Childbirth

Let's try to avoid this turning into a "one choice is morally superior to the other" discussion, please.

[Chrisada]

I went in with number one planning on a natural birth. Did the Hypnobabies program and had a doula. There was a point when I could no longer take it. Got an epidural, but it didn't take. I felt everything with that birth. Lots of horrible screaming was involved. To this day I will not watch the video DH made. Second time around as soon as the nurse saw me in discomfort, asked if I wanted an epidural. Yes please! Best. birth. ever.

Shakti--If your comment is directed at me, I don't mean to imply that my choice is the morally superior one. Some people were questioning why a woman would CHOOSE to go med-free, so I added my .02 to the discussion. And my .02 is that medicated childbirth has it's risks and side-effects and I feel it is the better decision FOR ME. I can't explain my reasoning without saying that epidurals have risks and side effects. I'm not trying to throw cold water on the "Epidurals are Wonderful" parade. I fully realize that other women weigh the risks and make decisions different from mine, and that is certainly their prerogative.

[Thirteen]

The feminist thing I'm talking about is more of a historical perspective as applied to childbirth. In the 20s/30s, 2nd wave feminism rallied for the ability to experience childbirth with medication and do so in a pain-free setting. At this point, we are seeing the pendulum swing again towards the choice to try for a drug-free birth and marking that within the context of a woman's right to choose. Some say it's 3rd wave, others say we are post 3rd wave (marking the 60s/70s as the 3rd wave).
I by no means am suggesting that an individual's personal choice makes them a feminist or not a feminist. I should have worded that a little bit better in the beginning. Apologies to those who might be offended.

[PrincessFiona]

I'm going to jump in and let Shakti spank my bottom in a minute ( at which time I'll be running out the door ... mwahaha!)

I do think that some women use this a point of bragging rights ... which is a "one choice is morally superior to the other" discussion. No medication is without complications including the tylenol that we take for a bad headache, so we can all hopefully agree on that. Can pain medications get to the baby? Yes. There are some pain meds that do cross the placenta, and that's something to think about.

Are their complications to the baby from an epidural? Well, histrionics aside ... maybe...but probably not. Don't forget, people ... an epidural is basically a nerve block. Some studies indicate that there might be a greater need for interventions post-epidural ... some do not. Some midwives blame difficult on baby latching on later on epidurals <rolls eyes>. You have to do your own research and make the most informed decision and the one that you can live with.

The actual real risks associated with an epidural include a sudden drop in blood pressure for mom, which can be treated .... and the occasional need for pitocin which may or may not progress to c-section.

Here's the rub though .... high levels of pain can cause extreme stress (duh) and women can also experience resulting rushes of adrenaline which can also slow labor and cause problems including slowing of contractions and failure to dilate.

I mentioned that I was super-crunchy about things for awhile? When I labored with my second child (birthing ball in tow ... bathing in the tub to help with contractions etc) I also refused pain meds. I tried to walk and do everything that I was *supposed* to do that was healthiest for me and baby. The pain was unbelievable. I remember at one point leaning against a wall and being unable to move because I was shaking uncontrollably because of the pain. I don't remember how I even got back to my bed. I ultimately stopped progressing at all. I got stuck between 6 and 7 cm and it was misery. The more miserable I was ... well, the more miserable I was. Was the prolonged labor and extra adrenaline coursing through my veins bad for my daughter? Were some of her struggles to breathe after delivery related to the excessive stress of her delivery? I don't know. What I do know is that once I finally relented and got an epidural I dilated completely within less than a half an hour. As soon as my body relaxed, it worked like it was supposed to.

Generally speaking, the real risks of an epidural aren't quite as extreme as a vocal minority will have us believe .... and there are also risks associated with prolonged labors that don't progress.

You get to inform yourself and make the best decision for you ... and if it isn't what your neighbor does ... well, they did what was best for them.

running off now!

Kris

[PrincessFiona]

LemonPie,

Welcome to our crazy boards! We can turn pretty much any topic into a debate!

We're all good eggs though, and without a doubt, you are too.

Like I said ... welcome aboard!

Kris

I didn't think of declining painkillers as a feminist statement, but I was motivated largely by my belief that my body was endowed with a special feminine mystical ability to birth a child and it would be best to interfere with that as little as possible. I guess that does sound pretty crazy crunchy feminist, huh.

^^Yeah, I think an epidural probably helped my sister narrowly avoid a c-section for the same reasons. She stalled out at 5 or 6 and went to 9 within 30 minutes after it was put in, LOL. She was also induced, and I hear that the contrax can be quite a bit more severe with an induction (never been induced, no personal experience there).

I should have probably prefaced all my epidural comments by saying that I do feel my epi affected a lot of things. I think it prolonged my labor for one. But I also stayed in bed for hours, and the baby was OP. I really don't think he would have been if I'd been up moving around. They had to use a vacuum to extract him and he had a huge, horrible bruise on his head. So when I got pg again, I decided to 'try' to go without, and I did it and I couldn't believe how much better I felt afterward. But again, that's my experience, and I know lots of women have epis every day and feel like they had no negative side effects whatsoever. YMMV

[Thirteen]

Geez! Lemon pie sounds sooo good right now! Hahaha!
*end hijack*

Gah, things are moving fast around here!

Fiona--thanks!

And Wildfin--totally was not offended by your use of feminism. It is a feminist issue to the extent that it's about choice. I just get tired of the 'bragging rights' comments or the 'they don't hand out medals up at L&D ya know!' comments, and I jumped to that directly, which was obviously the wrong conclusion

yes, now I'll spank you.

Everyone can agree that we're not going for drugged out babies, and no one is living through the pain in search of martyrdom. People make their own, informed decisions and go from there!!!!

Geez! Lemon pie sounds sooo good right now! Hahaha!
*end hijack*

I made this with Meyer lemons and a shortbread crust last week and it was FABULOUS.

*end re-hijack*

[civilspouse]

My husband and I were in the same boat. I really wanted a natural birth and he wasn't opposed to that, but just didn't see what was so bad about pain meds and interventions. I read books and researched things and told him I really wanted to take Bradley class or hire a doula. He agreed to the Bradley class and although many evenings I came out of it annoyed with him and he was annoyed with the class it was a great forum to bring up all the topics for us to discuss ahead of time. It also really helped me to go to a class each week and be reminded to watch what I was eating and do my exercises (the ones they recommend are more like stretches so it wasn't tough). That really helped me to feel physically healthy and prepared for the birth. They also talk a lot about relaxation, and although I didn't do exactly what they taught, I think if you want to do it naturally it very important to mentally prepare. We had a birth plan that was under a page, writing the birth plan was also helpful just for us to discuss what procedures we did or did not want, what we would want if a c-section was necessary, baby in our room, etc. Dh didn't want to give the medical staff the birth plan, he felt that I had discussed the items with our midwives and they knew what we wanted, but the midwives recommended it that way the nursing staff would know what we wanted and everyone was on the same page. In the end I was scheduled to be induced and very upset because I knew it would be much harder to have a natural birth. I walked about 12 miles in a couple days and did everything I could to get labor going and it finally worked. My labor was long, but I was able to do it without pain meds. Dh was an awesome coach and although he made fun of the classes, he used a lot of the techniques they talked about to help get me though it. In the end it worked out, I had my pain free birth, our baby and I were healthy, but I think I was so set on the natural birth that the thought of an induction felt like a failure. My body wasn't doing what it was supposed to and my whole stance was that my body was built for this and could do it without any help. Next time I am going try to have a more open mind and go with the flow.

The Bradley classes were great, even if at times they seemed to bash medicine a little. We would just give each other a look and rant about it after class. There was actually another medical student and his wife in our class and he and dh spoke up at one point to defend drugs. The class did also highlight interventions and how they are sometimes necessary but to be educated and know your options. I believe Dr. Bradley's stance was something like the doctor is like a lifeguard, they sit back and watch and make sure everything is ok, but if something goes wrong they are there to step in and help.

That being said I completely understand why some people want pain meds and I have nothing against it. It was just what I wanted.

All three of my births were different.
The first ended in a c-section and near the end I was SCREAMING for the drugs. That was after 15 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing. I remember when they told me I was going to need a csection I was crying saying, "But I didn't read that chapter in the book!!!"

I guess the best thing you can do is go in with an open my mind - because I agree with whomever said that every birth is different, the contractions and pains are different and you just never know!!

[SoonerTexan]

Ironically, I did my history "senior thesis" on the decline of midwives/rise of OBs. The class focus/title was "Feminist Thought"