posted September 14, 2007 12:52 AM         

You mentioned on Sunchild's birth thread that you are anxious about natural birth and you were concerned about modern *uncomfortable* medical practices.
I want to talk a bit about them.. If you have access to books, I'd highly recommend reading Ina May Gaskin's spiritual midwifery, or any of her books, or Sheila Kitzinger.. they both have beautiful tips and helpful stories.
there is this website, where you can choose the involvement of the story.. http://www.birthdiaries.com/diary/index.graphicbirths.html
But it arms you with information. (some of it is a little much though)

My own personal experiences validate that yes, first births are longer and you have to give you body time to adjust to the process, and trust in it's abilities. The baby's head will apply pressure to the perineal area gradually, easing the stretching of the tissues.
Subsequent births are generally faster, once you reach a certain stage.

Let your body open up, don't tense.... work with your body.
In terms of an episiotomy, many people and medical experts doubt the need for them.. they were mainly for the medical professional to facilitate 'numb twilight births' but were used with frequency because they allowed the process to go faster. ( it's slow for a reason.. so you don't tear!!!)
But if you are an active participant, the liklihood of tearing is minimal, and if it were to happen, it would be much less traumatic than a surgical cut to the area.

Picture a piece of paper.... if you hold both sides, and cut down the middle... does it tear more easily than if you'd just applied pressure on both sides?

I didn't tear, but I didn't have mammoth babies... I trusted my body's ability to take it slow and do what nature intended for it to do.

posted September 16, 2007 09:19 PM         

I wrote my birth story Jani, and I will send it to you if you like...I acutally had an amazing experience at one stage while I was pushing...for a few moments I actually transcended the pain and I felt wonderful, like orgasmic (but not sexual in nature)...it was pure bliss feeling her head moving down (it was like a reward for going through all the contractions)... I wish I could have held that bliss longer... it stopped once the doctor decided to cut me... ...but next time it will be different.

posted September 17, 2007 12:12 AM         

pixelpixie and SunChild

You are beautiful!!!

jani_jean, Hello and Congratulations!

With these two as friends...
it's just not possible to do anything but embrace the experience!

*I wish I had some way to show you the awesome spiritual experience that awaits you...

posted September 20, 2007 12:00 AM         

One more thing , do u think epidurals will provide mitigate the pain? at the moment anythin which wud alleivate the labor pain will be like a boon to me i even wish how nice it wud be if babies were to be born as tiny as our thumb & later grow into the normal baby size
pheww

posted September 24, 2007 02:07 AM         

My Baby Shower function was yesterday we were very happy as it went really smooth & was a grand success!
It was at a hotel, food was yummy ,the day was relaxing n ideal.....wow too gud

one aunty there who happens to be a sceince teacher at school casually spoke abt pregn aslo disuaded using epidurals i have heard thsi comment twice from ppl...why is this so

posted September 30, 2007 04:46 PM         

ok.. epidurals..... I think they can be a good tool for coping. but..
there are certain increased risks if you choose to go that route.. including more medical intervention/less participation and less control over the process. http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/mmepidural.htm
that link is good, as is this; http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/birth/epidural/index.php

posted September 30, 2007 04:56 PM         

My own experiences?
I have had three children.
I had a midwife with each of them.
first births are usually longer and more drawn out (as they prepare the body) than subsequent ones.
My first birth experience was more traumatic, as my son was lying occiput-posterior (facing the wrong way) and not applying pressure to my cervix, so I contracted for a long time before my body made any change. As a result, I was in labour for about three days. I did most at home, but I did go to the hospital and had an epidural on the third day in the wee hours of the morning ...I was exhausted.
The epi helped me sleep (finally) and meet the challenge fresh..
It also caused lasting back pain and a feeling of failure, not to mention bruising from the catheter that they didn't say until afterwards that I would need if I opted for the epi, it lasted way beyond how I would've healed naturally. I shivered and developed a fever. There were a lot of disappointments for me.
My second birth experience was wonderful. It was natural, and powerful and spiritual and beautiful. There were tense moments but I met them, with support from my midwives and hubby.
My third was the same, only I was very knowledgeable about the process. I can post my birth story here if you'd like....

My advice? read!!! Arm yourself, trust your doctor but don't be blind, this is a life change and as with any, you need to be educated with the process.

posted October 01, 2007 06:28 AM         

Pixelpixie-

>I would love to read ur birth story. Let me know if u need my personal email id for you to send.
>Thanks for the info. I spoke to an analgestist regd epidural.He xplained tht majority of women do vaginal deliveries assisted with epidurals minus the screaming ,pain..
>meanhwile i read abt standard epidurals, mobile epidurals and spinal block.
The former takes arnd 20 mins to action (the site sd) whereas the spinal block effect is imemdiate.
>So shud i ask for spinal block

posted October 01, 2007 09:32 PM         

It seems that you don't really want to entertain the thought of a natural birth, lol.. The beauty of it is it is your birth... your birth experience.
In my opinion, your Anesthesiologist saying that is a scare tactic, and diminishes your natural belief in your abilities.
here is a link I found helpful.
http://www.birthingnaturally.net/

here is my recent birth story;

Here, I'll post his birth story;
Okay, my labour story.
This little man decided not to come on his due date.
the week before you say? ahh, no, that would be too expected and convenient.
The week after perhaps? After all, my daughter came right on her due date, my son, two weeks before his due date.... so I've tried early and punctual... so did my newest son come a week after? No.
He came eleven days after. ELEVEN!!!! and actually, we had to evict him. Figures that I can now say I have experienced all you can in terms of the ending of pregnancy.
I had planned for a home birth. I had the kit, I had the plastic sheeting on my bed ( extra cozy, i might add) i had the just in case medicine in my fridge.......alas, I had frequent braxton hicks that lead nowhere, and so much pre labour I learned not to trust my body anymore.
So Sunday the 18th, I went to the hospital for a cervical gel, in order to increase the 'favourability' of my cervix. i can call it an efficient cervix at this point. it was keeping the good stuff in and the bad stuff out very well, thank you very much! well.. it wasn't letting anybody out either.
so i had hoped the gel (in an outpatient manner, once observed adequately) would trigger real contractions and voila i'd have my babe at home..... yeah.. well i slept well that night as usual, though i was having contractions, i was so used to them it didn't matter.
so i went to the hospital first thing monday morning. I was observed, and my cervix had dilated, and i was having contractions ( hurrah!) So they decided to break my water, and hoped that would bring em on full throttle.
I got up and walked a ton in the hospital, though my hips had been so sore, we wanted him to move down....they decided to spice up my contractions with oxytocin(pitocin) via IV... yay intervention! my fear had been they'd start with one intervention and i'd end up with a bunch more because of it. after hoping for a natural and peaceful home birth, it was a scary thing for me.. but i faced it.
so i was poked and prodded, told i had tough skin but deep and wobbly veins* much like i was told my cervix was high and firm, and I thought for the first time in my life that 'high and firm' was a sad sad thing when referring to my body. i have learned some useful things about the status of underused body parts. deeply educational!
Finally, success at noon, and the IV was administered after several tries and pitocin was given.
I walked the circuit around the hospital corridors, leaning on the IV pole when spicy contractions would come on. When I started wanting to squat during them, we knew it was getting closer.
I got back to the room and bounced on my birthing ball a bit, leaning my head against the bed. I liked that ... and then nothing was comfortable. I got on the bed, was monitored with two cables... one for baby's heart beat, one for my contractions... and wow, they were spicy.
I found myself mentally vacating after a while, they were so intense.
Oddly, my hips were involved a lot in the pain of the contractions. It felt, as he descended, that my hips were being gripped in the tightest vice known to man and I kept talking about it.. "My hips are burning" ouch my hips, things like that.. I guess my pelvis was moving as he lowered in my body.
this childbirth experience was different and almost more controlled than the last unmedicated experience i had. I could talk my way through it, I'd meet the contraction, know it had a peak, and would accept it, and wait for it to change into transition.
I was very present through the whole end part...I was saying.. He's moving down now, I can feel him moving down, it'll be soon, he's coming soon, I can feel pressure. I want to push soon, I feel a bit pushy.
I was talking my way through the contractions, guiding them.Finally, the unmistakable, grunting, body primal need pushing contractions. It literally wasn't me, it was my body, contorting my face, turning me into a tunnel of life giving animal
Leigh my student midwife, had to check me after I said i had to push, to see if I was 'ready' ( there was no stopping my body anyway) and ended up manually pushing back a 'lip' of cervix. Oh man, that was excruciating, but brief. As soon as she did that, his head crowned. I heard hubby beside me making those Omigosh noises, and sort of choking up.
After that, it did take longer than I thought it would, I allowed myself to stretch and was able to intuit when to push and when not to, and Leigh guided me with her voice. As a result, again, I am intact, no tearing, no episiotomy.
She said "Do you want to feel your baby?' I said "i can feel him"
I didn't want to feel ( with my hand, that is) any of my babies coming out, it was not something I wanted to do at that moment, it took my focus away.
Apparently, hubby said he was a bit tangled up in his cord, his neck and his chest... and that's why it took a while. I wasn't even looking, I was just saying "Get out" to the baby ( lol) Then he was out, and I felt the greatest sense of relief.
Then he was placed on my chest, this warm little sweet smelling thing,crying his heart out. No snurfling for him.
I checked right away, yes, there's a penis!
My little man was here. The first thing I said was "I love you" and I do. I love him as if I have always had him.
And he's my Pisces, I had to force him out, but he's here.
He has an Aries Moon ( daddies' sunsign)and Leo Ascendant.( mommie's ascendant)
hehe
March 19th 2007 at 2:47 pm
He was 7 lbs 14 oz, 20 and a half inches long. Big old piano player fingers with long nailbeds like daddy. he actually looks just like dad. ( as I always say, that's evolution, so he'll go out and hunt for us, knowing it's his kid) We were able to go home that night, at about 6:30 because we had midwife care.. we both checked out well, so we compromised on the birth at home thing, as long as the midwives came, and they did.. the next day, three days after, and again, and again.. exceptional care! Truly exceptional. People say 'You're crazy' for going home so early, but loved it. I had great rest, at home, with my family. Newborns generally go into a long sleep after their own traveling trauma, and so ours did at night, and I woke him to nurse etc,, he was perfect.