Can we talk about ob vs midwifery?

[IncaMama]

I had an ob practice with DS that i really didn't like. same story you hear a lot - treated like a number, no real human interaction except with one of the ob's who's since moved to Maine (WAAAAH). i loved the hospital i birthed in, it was really great and warm and friendly...but the care i got from my ob was just sort of...eh.

so i'm thinking of doing a midwife this time that's located across the street from the hosp i birthed DS in. i'm VERY worried about pain management, though. i went natural for the first 8 hours of my labor but the last TWENTY hours i needed pain meds. omg i felt like i was gonna die. but then i hated the side effects of the epi (nausea, couldn't move my legs at all, etc)....

so i don't know what to do!!!!

my gut is telling me to try the midwife approach. i know i want a more hands-on practitioner...but the pain...ohhhh the pain.

anybody else having questions about this?

[TopazBlueMama]

If you are going to get a midwife that has hospital priveledges, then there's no problem! If you were going to birth in a birth center or at home, then you still have plenty of time to learn natural pain relief!
I would totally go with the midwife. I had an OB with my first, and a midwife with my 2nd, and I loved my appointments sooo much better!

[IncaMama]

i'd be birthing in the birth center unless there are complications, in which case i could be transferred to the hosp in an emergency. but the expectation is that i'd birth in the center with no pain meds.

can you tell me where i can read more about natural pain management?

[TopazBlueMama]

Well, I did it by reading lots of natural birth books, practicing yoga and stretching, and I practiced relaxation by using the HypnoBabies homestudy course.
My favorite books were Active Birth, by Janet (I can't remember the last name--something like Balanski?) and The Birth Book or The Pregnancy Book by the Sears.
And lots of visualization of how you want the birth to be!

[mamatoady]

I'm visiting from November board,but wanted to chime in. I think what it helps to remember is that when you are with a midwife you spend 9-10 months learning about "good pain" vs. "bad pain" and that labor is a natural "good pain." Your body will never give you more than what you can handle and you are shown very effective pain management techniques to get you through. The medical establishment wants us to believe that all pain is bad pain and "here's this drug always available to you whenever you need it" even if it could have consequences(i.e. not being ableto move your legs or even increased chance of ceserean). When you're in the throws of labor and you think you can't go on(which happens to EVERYBODY,and someone is telling you that you can instantly makethat pain go away, it is VERY difficult to not oblige. When you work with a midwife, you are prepared for that to happen and to want to give up and that's when your support system (dh,doula,midwife,friend) comes in to play and tells you how wonderful you are doing and how your body is working and doing amazing things and you CAN and ARE doing it. Then you can get in water,go for a walk,sit on a birthing ball, cry, scream, shout, hug...whatever you need to do. Blessings to you in your birthing experience!
Sarah

[Spark]

Hi, Michele. Pain was the number one thing that I was afraid of when I chose to homebirth my first. I dont' think I'm good at pain. I did HypnoBirthing and then with my DD I did another hypno course similar to HypnoBabies. IF you're committed to the program and practice EVERY day after taking the course or starting the program, it works reeeeally well.

There are lots of pain management courses out there, too. For me after researching I chose hypno.

To get more input on the topic of natural pain relief, you may want to post in I'm Pregnant so that all the pregnant or previously pregnant mamas can respond. You'll get a lot more input.

[camprunner]

I did LOTS of reading on pain management. Mine was very manageable. I highly reccomend the book Natural Childbirth the Bradley. I also recommend the book SuperNatural Childbirth by Jackie mize but only if you consider yourself a christian.

There are lots of tricks out there and generally when the pain gets unbearable you are about to have the baby within say an hour and a half to two hours. To me that was too far to have come to give up.

We had a wonderful birth with the midwife in the hospital last time and this time are planning a homebirth. I encourage you to try the midwife. You would be surprised of how easy it is to go without drugs when they're not available.

[IncaMama]

i think that's probably really true...i labored at home for 8 hours and it was hard but doable but as soon as i got to the hospital and knew there was an "out", i took it! LOL