Birthing in other counties

[trimommy2009]

I've been obsessed with natural birth and birth in America since I had a home birth 5 months ago.  I've really been curious as to why so many woman in North America, specifically the US choose pain killers so often.  I started by looking at infant and maternal mortality rates by country and then started looking into the birthing practices for those countries that have the best rates.  One of the best (I say that lightly because it is Wikepedia) article that I have found in on Japan. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birth_in_Japan

I'd be curious to see what others think.  Why do American women feel they are not able to handle the "pain" of childbirth? 

And I'm just going to throw this out there too...I don't want to hear the comparison between dental work and childbirth.  One's a tooth...the other is a child, they are not comparable! 

[Alenushka]

I do not think, I know.

I started hallucinating from pain with the first child. I was not going to do it with the second. I was super happy about my epidural. hooray to America and painkillers.

I witnessed many births in Russia during time when pain control was not available. I was horrible and sad to watch. I seriously can;t believe that after seeing all of it I decided to do it myself. I drunk the NCB cool aid.

Just because women do it without pain control under cultural pressure or because there is no pain control in other countries, it does not mean they like it that way...they simply have no choice.

Just because one can handle something, does not mean one will like the experience.

This is quiet telling, "Some Japanese women who do not use pain medication for the first labor decide to use it in subsequent births."

75% of women had an abortion, yet the use of birth control pills is discouraged for really ridiculous reasons.

Yes, what a great system to emulate!

[JamieCatheryn]

There needs to be support, not pressure for either choice. In America drugs are the norm and women get pressured from those who used painkillers and liked them, to do the same. We're taught to fear the pain and that the epidural's a miracle cure. TV shows, movies, and our friends make jokes of it. We're taught to expect unbearable pain. Plus induction, augmentation, and not being allowed to move for fear of messing up the monitor can make things VERY painful. Common poor posture causing less than optimal fetal positioning might be a part of it.

And for many women, even an otherwise calm, supported, free to use comfort measures kind of labor can get pretty darn painful anyway and it's a good thing for them drugs are an option, and that they will just join the norm if they get them. Personally I *really* suffered for a few hours of my 1st labor, and maybe over an hour of my 2nd (delerious, my vision went so blurry I was blinded, strings of cussing when that's not me, lots of bad stuff!), but was glad to avoid the needles and medications anyway because I feared them worse than what I was going through. But not everybody feels that way.

I wish the norm was thoroughly learning comfort measures and being used to birth being normal, being allowed to be calm and comfortable at the birthplace, and then if things got unusually bad anyway and mom chose to then using the drugs. And for a lot of first time moms and repeat moms who were dissatisfied with first births, this is sort of the common idea nowadays from what I hear average pregnant women saying. But...then their friends tell them "trust the doctor, you need that drug, you're pushing watermelon out a hole the size of..." or whatever. So there's pressure.

[Alenushka]

Everyone has a different experience . I was not pressure into anything by my doctor or any nurses.
 

[trimommy2009]

Originally Posted by Alenushka 

I do not think, I know.

I started hallucinating from pain with the first child. I was not going to do it with the second. I was super happy about my epidural. hooray to America and painkillers.

I witnessed many births in Russia during time when pain control was not available. I was horrible and sad to watch. I seriously can;t believe that after seeing all of it I decided to do it myself. I drunk the NCB cool aid.

Just because women do it without pain control under cultural pressure or because there is no pain control in other countries, it does not mean they like it that way...they simply have no choice.

Just because one can handle something, does not mean one will like the experience.

This is quiet telling, "Some Japanese women who do not use pain medication for the first labor decide to use it in subsequent births."

75% of women had an abortion, yet the use of birth control pills is discouraged for really ridiculous reasons.

Yes, what a great system to emulate!

Oh, I'm by no means saying this is a great system to emulate.  It actually scared me a little that they will belittle pregnant women if they gain more then 22lbs!  I think the Dr's would have kicked me to the curb with my almost 45lbs with both babies!  :) 

If anyone has additional research or information about other countries I'd love to see it posted here.  

[heatherfd]

I've worked in Obstetrics in the UK & In Australia .for a total of 27 years . I currently work in a rural area with no access to an epidural service .

The vast majority of women deliver with either gas & air ( entonox ) or nothing.

By far & away most women cope really well but occasioanlly some really struggle with long difficult labours or abnormal positions & those are the occasions when I wish we did have an epidural service .

These are stoic country girls who are supported in labour by extended family , mothers aunts & sisters who've all done it tough themselves , so i dont think it's their " fear" or "expectaions" that causes this . Just some births are harder than others .

Hope this helps .