I agree with ThePixie Dee, your freakin wonder woman!! Alot of other people would have bowed out alot sooner (me included) but you kept going until it just wasn't a possibility anymore.
I'd be damn proud of yourself honey! A c-section may have been the last thing you wanted, but the end result was the same, you got your beautiful little Blue out safe and sound.
But back to the point of this post, I'll have to agree with GothMum and ThePixie (again!) different people have problems with different terminology. If some chick stopped me in the shopping centre and asked if i had a "vaginal" birth, and how my vagina was holding up since, i'd probably have a fake smile plastered to my face as i tried like hell to convey to other people that she's crazy and i need help without letting the Vagina lady know what i was up to... "mummy, why does that ladies eyes look like their screaming???"
But yes, for me, "Natural birth" is alot more comfy for me to say than "Vaginal Birth".
I am a purist, s i wouldn't call a c-section natural, but i wouldn't call what i had "natural" either because i used entonox and had sintocinon for the 3rd stage.
I do think it is amazing the lengths people go to to avoid saying the word "vagina" and figure that's what most people mean when they begin bandying "natural" "normal" "traditional" and "conventional" about. I try to answer by saying "vagina" as many times as possible in one sentence.
I am a nosy birth parker but i tend to ask "how was the birth?" because that gives the private mum a chance to say "fine" or "ok" or whatever without revealing any details if she doesn't want to and those who actually want to talk a chance to do so. I love to hear about births, all kinds of births, and would love to read your birth story too Dee - i can remember reading the announcement and thinking of you up in that hoissie with the whole mountain behind you on fire, labouring to get your baby out while the rest of nature ran for it. Such an exciting story to tell bubs too. You're certainly one of the many heroine's of the board hun.
I hate "natural" birth with a passion. I have a "natural birth" box ticked on my latest smear test - I gave the nurse a glare when she asked if I had a natural birth until she changed it to "vaginal".
If what I had was natural I don't know how you others had anything worse!
BTW, I can say "vaginal birth" but when DS pointed in the bath last night and asked "what's that?" I was happy with "nipple" and "belly button" but vagina? That had a big um and er in front of it. I have no idea why I'm not comfortable with that word as with talking about birth I'm fine with it! But to a toddler... shouldn't be weird, should it?
I am a bit literal so I think of natural birth as birth free from any intervention, drugs etc. I had a vaginal birth and would correct anyone if they said I had a natural birth given I was induced and had an epi. I would say not natural but vaginal yes.
Natural does mean "produced by nature" so I wouldn't say that being induced meant my birth was produced by nature..unfortunately.
Ryn as few weeks ago DD told an elderly lady on the bus that "when i came out mummy's tummy it was ok and the doctor didn't have to cut because i came outta vagina". I resisted the urge to say i was a babysitter...lol. This was all off the back of a friend showing me her c-section scar and us talking about our births together when we thought the kids weren't payig any attention.
Is it maybe because he's a boy? I taught DD all te "correct" words as part of my mission to protect her from sexual abusebut i admit it did squick me out a bit hearing her say "penis" the first few times (not that we say "penis" a lot in my house!).
The thing is that, by implication, using the term "natural" implies that anything else is "unnatural" and I don't know anyone who would instantly choose "unnatural". Natural = good, pure. Unnatural = not good. That's just the way language works.
Having said that, I also think it's natural after a very long labour to want to try/do something else.
I would challenge anyone to have my labour (or yours) and NOT have an epidural or other interventions. I really would. I guess that's why I actually feel very proud of my labour. I feel like I did an absolutely tremendous job and I don't think that someone who had a 12 hour drug free labour can really compare. But that's the whole point - we shouldn't compare. We can't and we shouldn't.
As I've said before, my obstetrician told me that it's the length of the labour that determines whether a woman has interventions. Not her pain threshold, not her determination, not her willpower ... simply the length of the labour and we can't (really) influence that.
For once I am lost for words .... doesn't happen often
I don't even know where to start - I am so floored by the posts here and the overwhelming support -got me all teary....
I have a birth story posted .... but don't know how to post a link but it's in there somewhere.... if someone can tell me how to post it I will for anyone who wants to read it....
Thankyou to you all - your all freakin amazingly wonderful
xoxoxoxox
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!!
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
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.
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!).
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). 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.
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