I have a birthing plan in mind, but I wanted some opinions and suggestions from othe moms about it.?
ByWell, this is my first child, and Ive come up with a birth plan, but want alittle advice and opinions from other Moms. Sure, doctors can give you there medical advice, but I also like advice from people who have been through it. Nothing like experience. So here goes, feel free to tell me your experiences, suggestions and opinions. But please, no negativity!!
I want a mostly natural birth. I don’t want a full blown epidural or any needle going into my spine for any reason. (Other then a c-section if need be of course) But, I am not against getting some medication to help take the edge off for alittle bit incase I want to rest or sleep. If I have the baby in 7-8 hours, great, but if it drags on, I want to be able to rest so I have energy to push. I know there are meds out there to take the edge off so you can rest, but havent decided on one. I’ll be using Bradley and Lamaze methods to cope with pain. I’m not against all pain meds, but I dont want to be numb from the waist down.
Related posts:
- Reading suggestions for preparation for labor? I’m not taking lamaze b/c it’s $400.?
- Want to put a sign on a birthing room door stating a natural childbirth is wanted. Any suggestions?
- Natural birth: Bradley method vs. Hypnobirthing vs. Birthing from within??
- Midwives, natural birth and water births?
- Did you stick to your natural childbirth plan?
9 Comments
April 12th, 2010 at 5:26 am
ok if i were you i would tell the hospital that you would want to be not offered any epidurals or pain meds unless you ASK for them but you want them to be readily available—sometimes if you say you definatley do not want an epi or something of that nature, if you change your mind in the middle of it it can take them a long time to set it up , so instead have them be prepared, but make sure they do not offer it to you constantley.
April 12th, 2010 at 6:15 am
have you thought of doing water birth or just laboring in water..
and hypobirthing is suppose to be great also
April 12th, 2010 at 6:42 am
This is cute! My friend said the same thing. She got an epidural after 2 hours. I knew I was getting an epidural from the beginning. Be flexible.
April 12th, 2010 at 7:31 am
I’ve never met anyone who’s birth plan has gone the way they wanted. Real life gets in the way. Trust me, it’s a fluid thing, you’ll probably find things you want to change during the experience.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Keep your birth plan very simple. Ive read about women suffering post partum depression because they plan this elaborate birth plan, and birth usually DOESNT go as planned, causing women to get depressed. Ive chosen to pretty much go with the flow, whatever is best at the time, let it be.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:40 am
hey well i had a 18 hr labour and did it all with the gas stuff i think they call it laughin gas, i wasn’ able to move out of bed because my hips were out of place but i hear that showers help but good on you for planing not to use drugs its so worth it cause you and bubs are able to enjoy your first moments together without either of you feeling drugged!!! i just kept thinking that was one less contraction i that i had to have, i also drank juice and ate jelly babies cause once your waters break you cant have much else but i found that helped as well, but good luck and stick to your guns don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it with out drugs cause YOU CAN and its well worth it!!!!
April 12th, 2010 at 9:34 am
Hi. Let me just say that you’re doing better than i was with my first. I never really thought of a birthing plan with my first, but I’m on my second, and my birthing plan is pretty much the same as yours.
Some midwives will offer you anything they have, whereas others won’t offer you anything at all. I was told that if i wanted the choice to have pain killers, i’d need to demand them, because if i asked for them nicely they’d fart ass around and not end up getting them.
But when i went in, i was told to test the gas so i knew how to use it if i wanted it, and when i was in the bath, a midwife came in and offered me pethadine. She also said that you can have a water birth, but as soon as you have pethadine or want an epidural, you have to hop out. I took the shot, because i was getting sick of the bath.
It sounds like a good birthing plan. Make sure they know that if you ask for any pain killer at all, you want it to be ready for you. A friend that gave birth a week before me wasn’t offered anything, and when she asked for pethadine, it never came, and she ended up having to have a general anasthetic and had a c section.
The only advice i can give you is the pain killer to help you sleep. I’m really sorry, but i don’t think there is such a thing. If you don’t have an epidural, the only pain meds they can offer you will take the edge off the contraction, but won’t make them go away, or further apart. The only rest you’ll get would be between contractions, and in your second stage, that rest will last a maximum of 30 seconds.
I hope i’ve been of some help. Congrats on your baby, and good on you for having a plan that has room for changes.
April 12th, 2010 at 9:52 am
It’s good that you have an idea of what you want, and that you are aware that things may change. You need to decide on pain relief based on the effects on both you and the baby. Gas isn’t a huge pain reliever, but can make it bearable by making you feel a bit light headed and taking the edge off that way. An epidural can be light, so it takes 95% of the pain away, but you are not totally numb and can still push and have some feeling in your legs etc. But you have less options with positioning etc with an epidural. Pethidene is a good pain reliever, but it does cross the placenta and can have a marked effect on the baby – causing drowsiness and sometimes other issues as a result. It can’t be given too close to the actual birth, as it can affect the baby’s breathing too profoundly.
I didn’t discuss my birthplan with my midwife as my baby cam early, but I was lucky enough that everything went the way I planned. I was in a birth centre, so an epidural was not an option unless I wanted to transfer to hospital via ambulance (5 min trip). I was strictly against pethidene. I used gas, and had a waterbirth.
Good luck!
April 12th, 2010 at 10:37 am
I used Bradley for my births.
I had medication with one to “take the edge off” and it was a big mistake. I went from 4 cm to the baby being born in 1 hour 20 minutes – and he was blue and pretty drugged up and cold. Had trouble breathing.
I think the less intervention, the better. I’ve had 7 babies, and the best birth experience by far was a home birth. The next best was the one where the doctor put a “do not disturb” sign on my door and I got to sleep for 4 hours straight without a nurse coming in. (I woke up for contractions, but went right back to sleep – the body was just preparing.)
After doing this for 4 hours, I really woke up, and the baby was born 20 minutes later. I didn’t even have to push – he just came out on his own! I went from 5 cm to his BIRTH in 3 contractions.
So see if you can get your doctor’s agreement to let you rest quietly, undisturbed, for the last few hours of labor. I think that makes a huge difference.
It’s easy to get that in a homebirth, but hard to do at the hospital.
When I’m having a difficult time in transition, we use something called Locational Processing – and we practice silent birth – keeping the room quiet, with no unnecessary talking at all.
http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/SH6_7.HTM
You can read my story here –
http://www.geocities.com/kiduniverse.geo/scientology-silent-birth.html