Hi,
I'm due in March with my first and am hoping to have a drug free labour. I was just wondering how people have had this experience and how it was for you.
Thanks :D
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Hi,
I'm due in March with my first and am hoping to have a drug free labour. I was just wondering how people have had this experience and how it was for you.
Thanks :D
Hi Amber
I had a drug free birth water birth with my third child in August 2003. I'm due to give birth this week and am hoping to have the same experience. (My first was a c section and my second was an induced delivery with gas & epidural.) I can honestly say the drug free birth was much, much better and less scarrey than the previous vaginal birth BUT the absolute key is having your mind prepared. I did hypnobirthing in the months beforehand and it really taught me how to breathe and visualise through each contraction plus allowed me to deal with any fears I had prior to the labor. It made an ENORMOUS difference - I never imagined I could achieve a drug free birth but it is possible and it's so worth it for the recovery - I didn't tear as I knew exactly what to do whereas with the epidural I had little sensation to know when to start/stop pushing and I ended up with a 2nd degree tear that took 2 weeks to recover from.
Having said all this, labor is painful and I'm quite anxious about going through it again but I do know the difference between drug free and medicated and I will do my very best to avoid drugs if possible.
Very best wishes to you.
x
Amber - well done on aiming for a natural birth - it's becoming harder to achieve one these days when there is such a hight rate of medical intervention, lots of it unnecessary too. Aiming for a natural birth is such a wonderful gift to offer your unborn baby.
A great way to really help you achieve this is to hire a professional birth attendant or doula - the stats speak for themselves (you can read the full info here: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth-support ):
"As recognised by the World Health Organization and according to many independent studies from around the world, where an experienced birth support person was present, the following benefits were observed:"
For the birth
* Reduction in length of labour (by an average of 98 minutes)
* The use of analgesia reduced by 35%
* Epidural use decreased
* Reduction in oxytocin augmentation (drip to speed up / stregnthen labour) by 71%
* Reduction in use of forceps by 57%
* Caesarean births reduced by 51%
Data from meta-analysis of twelve trials (includes data from a wide variety of medical, cultural and economic settings).
For mothers
* A greater sense of fulfillment with the birth experience
* A greater satisfaction with her partner’s role
* A feeling of better bonding with her baby after the birth
* Lower rates of post-natal depression
For babies
* Reduced amount / time of hospital stays
* Fewer admissions to special care nurseries
* Increased breastfeeding success
* Higher APGAR’s or post-birth assessment scores
Also you might like to read this article I wrote on aiming for a natural birth: https://www.bellybelly.com.au/birth/natural-birth
Use water if possible - baths or pools after 7cms (earlier can slow labour due to the weightlessness) and have supportive, encouraging people with you. You don't need sympathy in labour, you need encouragement to keep working through that pain! Mums are a bad choice for that reason, they don't like their little girls being in pain and want to help them get out of pain ;)
Hi Amber
i had a completely drug free labour with 2 out of my 3 births, and yes i did ask for an epidural both times lol (that was about 5mins before bubs were born lmao)
if you can go for it, the pain yes it is bad but the outcome is just wonderful, i had gas and pethidene for my first birth but they just made me vomit, with my 2nd i laboured in the shower and my 3rd i wanted to labour in the bath but she was born before the bath was full.
my dh always made a smart comment after the 2 drug free labours that it looked like i could do it all over again, yet after the first one i was a bit woozy for a few hours and dd slept alot (probably from the peth) and wasn't very alert and didn't feed well at all.
anyway i could go on but i wont = just wishing you all the very best in what you choose
For me, I think preparation well before the day was the key to achieving a drug-free birth. My DH was really supportive, telling me "I think you can do it" and similar things when I mentioned I was nervous about the birth. We discussed it several times and I knew he would support me all the way. It really helped build my confidence!
I would like a drug free birth and I am getting a book on birth and also some information on hypnobirthing as I think it is the way to go.
I am due early May and I now starting to read up on labour and birth.
Good luck with it.
Some great books to read are "New Active Birth" by Janet Balaskas, "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" by Henci Goer and "Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering" by Sarah Buckley. Throw away "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" - it's as useful as rubbish!
Hi Amber,
It is very easy to say during pg that 'yes I do want drugs' or 'no I don't'. I just went with the flow (I didn't have a birth plan for any of my deliveries) of the labour and had pethidene with #1 (to aid sleep), nothing with #2 (no time) and pethidene and gas with #3 (painful induction) Also at my hospital (small country town), they cannot offer epi's as there is no full time anaethistist. I am very happy with the way all my deliveries went and had supportive MW's who gave me the final decision on pain relief.
But don't feel dissapointed in yourself if you choose no drugs, then find you change your mind!
Cheers, sherieb.
I think that's a really good point about staying flexible. I have had two home water births without drugs, and I was absolutely thrilled with how they went. But I was lucky to have fairly straightforward labours. Although I am strongly in favour of using as little intervention as possible, I don't believe in masochism or going through torture just to make the point that you don't need drugs. I would advise all pregnant women to get as well informed as possible and make a plan for how to manage without drugs. But also accept that if you have some kind of complication, and/or an extremely long/difficult labour, then drugs may be the best choice for you after all. Make the decision that YOU will be in charge of your labour and birth, and use whatever is right for you.
I had a drug free birth this time, partly due to a quick labour (3 hours) can't tell you I would've stayed drug free if it was longer though. But I did use a TENS machine. It's totally drug free and non invasive, you stick it on your back and it send electronic messages to brain which distracts you from labour pains. Im not sure how much it helped but it certainly distracted me (particularly the three times I turned it right up instead of off... OW)!!! anyway, it was $10 a week to hire from a physio. Youcan call your physio and they'll give you a go. really worth trying. I had mine on up until about 10 minutes before bub arrived.
Good luck oxox
Absolutely, and that's why in my article, Mission: Natural Birth, it discusses your reasoning behind your desire for a natural birth. In some circumstances, it's not going to hold you in labour, and some will, but your motivations and how much you've researched your options play a huge part on if you decide to have drugs or not in labour.:
My birth teacher who has been a Birth Attendant and educator for 26 years (attended over 1000 births) has created a chart, which has six different descriptions of birthing women, from those who want no pain and whatever intervention, to those who want no intervention and no pain relief - so one extreme to the other. One of the groups is the 'wait and see' group, and she describes it like this... "She waited... she saw... she didn't like!" Every midwife that has seen her model completely agrees with her and the predictions of each group, that it's very accurate. Of course, some of us can be in the mind of a natural birth and go with the flow - but this model is designed with those in mind who don't really research anything or have no other thoughts that, we'll see what happens. It's an amazing model and I could even find an accurate description of myself with my first too!
But no matter what, it's those in your circle around you that play a HUGE role in what you can do. The encouragement, confidence and stamina of your support people is contagious and if you can offer that energy to the mother she is very capable of birthing normally. I think too many of us don't have this great support and don't realise how much of a difference it really makes.
A note on the TENS machine - you can't use it in water and if you have a caeser - so that's the only downside. If you can get into a tub from 7cms, it's amazing what it can do for the birth.
Thankyou so much everyone!
It really is amazing to hear different stories and points of view, I wasn't sure how many people chose this option (I'm the first of my friends to be pregnant). My mother had drug free births for the three of us and knowing it could be done definately made me want to give it a go, but she had 4 hour labours with us all so I am open to an epidural if things get really difficult. I really appreciate the input (and i will look into the TENS machine!)
Thanks :D
Amber - is your mum going to be present for the birth? She might be a great person to have with you as she knows what it takes to get through a drug-free birth. Often mums can be a bad choice for labour support people but if she's strong and willing to help you get through, then she might be a godsend. Of course, as long as she's not going to be the kind of mum who is worried about her baby girl in pain and insists that you use pain relief because it's there ;)
I did offer but she looked a little squeamish and said 'if you really want me to I will'. I think she would probably get very upset at seeing me in pain and try to give me something herself! 8-[
I'm not sure if my DH will be able to stand it either (me being in pain) so am thinking I may have to get an outside support person to stop him from begging the Ob for drugs!
LOL Amber, that happens often - if it's not mum begging for drugs it's her partner or mother, who are freaking out! Try calling Optimum Birth in QLD - Chris Vose runs it and is an awesome woman - hillarious too - she's a doctor, midwife, doula and all the rest, very educated. She runs a Doula training business there and also a doula hiring business. You might be able to get a student if money is an issue but if you can get a doula or birth attendant, they are worth more than their weight in gold - they normalise the pain and help both mum and dad relax and enjoy their birthing journey.
Do you know if hospitals mind you having someone there? I've been going for pregnancy massages and the masseuse is also a midwife and she has a lot of the same ideas of birth as I do (not cutting cord unless absolutely necessary, bonding time after birth etc) so I was thinking of asking her but wanted to run it by my OB first.
Or do I check with hospital? I don't want to tread on any toes, my hospital is a private one but agree with active birth and have a spa etc so I think they are flexible but am concerned about how they view it. Any ideas :-k
Actually the majority love it :) Because normally you have one midwife running around like a headless chook trying to manage up to four women or so - so they know the women are with someone supportive and helping them which in turn helps the midwives. They know if something happens, the support person will come to them etc., but most of the time, birth is a completely straightforward process. That's great they love the water use - like I mentioned above don't get in until 7cms or it can slow your labour.
Take yourself lots of personal possesions like pillows and even a doona, something with your smells on it to make you feel more comfortable and even photos.
That's great! Thanks for letting me know about the 7cm thing also, I had visions of being in there until the little one was ready to pop out so I'm glad I know now instead of finding out when I arrive!
I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge, now I just have to wait to put it all into practise - which is taking FOREVER ](*,)
No worries - the weighlessness of water counteracts the gravity, so it's important to have showers in early labour and not baths or be in pools until you are in transition (7cms). Janet Balaskas has written a book called 'Waterbirth' which is great. Do they allow waterbirths there?
I just wanted to add about the TENS machine. You can't have it in water, but it's very easy to take off and put on, so you can alternate between the two. Being so cheap to hire it's worth trying. However, have a go before the birth, you might not like it at all!!! xo
Amber, congratulations on making such a great decision for your baby. I hope you have a fantastic labour. I think that Kelly is right in suggesting that you find a support person to help you achieve this goal. My little suggestion is that you get your midwife or ob to put a big note on the front of your chart with highlighter on it saying not to offer you drugs or an epi. Most midwives are really caring people and when they see you in pain thier first instinct is to try and reduce it by offering you drugs. If they don't offer them to you you don't have to worry about being tempted when the time comes IYKWIM.
Maybe you can help your DH by suggesting a bunch of natural ways he can help you with the pain ie massage, getting heat packs, breathing with you, getting you cool drinks. I think men hate feeling usless in the face of pain so if you can show him ways to help and be proactive he might cope better. A good support person will help to support your DH as well as you.
BTW I'm due in March too - on the 22nd. Why don't you pop into the march belly buddies and chat with us here. The more the merrier.
I had a drug free birth and it was such a positive expreience. Yes it hurt but the pain is a pain that is there for that moment and once the contraction is over so is the pain! its not like having a sprained ankle or something where it aches all the time. I spent the whole time sitting on a fitness ball in the shower with the water on my back and belly. I got out when i felt i needed to push and I had actually let it go that long that she virtually fell out of me as i got up on the bed.
Even when she was coming out, it hurt but I just knew it was almost over. I only had a slight graze, nothing that needed stitches which was great too.
I do think though that if you end up having a long labour you definately need to look at drugs coz you dont want to get to tired out by the pain. Its one of those things that you can only play moment to moment. I htink having a nice midwife would make all the difference, luckily I did.
You have to trust what they are saying and make your decisions final though, not get pushed into anything.
Good luck! I cant wait to hear how you go
If you are having a long labour, the first thing I would suggest before drugs is changing positions or what you are doing. Maybe the cervix isn't dilating efficiently as the baby isn't in the best position. Walking up steps is great for getting that baby down as is walking - the best thing you can do is walk through contractions - wowee! That's the pinnicle!! See, an experienced support person can help you with this, sadly the training Obs and even midwives get at uni are all science and medical - I have spoken to many who are gentle birth advocates and they go to uni only to be dismayed at the teaching which is straightaway so science and medical based, nothing about normal physiological birth. My birth teacher actually gets employed by hospitals and midwives to teach them. How ironic. Our unis need to be teaching normal physiological birth before they teach science. Because if you ask an Ob or Midwife about alternatives before an intervention, and they wont know of any unless they have had training in normal physiological childbirth.
It seems so many people see natural birth as unacheivable, but it is very acheivable, it is so dependant on those around you, the midwives, the Obs, your family - they need to keep you active, moving, helping you keep your labour efficient, or you will be labelled 'slow to progress' etc. I wish I could all magically pop into everyone's heads and let them know what I have learnt, you would have serious doubts about how we are being treated by the medical system, and how draining they are on women's confidence and ability.
I even know one Ob who is currently practicing and tells student midwives that women know nothing about birth, don't expect them to and don't tell them to go to ante-natal classes. Many times he has come to a woman who is labouring beautifully and has reached 9cms and told them they need an epidural... epidural gets put in, woman says thank-you for saving me and mum is happy... but at 9cms - she was soooo close and I find that to be professional abuse to tell a woman she needs the drugs when she and baby were both fine, and would have been completely fine without it. You should hear some of the stories I have heard.
Well said Kelly
I leave my current employer tomorrow. We have a Ob's/GP here who insists that the woman should be on her back on the bed to give birth. Also the baby must be suctioned when on the peri. It does not matter what condition the baby is in we still have to stick that little tube down its throat and up its nose. I refuse to do this and often give him articles to read. I used to ask him why and to show me research that says his way is the way to go, as yet he has not provided this info. All of the other Midwives go along with what he wants even though they know that is is not the right thing to do. So now I dont even bother to call him untill after the baby is born. He hates this and so does the hospital management but what the hell I know I am doing the right thing I just cant find anyone here who is willing to stand up with me and say to this Ob/GP you are wrong.
Hi!
I don't think they do water births there, I haven't really checked into it. 8-[ I start my ante natal classes in a few weeks so can check then. That's a great tip about walking up stairs, I've read a lot about moving around and walking during labour and decided I wanted to have the freedom to do that if I choose. I was a bit worried if a hospital would allow it but the midwife said I can swing from the chandaliers if I like as long as I'm comfy. So I feel a lot better about them respecting my wishes of as little as possible intervention.
Thanks for the invite Dachlostar, will definately pop by! :D
I wish I had known that before I went into labour. I was in the bath and not even close to 3cm which I eventually got to and my labour slowed down if not stopped. Ended up with an emergency C-sect but wish I had some more info beforehand.:
Great thread.
hehehe Gemma - well I hope I am able to start showing everyone how useful a birth attendant can be - this is just a tiny preview ;)
Alan, thats so awful that there are people out there who insist that their way is the "right" way. It makes working in that environment a nightmare, good on you for trying to work for the family involved rather than the Dr.
i had a drug free labour and ouch! but i dont regret it, it was a great experience at least i wasnt drugged up and could actually remember everything:
Tulip,
I'd guess that if you already know his way of showing support etc, that it will show whilst in labour & although it may not be vocalised, as you will know his ways, it will help you through the pushing etc... does that make sense?
I think just having my Dh there with my drug free labour helped..
I had drugs with my first & had my sis & Mum with me...
I still enjoyed both labours, just differently!!!
I know what you mean Tulip!
I'm very concerned about my DH ability to cope with everything. I've started warning him I might yell or not want him to touch me at some points so I hope he'll be okay with it.
I'm just hoping that during ante natal classes they teach things like that, this is our first so I don't even know what I should be warning him about! 8-[
There's a book called 'The Birth Partner' by Penny Simkin that might be useful to him, also an article on BB which is in the men's section but I really ought to update it, as I have stacks more tips now than when I wrote it!
It's great they leave you alone for the birth, it really is a natural process and not a medical event. It's a very scary thought though for most women to surrender and trust your body - we'd rather leave it to the 'experts' in this day and age but they don't always have your best interests at heart, rather their's - which could be a combination of anything really, convenience, litiation, comfort level (i.e. some wont like to be involved in a twin vaginal birth or breech etc as they have no real life skills in it - one of the joys of too much intervention, they lose their hands on normal birth skills).
WA has a great community midwifery program, every other state is at the complete envy of you guys over there!!! It's the easiest place to acheive a home waterbirth, which is fully (I believe) funded by the government.
I don't know is anyone has already suggested this (I didn't have time to read all the posts) but when I had DD I had a "birth plan of sorts". It was just a rough idea of what I would like to have ideally but it I changed my mind that was ok. DH and I spoke about all the things and wanted and my prefered drug options. I was trying for nothing but if the pain got too bad I wanted too try the gas as a first option and then if it was too intense I didn't want the Peth and would go straight for the Epi, but at each of these stages I had to ask 3 times (at 3 different points of time or for 3 consecutive contractions because some are worse than others) before DH would ask the Midwife to give it to me.
I had gas in the last hour and asked for and Epi only once but DH knew I didn't really want it because I only asked once so I didn't have it. We are doing the same thing again this time. I will go as far as I can with nothing but water and focusing on DH and then if I ask 3 times I'll get what I want.
Good luck, I hope it all goes well.
Jorja
Hi Amber
I have two boys and gave both to both of them without drugs. I used Hypnobirthing and will guarantee to you that birth does not have to be painful. If you believe that it is a natural process, and can get your body completely relaxed, then your body takes over and, without you fighting against the contractions, there is no real pain and no need for drugs. The effectivness of this varies from woman to woman.
I also used the bath to help me relax, and gave birth to my youngest three weeks ago in the water, which was a lovely experience.
Another huge factor in remaining relaxed was having helpful birth companions who knew what I was trying to accomplish and were happy to help me through it. One of my birth companions was also my midwife and this helped tremendously.
Throughout both labours I would have been begging for drugs if I was in pain, but luckily I was not.
Good luck for the rest of your pregnancy and your labour
Mel
Thanks for your comments on HypnoBirthing Mel!
It's hard to guarantee a labour without pain though, I recently attended a birth where mum was very anti-pain relief and anti-intervention (most motivated I have worked with to date), she worked hard at hypnobirthing but after two days of the water breaking and a sluggish labour, she had to be induced. She was getting very strong contractions on the drip, and after two days of trying to get labour going, she was exhausted and asked for an epidural, but we managed to get her to try the gas instead.
She worked so hard on everything to keep it intervention free, the partner was right into the hypnobirthing too and she had three of us supporting her. But the uterus can react in different ways to induction / hormones and some are very sensitive to it, others not. Same goes with any labour, but I agree HypnoBirthing is great - it helps with the focus and pain / tension / release etc... definitely worth it.
Thanks for all the tips, I really hope I'm able to do it!
I don't feel any stress about the labour or the pain, I'm just looking forward to meeting her so I'm hoping that motivation will be enough to get me through.
This is my first though so am completely ignorant about what it feels like etc. I just hope the type of labour you have is hereditary, mum had 4 hour labours with all of us.
Is there any indicator of the type of labour you'll have? :-k
I worded my post badly, what I was trying to say is that not all labours have to be painful, (some people will tell you that labour is always painful and there is no way around that). But the degree to which hypnobirhting helps varies from woman to woman, and some women will still need an epidural or gas, etc, whilst using it. However most women benefit from being in control during labour and find that, even if they end up have a c-section due to unforeseen complications, they can still have a positive birthing experience using hypnobirthing.:
That said, an awful lot of women who use it experience little or no pain and I am able to testify to that! Let's hope Amber is one of those women
Mel
I think labour can definitely be less painful through techniques (i.e. like those taught through HypnoBirthing) in order to help you reduce fear and tension. Both of these things slow labour, stop labour or make it more painful. It's a natural thing to tense up when we are in pain, so this is why it's so good to learn. HypnoBirthing can help you to relax and let go - I think it's important women learn how to work with their bodies and not against it during labour - surrender helps so much - I completely think HypnoBirthing is brilliant and something all women should have access to if they want it.
But I also worry that women might do it on the premise of no pain and expect there to be none. Because working with women who think they will have no pain as a result can be really difficult when they do go into labour and panic because they do have pain which is not what they expected. As a birth attendant, my job is to help women focus and get back on track from these 'crisises of confidence.' I have seen it and I hear of it happening - but this is the nature of our jobs. It's common to have a 'crisis of confidence' in labour, some might not i.e. yourself Mel which is great.
I guess the trick is to learn that there are ways to help work with your body, to lessen the pain and if you do get the pain, there are ways to focus and get back on track - I think the support people around you are key in this too - it's harder to do if you don't have good encouragement. Some women who haven't hypnobirthed have also had no more pain than period pain - we are all different in terms of our pain tolerance and HypnoBirthing can definitely make it better to cope or even lessen that pain.
I really think HypnoBirthing is awesome, I am not bagging it at all. I hope everyone gets an opportunity to do it - but it's important to consider or factor in that you *may* get pain and how you will deal with that when it happens. A good topic of discussion with your support people - tell them what you will need to get you back on track.
Hi Kelly:
sorry but I disagree with you on this point. One of the most importtant factors in HypnoBirthing is that you must believe 100% that it will work, or it will not. If you believe that you may experience pain, and are expecting it, then you will experience pain. Sure it may be less pain than most get, but pain is still pain.
I have done this twice now with no pain, as I did not expect any. I did, however, have a crisis of confidence during each of my labours (at the point of transision) and my support people helped me get back on track.
HypnoBirthing (at least the way I was taught it) did, however, also teach me that no matter what happens, the most important outcome is a healthy baby. This knowledge would, I believe, help women through if pain did occur.
A lot of people mocked me throughout my pregnancies when I told them that my labour would be painless. One of them was my MIL who is a trained midwife. She witnessed my 2nd son's birth. After the birth she told me that she wished she had known about this years ago, as she did not realise that labour could be painless.
But anyway this is just my opinion, and I think debate on this topic is the best thing anyway as it may open more women's eyes to the possibilities within them.
Mel
Hi Mel
I'm a HypnoBirthing practitioner and I too have had many clients who have birthed painfree (including my own daughter) and others that have said they couldn't say it was painfree but certainly not painful and that they were in charge of their birthing.
We can never guarantee a painfree birth even though I know that can be so. We are individuals and each experience is different, each set of beliefs is different and our ability to let go that birth is painful is very much influenced by society today unfortunately.
Positive posts like yours Mel shows women that the possibility IS most definitely out there and achievable and believing in your body's ability to just do it.
I have had many couples who say they are not sure that HypnoBirthing will work and had many doubts, but have gone on to have beautiful births, so even the doubting Thomases have surprised themselves with their outcome. Some have had caesarians and reported on fantastic caesarians.
We certainly teach natural birthing but special circumstances do happen and no matter what happens you still continue on with the program. A relaxed and confident mother has a relaxed and serene baby and boy are HypnoBirthing babies relaxed and serene. I have 2 little grandsons that are just that.
Some women Mel have the determination and confidence that they CAN birth painfree and do so very successfully. Others have wonderful birth experiences that they remember with love and joy and certainly one they will remember for a lifetime even though it was not painfree.
Thankyou for discussing this subject and judging by the many calls I get daily, women want a birth experience that is absolutely theirs not controlled by medical procedures.
Di