*If you had an epidural, how would you describe the pain during and at the end?
*If you had a natural birth (no drugs), how would you describe the pain during and at the end?
I have two children. I had them both natural, it was excruciating both times but I would do it again. If that's what you want to do then just set your mind to it. I think it would probably be easier the second time around. I think the only reason mine wasn't is because I was induced, so the contractions came really fast and hard at the end. At any rate, women did it naturally for years before so why can't we?
I had both of my kids naturally so I have nothing to compare it to, but I would do it the same way over and over again! The pain is, of course, really intense at the end, but not unbearable. I had my second one in the water, and I found that really helped with the pain towards the end. I've never met anyone whose had any regrets about having a natural childbirth. Mine were both incredibly positive experiences......I can't wait to do it again : )
For me, I've had 3 kids, all two with epidural, one without because he came too fast. I couldn't imagine not having one. I've always gone in with the mindset to go natural, but the pain is so horrible, I can't stand it. I didn't enjoy my sons birth at all. I was so tense it made it harder for him to come out, and I couldn't bring myself to push because it hurt so bad. With my other two, one was even faced wrong, I could concentrate, push, and get excited with my husband. I've heard of the Bradley method, and heard great things about it. Either way you go, know that you are going to have a wonderful little baby afterward. Good luck!
Hi Heather,
I had a "natural" birth, or what I like to refer to as prepared childbirth. I loved the experience! Because I was able to work with my contractions rather than having them numbed, I pushed her out in just a couple of pushes and she was awake and alert going and did not go through the drowsy post epidural time. I would caution you that if you are going to have your second baby at St. Vincent's to request a nurse who is comfortable offering non-medical support to the fullest. Best of luck to you and please come back and share your decision and experience with us. BTW Kaiser Sunnyside, though further tends to have my clients rejoicing in their decision to use that hospital. Of course you also have other options for birth if you are going to go with a natural birth such as home birth, and birthing centers, neither which support the use of an epidural. If you have any further questions you can always send me a private message. Lastly, I have never had a client before that went natural and in the end said "Gee I wish I would have had the epidural." Also, those who have had a baby both ways have said in the end they would go natural again. Of course contractions are intense, but not unbearable with proper preparation.
Congratulations!
Taffy Nelson CD
My first child was with no drugs, and she came fast 8 hours start to holding her. It wasn't painful at all, didn't feel great, but really was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.
So child number two was with no drugs too, and at the end last 20mins man it hurt, but nothing I couldn't handle.. it wasn't out of control pain.. and he came in a 2 hours from start to holding him...
Now number 3, I had drugs to start my labor, but no pain meds, and after 16 hours of labor, I wanted something, but it was time to push, and he was out in 5 mins... Even tho it was painful, I was able to handle it, even tho at the end I was so glad that I had stayed with going with no drugs...
Now with number 4 I had an epidural... for two reason..
one... I had been very sick for two weeks, and two nights before I gave birth I passed kidney stones for 6 hours... I have afraid that if I tried to go with no drugs and that if it went on for 16 or more hours that I wouldn't be able to push the baby out and then get into trouble...
I did wait 4 hours before the pain was just to much for me to take, not so much not be able to handle, but I had already knew that I wanted to go a little less painful birth this time. I will say it was NICE!!!!! At the end it still hurt some, and I could still feel some pain, but it was so much better than my 3rd birth, and I felt SO much better after with the epidural than I ever had with any of the other births.. I really felt like I hadn't even given birth I wasn't sore, and no pain even tho I did tear...
I would say try it no drugs, it really is good for the baby and for you, but don't think that you can't have something if you get to that point... it's OK to have something...
I had home births with all 3 of my girls and was very happy with the natural experience. With my first child there was a small period of time that the pain was very strong, but I also take into account that it was my first birth and everything feels more intense with the first one as you do not really know what to expect and that is somewhat intimidating.
My second child I had some back labor with, but had a wonderful support system particularly at the end - I really did not feel much pain at all with pushing as my perinuem was well supported. She was 9 lbs.4 oz and I had no tears or anything.(I am only 5'2' 105 lbs. pre-pregnancy)
With my third child the labor was very intense (2 1/2 hrs.)
but was not painful and pushing was very easy with her. With my friends that have tried both ways, I have always heard that they preferred the natural method, more than anything because of having more control. I believe that level of pain tolerance comes into play, but more than anything it is your mindset on the experience as a whole. Our society has done a wonderful job of intensifying in the minds of woman the most painful experience for a woman is childbirth.
I hope whatever you choose is a wonderful experience for both you and your baby. And I wish you both health.
I've had 2 children:
The first child I had an episiotomy (sp) at the very end so I received a shot of something like novocaine - something numbing at any rate. After the episi, I had one contraction and she was out! For me, the worst part of that labor was the time that it took to get the contractions 5 minutes apart (the time at which I was told to go to the hospital). I got to the hospital around 11pm and she was born at @ 3:30am. I took lamaze classes and really used the techniques - I also practiced them a few times a week the last month of pregnancy (maybe 10 minutes each practice).
The second child I had no meds at all. The last 1/2 hour was tough - my water broke and the doctor wasn't there yet and I wanted to push her out soooo bad but they had me wait. I only pushed for one contraction though. We left for the hospital with contractions 10 minutes apart (new doctor and I was not a first timer). Arrived at hospital at 3:45am born at 7:30am. I used the lamaze, but I'd also read Husband-coached childbirth and tried some of the techniques from there too (laboring on my side was my favorite position).
The thing I found most inspirational about non-medicated birth was a documentary I saw about a woman in a coma who was pregnant and when it came time for the baby to be born, the woman's body just did what it had to do. So what often stands in our way is our mind. That said, I reserved the right to opt for the epidural both times. After each birth I felt pretty good (better than I imagined that I would feel), in fact I was up and around very quickly and especially the second time around the swelling was very minimal.
If I have another I will definitely go without medication unless it is deemed medically necessary (emergency c-section, etc.).
Good luck and congrats! You can do it!
Cyndi
My advice is to be open to anything that comes up so you're not disappointed if your plans change.
I went into my first birth expecting everything to be wonderful, fast, and drug free. I had to be induced because my water broke, and no one told me that contractions on pitocin are worse than normal ones, so I was toughing it out for 10 hours before I "gave up". I was terribly disappointed thinking that I couldn't handle it and had to have drugs in my baby's system. I was slow to dilate but when it came time to push I was so tired from the pre-epidural labor that I couldn't. They were talking c-section while I napped for an hour, when I woke up I pushed her out within a half hour!
Second birth I found out she was breech so I had to schedule a c-section. I again felt disappointed but in the end that's just how it worked out and I actually preferred it to over 24 hours of labor!
You will know what is best for you and just try not to regret anything by being open to everything and anything, whatever brings your precious bundle of joy into the world is how it's meant to be! Going drug free is ideal and I admire and envy those who do, but not being able to do so doesn't make you any less of a mother or not as strong. You won't know how it feels until you try it without, and if you can handle it, then go for it! Like others have said, you won't regret having no intervention so start without and see how it goes.
I had an epi both times because my back pain was unbearable. I should mention that I have a long history of back pain prior to all pregnancies. I just had my second baby in January and it went so fast...but I had one anyway. My contractions were so long and intense...way longer than a minute and only a minute apart. Do what you feel is best for you.
Hello, My name is Christina, I am 20.
When I got pregnant with my son (he is 14 months now) I was going to a obgyn in the puyallup area. One of my friends kept telling me that i should go see her midwife... i told her i would never have my baby without the drugs.....
until my obgyn got me mixed up with another patient and i left the office and had no where to turn...
I made an appointment to see the midwife. I LOVE HER....
I read on all the drugs and why you should NOT have them...
I decided to have a completely natural birth in the water with no pain meds after either.
my labor and delivery went smoothly.
When my sister had her first daughter 14 years ago, she had an EP and she was almost paralyzed. my sister cant touch her toes... her back will not allow her to do so, it was caused from the ep.
The ep also goes straight to the baby...
MY cousin came over the house the day after i had my son... I was literally able to run up and down the stairs and do what ever... i know that if i were to have had a hospital birth i wouldnt have been able to recover that way.
I am so happy that i didnt get the EP or any pain medication for that matter...
This is a good question, I think we all ask..
First, I would suggest just let things happen natural. I waited to decided until we got to the hospital...even with my doctor asking me appointment after appointment.
I was induced, typically a harder labor. My contractions at one time were just a few moments apart, and very strong. All and all, I really don't remember the pain. I did have my baby without an epidural...my end decision was I wanted control of my legs afterwards...but I really don't know what an epidural feels like.
ALL my friends went without...check with your birthing center..the Hot Tub is AwSoMe!!! I was only able to use it early in the day, but oh...it felt so good.
I did recieve some pain medication, but not being good with medical terms, I can't tell you what one(sorry:(
Everyone pregnancy is different, every single labor is different...just go with your gut, and talk to your doctor and nurses when you are in labor.
Good Luck...when you see your bundle of joy for the first time, all the pain will go away!!!
I never felt a thing during labor once i had my epi. I am thankful for them but i say if you want to giv eanother way a shot do it some people can handle pain better i am a wienie.
I have had both of my children Natural without an epidural. And I have to say personally that the beginning hours of labor before 7 cm are nothing really pain wise. But the last three cm are hard very painful but nothing the body can't handle. I went into labor knowing and reminding myself that the last part of labor after transition will NOT last forever and the pain will go away. Really it is such a short amount of time out of you life in the pain it is so worth it. And I just can't describe how great the feeling is after the baby is born with no pain medicine! To go front such pain to no pain at all is amazing! Now my second child was a little harder they did have to give me a little pitocine (spelling?) near the end to boost contractions again because they had stopped. The reason they believe for the contractions to stop was because of his shoulders (he got stuck coming out) were so big. Now having a child get stuck without pain meds is agonizing but I was still able to get him out without any help!
I personally and I know that some women will disagree and this is primarily because of my personal experience but I would suggest getting an Epesiotomy I did with my first (not my choice and was actually angry when I found out I had gotten one) But you really never know what is going to happen during labor and I didn't have one the second time around and because of his shoulders being stuck and no epesiotomy lets just say my son is turning 1 in a few days and I am still healing from my tears!!!
So I would say go for it! Really the pain only last for a short time and it is over! But remember you know your body the best and if you don't feel you can do it without thats o.k.
Best of luck!
I had a natural birth with my daughter. Aside from delivering 7 weeks early, I would describe my experience as "textbook". My water broke and contractions started a couple of hours later -- they continued on and off for the next couple of days while I got steroid shots in the hospital. While the contractions were painful, they were absolutely tolerable.
Not being on any pain medication, I was able to really noticed when I went from one stage of labor to the next. I was able to walk around, take a shower and enjoy talking with my husband and nurse as things progressed. Contractions got to the point where I had to lay down. As they intensified, I turned inward to focus on dealing with the pain. The most helpful part of the labor was the coaching I recieved from my nurse. She told me what to expect, how to breath, and how to relax my pelvic muscles so that my contractions could do their job. Fucusing on relaxing my muscles was difficult, but actually eased things quite a bit. When in pain, it is our natural tendency to tense (not what you want to do during labor). Contractions got so intense that I wasn't able to speak or pay attention to what was going on in the room. There were a ton of people in the room because my daughter was to be rushed to the NICU as soon as she was born. I had no idea what was going on aside from what my body was doing.
At one point I did ask for pain medication. So, they checked my dilation and sure enough, just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, it was time to push. Pushing was the easy part -- my daughter was born 18 minutes later. I think the nicest part about not being numbed was that I could feel when it was right to push and my efforts worked best with the contractions to push her out.
Would I go natural again? YES. However, I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and aside from delivering early, I had ZERO complications. I also believe that a woman's body was designed to deliver babies and that feeling the work my body is doing is an important part of the experience.
As other people have mentioned, go ahead with preparing a birth plan, but be prepared for anything to happen. My doctor had a pretty good perspective: while she wanted to respect my wishes and would do what she could to accommodate, her job was to make sure mom and baby made it through safe and sound. If that means a c-section and/or epidural, then that's what needs to happen. Just keep an open mind.
I was two days late and my water level was down, so I was induced. The first 7.5 hours were fine - until my water broke. The pitocin made my body's natural contractions much stronger (and it was back labor), and my body wasn't having enough time to relax between contractions, so I was getting really worn out, really fast. I hadn't intended to use an epidural, but I did. (I had wanted the freedom of using the tub or walking, but they used an intra-uterine device to monitor the baby after my water broke, so I couldn't do that anyway. I was stuck within three feet of the bed.) They turned down the epidural so that I could push - as I was changing positions, my left sides feeling came back, so it felt strange - I could see how it felt to be medication free, but half of me still couldn't feel! However, I was pushing for 1.5 hours before he came out. 25 hours from induction to birth.
I'd have gone completely naturally if I could have. I didn't have the option, with the induction, and I believe I would have been FINE without pain medication had I gone naturally.
I had two lovely home water births (natural, of course) with both of my daughters. The contractions were very very intense (I have fast babies so my labors were short - #2 was only 1 hour long - but super-intense), but much better when I just surrendered to them and didn't try to fight the contractions. It helped to imagine myself opening up and to think of it as just some really hard work I had to do before I could hold my baby.
Laboring in the warm water made it very easy to find more comfortable positions to labor and push in. I weighed less in the water, which was a blessing! The water also helped me relax and the contractions did not feel nearly as intense while under the water.
After my babies were born the pain was completely over. It stopped instantly. The feeling right after they came out was of euphoria and amazement at the tiny human being in my arms.
Best wishes with your birth! I highly recommend having a natural childbirth (in water if you can swing it). It's rough during, but when it's over, it's over!
~B.
Hi :) All I can do is tell you my experiences. I had to be induced both times, because they were so late. My first time everything went pretty well. Had trouble getting the contractions to come at a normal rate, so she kept pushing more pitocin. I had back labor, and was trying to avoid pain meds, so my midwife gave me four injections of sterile water in my lower back. Umm, you should never do this, okay? It just felt like getting 4 big bee stings and it didn't relieve the pain AT ALL. So when I hit 7 centimeters I told her I had to have something, so she gave me a small amount of Nubain. And that did the trick. Helped me relax enough that from that point on it only took maybe an hour. About 20 minutes of pushing and he was here, and healthy :)
With my second son things were a little harder. I should've realized during labor that he was coming down the wrong way {forgot the terminology}, but I didn't, and I had severe back labor. I tried the birthing tub and everything... it didn't help. Finally I gave in and had some Nubain, but unfortunately it didn't have any effect AT ALL. So anyway, long story short I made it and so did he lol Even though he DID turn the right way as he was being born, thus leaving what my midwife called a 'skidmark'. That felt really strange!! But after a few weeks everything was fairly normal down there, and the pain of childbirth was forgotten lol Kind of. But all I can say is I was glad not to have the epidural. I like the freedom of movement {even being induced you can have a wireless monitor}. I remember the sensation of my first son being born, and am so thankful that I got to feel it!! The second one wasn't the greatest 'sensations' but it was SO powerful, that I wouldn't change it :) I never had the urge to push with my first, so the difference there was marked. From start to finish my labors were 8-9 hours. Anyway, enough blathering :) Hope this helped a little lol
Amy
Pick up a book on Hypnobirthing. I prefered it to the Bradley Method classes I took for my first daughter. I used the hypnobirthing methods during the labor of my second daughter and didn't even realize the contractions were that bad until I accidentally delivered her at home into my husband's arms. Oops! Needless to say it was a 'natural' birth.
Hi Heather! First of all congratulations on the little baked bean! We are currently "baking" #3 and are due at the end of October. I have 2 boys. With my first I had an epi, and it wore off but couldn't be given any more meds because it was time to push, so I basically had him natural. My back hurt for about 3-4 months afterward from the epi though. With my 2nd I stayed home and paced until I couldn't take it anymore (I had all back labor with him) and went to the hospital and had him 45 minutes later, with absolutely no meds what so ever. I really really hope this time to go without meds again. I don't set myself up though, I just hope to do it that way. If for some reason I end up wanting meds then that's ok too. I wish you the speedyest healthiest recovery ever!
Wendy