pressured into childbirth with meds?

Is it too late to change hospitals, or at least to change from your OB to a midwife? You have a right to control your own health care, and the includes deciding how you want to give birth. If you have enought time to switch, you could also consider giving birth at a birthing center rather than a hospital (assuming your pregnancy is healthy and low-risk).

My own philsophy–I am going to try to have a natural childbirth because there are small but definite risks associated with epidurals and other forms of pain relief. But if I get to the point where I truly cannot stand one more second, I won’t hesitate to ask for pain relief. But that’s a decision I’m making for myself, no one will be allowed to pressure me into it.

Good luck. You have a right to the birth you want.

I personally dont think natural childbirth is silly at all, and encourage all my mom’s, however, I also know the pain that childbirth brings, and would never try and talk a mom out of requesting an epidural. Unfortunately for some its a necessity, for others labor is a breeze and dont understand the need for pain relief.

Yes, I’ve felt that way…..

And i’ve taken mild pain meds, but not an epidural..I’m not taking any chances with a needle through my spine! LOL

I’ve had 4 kids, one was totally natural, with no meds. He came too fast and the resident was an idiot and didn’t listen to me… I prefer the mild pain reflief, but refuse an epidural…. too risky for me.

But the decision is yours, ultimately. If you want to go totally natural, that’s your choice. But you can always change your mind later.

I feel like I get the “are you nuts” response as well. I’m planning on using hypnobirthing instead of medications. When I mentioned this to my mother in law (OB nurse of 25 years), she almost laughed in my face.
Women do it all the time, have been since the dawn of time. YOu can have a natural birth if that’s what you want (barring any complications that require C-section). I guess you just have to learn to roll with the punches, so to speak. Best of luck to you.

The trouble with natural childbirth is that (As I understand it – I had C-sections, so I am not an expert) is that you can’t really “Try” it. You get to a point that it’s too late to give any drugs, so if you are going natural, you can’t change your mind when the contractions get too painful to handle. I do think the drugs are pushed onto mothers giving birth, and I know several women who have not taken them and done fine. I wish you luck!

I can’t comment from experience-had 4 c-sections. This is what I think: you do whatever you feel is right for you and make sure your doc knows how you feel. It is a shame that he/she doesn’t respect your feelings. I say go for it, but keep all your options open in case things don’t go as planned. Only you will know how you are feeling during labor and whether you can go pain free. If you can, great. If not, there is no shame in having pain relief. Know what is available to you and then take it from there.

Actually, I’m happy to hear that there are other women out there who still don’t want the drugs… Kudos to you for that. I think that taking drugs is the easy way out. Just remember, women have been giving birth for thousands of years before the epidural was ever invented and they made it through just fine & even went on to have more children. Nothing has changed other than women have gotten “soft” in the past few decades. Do what you want to do, not what everyone else wants you to do. Talk to your doctor and discuss your options in case you change your mind in the middle of delivery. Other than that…. Good for you and good luck too…

P.S. And if your doctor does think you’re silly for not wanting the drug it’s probably just because he wants more money so just remind him that YOU ARE THE BOSS. You’re the one paying the doctor, not the other way around. Just remind them that you could just as easily pay someone else who will do it your way. Don’t let anyone bully you into anything you don’t want to do, especially when it comes to your baby…

You are NOT going crazy! You should see the responses I have had with questions about homebirth!!!

Your best bet for natural childbirth without a fight, with people who will advocate with you, is with a midwife!

Did you know that typical obstetric training only requires 1 day of prenatal nutrition and nothing on labor support!!! I was shocked.

Did you know that having any interventions at all like: prostaglandin gels, pitocin, continual fetal monitoring, epidural, artificial rupture of membranes, etc. Increase your chances for a cesarean section?!

Below are some links to look at and a few books I suggest even just browsing through! PLEASE know that you can do it (labor) without any meds…your body was designed for having children and getting them out, with very little help, if any!

This site is for a midwife in my area of California but she has very useful information about hospital procedures and what to know etc.

http://falcao.best.vwh.net/ronnie/index.html

This one is all about Myths as far as birth is concerned:

http://www.hpakids.org/HTML/index.html?birthmisconceptionsmythand.htm

Some really good books are:

The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
Obstetrical Myth Versus Research Realities By Henci Goer

And there are many, many others!

It is really good to inform yourself very well! Especially if you are planning on having a hospital birth, you need to be your own advocate, and be very confident in knowing what you want & why!!! That way you can defend yourself, and your birth experience! Also I highly recommend getting/hiring a doula (professional labor coach)!!! You can look for one in you area at this site: http://www.dona.org/

Well I hope I have pointed you in the right direction, and showed you that you are not crazy at all!!! If you have any other questions feel free to email me!

It is very hard to have a childbirth without drugs in a hospital. One of the reasons is how hard it is on Doctors and Nurses to see how much pain you are in. It is so much easier on them to say here take these drugs.

The best way to refuse these drugs is to get educated on natural childbirth and have a strong partner.

Most of them( doctor, nurses and family) do not realize how pushy they are when they offer the pain medication 2, 3 and even more times.
They are always saying “you dont have to be a Maryter”.
Most women are not trying to be a a hero or anything else. They just want what is best for them and their child.
I feel that an epidural where I could not walk, eat, drink or do many of the things I did do would have been detrimental to me mentaly as well as physically.
I LOVED the whole birth experience. I am a stronger woman because of it. I know that I can endure.

I have had 4 children. I was always dead set on Natural Childbirth. With my first I was in a hospital using an OB/GYN. I came in Dilated to a 6-7 and was in a considerable amount of pain. I had no idea how to deal with the pain I was having. Even though I wanted a natural childbirth when they offered me drugs it was hard to refuse. It takes a strong woman to refuse relief at that point.
The drug they gave me was nubain. It made me relax alright. I could not open my eyes, talk of hardly move. I was totally awake and screaming inside! I kept hearing everybody talking about how the drugs helped me and all I could think was how I wish I could talk to them and tell them I needed help. After a couple of hours though it wore off and I refused any more. I was able to sit up and talk ask for drinks from my DH (secretly) and ask for cold wash rags for my face.
The birth was with me sitting in the bed with my legs in stirrups. YUCK! I had an awful episiotomy. That I later learned could have been avoided if I had use a different position like squatting or a birthing stool.

Anyways on to my next birth. It was an amazing pregnancy full of learning about my body and how it works. I had an amazing birth at a freestanding birth center attended by a CNM and a Labor doula. I educated my husband on natural birth the best I could and told him that I did not want any drugs and how to deal with my pain. He was an awesome labor partner. Between him, the doula and the midwife I was very well taken care of. The pain was not bad because I knew of so many different ways to relax and things to do to provide relief. The feeling of his body being born and his warm wet body being placed on my tummy was irreplaceable.

If your getting close to the birth of your child I would reccomend calling a Labor doula and talking very extensivly about your labor plans and hiring her or another doula. As well as reading at least two or three good books. The first one I would reccomend for you is Birthing from WIthin. The second is The Birth Partner- Penny Simpkin. Read it with your birth Partner.

I also recommend reading up on Birth at Dr Sears web site.
http://www.askdrsears.com

Another favorite web site is
http://www.unhinderedliving.com/childbirth.html

And yet another favorite is
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=213