Am I weird for not liking this termionolgy???

[ezymay]

Dee I just read ur birth story..what an amazing story..yes certainly not boring!!!! How tough are you!!! And I think (if you wanted to) you could use the term natural when talking about your birth. You went into labour "naturally" and laboured "naturally" for a long time!!!! I would say your labour/birth would be more natural than mine which was medically intervened with from the start!!

[Laranna]

I agree with GothMum - I think people are afraid to use the word vagina TBH, I didn't consider my c/s as "unnatural" until I read this thread, I guess technically it is, but I'm ok with it. Mainly because the reason I had a c/s was placenta praevia and there was no avoiding it.

I must admit, I enjoy people squirm or look uncomfortable when they ask me "So, are you having another c/s then?" and I say "Nope, vaginal birth". Then they look at me like I'm a crazy woman and I leave it at that.

So, Dee, I don't think it's weird at all and your birth story is lovely. Seems like you had plenty of natural elements in your labour

[paradise lost]

TBH i had people ask me when planning a homebirth what i had against "doing it the traditional way" - i.e. in a hospital apparently (guess which "tradition" has been going longest ). And in response to my actual birth i get everything from snapped "aren't you smug then!"or shocked "weren't you scared one of you would DIE!?" to being treated like the Madonna herself.

For every person you come across who is crazy in one way you'll find someone who is crazy in another. "Natural" is so vague too. I mean don't ALL mothers want to have their baby healthy and safe? Isn't it pretty natural to have a cs when one is needed then? Don't ALL mothers want what's best for their child? Isn't it fairly natural to go with what you're told by the person who is supposed to know what they're talking about then, even if it later turns out to be bad advice from a shoddy doctor or midwife? Women NATURALLY want to do the right thing by their child, and sometimes that desire is going to mean a csection happened.

Bx

[bon]

I don't mind telling people (if asked, I don't just volunteer the information!) that I have had vaginal births. The technical term, according the terminology used in my file, is SVD - or standard vaginal delivery. I don't feel overly comfortable with the term "natural birth". First, because *technically* a natural birth is one that starts spontaneously and continues without any intervention whatsoever - including the gas. And I suppose second, because of the insinuation that anything else is "unnatural". If you by the technical definition, none of my births were 'natural', but at the same time I am uncomfortable with the insinuation that therefore means they were somehow unnatural. So I am happy with 'vaginal' - it's accurate and inoffensive (unless you really have a problem hearing the word said, in which case you shouldn't be asking me about my birth in the first place!).