why did you/do you want to go natural? - Page 4

[scottishmommy]

Originally Posted by GoBecGo

But it's a false statistic for this discussion, no? Or are all of us who are wanting to natural intending to do so at the potential cost of our own lives? Because i for one will be getting a c-section if it's medically warranted. I won't be going natural at all and any cost. Surely those who would are very few and far between?

i don't see how that statistic applies to this discussion either. all it says to me is that if you take 100 pregnant women and put them an island (seperately) with no medical care whatsoever, 1-2 percent of them would die. i mean no interventions mean no interventions, right?

[mambera]

Oh well, I was just trying to say what GoBecGo already said more eloquently and empathetically in her post #51. The actual numbers don't even really matter; point is just that natural birth is not 'guaranteed' to go well if you do your homework. You could still be the unlucky 1-3%.

[msmiranda]

Without having read any of the other responses, the reasons I wanted to avoid interventions/medications were: (1) didn't want to expose baby to the risks of using unnecessary drugs; (2) didn't want to expose myself to the risks of those medications or to increase my risk of being injured (c-section, episiotomy); (3) didn't want to do anything that would sabotage breastfeeding or make it more difficult. Having done it twice, I can honestly say that I never felt that I needed pain medication (which is not to say that pushing them out didn't hurt or that transition wasn't hard). I am one of very few people I know who has birthed naturally, so it was something I came to on my own through reading and educating myself about birth.

[lakeruby]

I just want to know that I can do it!

[staceychev]

I really went back and forth, because I'm such a chicken, but at the same time strive for natural living in almost every other part of our lives. I have friends who still have complications (numbness, tingling) from epidurals, yet I had none from the epidural I had with my first birth.

So, my whole pregnancy, I kept saying to myself "I'm going to try, but if I can't do it, I'm not going to beat myself up about it."

Well... I got to the hospital at 10 centimeters! Baby girl made up my mind for me, and entered the world drug-free and alert.

[MiaMama]

Originally Posted by Peony

My mom had natural births so I grew up hearing the stories and always thought that was just the way it was.

LOL, yeah that. Even though my cousins have hospital births, my grandpa asked me "well, you're seeing midwives, right?" I was born in his house, and he took the very graphic pictures of me crowning. (He's my DADs dad. LOL)

We had books about natural birth and the problem with the hospital model of care on the bookshelves growing up. My parents both have much younger kids from new relationships, too. So when I was 13, I went with my mom the the birth center and watched her deliver my brother. My stepmom ended up going to the same BC a few years later, too (my dad is VERY convincing LOL).

I really dislike hospitals. The only time I ever went to them was when someone was very seriously injured. I hate the way they smell, and I don't like going to the Drs in general. I can't remember the last time I went to the Dr and they actually helped me.

But really, I hate the idea of messing with my hormones. My desire to birth naturally has more to do with avoiding pitocin than avoiding the epidural.

[Quinalla]

There were a lot of reasons. My mom had 3/4 with no drugs and was glad she did even though it was painful. I don't like how I feel when I have been drugged for surgery in the past, I tend to get knocked out hard by the drugs and throw up and get shaky. I have a decent pain tolerance, especially when it is pain with a purpose (think long distance running and pushing through the wall). Those things made me very interested in researching drug-free childbirth and once I started researching, it made sense to go for and prepare for one as even if you opt to have drugs, they don't always work perfectly or there isn't time for them. And everything I read pointed to a better experience and recovery for the baby and for Mom too if she prepared herself for the pain.

And I am very glad I prepared they way I did as I wouldn't have had time for drugs even if I wanted them. And my recovery was great, I mean sure I was exhausted and sore, but I felt good otherwise.

[Kelly1101]

My mom had all three of us natural with lamaze, so that was a big influence (she was also very supportive of breastfeeding, no CIO, babywearing, and APish stuff... I love my mom).

But also I don't like needles, and I am leery of side-effects from interventions. I will accept intervention if I feel it is necessary, but I don't feel like I should do all these medical procedures "just because", when birth can be a perfectly natural thing with luck (I do believe that luck is a large factor in NCB, just ask all the homebirth-turned-emergency c/s moms).

I did have pitocin last time, but no pain meds or epidural, and immediately after I was very happy that I didn't have an epi, I think it helped me to effectively push out a sunny-side-up baby. And I felt great very soon after birth.

Planning on no epi again this time, and crossing my fingers for no pitocin or posterior baby this time, wish me luck!

[RedOakMomma]

My first pregnancy was with twins. I wanted to go natural because I knew interventions could be a fast-track to a c-section. I really, really did not want a c-section. Also, I knew natural labor was best for babies and nursing, and I wanted to give my kids that advantage.

Now, on pregnancy #3, I want to do it just because I can. It's really empowering to feel the birth experience, to be mentally and physically sharp, and to recover so quickly while bonding with a baby.

[dachshund mom]

Initially:
General unease with drs and hospitals
Bad experience with fertility treatment
Saw BOBB/cascade of interventions

During pregnancy:
better for baby
breastfeeding/bonding
because everyone was saying I couldn't

[CherryBomb]

I felt it would give me the best chance of a vba2c, which was important to me because we want a large family.

Though strictly speaking, it wasn't natural. I asked for AROM at 9cm and asked for nubain to help me through a panic attack (I have 2 anxiety disorders).

It's pretty much a practicality thing for me.

[St. Margaret]

I wanted the best outcome for me and baby, and research shows natural and no interventions/stressors was the way to go. I wanted to avoid a c-section, too. It's funny b/c my mom was a real NFL parents back in the day, too, but I came around to the same path on my own. Which only validates it more for me!

Having done it once, I want natural again because it was easy, I've heard way more about scary epidural side effects, and it was AMAZING. I will carry that power I felt with me the rest of my life.

[Aka mommy]

I experienced a completely intervened and medicated birth with my first. Pitocen, back labor, epidural, episiotomy. We checked out of the hospital 12 hours after she was born and i said i would NEVER do that again. It was pretty traumatizing.

With my 2nd pregnancy i thought about homebirth, but thought it was a crazy notion. Checked out the free standing birth center and the CNM scared me. And we couldn't imagine leaving our dd for the birth and possibly overnight, as she'd never been away from us. I started reading and learning. I was terrified of hospitals and as i learned about homebirth it became something i knew was right for us. Something i was determined to do because i didnt want another child or my body damaged by an ob.

I'm about to have my 3rd natural homebirth and now i choose to do so because i know it's best for my body, my baby and my family. I get horrible back labors, its the way my body is made. The pain is intense and worse then a pitocen induced labor. I know that if i birth in a hospital i will give in to the interventions. And the risks on my children are not worth a few hours of pain. And i don't have to leave my children and they can witness how normal and natural birth is meant to be.

[GreenMamma]

For my first baby? My sister. She didn't have any medication for her posterior baby that had the head the size of a cabbage patch doll and I was so inspired. The nurse also made her stay in bed on her left side (later found out there was no medical cause for this) and she STILL did it without the meds. I decided that if she could do it, I could do it. So I did. And after that I loved birthing so much I never considered an epi for any of my other children.

[laughymama]

My first was the story others tell when warning about unnecessary interventions and the domino effect that follows.
Induction for the OB's convenience, pitocin, held me down to break my bag of waters because it was so painful I could not lay still or not struggle, epidural immediately after that because I was terrified of what came next after such a painful, humiliating experience. I figured, if I can't feel anything, then it would be easier to endure.
The epidural caused my blood pressure to drop, I lost my vision and hearing for a bit and vomited nonstop for half an hour. Then I had a nurse say, "Oh, well that's totally common." and act like I was stupid for being scared or worried.

(The entire experience was hard for me. I'd never stayed in a hospital before and was like a deer in headlights the entire time.)
Could not feel any pressure or urge to push and could not push effectively. Forceps delivery. 2nd degree tear, no episiotomy. (Thank goodness.)

Right after the whole breaking my water debacle I was still crying and shaking a bit and told my husband that next time even if I had to give birth in the car to avoid it, I was never doing it this way again.

I gained confidence and assertiveness from the experience. At the time I was too intimidated and scared to stand up for myself and my baby. Afterward, I knew I'd do anything and everything to make sure I was properly taken care of and not taken advantage of with my next pregnancies.

Basically, I want to experience the births of my babies. I want to experience one of the greatest things my body was built to do. I don't want to sit idly by again, numb and terrified. I want to be active in it and really feel it.

[ecoteat]

I don't remember ever thinking that I would give birth in hospital or with drugs. Somehow it just never crossed my mind to do it that way. I knew many years ago I wouldn't use drugs unless absolutely necessary. I knew at least 10 years ago that I would plan on a homebirth. It wasn't about any explicitly negative feelings about hospitals or OBs, I've just always felt that my body giving birth was a completely natural process that should happen at home. DH felt the same way. I first met his cousins that were all born at home when I was in high school. I suppose that probably put the idea in my head that not only do I not have to use drugs, I don't even have to use doctors or their facilities. DH and I were both born in very medicalized settings. (He was a c/s and my mom was sedated during my birth--she doesn't remember it at all.) We had pretty mainstream, suburban upbringings. But somehow I became pretty crunchy at a really young age. So it was no surprise when my sister and I both planned natural births. Her first was in a birthing center and second was a home and my dd was born at home. We managed to convert our parents into big hb supporters!

[accountclosed3]

because it is what birth is.

and in general, i don't use allopathic medical care unless absolutely necessary.

[emamum]

2 reasons for me.... i dont want those powerful drugs being passed onto my baby, we dont use any kind of drug unless absolutely necessary

and i figure my body will work harder if i'm in that much pain and the birth will be quicker

ive had 2 without pain relief and expecting the 3rd in august ds took 6 hours (my first) and dd took 3 hours with dd i made it to 7 cm's on my own before i called anyone, midwife was only there for 2 hours lol

[kitkatkaddoodle]

Originally Posted by lakeruby

I just want to know that I can do it!

This is me too, mostly. I'm an L&D nurse, and while I didn't really want intervention, I think there's a time and place for them. I've seen real life cases where babies and even moms have died from pregnancy/birth complications (not intervention complications), so I knew that if I needed them, I was okay with getting them.

However, I wanted to see if I could do it on my own, especially since I am thinking of becoming a midwife. Also, by deciding to go as intervention free as possible, I had more control which calmed me greatly.

In the end, my homebirth ended up being a transfer at the last hour for meconium and heart rate decels, with a bit of a vacuum assist right at the end. My booger had tied his cord into a knot that was getting tight when he descended! All in all, the entire experience was good as I understood and accepted each intervention as the true need arose, and thing mostly went well after.

Still, I did miss the more uneventful delivery I had hoped for, so this pregnancy I'm hoping to deliver at the birth center. I'd have done a homebirth attempt again except we moved, and this state is much less homebirth friendly.

[olstep]

I try to go natural whenever it is possible. I do not see why childbirth should be any different.

I did not doubt I can do it but I doubted my doctors wouldn't interfere. DH was my only support person whose only assignment to watch the doctor.
My first thought after DS was born was not about the baby but "Thanks God, C-section is not more a threat"