Both my births were drug free and I remember how proud my husband was about that. But I agree, go with the flow. My first birth, by the time I decided to go with the drugs, it was too late. As for the second...there just wasn't time...she came so quickly.
Thu, 05/28/2009 - 12:02 — ajjsba
I agree with lauratcallaghan and sparkme - just go with the flow. I didn't have any intervention - but not necessarily my choice. I wasn't sure the first time, so I told my doctor that. I said I wanted to try it "drug-free", but said I would give her the "white flag" if I couldn't handle it. By the time I got close to "if this gets any worse I'm going to need something!' they said, sorry, too late you need to start pushing. The only "tool" used was the suction to help baby out because after 2 hours of pushing he was still crowning (11 hours total start to finish). Babies 2, 3, and 4, were too fast, no time for pain killers (2 hours each start to finish).
2 pieces of advice:
1. pushing means push like you're poopin'! I pushed with my first for so long because I was pushing wrong. When the doc said push like you're having a bowl movement, then (with the help of the suction thingy) out he came!
2. I tore for the first three (which is normal), but for my last, the doctor decided to give me a double episiotomy (2 snips) to make the opening bigger for baby. She was my fourth and my babies only weighed about 7 lbs each, but when you're in labor, you don't think straight! I don't remember if he asked, or if he just did it, but the recovery was terrible and I still have scar tissue from that. Don't do it if you have the choice.
BTW, my sister had a 2 page "birth plan" that got chucked out the window half way through because of complications. Have some ideas of what you think you may like to do, but plan on going with the flow. Don't judge others for their choices either. Drugs or not, the goal is a healthy baby!
Wed, 05/20/2009 - 21:26 — ketchup
First time was a c-section with epidural.
Second time was unmedicated home birth.
Wed, 05/20/2009 - 09:06 — cdprentice74
Mostly au natural. I had a lot of back labour, he was sunny side up! Wouldn't roll over until just before I started pushing. I had three shots of morphine spaced out from 4 hours after going into labour and four hours before I started pushing. Took the edge off the back labour and we had a nice smooth natural birth. It hurt, but I think it is a good hurt, worked for my bundle of joy!
Wed, 05/20/2009 - 07:26 — sweetde
WIth my first I wanted au natural. AND with no contractions after 16 hours of water leakage. Got good old Pitocin.
WELL those contractions come, and come HARD. Needed that epidural. HATED that I had to do it. But my midwives reasured me Pitocin almost 100% of the time means epidural.
With my second contractions started on their own and wewre no that bad. ONCE active labour started had no time. By the time we got to the hospital got checked out, we were ready to push.
AND just 6 weeks ago I delivered my third daughter at home, obviously au natural. AND though the back labour was hard, and making me contemplating hospital things too were moving so fast It was pointless. By the time the ambulance would have arrived to take me, My daughter was born
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 09:18 — mypacifier
I have 4 kids. Did the first 3 au natural...stupid!!! 4th was going to be my last & I heard too many of my frinds say it didn't hurt that bad wit the epidural. I got it at 3cm dilated @ loved every minute of this birth! No screaming, no crying, no broken blood vessels, it was great. I can't believe it when women say "I'm so proud I did it drug free". Why would you if you don't have to?
Mon, 05/18/2009 - 18:22 — SPN
I had our 9lb 6oz daughter Au natural, absolutely NO medication what so ever!!!! I wanted everything to be natural & it was. No complications with my pregnancy or anything. Very proud of myself as I went into labor very scared not knowing what was in store for me!
Sun, 05/17/2009 - 00:48 — Nayla Natural Care
Went natural as far as I could...then back labour hit. :(
Fri, 05/15/2009 - 22:08 — wonderwoman
hey lushmama...let's encourage more mamas to go natural!
My first - induced, with horrific back labour - a little gas for about 4 contractions...that's right, no epidural and nothing else, but a doula and my partner....18 hours later, a beautiful baby. My second - 8 hours of labour no drugs and again, a beautiful baby!
Thu, 05/14/2009 - 18:01 — lushmama
As a maternity nurse, I find it hard to believe 58% of women have gone through labour drug free. Obviously the sample size of this poll isn't large enough because more women than not have SOMETHING in labour whether it's morphone, demerol, gravol or an epidural. I have seen very FEW women have absolutely nothing.lol
Sun, 05/17/2009 - 21:07 — mamatocharlie
Perhaps we are forgetting that many women who do not take drugs, never set foot in a hospital. So it is obvious why a maternity nurse would disagree. And I do not think it is funny at all. It is very, very sad. There is something seriously wrong with our healthcare system. We are being deprived of our dignity, and told that we are unable to birth without medical intervention. We are being robbed of the most amazing experience life has to offer. It is hard work, but it is worth it. If you have not seen it yet, I would suggest to anyone (even if you are not pregnant, and especially if you are a maternity nurse) to PLEASE watch The Business of Being Born. Thank you.
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
Wed, 05/20/2009 - 21:27 — ketchup
I agree -- I delivered at home (with m/w) to specifically avoid the hospital interventions.
Thu, 05/14/2009 - 12:27 — kidsmartarrahlee
I went through labour, got lots of meds (gas + epidural), epidural wore off, pushed for 2 hours then ended up with a c-section! Plus I was induced to boot, so when labour started, it STARTED! They had to slow down the pitocin because I was contracting too fast and didn't have time to rest! Oh yeah, had a great time! The whole induction process started at 6am on the 19th (2 sets of gels) and gave birth via c-section on the 20th at 8:36pm! It was along old two days, but well worth it in the end!
C-Section recovery wasn't as bad as what I thought. I was finally wheeled back to my room the night I gave birth at 11:30pm. They had me up at 10am the next morning and in the shower! I thought it was a little quick, but they insisted! I was only on tylenol 2's for a couple days then on regular tylenol for a couple more days. All in all it wasn't too bad.
Wed, 05/13/2009 - 20:54 — callista
19 and 28 weeks preggo i went into preterm labour...air lifted to Halifax from PEI to see what was going on...they gave me drugs to stop the labour and admitted me on bedrest...2 weeks later my placenta ruptured so i had an emergancy section..he weighed 3lbs9oz.....my next 2 were girls and booked c-sections and they came right on the booked date with no issues .. one weighing 9lbs and the last 8lbs8oz!
I didnt find the recovery from the section that bad other than with the first but i had no idea what to expect..with my 2nd i was up that day...and with my 3rd i was a little more sore but also had my tubes done as well
Wed, 05/13/2009 - 18:24 — lauratcallaghan
The game plan was all natural (had attented a special class on this and had a bag of tricks and gadgets) ended up with everything I didn't want!! Morphine, two epidurals and an emergency c-section!! Hoping the next one to be a normal, natural birth. Funny I kinda felt cheated out of the whole birthing process....I wanted to go through it all. Felt like I didn't acutally give birth. Felt left out talking with my other close moms when we shared our birth stories. Now, I realize that is not true! They were like, you're so lucky and you don't want that. C-sections sucked too, and the recovery is a lot longer and tougher on the body. We'll see when the next one comes along!
Wed, 05/13/2009 - 18:26 — lauratcallaghan
My advice is to go with the flow, be prepared and expect the unexpected...End goal is healthy baby and mom!
Mon, 05/18/2009 - 18:22 — sparkme
I agree 1000% and I have encouraged my first-time pregant friends to carry the same attitude. It's great to have a plan BUT you really have to accept the fact that things may not go as planned and that is a-okay. Four hours after I was induced, I asked my labour nurse to take my birth plan fold it up into a paper plane and shoot it out the window. I went in with the intention of going au natural, but Oxytocin is a B and I really could not handle the pain any longer. At first I was disappointed in myself, but thankfully the support of my labour nurse and my husband brought me around to realize that the goal was a healthy baby, not me trying to be a superhero. After my epidural and a couple hours of sleep I woke up ready to rock and roll and a short couple hours later I was holding my son. :o)
Nash Anthony - April 22nd 2009 - 2:08pm
7lbs ~ 20in
Thu, 05/14/2009 - 10:24 — Maureen Dennis
I could not agree more! There is no easy way to get a baby out, but all you want is a healthy baby in the end.
Fri, 05/15/2009 - 18:25 — lauratcallaghan
Most definitely! Being a slight control freak I thought i'd have control of this too!! Boy, was I wrong! Your so right...no easy way out! I wish you all the best and hope for as smooth as a delivery can be!! You'll do great!
Fri, 05/15/2009 - 11:03 — kewtkids
Angela
when asked what my 'birth plan' was this last pregnancy my response was
'go to hospital'
'have a baby'
'go home with baby'
think I covered the important parts
Sun, 05/17/2009 - 21:32 — callista
you deifnatly hit the main aspects!
Wed, 05/13/2009 - 13:28 — melljones
C-Section the second time, was an emerg and natural with a few meds for the first. I would have it natural if Ihad the chose and did it again. The recovery time with a C was horrable.
Sun, 05/17/2009 - 21:33 — callista
I find a lot of people comment on the recovery time being really bad but with all 3 of mine just the first week was hard
Comments
Both my births were drug free and I remember how proud my husband was about that. But I agree, go with the flow. My first birth, by the time I decided to go with the drugs, it was too late. As for the second...there just wasn't time...she came so quickly.
I agree with lauratcallaghan and sparkme - just go with the flow. I didn't have any intervention - but not necessarily my choice. I wasn't sure the first time, so I told my doctor that. I said I wanted to try it "drug-free", but said I would give her the "white flag" if I couldn't handle it. By the time I got close to "if this gets any worse I'm going to need something!' they said, sorry, too late you need to start pushing. The only "tool" used was the suction to help baby out because after 2 hours of pushing he was still crowning (11 hours total start to finish). Babies 2, 3, and 4, were too fast, no time for pain killers (2 hours each start to finish).
2 pieces of advice:
1. pushing means push like you're poopin'! I pushed with my first for so long because I was pushing wrong. When the doc said push like you're having a bowl movement, then (with the help of the suction thingy) out he came!
2. I tore for the first three (which is normal), but for my last, the doctor decided to give me a double episiotomy (2 snips) to make the opening bigger for baby. She was my fourth and my babies only weighed about 7 lbs each, but when you're in labor, you don't think straight! I don't remember if he asked, or if he just did it, but the recovery was terrible and I still have scar tissue from that. Don't do it if you have the choice.
BTW, my sister had a 2 page "birth plan" that got chucked out the window half way through because of complications. Have some ideas of what you think you may like to do, but plan on going with the flow. Don't judge others for their choices either. Drugs or not, the goal is a healthy baby!
First time was a c-section with epidural.
Second time was unmedicated home birth.
Mostly au natural. I had a lot of back labour, he was sunny side up! Wouldn't roll over until just before I started pushing. I had three shots of morphine spaced out from 4 hours after going into labour and four hours before I started pushing. Took the edge off the back labour and we had a nice smooth natural birth. It hurt, but I think it is a good hurt, worked for my bundle of joy!
WIth my first I wanted au natural. AND with no contractions after 16 hours of water leakage. Got good old Pitocin.
WELL those contractions come, and come HARD. Needed that epidural. HATED that I had to do it. But my midwives reasured me Pitocin almost 100% of the time means epidural.
With my second contractions started on their own and wewre no that bad. ONCE active labour started had no time. By the time we got to the hospital got checked out, we were ready to push.
AND just 6 weeks ago I delivered my third daughter at home, obviously au natural. AND though the back labour was hard, and making me contemplating hospital things too were moving so fast It was pointless. By the time the ambulance would have arrived to take me, My daughter was born
I have 4 kids. Did the first 3 au natural...stupid!!! 4th was going to be my last & I heard too many of my frinds say it didn't hurt that bad wit the epidural. I got it at 3cm dilated @ loved every minute of this birth! No screaming, no crying, no broken blood vessels, it was great. I can't believe it when women say "I'm so proud I did it drug free". Why would you if you don't have to?
I had our 9lb 6oz daughter Au natural, absolutely NO medication what so ever!!!! I wanted everything to be natural & it was. No complications with my pregnancy or anything. Very proud of myself as I went into labor very scared not knowing what was in store for me!
Went natural as far as I could...then back labour hit. :(
hey lushmama...let's encourage more mamas to go natural!
My first - induced, with horrific back labour - a little gas for about 4 contractions...that's right, no epidural and nothing else, but a doula and my partner....18 hours later, a beautiful baby. My second - 8 hours of labour no drugs and again, a beautiful baby!
As a maternity nurse, I find it hard to believe 58% of women have gone through labour drug free. Obviously the sample size of this poll isn't large enough because more women than not have SOMETHING in labour whether it's morphone, demerol, gravol or an epidural. I have seen very FEW women have absolutely nothing.lol
Perhaps we are forgetting that many women who do not take drugs, never set foot in a hospital. So it is obvious why a maternity nurse would disagree. And I do not think it is funny at all. It is very, very sad. There is something seriously wrong with our healthcare system. We are being deprived of our dignity, and told that we are unable to birth without medical intervention. We are being robbed of the most amazing experience life has to offer. It is hard work, but it is worth it. If you have not seen it yet, I would suggest to anyone (even if you are not pregnant, and especially if you are a maternity nurse) to PLEASE watch The Business of Being Born. Thank you.
http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/
I agree -- I delivered at home (with m/w) to specifically avoid the hospital interventions.
I went through labour, got lots of meds (gas + epidural), epidural wore off, pushed for 2 hours then ended up with a c-section! Plus I was induced to boot, so when labour started, it STARTED! They had to slow down the pitocin because I was contracting too fast and didn't have time to rest! Oh yeah, had a great time! The whole induction process started at 6am on the 19th (2 sets of gels) and gave birth via c-section on the 20th at 8:36pm! It was along old two days, but well worth it in the end!
C-Section recovery wasn't as bad as what I thought. I was finally wheeled back to my room the night I gave birth at 11:30pm. They had me up at 10am the next morning and in the shower! I thought it was a little quick, but they insisted! I was only on tylenol 2's for a couple days then on regular tylenol for a couple more days. All in all it wasn't too bad.
19 and 28 weeks preggo i went into preterm labour...air lifted to Halifax from PEI to see what was going on...they gave me drugs to stop the labour and admitted me on bedrest...2 weeks later my placenta ruptured so i had an emergancy section..he weighed 3lbs9oz.....my next 2 were girls and booked c-sections and they came right on the booked date with no issues .. one weighing 9lbs and the last 8lbs8oz!
I didnt find the recovery from the section that bad other than with the first but i had no idea what to expect..with my 2nd i was up that day...and with my 3rd i was a little more sore but also had my tubes done as well
The game plan was all natural (had attented a special class on this and had a bag of tricks and gadgets) ended up with everything I didn't want!! Morphine, two epidurals and an emergency c-section!! Hoping the next one to be a normal, natural birth. Funny I kinda felt cheated out of the whole birthing process....I wanted to go through it all. Felt like I didn't acutally give birth. Felt left out talking with my other close moms when we shared our birth stories. Now, I realize that is not true! They were like, you're so lucky and you don't want that. C-sections sucked too, and the recovery is a lot longer and tougher on the body. We'll see when the next one comes along!
My advice is to go with the flow, be prepared and expect the unexpected...End goal is healthy baby and mom!
I agree 1000% and I have encouraged my first-time pregant friends to carry the same attitude. It's great to have a plan BUT you really have to accept the fact that things may not go as planned and that is a-okay. Four hours after I was induced, I asked my labour nurse to take my birth plan fold it up into a paper plane and shoot it out the window. I went in with the intention of going au natural, but Oxytocin is a B and I really could not handle the pain any longer. At first I was disappointed in myself, but thankfully the support of my labour nurse and my husband brought me around to realize that the goal was a healthy baby, not me trying to be a superhero. After my epidural and a couple hours of sleep I woke up ready to rock and roll and a short couple hours later I was holding my son. :o)
Nash Anthony - April 22nd 2009 - 2:08pm
7lbs ~ 20in
I could not agree more! There is no easy way to get a baby out, but all you want is a healthy baby in the end.
Most definitely! Being a slight control freak I thought i'd have control of this too!! Boy, was I wrong! Your so right...no easy way out! I wish you all the best and hope for as smooth as a delivery can be!! You'll do great!
Angela
when asked what my 'birth plan' was this last pregnancy my response was
'go to hospital'
'have a baby'
'go home with baby'
think I covered the important parts
you deifnatly hit the main aspects!
C-Section the second time, was an emerg and natural with a few meds for the first. I would have it natural if Ihad the chose and did it again. The recovery time with a C was horrable.
I find a lot of people comment on the recovery time being really bad but with all 3 of mine just the first week was hard