I think everyone’s first instinct is, “why in the world would you NOT have an epidural?” I’ve said this many times myself. I mean, yeah we were made to do this, and I know we are capable, but modern world medical science gives us the choice to have a pain free birth! Sign me up! Ha, well, please keep listening because there are actually reasons to do this naturally even though it is harder.
At first, my choice for my epidural/drug free birth was for pride. It was for the chance to say I DID IT. It was a challenge and this was my last birth and I had to at least try it. You only get so many chances in this world to do a few things, and this is one of them. So anyway, back to my computer I went, I wanted all the info I could get if this was going to happen, so I was amazed at what I found, and I can’t wait to share it!
First of all, it’s hard to explain. But as magical as my first two births were, I felt like I missed out. I felt like everything about them were so technical and I was too uninvolved. I mean, I showed up, I laid in my hospital bed all hooked up to the chords… I even slept some during labor, I chit chatted some with my hubby or watched TV. And then they told me when it was time to push. They had to tell me when I had a contraction so I knew to push, and I pushed my babies out, quietly and calmly. It was not really what I dreamed of for some reason.
So what I found out was that there is this amazing process of hormones and endorphins and that the body is missing out on much of this when inductions occur, when pitocin is used, when other pain killers or epidurals are used. You know they use meds to help ripen the cervix? They sometimes stick a balloon device in your cervix to help open it up! You are just ASKING for trouble with that stuff!
After my natural birth, which included some painful crying, moaning, I think I may have even said a few choice words and squeezed my moms hand until she almost bled (sorry mom!), I pushed my baby out and got to experience the elation, the euphoria, and all the emotion God had intended. I held my baby and both of our bodies… undisturbed by all the meds were able to react the way they were intended. Breastfeeding went better than it had in my other experiences, as well as the baby blues. I didn’t put either of us at an increased risks of complications with interventions… Oh, and I got to say I DID IT! I did it for myself, and for my baby, and it was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
FYI- The biggest piece of advice I can give is to keep breathing when you are in pain. This helped me more than any tip. When you hold your breath, your pain actually intensifies. If you can keep breathing through the pain,although its very hard to do, you feel less pain. In a contraction, if I gave into the pain and cried, it was WAY worse. If I breathed, I made it through much easier.
Anyway when you let your body do what God has made it to do… It does just that. It does everything in its perfect timing. When your labor progresses into more active labor your body releases more and more endorphins, which I read can be more powerful than morphine! This doesn’t mean pain free, but it means your body knows how much you need, and how much you can handle. You get in your own zone, you listen to your body and move when and where you feel you should move, you drink and eat if your body says you should. Hospitals won’t let you eat OR even drink water in case you “need” a c-section! But can you imagine if you had a long labor… You need energy, you need to be hydrated! That’s why you need to stay at home as LONG as possible. You can move freely, you can eat and drink, and you just feel more comfortable.
When it is time to push, you get a rush of adrenaline! This is your bodies natural way of giving you the energy you need to get through this phase. You won’t be so tired that you give up! Even if you end up with a long pushing phase, you push on because you know your baby will be here soon!
Now once the moment happens, and you finally get to see your baby, you have a TON of decisions to make instantly. In general, if you’re lucky… You will get your baby handed to you for a minute or two while they cut the cord. Then, all the technical stuff starts… They take your baby, they check vitals, they wipe off all the blood/vernix, stick antibiotics in their eyes, warm them up, wrap them up and FINALLY hand them to you! While all this is going on, your doctor is yanking on your placenta to get it out of you and stitching you up if you need it. Then, they clean you up… And take your baby to the nursery for their feet prints, weight, vitamin k shot, bath, etc. while you sit in your room, either alone or with grandparents or whoever is with you since daddy is in the nursery with the baby…
Here’s the problems… Baby should go directly to your skin, and stay there! Their body naturally stabilizes its breathing and temperature this way. Also, you have the choice of either cutting the cord instantly or waiting until it stops “pulsing”. The benefits are still being studied, but the biggest benefit so far, is the extra blood the baby receives, which gives the baby higher iron levels, which literally raises even in one minute of delayed cutting. Three minutes was much higher. I suspect even longer delay gives more benefits, but there just aren’t many studies out yet. Some moms wait until the placenta naturally begins to be birthed before it is cut. Which brings me to the next option…
How your placenta is removed… Well, if you’re like my doctor… Who was apparently impatient (it was after 5 pm, you know), is pushing down rubbing my stomach as hard as he can (hurt like hell), while he yanks on the cord to help remove the placenta. Ugh. (I ended up with an emergency D&C 3 weeks later because of massive bleeding from retained placenta… YA THINK!?)
My thoughts: How it SHOULD happen- you give birth, you hold your baby skin to skin, your baby very naturally makes her own way to the breast (they call it the breast crawl its AMAZING), the baby’s suckling in turn gives your uterus a few more contractions and then when your body is done with the placenta, it gently comes out on its own time. The cord is cut either right before the placenta comes out, or several minutes after birth.
Anyway, back to the options… The vitamin k shot. I did not include this in my vaccinations post because that is not what it is. The vitamin k shot is a mega dose of vitamin k given to prevent a rare complication that can happen to babies, and it leads to bleeding in the brain. At first, my thought was, hey what bad could be in extra vitamins! Unfortunately that’s not true. They are injections that are 20,000 times the recommended daily dose a newborn should have. Studies show a possible 80% increased risk of your child developing leukemia, although a few show as low as a 20% increase. The brain disorder that it is trying to save the baby from… Usually happens at about the age of 3-7weeks. The risk of the brain disorder is higher in breastfed infants because infant formulas have very high doses of vitamin k in them. Formula provides 10x higher than the U.S. recommended daily allowance.
My thoughts: If you want to avoid the shot, but not worry about your baby, you increase your intake of vitamin K rich foods while breastfeeding, since this will go directly to your baby, but in safe doses and enough to prevent the bleeding disorder. And I assume, although I haven’t studied it, that if formula has such a high amount in it, that your child does not need the vitamin K shot. But this is assumption on my part and not medical advice! There are babies who are at higher risk of the disorder, and benefits may outweigh the costs in some instances to have the shot.
Next option… Antibacterial gel in baby’s eyes. It’s to prevent infection from the birth canal. In rare cases, it can cause burning or blindness in the baby.
My thoughts: it’s unnecessary in most cases, and should not be given to every single baby! It should be considered in babies who are at high risk of getting something from the mother. Research it, and decide if it’s right for your baby.
Next option: no bathe/leave the vernix on. Vernix is the coating on baby’s skin, it’s whitish and slimy. But your baby is NOT dirty! This is natures protective coating. It’s the best moisturizer there is! It has antioxidant, antibacterial properties, it’s skin temperature regulating, and I’m sure there’s even more benefits. Why wash it off? It’s not dirty! Leave it on until you get home and you can use some non-toxic, preferably organic baby soap.
And after all these refusals, the hospital and your doctor will think you’re nuts 🙂 When you choose anything other than the norm, you’ll be questioned, so you need to know your stuff. And I highly recommend talking to your doctor way before the delivery about any desires you have! Some doctors may even turn you down. Some hospitals may turn you down, depending on where you live… Just do your homework while you can.
If I had another baby, I’d have a midwife and a homebirth. It’s so much easier to go outside the hospital policy crap if you aren’t there! It’s not OK to take your baby away from you for hours at a time just after birth. This is essential bonding time that you can never get back. Birth is a natural process… And the interventions that are made the entire pregnancy/labor/delivery are effecting you and your baby in ways that no study could tell us! Listen to your instincts.
Mommy Truths 