Anonymous wrote:

Reading up on how childbirth felt, how other women felt about their births afterward, including those who were happy with the process and those who weren't, and having a doula made the difference for me.

Any activity that gives you practice relaxing into pain instead of tensing up will be valuable. The PP did it while running. You can also do it with yoga; you don't have to be in pain but put yourself in a yoga position that requires a lot of muscle use, hold it, and try to breath into it instead of tensing.

Anonymous wrote:I worked out a LOT before I got pregnant and then continued working out (less intense) while pregnant so I was used to that good kind of pain.

Also I have a super competitive personality so I was viewing it all as a challenge. I was determined to like, give birth, get high off the natural hormones pumping through, and jump up and make soup for everyone. That didn't happen. But I did give birth naturally and then blissed out proudly.

trollol wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've done both OP, birth without epidural and birth with epidural and the only significant conclusion that I can draw is all that truly matters is the baby and mother alive and healthy at the end of it.

To me, people who obsess about the "birth experience" are similiar to those who obsess about the wedding. It is the life long love and committment to your child, such as it is the life long love amd commiitment to your spouse, that matters. The birth amd weddings are just the vehicle to get you there.

So true. Reading these other moms compare unmedicated vs medicated was oddly reminiscent of high school boys comparing penis sizes. Who cares as long as mother and baby are safe and sound?

Anonymous wrote:I've done both OP, birth without epidural and birth with epidural and the only significant conclusion that I can draw is all that truly matters is the baby and mother alive and healthy at the end of it.

To me, people who obsess about the "birth experience" are similiar to those who obsess about the wedding. It is the life long love and committment to your child, such as it is the life long love amd commiitment to your spouse, that matters. The birth amd weddings are just the vehicle to get you there.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone who believes this bs about the dangers of ob assisted and medical assisted births and who is a doctor certified in childbirth raise their hand.

Anonymous wrote:Look, have an epidural if you want. It's all relative, and the relative risks are small. However, there ARE risks. They've been well-documented and do not exist solely in the minds of crunched-out hippies who want a blissful birth. They're real and they can impact your birth. While I do agree that birth is just ONE element of many parenting milestones, that does not mean that it's inappropriate or overzealous to seek the best outcome in the birth process. Additionally, it is appropriate to seek out the most pleasant experience possible while ensuring top health for mom and baby. I think the former is pretty cut and dried. Epidural use has been suggested (if not demonstrably proven) to inhibit and slow labor, and especially (this is related to the woman's static positioning during epidural birth) malpositioning of a baby, which can lead to stalled labor and increased c-section. Read this, paying attention to the fourfold increase in malpositioned (OP) nulliparous women in epidural use. In a nutshell, this NIH column outlining studies, says that in normal labor, babies move around quite a bit and adjust positioning, and position at birth is only rarely the same as position earlier in labor (as noted by sonogram).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1595252/

That said, there are MANY factors to consider. This essay, below, from AAFP, is really good. It basically says yes, many studies have shown that it slows labor, increases pushing stage, increases shoulder distocia, increases need to supplement with pitocin, and causes blood pressure drop (which it says is really not a big deal) as well as increases incidents of maternal fever and other fairly mild complications, but then it goes on to say that there may be an inherent selection bias, as women who have taken a childbirth class, etc, are less likely to request an epi (and maybe they are managing the pain differently, which may then allow labor to progress differently, so the epi itself is not definitely the issue) and also that women who progress rapidly through labor may have less pain, therefore meaning women with slow labors, who are more likely to request an epi, are also more likely to have the slower labor that needs augmenting etc in the first place.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/1998/1115/p1785.html

I think there are some things you cannot control. You get a spike in blood pressure, or you simply have uncontrollable pain that you can't manage with any number of pain relief techniques, well, thank god for that epidural. You run out of steam after a marathon labor? That epi just might save you from a c-section, if that's important to you. And yet, it's probably incorrect to assume that the epidural has NO negative effect on the duration of labor and process of delivery. At the least, you've got a 20 fold (I think?) chance for maternal fever, which means blood work and probably antibiotics for your baby (even if DC does not need them).

I think like anything, you weigh your options. The problem is, we've allowed this to become fraught with guilt, etc. I think some women don't want to acknowledge that there are risks to using an epidural because that can be construed as allowing the baby to take on risk so you feel less pain. So if we say there are NO effects, then women have NO guilt. And yet. I think that's just the wrong approach. It is a balancing act. It's about knowing yourself. It's about doing the best thing for YOUR specific situation.

I had one very specific type of labor. To be honest, I had very little "pain." I had sharper contractions and longer contractions in certain positions, but when I changed my position it helped. However, it was intense. It was like an incredible athletic event. I actually enjoyed it. I don't think it was "blissed out" so much as it was exhilarating.

But, what's funny is, I'm not an athlete. I don't even like to use the stairs when there is an elevator around! And when I first got pregnant, I was like "can i have an elective c-section, please?" But one thing is that I kept an open mind about it. I allowed that to be challenged. I read more about it, and took a wait and see approach. The more I learned about going drug free, the more I wanted to do it. NOT because I felt that epidurals were risky. I think the risk is fairly marginal, especially after 4cm, etc and whatever risk is there is relative. Will you accept a relatively low risk of complications for a high factor of comfort? Yes, if nothing else is working and you are miserable, yes, do it. But I truly believe that taking a Bradley class, not for the "anti-medical" stuff but for the understanding of birth processes, impact of positioning and moving around, etc, and being able to naturally (and effectively!) manage the pain are important, too.

If for some reason, I was confined to the bed during labor, or had to undergo pitocin or continuous monitoring, I would have most likely opted for the epidural. To me, it wasn't about being a hero or forgoing meds for the sake of it, but rather, of just doing enough naturally so that I did not NEED the meds. I think this is possible for many more women than take advantage of it (note that I did not say all women!).

Well, that rambling post probably didn't win anyone over. But I loved my child's birth and it's offensive when people say that I made it all about me, or that the birth itself did not matter a lick when it remains, 8 years later, one of most important and beautiful event of my life. That's not to say that you can't feel that way about a c-section, epi birth, or whatever. But the fact is, if you read these boards, many women don't. They truly view birth as a painful price of entry into parenthood or something to be endured. I think it doesn't have to be that way for most women.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone who believes this bs about the dangers of ob assisted and medical assisted births and who is a doctor certified in childbirth raise their hand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is what I need clarified. I keep reading about "low" risks of epidurals to babies but what are they? it seems like the very very minimal risk is really to the mother. Are there really any long term risks of medicated births to babies. I don't think so, I have no idea what that idea has gained so much traction. Jesus, novacaine and a root canal probably has more risk. I did click on the epdiural link from PP and didn't see anything in the "con" section from Mayo clinic about effects to newborns. again, I just don't get the obsession about suffering to to make a point. I am guessing that the overwhelming majority of us on this board we born with medicated moms and we still managed to grow, finish college and then write crazy stuff on an anonymous blog.

There is some evidence that epidurals can cause slow the baby's heart rate and that can create a need for a C-section.

Can you provide the links to the peer-reviewed research that supports this assertion? I'm not disputing it necessarily, but just claiming there's "evidence" isn't good enough.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11574125

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.1972.tb15805.x/abstrac

Not peer-reviewed, but helpful:
http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=101215

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8304890

There are other studies that go the other way, though.

Anonymous wrote:I moaned through the pain. Just keep them low and don't be afraid to sound like porn.