than without the epidural.
Don't try to be a hero. You want to have good memories.
I have a testimony of epidurals. Seriously, I didn't feel a thing as far as pain. You can kind of tell when it's time to push because there's a bit of a pressure change, but honestly I feel like I never would have another kid if I'd done it naturally. I'm too big of a wimp. I highly recommend them. Hats off to those women who go natural, I couldn't do it. (I went as long as I could and then begged for the epidural.)
I did it natural and will totally go for it again. Daniel was big too, 9lbs. 5oz. It takes a lot of mental prep though. I did hypnobabies and loved it! I wasn't in a hypnotic state the whole time -- my concentration is not that good. It helps prepare you and to keep you calm about the whole process though.
Take a birthing class - it will help you weigh all your options. It might even help lessen some of your fears. I personally took a hypnobirthing class and loved it - it taught me all sorts of relaxation techniques and counter pressure points, and how to work with my body - not against it.
So... I'm preparing myself for an unmedicated labor and delivery. I've done lots of questioning and have actually found a few sisters in our ward who have delivered their children unmedicated and who have offered me their opinions and encouragement and advice. If you want to hear more, just call me or talk to me on Sunday. I'd be happy to share what I know!
I felt the same way you do for my first baby! Just be realistic and don't have set plans. Nothing goes according to plan on the big day. Just be prepared for anything!
For those who have mentioned it... I am signed up for a hypnobirthing class. If things work out ideally, I'll go through everything naturally, and be just fine. However, if it gets to be too much, I have no problems asking for medication.
dave and I recommend reading husband coached childbirth by dr bradley. pushing for me was the easiest part. it was quick and not painful, and I hope it goes the same way for you. i did not have an epidural, I did use nubain because I dialate so quickly I can't relax and it takes the edge off. my original plan was to go unmedicated, and I would love to do it, but I can't. anyways, that book discusses how to push in way so that it is not painful, and it works. my rs president recommended that book to us and it really helped.
I've got no advice since I had 3 c-sections. I know nothing about pushing. I'm still baffled about how that whole procedure is even possible. I do not reccomend major surgery. The recovery is no fun.
Pushing, with our without and epidural, is exactly like pushing out a poo. Exactly. Are you afraid of that? Because it actually feels good, like taking a poo. Pushing without an epidural hurts like hell. Pushing with one is much better. Both feel like a poo. Just expect that and you'll be fine.
No reason to go natural. End up with the same result. I've had two with epidural and two without. I'd never do it again without if I didn't have to!
You have a bunch of freaky friends with the hypnobirthing. Just my opinion.
I didn't do hypnobirthing or anything...I just decided I was going to push them out without drugs...AND DID!
I've done it BOTH ways and there are benefits to both. Having a baby without drugs you certainly "feel" more. The coolest experience for me was whenever I came down off a contraction I had this amazing high. Pushing was pure hell though and I lost all motherly instinct and screamed, "$%**@!!! Get it out!"-not my best mother moment. But, my water had been broken for 6 hours and I was pretty uhum..dry.
My advice is to ask for a "walking" epidural. It certainly takes the edge off, but you are able to move around and really feel the pushing-not the pain, just the sensation.
Happy Pushing!!!
Full disclosure - I have not given birth. However, my observations are that if you lie to your anesthesiologist when he's computing your epidural drip and you end up numb all the way to your chest, there appears to be very little pushing pain. FWIW.
Contrary to popular belief ain't nobody gets a medal after birthin' naturally.
Just bragging rights.
But really who cares? No one really does unless its your own baby how it came out.
Says the 3 time C-sectioner.
I had two natural and I'd never do it any other way. Yes it hurts, but it hurts to run, or swim or play football or whatever your personal poison is. But we still do it anyway. Having babies is kind of the same, except as you've never done it before you don't know what to expect. We did Bradley method classes and they worked great, they teach you all about the stages of labor, what your body does and how to deal with it.
As for pushing, at least for me it was a relief. It meant that it was almost over and the baby was going to come out. I didn't think the contractions hurt anymore while pushing, but Paige was correct where the feeling is much like when you need to poo.
If you want to go natural, just make sure you are prepared, and that your doctor is on the same page as you are. I started with a doctor with Liam and when I told her I was going natural, she told me I had to find somewhere else to go. Not that she wasn't okay with it, but the hospital I would be going to with her would do everything to prevent it. So I would have had to fight them for everything, causing much more pain and stress than is necissary. Which in the end makes it hard to go natural.
I like the "lie to your anesthesiologist" comment, although hopefully you don't end up dying from over-dosage :)
Had a breech baby and a c-section, so I don't know about pushing either. But Hypnobirthing will do SO MUCH to help with the fear issue, even if you do decide to get an epidural. Being prepared is 90% of the battle.
Having given birth 10 days ago....I'm all about the epidural. You don't know how you are going to handle the pain until you are in the middle of it so it's hard to plan ahead. I'm sure my pain tolerance is super low compared to those women who can deliver without medication. I don't really care. The pain is scary for me and having an epidural means that I can relax and let my body do it's thing and enjoy the time with my husband. I had some pain at the end because things progressed super fast as he was ready to come but it was minimal compared to what I would have felt without the epidural. I do believe that there is no award given to those who do it pain free. You still get your sweet baby in the end.
P.S. I told Mark that he and I could be friends again after I got the epidural!
I did it naturally both times. I wouldn't do it any other way. Honestly, pushing didn't hurt. With my first, it was alot of work, certainly. But pushing was not the stage that I felt any pain. Like Paige said, it feels exactly like pooing-certainly a big poo. My big fear was tearing. I was terrified of tearing. I'd imagine that would hurt, but I did tear with my first and don't remember feeling it happen. I think all my worrying only made my pushes less effective-and make it take longer-1 1/2 hours!
Good luck with the birthing class!
Shirley
Here's what happend with me:
I wanted to have a natural labor. When the contractions started I totally was like, "No Problem. I got this." But as things progressed I had a LOT of back labor. After the doctor broke my water I seriously could not handle the pain. So I asked for an epidural. It was amazing the immediate difference I felt. I could feel my muscles contracting, I could feel my body doing what it needed to, but I didn't have any pain. When the time came to push, I called the nurse and told her that I thought I was ready. She came in and had me do a practice push and then asked me to wait for the doctor. After about 5 pushes I had my baby.
My advice to you would be this: Feel it out. You can change your mind. If you want a natural delivery, but the pain is too intense, ask for the epidural. If the pain is tolerable, go natural. Either way, do what you are comfortable with.
Do what's best for you and best for your baby. Never let anyone tell you what's best for you.
Good luck with your decision!
PS- ARE YOU STILL COMING OUT NEXT MONTH??? I HAVEN'T HEARD FROM ANYONE!
Had all five natural and believe me, not by choice. You don't get anything special for suffering and you're not Jewish or Catholic. Do what feels right. (Drugs)
To address your initial concern about pushing for my first baby pushing was a lot of effort but NO pain, infact it was a huge relief from labor. Even though it took about an hour.
For my second baby I had learned to push the right way (it's like sitting up by pulling on someone's extended hand, its all ab's) and had let my water sack stay intact (I'd strongly recommend not letting them break your water just to "speed things up") and so I only pushed three times maybe 5 minutes tops and he slip and slided his way out.
As for epidurals in general, I wasn't trying to win bragging rights by going natural and I had a fantastic birth experience with out the epidural.
The thing I liked best about having two natural births was that I was in control. I wasn't scared. I could feel the progress and decided when and how to push. By my second baby I wasn't even worry about getting to the hospital because I knew I could birth a baby by myself if I had to. I also liked being able to move around and sneak food. I liked not having to be monitor all the time but to birth my way, with my husband and mid-wife.
And two things that haven't been addressed are recovery and possible side effects.
As for recover I only had natural, but what I heard and what I experienced was that I was able to walk and move around after about 45 minutes which isn't true for most epidurals.
And most compelling for me (and possible most controversial) are possible side effects of epidurals.
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/epidural.html
http://www.kimjames.net/epidural_risks_and_side_effects.htm
http://www.childbirth.org/articles/sideeppi.html
Two of the most important to me are the correlations between epidurals and poor breastfeeding and epidurals and the need for increased medical intervention.
And so, I figured that if I could skip taking those risks I would.
P.S. Hypnobirthing was amazing and its deep relaxation not "freakish" as Paige so kindly put.
Oh, sorry Nancy, I didn't realize I was writing so much.
Hey, this is a little late, but I'm just catching up and thought I'd add my two cents. I love reading how things went for other people. I didn't get to the hospital until I was dilated to a five and labor just felt like really bad menstrual cramps. Once I got to the hospital I got an epidural, but it only partly worked, so I could still feel down one section. Which was kind of nice because it didn't hurt too much but I could still move my legs and feel when I was having a contraction and could feel how to push. During transition it hurt a lot but once I started pushing I felt much better. So it might end up being your favorite part. Really, my whole labor and delivery experience was a pleasant surprise. But then, my philosophy is to expect to be screaming in pain and then anything else is a bonus. :) I'm going to try to go natural this time, just to avoid the I.V. and the catheter and the tear (ouch!) but I'm keeping an open mind. Hope you're doing well!!
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