What method of giving birth did you use?

[lovejaybayy]

So sorry to hear about your loss miloowen. No one should ever have to go through something like that. Well I hope to have the perfect circumstances of course, but everyone keeps telling me that whatever your birth plan is, it's hardly ever going to go the way you want.

[tina91]

With my daughter I chose to have a homebirth. I figured, Im 20, I have a high tolerance for pain, and I have learned as much as possible about a home birth, so I went for it.
I had a birthing tub for a water birth, but when I got in, I felt very cramped and claustrophobic, so I got out. I actually found more relief in the shower, plus the standing helps the baby down. My midwife was AMAZING! She really helped me through everything. I am so happy that she is still practicing and that I can have her for this birth.
Labour is probably the most painful, exhausting, panic inducing, patience requiring, elating, joyful experience you can ever go through. Seeing your child makes it all worth it.

[mind_the_gap]

I've had two med-free hospital births. With my first I chose med-free because I HATE needles and didn't like the thought of getting one stuck in my spine for the epi. During labor I found that I had to manage the pain by being upright and walking around or bouncing on a birth ball. Every hour the nurse would make me lie down for 10 minutes of fetal monitoring, and those were the worst contractions for me because the pain was so much worse when I was lying down. Knowing that I hated being in bed during labor made it easy to choose med-free again with my second. I need to be on my feet during labor. I think you should have an idea of how you want to approach labor but keep an open mind when the contractions start. There's nothing wrong with changing your mind and trying something different for pain management.

[mcdonak1]

I started off wanting an unmedicated vaginal birth. Ideally, I would have liked to be in the water while I labored, but I developed a heart condition that made the hospital want me on heart monitoring (which I don't think that I needed, but for liability reasons, no one was going to let me go without... bummer), so I couldn't be in the water. I kept crying at the hospital because all I wanted was to be in water. It was a little pathetic on my part. Anyway, my labor stalled at 9 cm for hours, so I ended up getting an epidural to relax me enough to restart my labor. That worked. And it was a great epidural, avoiding all of the things that I was concerned about. I could move my legs, feel the pressure but not the actual pain. I pushed for three hours, but the baby's head was stuck on my pelvis. They reached in to turn her head, and the umbilical cord came out. Then it was emergency c-section time. It wasn't as bad as I would have thought it might be, but in the future if I had additional children, I would try for a VBAC, and I would do anything possible to make sure that I could labor in water.

[wootz]

I've had five unmedicated births, the last three were water births, and now I wouldn't have it any other way. Of course things can come up in your pregnancy etc, that may make it impossible for you to go that route, but if your pregnancy is straightforward, and you have confidence in your midwife/OB, absolutely give it a go. I would just say, don't think you can go into a drugless labour winging it. Take some classes that give you some things to do and try to help with coping with pain along the way, and do practice before hand. It will help. Research everything though, every mode of delivery, thoroughly, just so no matter what you decide, and no matter what happens, you are prepared. I wish I could have had all of them in water, it was incredibly calming for me, and felt like some of the pressure was relieved. My last one last June I almost didn't make it in the water because things happened so fast, and I was panicking, telling my midwife I couldn't have a baby out of the water! Thank goodness for a freakishly powerful faucet. Bottom line, if it's important to you to experience everything and go the medication free route, you absolutely positively CAN do it. You'll find you're a lot stronger than you ever realized. Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

[strawberry shortcake]

This is something I've researched a LOT because I find it really interesting.

When the time comes, I plan on not having any drugs, but having an open mind, so that if I find I can't cope with the pain I won't beat myself up for not going natural. I think that's the most important thing.

A water birth would be of interest me, but I wouldn't be confidant enough to have a home birth. The thought of a section scares me so I'd like to avoid one of those unless absolutely medically necessary

[lilysong]

I'm pregnant with my first baby, due in September so this is a very interesting thread for me too. I'm definitely going to check out the blog that poptart suggested too. I've found that reading positive and informed material and hearing friends and relatives birthing stories has been really helpful in preparing myself mentally for the task ahead.

I'm planning to give birth at the birthing center that is 5 minutes away, with a midwife. The Birthing Center has an agreement with 2 nearby hospitals -before 36 weeks, I can change my mind and have the midwife deliver baby at the hospital #1 instead of at the birthing center. If I continue as planned, at the birthing center, the 2nd hospital is 5 minutes away and I would be transferred there for any medical interventions necessary. They also have an agreement with the Children's hospital that if there's an emergency with the baby, they will send a team to the birthing center to intervene. Plus, the midwives on site are medically trained for dealing with emergencies.

It's also been very interesting to me to talk to different friends in the medical profession -who know about the different hospitals in the area. Some have a much higher rate of intervention than others. The local hospital nearest to where I live (hosp #1) has a very high intervention rate, apparently, and uses a very strong type of epidural that completely numbs you so you can't feel what's happening at all. So, since I'm hoping for an as natural as possible birth, it probably wouldn't have been possible there. Other hospitals in the area use a "walking epidural" so that the pain is dulled but you can still feel what's going on -but they don't allow you to walk around for liability reasons. At least in that situation, you can use different positions and don't have to lie down all the time.

To get ready, I'm reading Ina May Gaskin's book called "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth". I'm only about half way through but it's inspiring so far. It's good to read about what's normal and what we as women are capable of doing, especially when we have good, loving support surrounding us.

I'm also hiring a doula -a birthing coach (you can google "doula" to find out more info or if there is a group of doulas in your area) -to help me and DH prepare and to go through it with us. I think having someone I've met before to walk me through it and just be there will be invaluable. Plus, the doula will stay with us through the entire time, whereas the midwives come and go from the room since they need to rest, eat, sleep -whatever they need to do so they can be awake and alert when things start happening faster.

In my area, women are not given a visit with the ob/gyn until week 12 of their pregnancy. At first I was being followed by an ob -so I met her at week 12 and then once after that. Those two visits were uninspiring to say the least. The doctor spoke so fast that I had a hard time grasping everything she said. She wasn't mean, just extremely efficient. It was as if she was really bored. My 2nd visit was 5 minutes long and she answered my questions with nouns and verbs only -she didn't even use full sentences or ask me more info to know why I was asking these questions. So impersonal! Either she is super super busy or I was boring her to tears. At 21 weeks I was able to switch to a midwife. I've only had 1 visit with her so far, but it lasted one and a half hours. I was able to ask all the questions I wanted and she took her time to answer each one of them and to ask me more questions to know what I was thinking and why I was asking the questions I asked. The midwife also did all the tests that the ob did -urine sample, weight gain check, baby's heartbeat, etc. They can't do bloodwork or ultrasounds at the birthing center, but they'd send me to the hospital for those if I hadn't had them done at the ob's office already (the ob had to send me to the hosp for blood work too).

Anyways, that's my story so far... probably in way more detail than you wanted. sorry abou that! Enjoy your research -there's so much to know!

[amandaberry]

I'm due in January and I would just say research research research! That's the only way to find out what works for you. For me personally, I am planning a home water birth. There are no birthing centers in my state (lame!) so the only options are home or hospital. I've done clinical rotations in hospitals and the maternity ward, so I know what it's all about, and I just feel like they would put themselves first -time, convenience and liability-wise, before they would put my wants or needs, so I feel like I would not have any control over what they were doing to me, that's just my feelings. Having worked in the medical field I've been a part of routine unnecessary, overcautious interventions just because that was protocol, so I feel like I know how it all works and it's just not for me at the hospital. Of course, if it's not a low-risk pregnancy, it's a whole 'nother ball game.

[jeniferbraun]

Everyone's experience is different -- and you may have a very different experience than you planned for. I wanted a water birth too, but wasn't able to have one. Disappointing, but not nearly as big a deal as having baby arrive healthy and happy.

However, one thing I learned when I was pregnant -- it is possible to find out the rate of C-sections at a particular hospital. If the hospital has a policy that, say, it won't let women labor more than 12 hours (and this policy may not be something it tells patients necessarily), then you'll see a high rate of C-sections. Ask around; ask nurses, or women who delivered there. I found out that at my local hospital, more than 30% of the women delivering had C-sections. There is no way that is medically necessary.

I found a less-near-by hospital with a C-section rate about half of that, and then found a doctor with privileges there who firmly believed in natural childbirth. I labored more than 40 hours, and because I had a very patient, supportive doctor, I did NOT have a C section, for which I am very grateful. I can't imagine the craziness of having a newborn and trying to heal from major surgery at the same time.

[meogan]

I'm not going to type out my whole birth experience, because it's scary, but I just want to add that sometimes things don't go as planned, and that's okay. What really matters in the end is a healthy baby and mom. I think Home births, and birth center births are great, but you need to have a very good back up plan in place.

When things go wrong, it can get very bad very quickly. You can't always predict complications. I think the best thing to do is go into the experience with an open mind and the goal of a healthy baby and a healthy you. Nothing else matters in the end.