Reasons for medication-free childbirth

[Anonymous]

I wanted to experience all of labor. This time I am hoping to experience it again, but without pitocin!

I wanted to have the best chance at avoiding a c-section, knowing full well that you can't control it when you need it.

I wanted to increase the chances that the baby would be up for nursing right away.

OP, the pain is different for everyone and some labors are much harder than others. I have no doubt, though, that every labor is easier (not easy, and may still call for an epidural) if you have done the mental training in advance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It always bugs me when a few natural birth proponents come on this site and say that having a baby without an epidural was really quite manageable and such a "positive" pain and blah, blah, blah. Maybe for you but that is not necessarily going to be every woman's experience for sure.

why should it bug you if this is simply a recount of a woman's experience? seems to me that women can only speak to their own experiences, so when they answer a question, it's specific to their situation. and their description will often be different than yours, but it shouldn't "bug" you that they're recounting a different (and for them, an accurate) description of their birth. some women experience very easy, painfree labors. some do not. it probably "bugs" them that others describe birth as suffering.

[Anonymous]

OP-- quite simply, I chose medfree and natural because it was the best choice for me. And just so you know, I cannot understand how people decide before they've even had their first contraction that they'll get an epidural. But I don't ask them to explain it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It always bugs me when a few natural birth proponents come on this site and say that having a baby without an epidural was really quite manageable and such a "positive" pain and blah, blah, blah. Maybe for you but that is not necessarily going to be every woman's experience for sure.

why should it bug you if this is simply a recount of a woman's experience? seems to me that women can only speak to their own experiences, so when they answer a question, it's specific to their situation. and their description will often be different than yours, but it shouldn't "bug" you that they're recounting a different (and for them, an accurate) description of their birth. some women experience very easy, painfree labors. some do not. it probably "bugs" them that others describe birth as suffering.

You made me laugh (at myself) PP because as I was reading your response I was thinking, "yeah, well their descriptions of it as suffering bug me a little," but I think it isn't exactly that. When I say labor pain was manageable for me, I don't mean to say it will be for all people or that my next labor will be. But when some (and only some) people say that it was truly horrible, it seems like they want the person who hasn't yet gone through it to know that their labor will be horribly painful too. We can all share our experiences but we can't know how the labor of others will work out.

[Anonymous]

I always hated popping pills, taking meds or any of the kind. There are so many different options to manage pain, discomfort, illness... why do we need to pop a pill for every single tingle?
Polypharmacy is awful and I avoid medication as much as I can.
I want my child to experience birth as much as I want to experience labor and delivery. It's the healthy way.
What's the use of all organic food we're eating, all the healthy habits we're trying to build if we're drugging ourselves for anything?
I don't want my child to be born numb, or not have the stimuli needed from me through the birth canal. My muscles/bones/ligaments are there for a reason and numbing them will keep them for doing their job in preparing baby to face the outside world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It always bugs me when a few natural birth proponents come on this site and say that having a baby without an epidural was really quite manageable and such a "positive" pain and blah, blah, blah. Maybe for you but that is not necessarily going to be every woman's experience for sure.

why should it bug you if this is simply a recount of a woman's experience? seems to me that women can only speak to their own experiences, so when they answer a question, it's specific to their situation. and their description will often be different than yours, but it shouldn't "bug" you that they're recounting a different (and for them, an accurate) description of their birth. some women experience very easy, painfree labors. some do not. it probably "bugs" them that others describe birth as suffering.

No PP, but the broken tail bone mom -it doesn't bother me if people say it wasn't that bad -but when they extrapolate from that and act like the vast majority of labors are the equivalent of theirs, it stings a bit. As one PP said, there are any number of reasons why people might feel the pain differently. I tend to appreciate the posters who come on here with a more measured approach: "For me, this worked, it was great but I understand that different situations arise." I can honestly say my labor was suffering. And if someone blows off that suffering, it is upsetting -it reminds of the notion of a doctor telling you "it's all in your head."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do think it's judgey (not a word, I realize) to constantly ask women who chose (as I did) a natural birth why they did it. You rarely ever see a natural birth mama post -- so, epidural women, why did you choose medication? We'd get bashed for agenda pushing. It's just annoying to me. I don't get why others care about why any of us make any of the decisions we do. We all have access to information, can read books, can talk to our doctors... and we all make a choice that we are comfortable with. So be it.

I think you don't see the question because the answer is obvious-- to avoid pain. Pain avoidance is a most basic human instinct. Choosing pain over its absence thus demands a reason-- of which there are plenty of worthy ones in the case of epidurals. Women who have a natural birth (at least in a developed, Western country where medical intervention and pain relief are standard care) do so because they make a reasoned choice based on the information they've acquired. (not referring to those who've missed the window, though, or who otherwise didn't have a choice) So I disagree that there is any offense in just asking the question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do think it's judgey (not a word, I realize) to constantly ask women who chose (as I did) a natural birth why they did it. You rarely ever see a natural birth mama post -- so, epidural women, why did you choose medication? We'd get bashed for agenda pushing. It's just annoying to me. I don't get why others care about why any of us make any of the decisions we do. We all have access to information, can read books, can talk to our doctors... and we all make a choice that we are comfortable with. So be it.

I think you don't see the question because the answer is obvious-- to avoid pain. Pain avoidance is a most basic human instinct. Choosing pain over its absence thus demands a reason-- of which there are plenty of worthy ones in the case of epidurals. Women who have a natural birth (at least in a developed, Western country where medical intervention and pain relief are standard care) do so because they make a reasoned choice based on the information they've acquired. (not referring to those who've missed the window, though, or who otherwise didn't have a choice) So I disagree that there is any offense in just asking the question.

I was going to say pretty much the same thing. Avoiding or minimizing pain is really the only reason for an epidural (though in my mind a very good one!) whereas there are, as demonstrated above, a number of reasons to not have one and I think for some of us we're just curious. To me, some of the reasons listed above for not having an epidural make total sense but--for me--don't override my desire to avoid pain. Others would never come into play for me even if thw pain was less substantial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to experience all of labor. This time I am hoping to experience it again, but without pitocin!

I wanted to have the best chance at avoiding a c-section, knowing full well that you can't control it when you need it.

I wanted to increase the chances that the baby would be up for nursing right away.

OP, the pain is different for everyone and some labors are much harder than others. I have no doubt, though, that every labor is easier (not easy, and may still call for an epidural) if you have done the mental training in advance.

I had an emergency c-section, so of course epidural, and my baby nursed as soon as I was stitched up. He was also very alert and looked back and forth at me and dad when we would talk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to experience all of labor. This time I am hoping to experience it again, but without pitocin!

I wanted to have the best chance at avoiding a c-section, knowing full well that you can't control it when you need it.

I wanted to increase the chances that the baby would be up for nursing right away.

OP, the pain is different for everyone and some labors are much harder than others. I have no doubt, though, that every labor is easier (not easy, and may still call for an epidural) if you have done the mental training in advance.

I had an emergency c-section, so of course epidural, and my baby nursed as soon as I was stitched up. He was also very alert and looked back and forth at me and dad when we would talk.

I'm really glad that you had this good experience, but do keep in mind that it's not everyone's experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:8:23 here. Did you feel that I was using scare tactics or being self-righteous? I was just trying to describe the reasons why I personally made the choice that I did, and reasons/information that was persuasive for me. I hope I didn't come off as trying to use scare tactics as that was not my intention.

Anonymous wrote:I won't lie. I sometimes can't imagine why a person would choose to labor in pain and be exhausted after the end of it all rather than labor without the pain. But I have only experienced labor with an epidural and had 2 amazing, wonderfully quick outcomes with babies who were completely alert and perfect. But I do fully believe it is a personal choice and completely support anybody in whatever choice they make.

What I really don't like though is when people - on either side - start using scare tactics to try to convince other women that their choices are bad for their bodies or babies. Epidurals have been around a long time and are safe. That doesn't mean complications don't arise, but you know what? Complications can arise in any birth - with or without medical intervention. People cite internet research/articles to support their side, but often times, these cites are biased.

My attitude is - do whatever you want, but leave the scare tactics and self-righteousness at home and just agree to disagree.

No, not at all. Sorry if my post implied otherwise. Just some of the posts re: natural childbirth go a little far in making it sound like those who choose otherwise are putting their babies in harms way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, not at all. Sorry if my post implied otherwise. Just some of the posts re: natural childbirth go a little far in making it sound like those who choose otherwise are putting their babies in harms way.

Sadly, the converse is also true. A lot of us who are choosing natural birth are constantly told (on this forum and in the real world) that our choice is selfish and "who cares how you have the baby as long as it's healthy!" While I don't disagree that a healthy baby is a good outcome of birth, I do not agree that the mother's experience should be discounted, and often, at least for me, that is what people have implied.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to experience all of labor. This time I am hoping to experience it again, but without pitocin!

I wanted to have the best chance at avoiding a c-section, knowing full well that you can't control it when you need it.

I wanted to increase the chances that the baby would be up for nursing right away.

OP, the pain is different for everyone and some labors are much harder than others. I have no doubt, though, that every labor is easier (not easy, and may still call for an epidural) if you have done the mental training in advance.

I had an emergency c-section, so of course epidural, and my baby nursed as soon as I was stitched up. He was also very alert and looked back and forth at me and dad when we would talk.

I'm really glad that you had this good experience, but do keep in mind that it's not everyone's experience.

nobody's birth is everyone's experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, not at all. Sorry if my post implied otherwise. Just some of the posts re: natural childbirth go a little far in making it sound like those who choose otherwise are putting their babies in harms way.

Sadly, the converse is also true. A lot of us who are choosing natural birth are constantly told (on this forum and in the real world) that our choice is selfish and "who cares how you have the baby as long as it's healthy!" While I don't disagree that a healthy baby is a good outcome of birth, I do not agree that the mother's experience should be discounted, and often, at least for me, that is what people have implied.

ITA. And I'm a huge fan of epidurals. This is just one of those topics where people are defensive. To me, some of the "I wanted to fully experience labor/delivery" posts sound a little self-righteous b/c - you know what - I fully experienced labor and delivery as well. I felt the contractions and I pushed my baby out and I labored and delivered just like all of you natural delivery people. To think otherwise (i.e., that those with epidurals didn't experience labor/delivery as fully is like saying that a pregnant woman didn't fully experience pregnancy b/c she didn't have morning sickness).

But I do understand that this is my reaction based on my experiences and certainly a little defensive. It is just hard not to roll your eyes a little when you hear women talking about how they accomplished something with natural childbirth that those of us who had epidurals or even c-sections seem to not have accomplished. We all accomplished the same thing. We just took different routes to get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wanted to experience all of labor. This time I am hoping to experience it again, but without pitocin!

I wanted to have the best chance at avoiding a c-section, knowing full well that you can't control it when you need it.

I wanted to increase the chances that the baby would be up for nursing right away.

OP, the pain is different for everyone and some labors are much harder than others. I have no doubt, though, that every labor is easier (not easy, and may still call for an epidural) if you have done the mental training in advance.

I had an emergency c-section, so of course epidural, and my baby nursed as soon as I was stitched up. He was also very alert and looked back and forth at me and dad when we would talk.

This is the PP. I wrote "increase the chances" of fast nursing, which is accurate. Increasing the chances doesn't mean it ensures I could get fast nursing or that it is the only way to have it. I don't want to be the one to bring rudeness to what has been a pretty relaxed thread but this kind of response drives me batty. If someone is talking about chances, percentages, etc., any one experience to the contrary is just not relevant.