Category: Why Choose Natural Birth?

Jan 24

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Sarah S | Why Natural?

When I was pregnant with my first baby, Jovie Bryn, I felt like I had educated myself – meaning I read “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and watched hours of A Baby Story – and knew exactly how I wanted my labor and birth to go. The problem with that was I didn’t know how I DIDN’T want it to go, and that was the labor and birth I ultimately ended up having. I was induced a week before Jovie’s due date, with no real good reason why, and had a 24 hour, heavily medicated labor and gave birth about 3 minutes before they were going to roll me into the OR for a c-section. Even though my little one nursed like a champ and was completely healthy, my back and right leg were numb for over 24 hours and I shook uncontrollably. I promised myself and my husband while I was still in the hospital that if we were ever blessed with another child, I would do everything in my power to make sure we would never have to go through another birth like that.

When I found out 13 months later that I was pregnant with Tillie, we were new to the Savannah area and I was at a complete loss on where I should go, what doctor to see, what our plan of action should be. My husband and I were both so concerned about having another hospital birth, having drugs pushed on me time and time again, feeling vulnerable and not in any kind of control. I talked to my Mom, who had given birth naturally three times herself, and talked with my sister, who has had 8 natural births, 7 of which were at home and read tons of articles online about natural birthing. My husband and I constantly talked about how we wanted things to go and how to go about having a natural birth and I read so many books on the subject — thank you, Ina May Gaskin, for empowering me! After going back and forth about what we had learned both during and since Jovie’s birth, we decided that there was nothing to do but have a natural birth… in a place where I could be in charge of my labor!

You can read more of Sarah’s Birth Journey by…

…turning back to read an introduction… Meet Sarah S

…reading the next page, her thoughts on the decision behind where to give birth… Decisions, Decisions (coming soon!)

 

0
comments

Posted in Why Choose Natural Birth?

Jan 07

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Allison S | Why Natural?

While living in California and during my husband’s second deployment, I befriended the spouse of another Marine with whom my husband was deployed.   She had given birth to their second daughter just a few months before the guys left for Afghanistan and through our friendship, the first consideration of childbirth and labor options began.  She had two daughters, the first by cesarean and the second vaginally but with an epidural.  Despite the outcome of her two deliveries she was the first major proponent of all things natural I had encountered.  My only friend with children, she shared her opinions, birthing plans, hopes, and ultimate disappointments with me.  The gears really started turning.
As is my nature, the second that pregnancy test read positive, I was on the move thinking, researching, planning, and worrying.  After arriving in South Carolina (only 7 weeks pregnant), I found myself in a VERY different world.  EVERYONE I met had children and everyone had a story.  I became friends with another Marine spouse who had delivered her daughter naturally at the Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune.  She introduced me to a whole new world of thought on natural birth, birthing methods, cloth diapering, potty training, and weaning.  I spent my first two months in South Carolina doing nothing but planning for school and planning for baby.
My husband proved a tough nut to crack.  The simplest and most frustrating of our arguments focused on the thought, “If these things (drugs/hospitals/interventions) exist to make labor easier, WHY would anyone in her right mind opt out?!”  To me, there the answer seemed obvious.  Why complicate, alter, or circumvent the very process a woman’s body was designed to follow?  Why should labor and delivery, a natural, beautiful phenomenon be clouded in fear and muddied up with medicine? After many, many, MANY frustrating late night conversations my husband finally agreed to give the topic some thought and with the help of our natural birth-experienced friends (really there was only one), he began to see why couples would choose the natural route.

You can read more of Allison’s Birth Journey by…

…turning back to read an introduction… Meet Allison S

…reading the next page, her thoughts on the decision behind where to give birth… Decisions, Decisions

0
comments

Posted in Why Choose Natural Birth?

Jan 04

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Stephanie R | Why Natural?

I first considered natural birth before I became pregnant. I had watched a few movies
on Netfix about natural birth. I wasn’t sold on the idea of a natural birth just yet but it did put the idea
of a natural birth in my head. When I found out I was pregnant, it push me to look for more
information on natural birth.

I had to go back and watch the movies that I had watched before I was pregnant. Now
I was watching with different eyes; this was now something that I really might do. I also watch
a lot of the TV shows, and on the shows many of the women go the ‘traditional’ route
of giving birth. They get Pitocin, and an epidural and some eventually result in C-sections. I hate
taking medications and I love how everyone preaches that ‘whatever you do the baby does to’, so no
smoking, not taking some medications, and no drinking, but why does all that change when it’s
time to give birth? So I went to the Internet and researched everything I could find on natural
birth, and the medicated birth.

I don’t personally know of anyone who has had a natural birth, at least I didn’t think that I
knew anybody. At Christmas I had been talking to my cousin’s wife she told me that she had
had 2 natural births and the third she was so late that she had to be induced and was given
Pitocin but she said she was happy with how her labor went. The rest of my family thinks I am
crazy for trying and that I will ask for pain relief as soon as I go into labor. My husband was kind
of hands off, but that’s because he knows that if I set my mind to do something I am going to do
it. My best friend from college shares the same views as I do, especially since she is pregnant
for the first time too. She, unlike me, did not do any research, she just said that she doesn’t think
she needs all the medication and that’s it’s not necessary for the birth of her child. So we are on
this journey together for the first time.

You can read more of Stephanie’s Birth Journey by…

…turning back to read an introduction… Meet Stephanie R

…reading the next page, her thoughts on the decision behind where to give birth… Decisions, Decisions

0
comments

Posted in Why Choose Natural Birth?

Dec 18

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Bitty Mama | Why Natural?

There are a lot of girls in my family. I joke that I grew up with three mothers, because I have my mom and two older sisters who have always been eager to share their advice and opinions. My mother always told us that a woman’s body was built to labor and deliver her babies. She taught us that God designed us perfectly this way and that our bodies were 100% capable of giving birth. She gave birth to all four of her children naturally, with no medication or interventions. Our births, as well as the births of my nieces and nephews, helped to mold the idea of what I wanted my first childbirth experience to look like.

I knew I wanted to be in control. I knew I didn’t want any unnatural interventions such as the use of Pitocin or the stripping of my membranes or breaking of waters. The more I read and heard about the snowball effect of interventions and “pushing” a woman’s body into labor, the more I wanted my body to just do what it was built to do. I also have a slight fear of hospitals (and needles). Hospitals are where people go when they’re sick or where they go to die! I have sad memories of visiting injured and sick family and friends in hospitals. I wasn’t dying, I was just having a baby. I didn’t need an IV to stay hydrated or a fetal monitor strapped to my stomach the whole time I labored. Those things just add stress to the equation. So when it came time to start looking at delivery options, I wanted to look outside the box.

When we moved to SC for my husbands new job, I was very excited to find there was a birth center not 10 minutes away from our house! We weren’t even trying to conceive yet, and I was already online researching where we might deliver one day. I sent emails to the birth center to find out more information and to schedule a tour. I was so excited about the information I’d read online about the facility and it’s midwives! So by the time we did conceive, about 6 months later, we had already decided we wanted to have a water birth, attended by a midwife, at the birth center. We signed up for orientation for new moms immediately!

Once my family members found out about my unconventional birth decision, they were skeptical but supportive. Most of them have gladly had epidurals with every birth. They didn’t want to feel the pain. Some of them have birth horror stories of interventions and complications. Not many of them have had a pleasant and peaceful birth experience in a hospital.  They weren’t left alone to labor and give birth to their babies. They were checked by nurses every 20 minutes, poked and prodded and hooked to beeping machines, and convinced they needed drugs to ease the pain and speed up the “hard part.” On the flip side, one of them was even told NOT to push when her body was truly ready to start pushing, because the OB wasn’t there yet! If you live in the US, most people assume you’re going to give birth in a hospital with a doctor.  It’s what the majority of our society does. And most women never question whether it’s the best thing for their body and their baby. So some of our family reacted differently than others to our decision to give birth outside of a hospital. After they saw pictures, asked us questions, and found out the birth center was just minutes from a hospital we’d use in the event of an emergency, they warmed up to the idea and became very excited and supportive.

When I went into labor that year, I was able to labor in the comfort of my own home for approximately 19 hours. I walked if I wanted to, drank and ate when I wanted to, voided in privacy when I needed to, took a shower in my bathroom when I wanted to, and even napped in my own bed to my own music when I wanted to. I was in an environment I was comfortable in, and it allowed my body to do what felt natural. In the later stages of labor, at the birth center, we delivered in a dimly lit tub, surrounded by candlelight, in a comfortable suite that was set up more like a bed and breakfast suite than a medical exam room. There were no strange hospital smells, no foreign hospital germs and bacterias, and no sterile white walls or florescent lights. I felt right at home and knew I was in good hands with my midwife and her assistant.

 

You can read more of Bitty Mama’s Birth Journey by…

…turning back to read an introduction… Meet Bitty Mama

…reading the next page, her thoughts on the decision behind where to give birth… Decisions, Decisions (Part 1)

0
comments

Posted in Why Choose Natural Birth?

Nov 27

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Ashley B | Why Natural?

My mom was the inspiration for me to have a non-medicated natural delivery. She had all 3 of us naturally and drug free in a time where active labor and pain management were begining to soar. Suprisingly to me, alot of my family and friends weren’t very supportive about me not wanting an epidural or induction, so having my mom and husband at Toby’s delivery was crucial to having as natural of a hospital delivery possible. At the time, none of my friends had ever purposely birthed without an epidural. The few friends I had who “accidently” gave birth without an epidural because they got to the hospital too late, said it was hell and they wish they could have gotten the epidural. Being my first birth, I was begining to doubt I could do it. Some people told me flat out that it was not possible to deliver without meds and others just didn’t see anything wrong with all the “normal” interventions in today’s deliveries. Without my mom having done 3 natural deliveries and her encouragement, I doubt I would have even considered not getting the epidural. Everyone always talks about how scary and painful childbirth is, so I was suprised when I gave birth after 33hrs of active labor with very little pain and felt great. I knew immediately after Toby was born that if we had another child, I wanted another natural delivery with even less interventions.

I did more research after my last delivery and discovered that it was actually healthier and safer to deliver with as little drugs and interventions possible. Imagine that, less chemicals and letting nature do what its done for many years is better! Who would have thought? After all the research I had done, I knew the benefits were well worth insisting on a natural delivery again. There really were no cons that I could find, other than if interventions were needed then I would feel robbed of the natural birth I so badly wanted. That is a risk I’m willing to take though because the chance that anything would go awry and I would have unwanted interventions again is very small. I’ve been doing everything I can to prepare my body for a smooth delivery and get prepared mentally to cope with labor again.

You can read more of Ashley’s Birth Journey by…

…turning back to read an introduction… Meet Ashley B 


…reading the next page, her thoughts on the decision behind where to give birth… Decisions, Decisions

0
comments

Posted in Why Choose Natural Birth?

Oct 16

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Michelle F | Why Natural?

After the events surrounding my first daughter Jade’s birth, I promised myself things would be different the second time.
I had wanted to deliver with a midwife, but at the time I was living in Las Vegas.  There are no birth centers, few home birth options, and midwives aren’t even allowed to deliver at hospitals.  My only option was a typical hospital birth.  I tried to educate myself the best I could, but I had no guidance, my husband didn’t know what to expect…the list went on and on!

With my first birth when I was in labor at the hospital, one thing after another was shot down…

May I have a heplock like my Dr said?  ”No, you have to have a full IV.”

I’m trying to do this naturally.  “You know, we can give you something for pain…”

Can I take a shower?  ”No, once you’re here you have to stay in bed.”

And then they took my sweet baby to the NICU for 48 hours of prophylactic IV antibiotics for which I still don’t understand the reason.  I had postpartum depression for a long time after her birth, and I think her rough beginning didn’t help.  I just knew it had to be better.  Having a baby shouldn’t feel so defeating.  So, I began to look into a natural birth.

You can read more of Michelle F’s Birth Journey by…
…turning back to read an introduction…Meet Michelle F
…reading the next page, the decision-making process of her birth team…Decisions, Decisions

0
comments

Posted in Birth Stories, Why Choose Natural Birth?

Oct 02

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Sabrina S | Why Natural?

As I mentioned in my previous post, my first birth was a very typical hospital birth. I had pitocin, epidural, continuous monitoring etc etc. The environment was hectic and chaotic feeling and I had some issues after birth that were ignored. So when I was pregnant with my second daughter, someone suggested I look into using a birth center. My initial reaction was “no I want pain medication”, but the more I thought about it and researched the idea, the more it seemed like a great option.

I started my research online. I started with well known sources like birthcenter.com but I then slowly moved into finding people who had already experienced natural birth. I read stories, asked questions and looked for their perspective on natural birth.

I only knew a few moms who had natural childbirth when I first started looking into it. Now that I’m working in the birth field I have met MANY mamas who have had natural birth.

I think the benefits on natural birth are simply that everything you do to a pregnant woman you do to a baby. Therefore more natural and less interventions means less risk to the baby (unless of course there are other circumstances that call for interventions). If the mom is well supported and well prepared I don’t really think there are “risks” to natural birth because if something extra (interventions, drugs etc) is needed you can always take action when the need arises. You can’t undo something that was done that wasn’t necessary.

I made the decision to go natural on my own. My friends or family did not influence me. My husband was a bit hesitant at first but now he is completely pro-natural birth! Some of my friends and family are supportive, some say they think its great but wouldn’t do it themselves and some think I’m crazy!

My first birth was medicated as I had mentioned. There were several things that made me choose a different route for these last two. One is the risks to the baby (and myself) and the increased risk of c-section. The other is being able to feel wonderful after the birth with no numbness or grogginess. The most important reason I plan to go natural with David is to be able to have more ‘control’ and ‘say’ in my birth process. I chose the birth center because of the more relaxed, quiet, intimate atmosphere.

You can read more of Sabrina’s Birth Journey by…

…turning back to read an introduction…Meet Sabrina S 


…reading the next page, her thoughts on the decision behind where to give birth…Decisions, Decisions

0
comments

Posted in Why Choose Natural Birth?

Sep 14

Natural Birth Stories | Birth Center Birth | Amanda D | Why Natural?

For years I had always voiced that I wanted to have a drug free birth. The reason I used was because I don’t like needles. People would laugh and say ‘you just wait!’. It wasn’t until I found out I was pregnant that I started to do a little more research.

I read a few books… first was “Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy”. Although helpful in some ways it was very negative on natural labor. In fact I found it nearly impossible to find materials with positive things about natural birth (hence the creating of Focus on Birth). So of course I proceed with my pregnancy with my current OBGYN. I had mentioned that I wanted to try for a natural birth to the Dr on my first visit. I think her response was something along the lines, we respect that but we will have to see how things progress. Not a lot of encouragement and I felt a little down but I shook it off and continued on my journey.

I knew what I wanted, and that was a birth that is run by my body and myself. I want delayed cord clamping and I want to bond with my baby and not have him whisked away immediately to a warming bed. I am his best heater, right on my chest. I know I can labor and deliver this baby without any medication. I believe in my body and I am surrounding myself with all those who share in this belief. I want to put myself in a calm environment without the option of pain meds. I figure that if the medicine is not accessible I won’t ask for it. I am not looking for a medal… I just want what is best for my baby and me. I do not want to be numb, I want to feel it all. My body was made to do this, they call it labor for a reason.

I watched the Business of Being Born and that really opened my eyes to the maternity care in the United States. I was bound and determined to not be a mother who falls victim to the standard medical practices. There had to be another way! I knew that in the heat of the moment I was not going to want to fight to get what I want. I knew that I had to set up and plan my birth so give myself the best chance of success.

You can read more of Amanda’s Birth Journey by…

…turning back to read an introduction…Meet Amanda D 


…reading the next page, her thoughts on the decision behind where to give birth…Decisions, Decisions

0
comments

Posted in Why Choose Natural Birth?