# feedback on your natural childbirth please!



## kelownaprego

Hello, I am really enjoying the thread regarding support for first time moms hoping for a natural birth, but what I really want, is to know from people who have HAD a natural birth, HOW WAS IT?!?! 
I am strongly considering having a natural, drug free birth, but part of me wonders if I am just being a crazy hippie, and is this a really dumb idea?! I try to avoid taking any type of pharmasuticals(sp) in my day to day life, and I would like my child not to be introduced to anything on his/her first day on earth! The odd time that I give in and take cough syrup, I am so sensitive that it feels like I am totally doped up and can't function, so I can't imagine what I would be like on heavy duty pain killers on the most important day of my life. 

Anyways, I would just love any input from people who have had natural childbirth, would you do it again? Was it so unbarably painful you wanted to die? What was the best and worst parts? Don't be afraid to scare me, I want your honest oppinion and dont worry about TMI I have been spending my time watching natural childbirth videos online!!! Thanks in advance! cheers!


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## lozzy21

I only had gas and air and most of the time i only used it to bite on the mouth piece and yes i would do it again. Yes it hurt but it was bareable


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## NaturalMomma

My natural childbirth was AWESOME!!! It really was. I had a homebirth with my second child and it was so amazing feeling everything and being able to move and do what my body needed to do. The contractions didn't hurt. Transition, which is at the end, was intense, but nothing unmanigable. Pushing didn't hurt either, it was a really interesting sensation and I didn't have to physically push, my body did it on it's own. My son was born in the living room while I was standing and squating. It was just such an awe inspiring experience.


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## evewidow

i have give birth 3 times - 1st time i had pethadine hated the way it made me feel , 2nd time i had gas and air , 3rd time i had nothing but my tens machine and had her at home . 
imho it hurt no more having no drugs then it did with them . yes it hurts but it hurts with gas andair too.
being able to get in your own bed after was ace , as was the slower bit in the begining when you can potter about your own house or watch your own tv etc . 
if hubby ever agrees to a 4th it would def be another home birth with no drugs.

hubby preferred the home birth too even though he wasnt really up for it originally , he said he was able to relax more and felt more useful than sitting in a hospital room , he could make teas and sandwiches and clean up etc.


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## Mervs Mum

I've had 3 children and the less drugs and intervention the better the birth. I really enjoyed my second in the birth centre (I said to my husband just after she was born 'I want to do it all again now!') and my third was born at home and was even more enjoyable. I havent had a natural birth as I've used gas and air at the time of transition but one of the things I feel it really helps me with is to focus my breath. After I get my rhythm back I ditch the gas and air to birth as do a lot of women. I LOVE giving birth.


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## Bournefree

Amazing experience - I honest can say that I didn't find birth painful at all! I could never describe it as pain... and that isn't just me looking back on it now - I felt that way at the time, and I felt just like MM; I would have done it again the next day!

It is the biggest high you will ever have - who needs drugs!!?

I have to also cavate that with saying that I wasn't totally without any methods of pain relief - I had TENS, water (that was the best bit, getting in the birth pool and pushing), and g&a (used sparingly, it really did help with my breathing, and as a good distraction). Also, I found my conscious mind somewhere else - I would highly recommend letting your self go to the moment.. it is a wonder what the body and brain can do to facilitate you to give birth. 

If there was a worse bit - they are;
niggly long latent labour, where I wasn't sure what was happing if anything. But good support around you can be essential.
Also transition - I deff had that moment of "I don't even want to be pregnant right now" and I would have taken a pill to make the whole thing go away... not because of pain - just a total panic flight/fight thing going on.. but that didn't last very long at all, and was a good sign things were happening.
Stiches - It wasn't painfull having them done, just getting a local in to have the stiches - that WAS painful!

It was an emence feeling overall, and one I can't wait to do again - I'm really looking forward to the pushing bit again - your body just takes over, it doesn't need you.

XxX


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## Tacey

My birth was fantastic. I used a tens, a paracetamol and a birth pool, and didn't need any more. If anything, I wish I had been more sure of myself as when I reached transition, I got very negative, and thought I couldn't do it. Next time I will make my birth partners aware of what they need to tell me if that happens again!

I hope to have another natural birth. I hate the idea of drugs affecting my baby, or making me drowsy afterwards. Knowing my body had done what it was designed to was the most empowering experience, and I wouldn't want it any other way.


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## leahsbabybump

i had a natral childbirth even had episiotomy and forceps delivery with no pain relief at all i dint even take the gas and air as it was making me naseous i just a little bit of local anesthetic down there for the stitches after.
Natural birthing was the best thing I have ever doen and is soooo good for baby I will deffo be going it natural again this time 
The pain is intense like nothing you will have ever felt before but the moment you get your little baby in your arm you forget the pain as it was lal worth the while x


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## glitterbug

My homebirth was amazing! 

Used just a TENS machine, sat watching tv with the midwife (who was eating the bacon sarnies OH made!) and it was nowhere near as painful as I was led to believe by family members etc!

Would deffo do it all again it was sooo chilled out and calm xx


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## SerenityNow

Giving birth is incredibly intense, but I would describe the pain as being unlike any other pain I've ever experienced-- in a good way! It isn't the sensation of something being terribly wrong with your body, it is the sensation of your body performing a tremendous feat. 

With my first the "worst" part was how quickly my labor progressed. I woke up in the middle of night with contractions two minutes apart and before long they were one on top of the other. Truly the worst part was thinking that I was only just starting and still had 12-20 hours of my labor becoming more and more intense. Once my midwife arrived and told me i was nearly fully dilated it was a huge relief. 
With my second I knew what to expect and with her labor the "worst" part was having to resist the urge to push through one contraction while they were fussing with something to do with the birth tub. Honestly once she was born I was a little sad it had all happened so quickly (about 2.5 hours of labor). I kind of felt cheated. lol


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## Blob

I had a natural birth both times, once in hospital and although everything was totally fine I was freaked out. Second time at home and I can say with all honestly that I would have done it again there and then. I was up and walked around the town the next day with my newborn it was amazing and I felt amazing. I didn't feel fuzzy and remembered all the details.


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## nov_mum

I recommend the TENs, I didn't find pushing painful. Transition is difficult but it was 15 mins or so and I couldn't have anything anyway. Entonox (gas and air) doesn't work for me, have tried it when not in labour and it did squat. I had quite quick labours due to preecclampsia so I may have chosen differently if I were having a long drawn out birth. I think the thing is that drug free births are seen as alternative when for most of human civilisation they are actually the norm. Drug companies have a huge vested interest in childbirth but it can often lead to further interventions. I think it's best to read up what you can, have a plan but be open to options if thing s are drawn out or it is indicated. Lining up for an epidural the first sign of labour though is not always the best choice for mum and bub. Good luck with your decision : )


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## ayh78

I can't really claim to have had a totally natural birth because I did take a couple of paracetamol and did use some gas and air around transition (I was asking for pethidine at that point - so glad I didn't have any). 
With G+A, you can stop breathing it in and take a couple of breaths and you'll be 'sobered up', so if you don't like it you can stop. 
I would like to have a similar birth with my next one. I hated transition, that was the worst. The second worst was the crowning - that stung. But then LO was fairly big and did keep wriggling back in (little monkey!) every time I pushed. The difference with the pushing stage though was that I could see the benefit of it and I knew the only way to end the stinging was to push through it. 
I would be concerned about my coping if labour lasted a long time - I got off lightly with 8 hours. I might have given in and gone for drugs if it was double that. I don't take paracetamol lightly either.
Have you considered a water birth? I'd recommend it. Hope everything goes your way!


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## spidey

Like someone else said, it was the best high I ever had. When I think back to it, I still get deep down good feelings about the whole experience and I would do it again without a doubt! 

The worst part for me is when they had to massage my uterus in the end to stop the bleeding since my uterus wasn't clamping down. The rest of my labor was very intense, but I wouldn't describe it as painful because it was a normal sort of "pain". It's sort of like when you poo- most people don't describe pooing as painful, but it's not super enjoyable either :lol:

For natural pain relief I did hypnobirthing which helped alot and I will study hypnobirthing again for my next birth.


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## Greta Chick

Hi

I've had 3 natural births. My DS (firstborn) was born on dry land at the birth centre after induction with only half an hour of gas and air (which I was using wrongly so I wasn't actually getting any). It was painful and I was absolutely shattered and I don't remember much about it because of the tiredness, but it was a definitely positive experience.

My DD1 was born in the birthing pool at the birth centre after a spontaneous labour. I'd been at home until 12.30pm when we decided to go "and just see if I was in labour or not" and she was born 45 minutes later after 15 minutes of being in the pool, pushing. I again used gas and air (properly this time) for the pushing stage because I felt totally out of control as my body was pushing without me making any effort. I literally couldn't stop it and couldn't push myself, as my body was already doing it without me. I hated that feeling of being out of control, though the experience was again a positive one and I felt empowered and on a high - especially as I brought DD2 up out of the water myself.

My last labour and delivery was just *the* MOST amazing, empowering, blissful, just absolutely fantastic experience of my LIFE. I had decided this time that I didn't want to feel out of control at any point during my labour and delivery, so I 3 Natal Hypnotherapy cds from e-bay. I was intending on going to the birth centre again but it closed a month before my due date. At that point I decided I'd like to book a homebirth because I was worried a) the centre might not open in time for me to go there and b) if I laboured as quickly as I had with DD1 I might not make it there in time (only a 7 minute drive away).

I started listening to the pregnancy relaxation cd 3-4 times a week, at night-times to help me sleep. It worked a treat and I slept the best I had done in years. Each time I listened to the cd I had some lavender oil which I inhaled on a hankerchief next to me on my pillow. At 30 weeks I then began to listen to the birth preparation cd, again inhaling the lavender. I usually listened to it at bedtime again but sometimes during early evening after my older children had gone to bed. I found the "3-2-1 RELAX" worked fantastically. During labour I put the birth music cd on, burnt a special labour blend of essential oils to keep labour going/speed it up, and also had the lavender on my hankerchief to inhale. During labour and delivery the £3-2-1 RELAX" was an absolute miracle worker as I said it to myself in my head during each contraction.

You can read my birth story if you click on my link below so I won't go into all the details here, but I'd have another baby just to go through that amazing labour and delivery experience again :cloud9: :happydance:

xx


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## Nichole

I had my first at the hospital in a normal delivery room, but with no pain relief at all. As a 19 year old, the nurses were shocked to hear me turn down everything. But, it wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be. The contractions were painful enough that I couldn't speak during them, but not so bad that I wanted relief, I mean, they stopped after just a few moments. The pushing wasn't painful, for the most part. It hurt, and I started wondering to myself if it was too late to ask for medication, but the moment I thought that, my doctor announced that her could see her hair and I knew I was almost done and could finish strong. I had an episiotomy and stitches still with no pain relief. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, but I could ad will happily do it this time as well. I didn't accept medication until well after delivery when everything begins aching. Good luck and stay strong! You can do it if you want to!


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## HayleyJA

Everyone has given you great responses and feedback and to be honest 'labour' wise, I can't tell you much more.

To put things into some kind of perspective though, I actually think the pain after labour was worse which might sound a very strange thing to say.... I'd put so much effort into labouring that I found my arms ached, my thighs ached, and I'd bitten the inside of my cheeks through concentration and determination! 

:)


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## madasa

No, it's not a crazy idea at all. It's sad that the culture we live in makes us think that maybe is IS crazy... 

My story is in my siggy... I did have some Gas and Air (I'm in the UK, so pretty much everyone has the option of G&A) at the end, but you know something? I didn't need it. I think I was in transition, I was doubting myself, I was very tired.... but I certainly wasn't in huge amounts of pain!

Here is the thing - DRUG FREE is NOT the same as "without pain relief". There are ALL KINDS of pain relief you could try. Water, heat, massage, aromatherapy, homeopathy, acupuncture, hypnotherapy.... I think in some areas you can get Gas and Air too, but you have to order it or something.... if you wanted to have that as an option you'd probably have to discuss it with your care providers :)


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## aliss

I don't have any good natural child birth story to give you. I did go 24 hours without it - and then resorted to morphine and then an epidural. Not knowing the risks, I was excited with the pain relief. You don't feel ANY pain during an epidural, generally. And then my labour slowed, and slowed, and slowed... and then my baby got stuck. And they broke his collarbone to get him out. I spent the next several weeks dealing with a screaming baby in pain (who almost died from that complication, the fracture was a blessing).

Side effects of the drugs range from the baby being doped up and too drowsy to BF, to causing life threatening complications.

My case in point - you are NOT a hippy for wanting a drug free birth. There is a *reason* for it. There is no masochism here in natural birthing - above all, I think most women who want a natural birth know that it is the best, safest choice for their baby. Even if it may be more painful (or not!). Good luck to you!!!


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## madasa

That sounds very scary for you! :(

You are so right.... Some people say "you won't get a medal!" but it is SO not about that!


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## calliebaby

I loved my natural birth and would do it again in a heartbeat. The hardest part was when the contractions felt like one long one for the last hour. When I was able to push, it felt amazing. So much relief. 
I was lucky though and my labor was only 4 hours with 14 minutes of pushing. That helped a lot.


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## lynnikins

i loved my birth experiences, neither completely " natural " but neither involved any kind of drugs either ( well not for labor pain )

my first was a natural start to labor , early labor over several days I coped at home with my TENs and taking baths for 3 days then went into hospital and labored there with my TENS and for the final 5 hours used the birth pool and Gas and Air ( ended assisted delivery caus of complications with positioning and me being way too tired )

my second was induced start but only one lot of gel was needed and i labored on my own with my TEN's till i got to 6cm, then moved rooms after calling husband and babysitter for ds1 ( since it was 5am )and all in under 2 hours he arrived unassisted in a very big rush lol and i only had G&A for the last 30 min tops and i had my tens machine off by that point, 

it was a bigger rush emotionally and hormonally delivering ds2 probably due to the state i was in being less stressed and more in control and im really glad i managed to avoid any drugs by needle during both , although with ds2 i was on a reduced dose of co-drydamol for SPD ( id been on bigger doeses but reduced it for labour )


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