Anyone else dislike it when people use the term ‘natural labor/ birth’

[Anonymous]

Some people, like those who use the Bradley method, are REALLY into how they gave birth and proud of themselves and like to shame others. You see the same type of behavior around breastfeeding.

[Anonymous]

They might be trying to euphemistically refer to vaginal birth. I don't like saying anything involving "vagina" to people I don't know well, sorry.

[Anonymous]

I had two unmedicated births in the hospital and I still am confused when people talk about natural birth. I didn't even know thats what I had until after two of them. I always assumed natural births were home births or something.

[Anonymous]

I had one vaginal birth without an epidural and I had one c-section. I'm having a hard time imagining why anyone would care what terminology another woman uses to describe her own birth.

[Anonymous]

This is a made up mommy-war problem that nobody cares/talks about after your kid is a few years old. Just tell your story and hear other women’s stories w/o picking apart and assigning meaning to every word/phrase. We all have stories to share and can find more commonality than difference if we try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eh. I try not to get caught up on stuff like that. It’s just how it’s always been described. I had two medicated births and couldn’t care less.

+1. Honestly because there's a small contingent of incredibly judgmental and insufferable people who think they're heroes based on birth stories, anyone who mentions their birth was vaginal/unmedicated/natural/midwife/birth center/homebirth/ANYTHING runs the risk of being categorized with that group. So if these women said unmedicated it would still get your hackles up because it seems like they might be one of those people. Best not to assume bad intent and choose not to get caught up in the whole contest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people, like those who use the Bradley method, are REALLY into how they gave birth and proud of themselves and like to shame others. You see the same type of behavior around breastfeeding.

Could not care less about attempts at shaming. I had 3 "medicated" births and the end result is the same no matter how the baby comes out. The terminology does not matter to me at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some people, like those who use the Bradley method, are REALLY into how they gave birth and proud of themselves and like to shame others. You see the same type of behavior around breastfeeding.

This is different than what the OP asked, and yes this is annoying. It's the intent that's annoying, regardless of what words they use.

[Anonymous]

I overheard my dh telling someone I had natural births with our twins. I asked him why he would say that, since it wasn’t true. He said it was true because I hadn’t had a c-section. I told him that’s not what “natural” means and that they were vaginal births. People don’t always use the terms correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a made up mommy-war problem that nobody cares/talks about after your kid is a few years old. Just tell your story and hear other women’s stories w/o picking apart and assigning meaning to every word/phrase. We all have stories to share and can find more commonality than difference if we try.

Agree. Birth stories are about bonding (or processing or venting), not shaming.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but #mamas gonna #mama so I am over it. I know I'm a better person than the insta-mommies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, but #mamas gonna #mama so I am over it. I know I'm a better person than the insta-mommies.

You go, MAMA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Natural means without any medical intervention at all. That means out of hospital, no blood transfusion, no sutures, nothing. It can mean a birthing pool, or whatever non-medical aids to birth people wish to use.

Unmedicated means no medication. People understand "no pain meds", but occasionally laboring mothers need other medication than pain meds, such as steroids to mature the lungs of premature newborns.

I had two pain med-free births in hospital. As a shorthand, I have said "natural", but that's actually wrong. I was stitched up, given steroid shots for DC1's premature birth, given IV fluids, etc.

Why do you care though? Why do you feel the need to explain your definition of these terms to people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They might be trying to euphemistically refer to vaginal birth. I don't like saying anything involving "vagina" to people I don't know well, sorry.

If you don't know them well, then why are they asking about your childbirth experience...if people ask me about my birth I'll use the correct terminology in response, and if that makes them uncomfortable then they shouldn't have asked.

[Anonymous]

I use it. I try not to but it slips out. I honestly have a hard time understanding why it bothers people. My only two births were c-sections, and I don't feel like just calling an unmedicated birth a "natural" birth diminishes my experience in any way.

But I get that calling an unmedicated birth a "natural" birth is a misnomer and it bothers people, so I try not to use the term.