Mama's who have given birth medication free-plezz respond!

[lilmama_24]

Hey everyone! This group caught my eye ,as I am pregnant with my 3rd baby. My oldest is 17 months and my youngest is 5 months. I had to have iv medication with my 1st and an epidural with my 2nd. I really, reallly, really, want to make it through this one naturally. My heart is extreamly set on this in the worst way. Any advice on how I should go about this? I really want to do this for my baby...those medications are truely harsh on tiny babies. plezz respond it would be greatly appreciated! Thankyou!!!!!!

[EuroMomTX]

We took a Bradley Class to prepare for our first birth and found it really helpful. It doesn't just teach you about  relacation, etc but is also very infromative in regards to what is happeneing at each stage. Vizualizing what was happening and knowing its purpose really helped me.

[Hellingmama]

First of all I have to say WOW! I thought my babies were close! 22mo (girl) 5mo (boy)

As for the meds, for me it was a mind set, I decided I wanted no meds when I had my daughter. I'm not going to say it was easy, but its what I wanted for me and for my babies! I wanted to feel it! All of it, if I was going to push out a 8-10lb baby from my body I wanted to feel it

I told my Dr, (insurance wouldnt cover a midwife or I would have gone that way) that unless it was a matter of life and death I did NOT want a c-section or ANY meds, again they were supportive of my decision, and helped a ton when it came to getting thru my contractions.

Its very liberating,... being able to say "I did it by myself"

I didnt take any fancy classes, I did yoga, i've done yoga for years and what they teach you in those classes you also learn doing yoga, but you get more benifits doing yoga!

[EuroMomTX]

Quoting Hellingmama:

I didnt take any fancy classes, I did yoga, i've done yoga for years and what they teach you in those classes you also learn doing yoga, but you get more benifits doing yoga!

I've been doing yoga too but we never talked about transition at all during yoga! ;)

[PhilsBabyMama]

Have you thought about where and with who you will be giving birth?  Often hospital staff and OBs are not on board with natural birth. I had my son at a birth center with a midwife who was wonderful.  I think it's a normal part of labor to reach a point where you feel like you can't do it.  That's when it's so important to have people around you that will reassure you that "Yes, you can." and not someone offering drugs when you feel vulnerable.

[Cassie422]

For me it was all about mindset.  I have known all along that as a woman i have a god given gift to bring children into this world.  I knew it would be difficult, in a sense, but obviously not impossible.  Every labor is different, but for me I just squatted with every contraction and found different positions that were the most comfortable.  I also kept focus which is HUGE.  I would focus on a light on a machine in the room and not look at anything else when I was having a contraction.  I moaned through the contraction (grunted and growled a little too lol).  When things got rough I told myself (out loud) "I am a woman, my body is made to do this.  This is my gift from god and it will result with my baby."  It also helped that I have an intense fear of needles and the thought of them shoving a needle in my back when I was in pain seemed more like cruel torture than help.  Also, trust that physically your body is going to do what you need.  It is going to release endorphines which are a more potent pain reliever than morphine.

[Hellingmama]

well, good point, i was thinking more along the lines of the breathnig and relaxation during labor,... thats (honestly) all that got me thru, I didnt think about anything but getting thru those contractions and getting that baby out of me! ;)

Quoting EuroMomTX:

Quoting Hellingmama:

I didnt take any fancy classes, I did yoga, i've done yoga for years and what they teach you in those classes you also learn doing yoga, but you get more benifits doing yoga!

I've been doing yoga too but we never talked about transition at all during yoga! ;)

[Mzjelybely]

If you think it's going to hurt, it will.  It's all a mindset.  I remember going in there thinking, "I'll take an epidural only if I really cant handle it."  Knowing that I am stubborn and a little on the tougherside, I knew that needing one meant weakness to me... and I did not want to see myself as weak.  I dont see moms that take the epidural as weak... but I did for myself.

I did absolutely fine until transition - thats the intense part.  But at no point was I thinking, "I cant do this anymore."  Labor and birth pain is a different kind of pain.  It's not pain to run away from.  It's an intense physical moment that I needed to embrace. 

Here's an excerpt from one of my journal posts: 

Thoughts on birth.  It's been a year now and I've done a lot of reflecting on what I feel about birth.  Before Isaiah was born, and even for a while afterward, I described it as a medical phenomenon.  However, I disagree with that now.  I read Ina May Gaskin's "Guide to Childbirth" and accepted what an amazing wonder it is that our bodies grow life and bring it into this world!  There is an emotional and spiritual aspect to birth that you don't experience when birth is reduced to just medicine.  Which brings me to my thoughts on the epidural...

I think it does moms a disservice.  Here's why.  looking back on my birth experience, (all natural, mind you - no drugs for me) I remember being amazed at what was happening to me.  Janel said it the best when she said to get out of your body's way.  Now, the epidural - in my opinion, the epidural reduces the birth experience to a medical procedure.  Not a spiritual, emotional, and physical phenomenon.  If you can't feel what your body is doing, you can't appreciate it fully.  Thats not to say that women who have epidurals can't have a great experience, but when its all over, there's a detachment from what just happened rather than the feeling of empowerment from having been emersed in the greatest experience of your life!  I remember being told to push and honestly I thought I had to push WAY harder than I actually needed to.  Your body does it for you, and if you know what to do based on what you feel, working with your body becomes a natural dance that it was meant for.  Is there pain?  Yeah but its not the hell most women make it out to be.  Is it unbearable?  No.  Its definitely manageable, and totally worth every minute.  The next baby I have will be born at home. 

[muensters_ma]

We hired a doula and she was a ton of help! make sure you have a dr that is supportive of a natural birth and make sure you make your intentions known at the hospital. my dr and nurses were so good to be they followed my birth plan to a T. it was a great accomplishment. i wouldnt have been able to do it without my doula though.

[lilmama_24]

wow! thanx so  much everyone! yea i truely agree you are sure to get a more powerful experience without the epidural. i guess at that point i just wanted the baby out of me which is very easy to do at a hospital-just give up if you know what i mean. don't get me wrong i experienced that intense pain for several hours before the nurse actually talked me into the epidural. they really shouldn't do that-i think i may have to look into a birthing center instead. my only fear is something going wrong and already being in the hospital they are already equipted to handle an emergency. it's a big choice but i really want this like i said before. it really means alot to me to do this natural.

[EuroMomTX]

I think once you talk to the birth professional (midwives, etc.) at a birth center you will find out that they are very much equipped to handle an emergency.
I had a homebirth and we hit a few little bumps that might have made a transfer necessary. But my midwives handled it really well. They had oxygen with them and were able to give me a drug to stop the bleeding after the birth when my blood loss became worrisome.
It would be tha same at a birth center.