Natural birth in a hospital.........

[RyansMom]

Ladies, I ned your help. Tell me what helped you the most giving birth naturally? I am planning to go drug free this time and I need to know all there is to know. Even the wierd sounding things. I do alot of things to control pain that may seem strange so its all invited! Thanks alot! Oh and realize the only water I have acsess to is a shower in my room. Thanks!

[Elana]

Congrats!!

Things that helped me most in the hospital:

1. The shower - standing under it, or pulling a chair and sitting in the water helped me through major contractions.
2. Having more than one person there with me, so there was someone free all the time to deal with any staff, fetching things, etc.
3. I don't know what the procedure is in your hospital, but where I was they insist on monitoring the baby - so I insisted on holding those "things" on my belly with my hands instead of that horrible strap. That way I could move freely.
4. bring in a closed bottle of natural oil (almond or wheat germ), for the midwife to rub on the perennium during transition and pushing, to help stretch without tearing or cutting. (recommended to do throughout the ninth month)
5. Bring in a taperecorder with peacefull music.


That's all I can think of now, but there are lots and lots of stuff to do. After two natural hospital births I think that what worked for me the most was having the right personal support and having midwives who were open to try whatever I wanted.

Good Luck!

[dynamicdoula]

Having a doula is great because it takes the pressure off of you and dh to have to 'remember' all the things to try while you're dealing with labor, the doula will remember and make suggestions!

[RyansMom]

Thanks alot and keep it coming! I wish we had doulas but unfortunatly I can't find one. Uhhhhh Thats why I need all the help I can get!

[freistms]

We did hypnobirthing, so this is sort of from that perspective, although I believe that hypnobirthing is actually a natural response that a woman would probably undertake if she were birthing without intrusion, so this advice could probably benefit just about anyone. Make a point to (nicely) let your nurse and any other hospital peronnel know that you do not want them to talk to you during your contractions, because you will be using pain control techniques that require your undivided attention. Any and every kind of stimulation was intrusive to me during my contractions, but DH stood guard and ran interference for me. He answered all the questions and filled out all of the paperwork, and reminded them not to disturb me while I was using the hypnosis during contractions. Between them, I was able to do whatever they needed me to.

The only other thing that I would say is to make sure that you go in prepared with the tools to handle labor. Our hypnobirthing instructor was a doula, and she said that a lot of women fail because they do not prepare themselves mentally and physically for the work involved, and they do not have the tools available to deal with it. For me, this was hypnosis (which worked really well), but I guess it is different for each women.

Best wishes for an empowering birth!

[doctorjen]

I asked not to have pain meds offered to me. Although I birthed all 4 of mine without pain meds, during my first labor the nurse asked me every 5 minutes if I wanted something for pain and it worried me that either something was wrong, or it was somehow going to get terribly worse any minute. Neither turned out to be true.
I always had intermittent monitoring for my 3 hospital births, and could be in any position I wanted for monitoring. Being upright, walking, rocking, leaning over the windowsill all made labor feel so much better.
Going to the hospital only in good active labor also helps.
Having my dh who is wonderful labor support never stop touching me for the entire time I labored hard was also wonderful. He has a very intuitive way when I'm in labor, and always seemed to know where to touch, how hard to apply counterpressure to my back, and when to put his face next to mine and breathe with me. I don't think this is a skill common to men, though, so if I didn't have him I'd definitely have a doula. As it was, we always planned to have an extra person around who could fetch food and drink and chase my other kids, get a nurse, etc.
And finally, just believing I could do it made a huge difference. It was harder the first time, but I kept reminding myself that millions of women before me had done it, and I could to. With my first birth, I said to myself over and over, "By tomorrow I'll hold the baby." Luckily, I didn't have to last a whole a day, but I felt I could've if I needed to.
Good luck!

[ja mama]

You've got some good advice. But here's mine, passed from my Mom to you.

"Labor is hard work, that's why it's called labor, but it's only one day. You're tough sweetie, you can do ANYTHING for one day."

It's the mindset of success. That is the overview, but in the moment only concentrate on that minute. Only think about the contraction you are working on. If you get caught up in thinking negative or thinking "I can't do this for another hour much less another 4-6 hours!!!" it'll be a lot harder.

The other thing is to remember your body has rythms. Just when you think you can't handle it anymore, if you hang in there, your body will give you it's own drugs and it will be managable for a time, and just when you think you are at your strengths end, stick with it a little longer and your body comes up with a burst of strength.

I had two natural, unmedicated births. My Mom had 5.

[Amydoula]

Just in case there are some doulas in your area that you aren't aware of it may be worth sending an email to DONA at [e-mail] with you city, state and zip. All the members of DONA aren't listed on their website so you may be pleasantly surprised to find someone. Best wishes! Amy

[AmyB]

The nurses at the hospital where I gave birth didn't know anything about attending an unmedicated childbirth.

They yelled at me not to push (inappropriately), they said that lying on one's back was no better or worse than other positions for pushing, they didn't believe me when I said I felt the baby moving down, they poked me and asked me questions during contractions when I was trying to relax, and they weren't able to give me any advice about how to deal with the birth energy I was feeling even when I asked them direct questions.

The two best peices of advice I have for anyone who is having a baby at a hospital are: 1) bring somenone along with you who does know about unmedicated birth and who is tough enough to fend off incompetent hospital nurses and 2) don't go to the hospital at all until YOU are ready to have the baby (Especially don't let them bully you into having an induction).

I did manage to have an unmedicated hospital birth, but the experience left me feeling beaten up both emotionally and physically. I hated it so much that this time around I'm planning a homebirth.

--AmyB

[watermamma]

What helped me the most:
1) Vocalizing during contractions (I just did what felt natural, a low, moaning, dying moose sounding sound). This helped sooooo much.

2) Movement and staying OUT of bed. Moving through contractions, swaying, and leaning over something (DH, birth tub, etc.). DH and I held hands while I leaned over in the tub and he kind of "swayed" me, it felt great. (Note: the nurses are (more than likely!!!) going to want you in that bed for the monitor, but just say no, they can monitor you while you stand, etc. for very intermitent monitoring).

I had my 1st in hospital, wanting very natural, ended up w/epidural. The single most detrimental(sp?) thing to going natural during that birth was that stupid monitor. I was literally strapped down on my back in bed by it, and told I could not move. I was unable to deal w/contractions being on my back. I was also shushed by the nurses for vocalizing during contractions (moaning, not even screaming). This did not help either. I was doing great till I was strapped into the monitor in the bed.

2nd was all natural, freestanding birthcenter. My birth was lead by my body, nothing else. No EFM, no interventions. I have to say I did GREAT dealing with the contractions with my second birth. One, I knew what to expect. And two, I was not stuck in a bed. Much easier to deal with. Not that it was easy by any means, but I did it

Also, I gained alot of confidence and some great techniques to use during labor/birth from reading Birthing From Within & Ina May Gaskin (read a couple of her books, don't remember which ones). I also wrote out some things for myself to remember to think about during labor and some things for DH to tell me and/or do for me in labor.

Good luck and happy birthing

Edited to add: Forgot to say my attitude in labor w/my 2nd was better. I made it a point to be positive about the contractions and frankly, at 42 weeks 2 days, I was damn positive about those contractions! But being positive about them really helped. I was not nearly as positive with my 1st, allready doing the "not another one" chanting pretty early on.

[mamallama]

My advice is to labor at home for as long as you are comfortable doing so--not to be confused with as long as your labor is "comfortable."

If you go to the hospital before active labor is well-established, it could very well slow down or stop. It's the "fight or flight" response. If, however, you stay at home and use your coping tools there and let your labor build up it's own steam, the chances of your labor petering out in the car or in triage and you needing pharmaceutical help to get it going again are greatly reduced. Dr. Sears gives the 4-1-1 rule in _The Birth Book_. He suggests you head out to the place of birth when your contractions are 4 minutes apart, 1 minute in length, and that pattern repeating for 1 hour. I have found that to be fairly solid advice. Waiting even longer is an option.

I am a doula and I provide labor support at home. I encourage parents to head out to the hospital whenever they're ready. I often spend a few hours of each labor at my clients homes. Many of my moms arrive at the hospital 6-8cm dilated and have their babies within hours. My only caveat is that I do not catch babies...if mom starts pushing at home (and there is no attendant en route,) I will call paramedics. My clients know this ahead of time, and it's never been an issue. It may be a good idea to choose a doula who will come to your home for labor support.

Unmedicated birth can and does happen in hospitals.

Good luck, mama!

[rubysmomjess]

I agree with mamallama...Labor at home as long as possible. I had a hospital birth for the first and I was 10cm when I arrived. They couldn't offer me drugs...they just had to let me push. The only problem with this is that the drive to hospital REALLY sucks

Everyone else had good suggestions too...Especially the doula...if you can find one.

Good Luck!

[chalupamom]

I definitely agree about laboring at home as long as you can. (As an aside, it wasn't true for me that my labor slowed upon arrival at the hospital - I arrived only three CM with contractions about every two minutes, lasting a minute and this going on for a little over an hour - I was pushing within two hours of arrival) Once you get to the hospital when/if you're asked about that pain medication you'd like, just say "none" - I've not been hassled about this ever. Each time the information about drug-free was received with no one so much as blinking an eye.

I did tell the nurse for the second that I knew that once I hit transition that I'd likely feel like I couldn't go on and would need extra reassurance, but other than that I really wanted to be left alone. So think back to your other deliveries and try to verbalize what was the most challenging for you and be prepared to ask specifically for assistance in that area. If you want to walk, make it clear. If you want to be able to sip warm tea, make it clear. Don't ask - tell. If you can get through whatever your challenging areas are, you'll be less likely to want/need medication.

I'm one of those women who didn't want water, didn't want to walk, didn't want music, didn't want a bar or a ball...I wanted to be left alone, lying down in a quiet room - no towels on the forehead, no "you're doing great" no nothing. God help me if someone tried to get me into a hot tub or whatever. When my second delivery nurse offered that I could get up and walk around if I wanted to I thought she was completely out of her mind!

In the end, there's no real way to tell what you'll need to help you through a natural delivery until you're in the moment. Try to think through what gets you through other mentally and physically tough situations and be prepared to implement those solutions to the best of your ability in labor.

[~Megan~]

How about a CNM and doula

[dharmama]

Another vote for labor at home. I had a wonderful natural hospital birth experience -- I was 10 cm when I got there (after 7 hours of labor at home) and she was born 50 min. after I arrived. They barely even got a 10 min. fetal monitor strip on me before they said forget it just push when you want to.

I'd also recommend studying the Bradley method. We found it extremely helpful.

Also we went on a tour of the hospital and found an ally - the wonderful nurse who gave us the tour. We sent her a thank you card (with the hope that she'd remember us and be extra nice to us). We also stopped for bagels and cream cheese for the nurses on the way to the hospital. (Our bradley teacher suggested that a little kindness goes a long way when you are asking to have non-mainstream requests honored).

Good luck! I hope you can find a doula...ours was wonderful!

~Erin

[Changed]

What did the nurses think about that? I'd like to butter up anyone who can mae me miserable too!

[dharmama]

They seemed to really appreciate it and we were treated GREAT! (Of course I know others who did not come bearing gifts who were also treated wonderfully - it's a great hospital)!

They all learned about our cloth diapers and how to put them on. They respected our wishes to keep the placenta, refuse most newborn procedures, have close to an hour of skin-to-skin w/ Lily before any exams were done. It was truly wonderful.

[saintmom]

Ds son no 4 was almost born in the parking lot!They didn't have time for ANYthing.I literally went from an orderly pushing my wheel chair, to the room ,to the bed ,and WHAM big contrax and ds made his apperance.dh almost missed it parking the car!
For ds no. 5 I walked wally world until I felt ready for the hospital.(wanted a hb, couldn't find a mw)We live a good hour away and I didn't want another parking lot adventure I was only there about an hour when ds was born.I agree with what others have said.Just don't go in until its about time

[Artisan]

You've been given a lot of great advice. I want to second the person who told you to stay out of bed. First of all, you'll find it's probably not as comfortable as being up and around, sitting on a birth ball, in the shower or tub, leaning on your DH, etc. But then it's also much harder for the med staff to view you as a patient to try and control when you're not lying there, writhing in pain. Much harder for them to try and strap monitors on you, put things in your IV, etc.

[Geofizz]

I'd only be repeating what's already been said for a lot of things. Two items I didn't see:

Ask that you not be offered pain meds, and if you change your mind about pain meds, ask that your progress be checked first. I bet if you're most of the way there, you'll be able to cope with it a bit longer.

Find out the policies for the monitoring. Our hospital required 20 minutes of monitoring. Have someone (partner or doula) check the time when the monitor goes on, and then request (or do it yourself) that it comes off at the proper time. Most hospitals have a minimum required time, but never offer to remove it at that point. Also, I went to triage earlier that day, and those 20 minutes counted to fulfill the hospital policies. Good thing, because DD was out 15 minutes after we pulled up to the front door!