There's just no way I can deliver naturally! - Page 3

[melissakc]

And don't forget about the endorphins afterwards! Having interventions like pitocin and an epidural interferes with the natural release of chemicals that help you get through labor naturally. After DD was born I was totally HIGH on endorphins, no joke! I felt incredibly powerful. Birthing a baby with your own strength and surrender is the most empowering thing I can imagine.

You can totally do it. You just have to reprogram your mind to get rid of all the negative images that are spewed forth about birth--from TV shows, your friends, your family, whatever. Start reading books about natural childbirth and the dangers of a medically managed birth and you will think differently about the whole thing. In the end I was much more afraid of a needle in my spinal cord than the pain of labor, and I ended up with back labor and a posterior baby, so it was more than "discomfort" or "pressure" for sure!

[savithny]

Originally Posted by notjustmamie

Interesting...Almost all of my crampiness (is that a word?) with AF is in my back. Back labor felt very familiar to me.



My sister told me this, too. I really didn't feel that way until I was actually pushing and could feel DD's head moving down. Then again, I was a little overwhelmed dealing with the Pitocin-induced contractions which didn't feel at all like the nice bell curve I'd been told to expect.

Amy

Me too, and I had "back labor" both times. First time, I felt NOTHING across my abdomen. Midwife kept commenting, "Oh, you're having a contraction," and then I"d feel the wave of tightening across my back with a tight stabbing cramp in the middle of it and say "Oh, yeah, I guess I am."

Second time I could feel things in my abdomen, but it was still predominanly a back thing. I think I just am wired that way??

[pinksprklybarefoot]

Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't your husband be present?

Granted I didn't need DF there to do anything, but it was nice knowing someone was there in case I got in a fight with the hospital staff.

I had a labor support person as well, and she was invaluable even though I didn't necessarily need her there to do anything either. It was just good to feel supported in such a scary environment.

[rixafreeze]

Now that I'm thinking about it, labor was much more doable than my bad periods.

I birthed at home, unassisted, and I think that has a lot to do with what labor feels like. Hey, when you can move around as you like, when no one's watching you or bothering you, labor is lots easier!

Physiologically, labor produces HUGE amounds of endorphins (provided, of course, you don't have drugs or aren't stressed/fearful--those things inhibit the release of endorphins). I felt more and more high as my labor progressed. Kind of a loopy, dizzy, buzzed sensation. I don't think our bodies produce endorphins during our periods, so it's just the pain and discomfort with nothing to compensate for it.

[NJ*Doula]

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[lalaland42]

You can do it naturally! I believe in you!

As for a doula, I wouldn't want to have a baby without one. I know that our doula did sliding scale work, can you just look into finding one when the time comes? Also, I found Ina May's Guide to Childbirth to be very inspirational. I also took prenatal yoga from Collette Crawford who has a wonderful DVD. She helped my find my tough inner self.

My labor was painful but it was also relatively short and really, I wouldn't have it any other way. There is no way I could have had DD as easily had I been given drugs and I think in a lot of ways it was worse. I didn't lie down for the entire labor including pushing. All the feelings were amazing. Not to lie, it was hard work but soooo worth it.

Besides, now when DH complains I can tell him to stop whining, I had a 9.5 lb baby without drugs.

ETA: One thing that actually helped me when I was scared during pregnancy was remembering that the baby was coming out one way or another. I knew it would hurt but I wanted to control the pain and I thought being a passive recipient would hurt much worse. YMMV of course.

[doulatara]

Check out bellywomen.net for a free or lowcost doula in your area. You can also call the ALACE office and they can refer someone to you who has done the training but isn't certified yet. Also contact a doula in the area, sometimes if they don't take on clients on a sliding scale, they can refer you to someone who does.

Also, for you and your DP, maybe look into HypnoBirthing? That way nerves and dealing with pain may not even be an issue. It benefits the partner just as much as the laboring mama, IMO.

[courtenay_e]

Yuh. I had periods so bad that demerol didn't touch them. Not even a little. The only thing that actually ever made one of my bad periods better was Nubain, and then I promptly had an aniphylactic reaction to it. Nice.

Then, I started reading about natural birth because I had a spinal tap go bad and could not, for the LIFE of me, imagine taking care of a newborn with the spinal headache that I had from that tap for TWO WEEKS. It was two weeks flat on my back or the worse kind of gut wrenching, vomit inducing, brain sqeezing pain I have ever experienced! I then read about narcotics (knowing that demerol didn't help and nubain was a no-go) and about how they use narcan to make your baby awake if you've had narcotics and it's born too soon (they give Narcan to Heroin addicts in the ER when they've overdosed and are going to DIE, to reverse the effects of HEROIN)...I didn't like how that sounded, either.

SO I read a bunch and then found a midwife and then, when I got pregnant, I took a hypnobirthing class. My labors were really, very, very, VERY tolerable. Really, nothing like the periods of yore. With hormones to keep you going and to focus on relaxing through, it's very different, as pp's have said.

And, as a doula, I heartily agree that you will almost surely be able to find one who will work low cost or free, and I ALSO really strongly suggest that you start putting a few bucks a week into a "doula" fund, to give yourself the support you deserve as a laboring woman.

You'll do great.

[Birth&Bunnies]

Originally Posted by GathererGirl

My pain was almost all in my back, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for the encouragement ladies! I'm feeling much better today, completely back to normal period crabbiness and nothing more. I know that it's my fear talking, and that I'll at least try o go natural, but since I will have almost no support (I'll be going to midwife but will birth in a hospital, husband mightnot even be there, I don't have a mother or sister, we can't afford a doula...so it'll just be me, panting and groaning alone) I do worry about how I'll do.

I'm really good at finding people, and there are in-training Doulas. They usually don't charge. Email me if you want my help, and I can give you my number.

[ABand3]

I agree with everyone who says it's completely different, and you can do it! Every month when AF arrives I wonder to myself, as I'm popping ibuprofen, how on earth did I get through three unmedicated births? Period pain is just constant, no good pain. Labor is a job that you do, and if you surround yourself with people who can help you, you can get through it and yes, even enjoy it.