Pregnancy is one of the most beautiful, joyous, and exciting times in a woman’s life. There is just nothing like it and I will always look back on my three pregnancies as the most miraculous experiences. It is also one of the most stressful events though. You want to do the best for your baby before and after they enter into this world. Before baby is even born you have lots of decisions to make that will effect them.. what you will eat, how active you will be, what you allow yourself to be exposed to while preggers, etc. You also have to decide between natural childbirth and an epidural.
Let’s explain: Natural versus Conventional (or Epidural)
So everyone is on the same wave length, let’s explain what I mean by “natural” and also “epidural.” Natural childbirth is essentially a birth that could have been had by our ancestors before all the interventions came along. It can be attended by a doctor, midwife, or doula at a birthing facility or it can be a home birth with minimal if any assistance. Natural childbirth means the mother does not receive any drugs to alleviate pain or interfere with the natural birthing process. Often a mother uses breathing techniques, like Lamaze, and visualization to get through the pain of labor. I personally used hypnobirthing for my last two pregnancies and swear by it. Alternate birthing methods like water birth are natural in that no medications or interventions are involved.
Epidural birth refers to a method of anesthesia that is given to reduce the pain of labor for the mother. A doctor will place a catheter in the epidural space of the spine for infusion of pain medication and anesthetics. Mother is able to rest during labor and not be in constant pain.
Choosing Natural Childbirth
Well, if you have ever been on a labor and delivery unit, you are probably thinking that the second choice doesn’t sound half bad to you. But, for moms who want to make an informed choice, here are some of the advantages and reasons why natural birth is chosen over an epidural delivery. Also if you have had a birth or two that did not end up very naturally, don’t beat yourself up about it. For my first birth I intended to go natural but it didn’t work out that way and I think much of it was my own fear and inexperience. My second and third go rounds, I knew I could do it! Here are some reasons why you may want to try it yourself as well…
1. Fewer traumas to baby – A natural birth commences on the baby’s schedule and without drugs baby and mom are more alert. Some medications can speed up labor pains and lead to fetal distress in babies by slowing down their heart rate. Often times the result is a C-section. Babies can also be born with a fever due to medication given to the mother.
2. Low APGAR scores – A baby can score lower from the womb if they are affected by medication. Remember that mom and baby are still connected and medication can cross the placental barrier. You aren’t the only getting dosed with powerful drugs and we need to think about whether or not we want our child to be born into the world that way.
3. Harder to push – When the mother can’t feel the downward pressure of baby’s movement, she will have to be told when a contraction is happening so she can push. Because she can’t gauge how hard she is pushing she may be less productive in moving baby through the birth canal and the birth can drag out. With my first I pushed for 30 pain free minutes and ripped badly. For my second and third kids I pushed them out in 2 to 3 pushes with no issues.
4. Healing – Mother can push too hard and may need an episiotomy or tear her muscles in the process. She may also end up with a c-section if the baby does not react well to medications. This can mean longer healing times after the baby is born. Few of us want to spend days or weeks after birth in pain. We want to enjoy our babies!
It is a choice that every mother must make but for both mom and baby, the advantages are greater with a natural birth. It is too bad that society often tries to undermine us and make us think pregnancy is a medical condition or sickness that requires so many interventions instead of a natural process that our bodies are more than capable of handling.
If you have had a natural birth yourself, what do you credit with giving you the confidence that you could do so?
Recommended Reading: Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation & Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth
I just felt determined and wanted to bring my babies into the world without anything in their systems to give them the best start possible. I am so very glad I did it!
Thank you for this article. Natural childbirth is a very personal choice, but I wish more people were informed and understood the benefits and risks for both natural and assisted births.
A friend of mine introduced me to Bradley Method when I was pregnant with my first (and only so far) child, and it was the best decision we could have made. I too was fearful of childbirth before I studied Bradley, but understanding that our bodies were made to do this, and that understanding the process and working with your body is the safest option for mom and baby, made my choice easy. My confidence came from education and trusting my body. The design of the female body is to grow, birth, and breastfeed babies. As I trust in the universe to provide me with the foods I need to eat, I also trust in the design and the plan my body was given.
I was privileged to witness a natural childbirth firsthand long before my own sweet girl was born. Seeing that my dear friend had done so gave me confidence that I could, too. Also, the book “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth” by Ina May Gaskin was a tremendous support as I prepared for labor & delivery.
I agree! Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth is the single most important book I read during my pregnancy. Reading about other women’s experiences really got me into the right state of mind in preparing for my own natural delivery. I tell every pregnant (and future pregnant) woman about it! I also really like Ricki Lake’s “The Business of Being Born”.
Between those two, I really gained the confidence I needed to prepare for the birth and be confident that the choice I made was the right one.
Having had spinal meningitis as an infant, I am lucky to even walk, so there was no way anyone was ever sticking a catheter in my back! I’ve had 5 babies- all of them natural. 3 of my sisters are constantly saying how wonderful epidurals are- but they all pushed for more than 45 minutes with each baby. I pushed for less than 10 minutes with each one of mine. I think it is due to the lack of epidural for me. One of my sisters has been through 4 C-sections because she was induced with her first and the umbilical cord was wrapped around the babies neck several times (which also happened to when my mother was delivering her 11th baby at home with a midwife and did not result in a C-section). I would much rather take a short amount of pain (after all, what is a few hours after 9 miserable months of pain and vomiting) than risk my body and my baby. Yes, I was sick ALL 9 months with all 5. Having said all that, if I were in labor for 24 hours and had to push for several hours on top of that, I’d probably cave and have an epidural or something- but that never happened to me.
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I credit my confidence in my ability to give birth naturally to reading lots of books on the topic and to taking to several women I respect who had given birth naturally. Also, the idea of a giant needle in my back scares me way more than the idea of pain.
With my second child, I had already done it once and figured I could do it again. As it turned out, I didn’t have a choice because my baby came so quickly that he was born at home. I’m so glad I was mentally prepared to do it drug free!
With my first birth I did reach the point where I asked for drugs but then, two contracts later, it was time to push and I didn’t feel the need for them anymore. Several women I’ve spoken with said that they also didn’t feel like they need drugs until the birth was pretty much over, though they didn’t realize how close they were until it was over. They said if they could do it again they wouldn’t have used the drugs at that point.
I had 2 completely different experiences with my 2 girls. My natural home birth was so good that if I was planing to have more children I would do it again. I feel like the hospital experience was so terrible! I can’t understand why the U.S. is accepting this way of birth. We are one of the few industrialized countries that does this.
You read about my experiences on my blog: http://crystalclearmom84.blogspot.com/
I had post postpartum depression after my first birth, which I had intended to be natural and it ended up a C section. For my second, I had a natural birth with a VBAC, and no postpartum depression at all. It healed all of those bad feelings I had about myself “failing” to have a natural childbirth the first time around.
With my natural birth, I labored most of the time in a Jacuzzi bathtub, and that for me cut my back labor pain almost in half!
Actually an article I read while in a Sociology class in college compared our culture to others and how much we overmedicate. I’ve always wanted a natural birth. One month ago we had our homebirth, medication free with our first! It was wonderful. I also recommend the book Labor Pains. I loved Business of Being Born, Pregnant in America, and Ina May Gaskin.
http://www.hurleylove.blogspot.com