[rach03]

<p>This will be my third birth.  My first was long before I found Mothering and knew anything about having a baby without drugs or interventions.  After talking to my current OB (who I love), I have realized that a lot of things were done wrong the first time around.  My doctor induced me at 39.5 weeks for high blood pressure, but my blood pressure was most likely high because I sat in the office for 2 hours because they put my chart in the wrong place.  My body was no where near ready...I had to have cervadil, then my water was broken, then pitocin...I did end up having him vaginally and barely escaped a C-section because his heart rate was all over the place, but come to find out my doctor said the monitor must have been faulty because he came out with an apgar of 10 and there was no way he was having problems like the monitor showed.  They also shoved me full of bags of saline and I went home looking like I had sausages for fingers and toes.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>2nd time around I had discovered Mothering, but I still ended up on Pitocin because I lived very far away from my chosen hospital (which is the most natural friendly here) and once my water broke I had to head in or face 2+ hours in rush hour traffic.  By the time I got there my contractions stopped being regular so they put me on pitocin to get them back on track.  Out of fear of the pitocin I asked for an epidural, but it only worked on one side and only for a short while.  I had not prepared for the pain, so I didn't know how to cope.  Afterwards I realized it really would not have been bad if I had known how to deal with it.  This hospital and nurses did not overdose me with saline, and I felt 100 times better after my daughter's birth than I did the first time.  I think it had a lot to due with the fact the epidural didn't work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So now comes my third and most likely final birth.  I do still want to have it at my hospital because they are very natural friendly...they will let you have a hep lock, they have laboring hot tubs (if your water has not broken), I get to go home in 24 hours, there is no nursery, they are very pro breastfeeding.  This time, though...I don't want the epidural.  I want to do it without it, but I don't know the best way to prepare for that.  I have moved closer to the hospital since my last birth, so one good thing is I do not have to rush in at the first sign of anything...I can actually wait for my contractions to get regular and closer together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Could you guys give me book or class suggestions that will help me have the medication free birth I would love?</p>

 

[Max'sMama]

<p>Classes:</p>
<p>Bradley Birth</p>
<p>Birthing from Within</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Movie:</p>
<p>Business of Being Born by Abbie _____ (can't remember her name) and Ricky Lake</p>
<p>Orgasmic Birth (I have the DVD on the table behind me but with a baby asleep on my lap can't see the producers)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Books:</p>
<p>Spiritual Midwifery</p>
<p>Thinking Woman's Guide to a Natural Childbirth</p>
<p>Ina May's Guide to Childbirth</p>
<p>Anything by Henci Goer or Ina May Gaskin</p>
<p>Having a Baby Naturally by Peggy O'Mara</p>
<p>Sheila Kitzinger birth books</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I would also recommend finding people who have birthed without any intervention.  Read/listen to only positive natural birth stories.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I personally love birthing.  I birth at home because I had a bad experience in the hospital and know that, for me, it is the best place.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After my first, I swore I would not have any more children.  The birth was that bad (and I had an epidural).  After my second was born, I remember thinking, "that was so cool.  I so want to do that again."  And I have and will one last time.   </p>
<p>My recommendation is for you to find your local La Leche League and see if they have any of these in their library.  Good LLL groups will have most if not all of this in their possession.  Otherwise the public library is great.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>

 

[kawa kamuri]

<p>look into hypnobabies </p>

 

[BarefootinBrooklyn]

<p>I second all of the above recommendations, but also suggest hiring a doula! Even for mamas who've given birth before, having a doula with you during the earlier parts of your labor can help you stay home longer before going into the hospital (and helping you decide when the right time is to go...especially because 2nd or 3rd labors can go much quicker), encourage you to try alternative comfort measures if you're thinking of pain relief, and can help your husband/partner know how best to support you as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>You can do it! </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

 

[rach03]

<p>Great, thank you all so much for the suggestions!  I do know a couple doulas, so I can definitely look into that as well along with the books and classes.  I do have some friends from a playgroup that have a lot of experience with homebirth and natural birth, so I will ask them for help as well.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

 

[Mommy2Austin]

<p>I would also do some soul-searching of yourself. Maybe try journaling your feelings about birth/labor and try to find what might trigger you to feel the need for the meds. I would also avoid heading to the hospital until you have to. If you are too far from the hospital for comfort, maybe get a hotel room near the hospital for the week you expect to go into labor.</p>

 

[aleatha5]

<p>I agree with waiting to go to the hospital.  I waited (it turns out I waited until I was fully dilated) so that I would avoid all the temptation.  I sat at home, took a bath, played a computer game, talked to my sister on the phone, engaged in a really silly debate with DH and all of this stuff took my mind off the contractions.  I tried to watch tv, but I think it was too uninvolved because even though I tried that early, that was the worst pain.  The best was when I was engaged in something and was not thinking about the contractions.  I think once you get to the hospital EVERYTHING is geared to make you aware of the fact that you are in labor and labor is supposed to hurt.  They hook you to monitors, they ask you to rate your pain, the give you the vaginal exams (ye-otch!) and you start to think man this is supposed to hurt a lot. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>All that being said, I had a natural birth, but after my birth (and without asking me) they gave me pitocin to help my uterus shrink -- there was no need I wasn't having any issues, I guess that it is just standard.  Anyway, I think the pitocin hurt worse than anything except the actual pushing contractions.  After that, I completely understand how if you have pitocin you probably will need an epidural.  Man, I almost asked for an epidural when they had the pitocin going. </p>

 

[Max'sMama]

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>aleatha5</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1281167/i-want-to-do-it-without-an-epidural-this-time-what-books-and-or-classes-should-i-look-into#post_16067177"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a>
<p>All that being said, I had a natural birth, but after my birth (and without asking me) they gave me pitocin to help my uterus shrink -- there was no need I wasn't having any issues, I guess that it is just standard.  Anyway, I think the pitocin hurt worse than anything except the actual pushing contractions.  After that, I completely understand how if you have pitocin you probably will need an epidural.  Man, I almost asked for an epidural when they had the pitocin going. </p>
</div>
</div>
<p><br>
I agree.  </p>
<p>What sucks about this part of hospital birth is that breastfeeding does the same thing in the majority of cases.  Unless you have a history of excessive bleeding, not separating from baby and nursing right away does the trick.  I know most moms here know that and I am preaching to the choir but it's still infuriating.</p>
<p> </p>

 

[dayiscoming2006]

<p>I will just say that I far preferred my natural vaginal delivery pushing on hands and knees - mostly (second child) to my pitocin augmented, partially working epidural back delivery (first child.) Also, knowing the serious risks of pitocin and epidurals really can help in avoiding them. I recommend checking out more on that.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It felt really amazingly good to push my baby out the second time. It was so weird. I mean it was really painful during transition but after that my body started naturally pushing baby out and it was feeling really really neat. It was hard work but super exciting. It just felt right. This time I'm honestly looking forward to giving birth and I'm planning an UC because of all the interventions I did end up with with the hospital births. I simply mentioned the good parts with my second, that was before the doctors really got there and bothered me much. So, I don't like doctors or hospitals so wouldn't be much help in giving advice there. But, just know birth is a very natural thing and that you can do it! <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/smile.gif"></p>

 

[rach03]

<p>Yes, I definitely plan on waiting as long as possible to go to the hospital.  I'm only about 25 minutes away now versus the minimum of an hour that I was last time, and that was only in non-traffic times!  Had I ended up going in around rush hour it would have taken me nearly 2 hours to get there, so last time I was VERY stressed about the trip to the hospital.  This time I won't be stressed about that at all.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think I need to educate myself on the stages of labor, because sadly even though this will be my third birth I didn't really get to feel the stages with the other two since I was on pitocin.  I think most of my fear comes from not knowing what is going on and relying on other people to tell me what is happening, so if I can know what's happening with my body I think I'll be much less nervous. </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>

 

[amaayeh]

<p>I think someone has already recommended this, but I think one of the things that helped me the most in preparing me was watching births.  There are TONS are youtube and you can see that everyone deals with it differently, there isn't a 'right' way, and you can see many different positions that work.  I really found it so helpful. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I had an epidural birth with my first before I found mothering and then had my second at a birth center.  I had the exact same bloating from saline, etc a the hospital and it was truly amazing the different between a totally natural birth and one with interventions.  I felt fantastic almost immediately.  I didn't even realize until the natural birth how bad I hurt from the epidural the first time.  I hope you get the birth you want!  You can do it!!!</p>

 

[astar326]

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>rach03</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1281167/i-want-to-do-it-without-an-epidural-this-time-what-books-and-or-classes-should-i-look-into#post_16068020"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a><br><p>I think I need to educate myself on the stages of labor, because sadly even though this will be my third birth I didn't really get to feel the stages with the other two since I was on pitocin.  I think most of my fear comes from not knowing what is going on and relying on other people to tell me what is happening, so if I can know what's happening with my body I think I'll be much less nervous. </p>
</div>
</div>
<p><br>
i would recommend bradleyclasses to educate yourself on the stages of labor. it was also good education for a partner (if you have one). we used everything we learned through our bradley class with ds.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>i am thinking about trying hypnobabies this time around as well as reading birthing from within and a few of the other books listed above.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>birth support is critical and i believe has made the difference between a vaginal and c-section birth in many cases. so whether it is a doula or friend/family member surround yourself with supportive people!</p>

 

[weliveintheforest]

<p>birthworks is another type of class that might be helpful.</p>

 

[springbride]

<p>This thread is awesome.  I had a roller coaster experience with my DD and I don't want to do that again.  What are you ladies best suggestions for dealing with back pain in labor?   I had irregular contractions and all the pain was in my lower back... ouch!  I don't think I will hire a doula but one of my best friends would like to be there as a doula.  And DH is totally supportive of whatever I choose to do.  My hospital is 35 min away, totally naturally focused and has a birthing tub.  </p>
<p>Sorry for all of the info but I too don't want to repeat the birth of my first child.  </p>

 

[BarefootinBrooklyn]

<p>Have your friend/partner/anyone joining you in labor read The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin...It has lots of great techniques and advice for supporting a laboring woman through different stages and types of labor. Counterpressure and heat on the lower back can be really helpful for b</p>

 

[Max'sMama]

<br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>springbride</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1281167/i-want-to-do-it-without-an-epidural-this-time-what-books-and-or-classes-should-i-look-into#post_16075060"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p>This thread is awesome.  I had a roller coaster experience with my DD and I don't want to do that again.  What are you ladies best suggestions for dealing with back pain in labor?   I had irregular contractions and all the pain was in my lower back... ouch!  I don't think I will hire a doula but one of my best friends would like to be there as a doula.  And DH is totally supportive of whatever I choose to do.  My hospital is 35 min away, totally naturally focused and has a birthing tub.  </p>
<p>Sorry for all of the info but I too don't want to repeat the birth of my first child.  </p>
</div>
</div>
<br><br><p>Posture in pregnancy is what my mw has you watch.  As in no super comfy couches on reclining in a slouched position.  She recommended wooden chairs with not plush padding.  It seems to follow the rationale that if you have poorer posture and that your back is slouched the baby, as it gets bigger, starts to settle with it's heaviest part towards your back.  Resulting in instant posterior positioning.  I had horrid back labor and a posterior first baby and with the second and third I was super careful to not lounge in relaxation but to practice better positioning and both 2nd and 3rd babies were correctly positioned.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ok, that ended up being the longest explanation for prevention rather than having to deal with back labor    As for in labor if experiencing back labor-hands and knees is a great position for helping to turn the baby.  You can always check for a local spinning babies.  I know that my mw is really specific on positioning of the baby at appts and can really tell you when to be careful of what position baby is in in utero!</p>

 

[BarefootinBrooklyn]

<p>Oops my last post got cut off--I meant it for to say that the counterpressure and heat were helpful for back labor, as well as hands and knees positions. Also Penny Simkin has a DVD out called Comfort Measures for Childbirth which would be helpful for anyone supporting you in labor to watch. I meant it for <strong>springbride,</strong> above.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I had back labor with my daughter, but was so grateful for a midwife who came in and put continuous pressure on my back and kept me squatting and moving around as much as I knew I should have been, but wouldn't have remembered to do because I was in a "whole other place." </p>