Two years ago, I had no plans of having a natural childbirth. I just assumed I’d labor and deliver like most women I knew – in a hospital with the meds. It was the idea of a water birth that first intrigued me and thus began my journey away from the hospital to a birth center with midwives.
Hospitals have always given me the creeps – the environment feels so cold and sterile to me. When I first checked out the birth center where I plan to deliver, I was immediately put at ease with how “homey” the environment was. It was more like a cozy hotel suite – I immediately felt comfortable there.
I've discovered that one of the fundamental differences between midwives and doctors is that midwives view pregnancy, labor and delivery as a normal, natural event that a woman’s body is designed for – doctors are trained to approach it more as a disease to be treated and to anticipate complications.
They tell us in our Bradley birth classes that less than 10% of labors have complications that require intervention (inducement, c-section, episiotomies, forceps etc). I've been shown that there are many things I can do before and during labor that will minimize the need for intervention -- natural ways of preparing myself for childbirth and how to work with my body as it's laboring.
I'm glad those interventions are available when really needed as they no doubt save lives. But the fact that over 25% of American deliveries are done via c-section is troubling to me. That's major abdominal surgery (yikes!). Maybe in today's litigious environment it's understandable why it may be over-prescribed. Maybe there's more of a feeling of control for the doc when he's not relying on the natural progression of labor.
J's perspective as a chiropractor of starting with the least invasive methods before going to meds and surgery is one that I've come to adopt as well. So, at some point I came to the conclusion that barring no complications, I want to experience childbirth without any unnecessary interventions and let my body do what the Creator designed it to do.
Being a person who prefers information to “winging it”, I have really appreciated the thoroughness of our Bradley classes. We’ve had 12 classes that cover nutrition, exercise and all aspects of labor and delivery (L&D) with the many variations that can occur. Last week, we actually practiced late first stage labor techniques for 30 minutes. Our instructor timed 60-second contractions 2 minutes apart and we tried out the various laboring positions that we were taught with our coaches providing the physical and emotional support. J did a great job of massaging and encouraging me to relax all of my muscles and breath deeply from my abdomen. He’s got a big role in this thing – it’s called “husband-coached childbirth”, so he’s much more actively involved in my labor, which is a great source of comfort for me.
We’ve watched about 15 natural childbirths which help to give us a picture of what a normal L&D might look like. Fortunately the midwives see a broader range of “normal” than a doctor does and I won't be encouraged to take interventions unless there’s apparent danger to me or Riley. If there are any complications, they'll put me on a gurney and have me at the hospital in minutes (the birth center is on the hospital grounds). It seemed the best of both worlds to me -- comfortable & safe for me & Riley.
So, as I wait out my final weeks of pregnancy, I don’t have the fear and apprehension of L&D that I might have had if I were less informed. I’m looking forward to seeing how much these classes will affect our approach to L&D when the big day finally arrives. I’m sure I’ll blog on it at a later time…
2 comments:
Looking back, I might have read a bit more about childbirth before doing it. :) I think I may have actually done it naturally if I had planned more, but remember if, in the middle of things you change your mind, that's okay, too and not a failure. It does hurt. I remember a mom of 4 telling me that right before I had Nate and I thought, well, duh, but then you do it and you realize there is simply no other way to describe labor than to say it hurts. but...you can do it! Oh, and my dr told me prior to labor that the best way to do it naturally is to imagine yourself as a lion in a field in africa---that it's what our bodies are designed to do....so there is one dr. who is more midwifey. My lion got an epidural, however. And she doesn't regret it.
I like the lion analogy...our Bradley instructors said that when we feel the contraction come on, to relax every muscle and imagine the door opening to your baby's entrance into the world. Each contraction has the power to open the door wider and to think of that so that we'll not fight the contractions but let them do their "thang". One reason we practice relaxation techniques now is that it's so hard to remember to relax ALL the muscles (I'm tend to forget my facial muscles!). Good thing I have J to remind of things like this...
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