Anonymous wrote:Smack your hand daily with a hammer to increase your pain tolerance.

Lol

The Bradley classes we took were invaluable. It definitely would have been difficult if I'd already had a child who needed a babysitter, but I'd still recommend it. Or at least the book.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of vodka during delivery unless you consider that 'medication.'

Ha, I had a glass of wine

I took a Bradley course and it helped immensely. My teacher really focused on trying to eliminate fear through education. By the time I was in labor I had zero fear of child bear. I think being able to keep your flight or fight responses to am minimum really helps.

Good luck!

Agree with this. I have had 2 unmedicated births. I never took bradley, just a general hospital course, but the instructor really focused on what was happening through the cycle of labor and encouraged us to relax and roll with it rather than fit it or get scared. Really helped. A doula will also help with this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Practice relaxation daily. It is difficult to relax your body while in pain but makes a huge difference.

I did the hypnobabies self study course. It was great. I couldn't quite get to the point where I believed it would eliminate pain (though many who DO get there say it does), but it was fantastic at helping me really relax and get in that mental state. I've had two unmedicated births and really liked the system.

What self study course did you take? Is it available for purchase online?

Its called Hypnobabies: http://hypnobabies.com/

The relaxation and the positive mindset the program gave me were great. Made a big difference. I'm an anxious person and I was not about birth, either time.

Anonymous wrote:Practice relaxation daily. It is difficult to relax your body while in pain but makes a huge difference.

I did the hypnobabies self study course. It was great. I couldn't quite get to the point where I believed it would eliminate pain (though many who DO get there say it does), but it was fantastic at helping me really relax and get in that mental state. I've had two unmedicated births and really liked the system.

What self study course did you take? Is it available for purchase online?

In addition to other suggestions, it helped me to listen and try to sing along to my favorite songs while in labor. I had a calming playlist and an energizing playlist. I read a little bit of a hypnobirthing book, and decided it wasn't for me. Susan Messina was a great childbirth instructor and has intensive weekend classes that just meet for a Friday night and Saturday during the day. Try to get exercise and rest now so you'll be in good shape for labor, although that must be tough with taking care of a child. Best wishes!

Practice relaxation daily. It is difficult to relax your body while in pain but makes a huge difference.

I did the hypnobabies self study course. It was great. I couldn't quite get to the point where I believed it would eliminate pain (though many who DO get there say it does), but it was fantastic at helping me really relax and get in that mental state. I've had two unmedicated births and really liked the system.

I HIGHLY recommend hypnobirthing. If you want breathing techniques, it's the way to go. It will teach you how to breath through your labor and teach you relaxation techniques. It didn't give me a pain free birth, but it empowered me by providing the tools I needed to have a successful unmedicated birth. Good luck OP! You will have an awesome birth!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had three unmedicated births, but my kids are grown. From what I've seen, most young women today have neither stamina nor fortitude...therefore, smack your hand with a hammer in an attempt to acquire some.

Labor hurts like hell. No amount os sugarcoating changes that. I couldn't have anesthesia with my first d/t fetal distress and a high forceps delivery---after that, the others were cake.....but they all hurt.

OP here. I appreciate the response about how labor hurts, but that isn't the question I asked. I already know labor hurts. I didn't ask how I can minimize the pain. I'd just like to know what things people did in advance that they found helpful. For instance, I am considering a Lamaze class to learn breathing techniques. Etc etc.

Nor did I ask the question to start a discussion about unmedicated versus medicated births. I pass no judgement on what choice people make in any parenting decisions.

Just wanted to clarify so this doesn't start a spinoff conversation not related to the original question. Thanks in advance!

Prenatal yoga taught by a doula. Amazingly helpful. I did a class that didn't focus on one technique but rather many different coping mechanisms. That was really helpful because you may find that you think one thing will help during labor but it doesn't and if you have only learned one way you are a little stuck. The lady who taught this class has moved but I think you could ask your midwife for a recommendation for a similar type class. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:I had three unmedicated births, but my kids are grown. From what I've seen, most young women today have neither stamina nor fortitude...therefore, smack your hand with a hammer in an attempt to acquire some.

Labor hurts like hell. No amount os sugarcoating changes that. I couldn't have anesthesia with my first d/t fetal distress and a high forceps delivery---after that, the others were cake.....but they all hurt.

OP here. I appreciate the response about how labor hurts, but that isn't the question I asked. I already know labor hurts. I didn't ask how I can minimize the pain. I'd just like to know what things people did in advance that they found helpful. For instance, I am considering a Lamaze class to learn breathing techniques. Etc etc.

Nor did I ask the question to start a discussion about unmedicated versus medicated births. I pass no judgement on what choice people make in any parenting decisions.

Just wanted to clarify so this doesn't start a spinoff conversation not related to the original question. Thanks in advance!

I had three unmedicated births, but my kids are grown. From what I've seen, most young women today have neither stamina nor fortitude...therefore, smack your hand with a hammer in an attempt to acquire some.

Labor hurts like hell. No amount os sugarcoating changes that. I couldn't have anesthesia with my first d/t fetal distress and a high forceps delivery---after that, the others were cake.....but they all hurt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In prenatal yoga, sometimes they have you do what's called a "discomfort pose" -- you hold it for a minute (length of a contraction) so you can practice bearing the pain.

Another good hint I heard was to take the time between contractions to relax, instead of tensing up for the next one.

And if you're the focus of loving, supportive attention (midwives, doula, prepared DH), that's also going to make the whole experience easier. Reducing fear and stress is important.

I should add the caveat that I haven't had my baby yet, so I may be full of sh*t

I was able to do all sorts of stretches [dancer] and in super condition. No stress or fear yet nothing compensated for back labor!!!! Bang the hand with a hammer or self inflicted healthy teeth extraction with pliers might help. Note the teeth is plural since the pain is hours.

+1. Unfortunately, the pain of something self-inflicted-- whether a yoga pose, which I did religiously, or running a marathon, which I also have done, or even slamming one's hand with a hammer -- is nothing like the sensation of being turned inside-out back-to-front with a knife that I felt during labor. But, all the childbirth books and classes do consistently say that back labor is not like other labors, and it is generally not possible to breathe or use hypnosis or other "mental" coping measures for back labor. Next time around, I'll know that as soon as I go into labor, I should turn the hot water heater up to maximum, since the 2 things that helped me were remaining in a hot shower endlessly and taking a hot bath. I will also hire a doula, and am paying TONS of attention to proper fetal positioning-- a PP put up a link to spinningbabies, and I'm doing that.

Again with the, "hit your hand with a hammer" shtick? I hate to quote granola, but labor pains are toward an end. OP has decided she wants an unmedicated birth; she has not denigrated your epidural experience. Why not start a thread about how much you enjoyed your medicated birth? Because when you come on these pages to share your understanding about natural birth, you just come off defensive and judgmental.

Anonymous wrote:In prenatal yoga, sometimes they have you do what's called a "discomfort pose" -- you hold it for a minute (length of a contraction) so you can practice bearing the pain.

Another good hint I heard was to take the time between contractions to relax, instead of tensing up for the next one.

And if you're the focus of loving, supportive attention (midwives, doula, prepared DH), that's also going to make the whole experience easier. Reducing fear and stress is important.

I should add the caveat that I haven't had my baby yet, so I may be full of sh*t

I was able to do all sorts of stretches [dancer] and in super condition. No stress or fear yet nothing compensated for back labor!!!! Bang the hand with a hammer or self inflicted healthy teeth extraction with pliers might help. Note the teeth is plural since the pain is hours.

I did Bradley and had a doula. Best two steps to make it happen, but I did Bradley for my first, it would have been hard if I had a kid at home. I do think having you and your husband fully educated about the stages of labor helps immensely.

I had mantras that I would say over and over to myself, they helped a lot. Things like "just get trough the next contraction" and "I don't need meds to have a healthy baby" and "pain is temporary"