,

[silver_penny]

I always say i had a natural birth, because i had no pain relief, but thinking about it I was induced, snipped and a ventouse was used so probably not so natural!

As for the debate stuff, I did it without pain relief, i'd be proud of myself if i'd had any, I'd be proud if i had a c section. or even if i clicked my heels together 3 times and she appeared in my arms!! Doesn't matter how they get here!

And if i'd had the option i would've taken every form of pain relief i could find!! Its fecking painful, why would I want to feel that!!!

That part made me lol

 

[Nessicle]

There seems to be a lot more intervention in the US too they all wear full theatre regalia for a vaginal delivery and face masks etc its a lot more relaxed here x

no they dont lol my nurses were just dressed in normal nurse uniforms and my obgyn was wearing jeans and t-shirt.

lol all the US programmes of childbirth they show over here they do like Baby Story and 16 and Pregnant...they all give birth on their back and all have an epidural ha ha x

Why was ff safer jellybean? (no judging, just curious!)

I wondered this too, I think next time I'll express colostrum and bf for three days if I can then go straight on the formula, I'm not ruining my experience of mummyhood again and confusing/upsetting my bubs again

I'm FF from the beginning too there's no way I'm going through all that again with the next baby it ruined the first month xx

Just to add I'm not trying to put a label on my birth experience as a lot of people are saying 'it doesn't matter how..' I don't think so either it was just a general musing, I didn't think this thread would get so many replies tbh!

you'll find breastfeeding or labour are pretty sensitive subjects on this forum xx

i think it means no pain relief. i was in labor for 48 hours, and pushed for 3 hours, vaginal delivery, no pain relief, not at hospital.
i'm a little surprised no one answered the one posted who said they didn't understand why a person would choose no pain relief and on her list was martyr and to prove a point. ouch! that's not just defensive it's offensive. what's the deal?anyway, i'm not personally offended because, well that's just not how i handle all of this..but i will answer your question
a) the medications may have an affect on the baby. the common belief is that they do not. natural parents tend not to take chances by following common beliefs… as we all know, what is right now is wrong tomorrow
b) i've heard horror stories about epidurals
c) what if i was woozy when baby came out
d) i wanted to know what natural felt like, just plain curiosity
e) my husband wanted me to, he was worried for me and baby when it came to taking medications

there are so many reasons not to and none of them are about being a martyr or trying to make others feel like shi* just because they didn't do a natural birth. if someone feels bad about something, it most likely comes from within, not from others

That was me who posted that. It wasnt referring to anyone here, it wasnt targeted at anyone. Its something I've always thought about as for me personally I couldnt understand doing it without pain relief if I didnt need to be in that much pain. But then again I had syntocinon and it was absolute agony even through the epidural I did 12 hours with G&A and pushed for 3 hours in total, failed forceps and a c section thank god I had an epi cos if not I'd hve had to go under general that would've been even worse for me.

I mean you hve a headache you take paracetamol. In fairness we dont need the paracetamol we could just deal with it and eventually it would go away just as they managed before medication existed. And labour is far worse lol

Many women I've come across have made comments that they didnt have pain relief because "its what we were made to do" to me thats trying to prove a point i.e. being a martyr it was just a generalisation!

I'm yet to meet a woman who said they didnt want pain relief because they wanted to feel the lovely pain though some labours are worse than others, some women have a higher pain threshold so comments like the above make many women who have pain relief feel like they were hypochondriacs or that they were soft cos they couldnt manage the pain.

Kudos to those who did it with no pain relief at all cos they could manage without and had a happy lovely experience, those births were probably quite short in comparison to a lot of women who ended up having pain relief and perhaps not as intense as the ones who had pain relief. I cant imagine having to do 31 hours labour no sleep in 48 hours and no food in that much pain I wouldve collapsed in exhaustion.... Everyone manages pain differently though

My mums friend had a water birth and she said never ever ever again, her labour was 28 hours with no pain relief no G&A or anything and she doesnt remember him being born and fell asleep soon after without holding him she said her biggest regret is no pain relief so she could at least get some sleep x

 

[Nessicle]

Oh and as far as Im concerned, its not my OH's choice as to whether I had pain relief or not! I'm the one in fecking agony thanks I'll decide lol cant imagine many men would do it "naturally"!!

 

[mrs_park]

Oh and as far as Im concerned, its not my OH's choice as to whether I had pain relief or not! I'm the one in fecking agony thanks I'll decide lol cant imagine many men would do it "naturally"!!

Before they induced me, I asked for an epi as I wasn't coping with the pain as it was and knew it would get worse when they induced me. I was really nervous about the procedure and long story short, I sucked on the g&a so hard without taking a breath of air and ended up having an awful hallucination. I jumped up and grabbed DH and scratched the side of his face, drawing blood. He thought that was painful

 

[bathbabe]

There seems to be a lot more intervention in the US too they all wear full theatre regalia for a vaginal delivery and face masks etc its a lot more relaxed here x

no they dont lol my nurses were just dressed in normal nurse uniforms and my obgyn was wearing jeans and t-shirt.

lol all the US programmes of childbirth they show over here they do like Baby Story and 16 and Pregnant...they all give birth on their back and all have an epidural ha ha x

Why was ff safer jellybean? (no judging, just curious!)

I wondered this too, I think next time I'll express colostrum and bf for three days if I can then go straight on the formula, I'm not ruining my experience of mummyhood again and confusing/upsetting my bubs again

I'm FF from the beginning too there's no way I'm going through all that again with the next baby it ruined the first month xx

Just to add I'm not trying to put a label on my birth experience as a lot of people are saying 'it doesn't matter how..' I don't think so either it was just a general musing, I didn't think this thread would get so many replies tbh!

you'll find breastfeeding or labour are pretty sensitive subjects on this forum xx

i think it means no pain relief. i was in labor for 48 hours, and pushed for 3 hours, vaginal delivery, no pain relief, not at hospital.
i'm a little surprised no one answered the one posted who said they didn't understand why a person would choose no pain relief and on her list was martyr and to prove a point. ouch! that's not just defensive it's offensive. what's the deal?anyway, i'm not personally offended because, well that's just not how i handle all of this..but i will answer your question
a) the medications may have an affect on the baby. the common belief is that they do not. natural parents tend not to take chances by following common beliefs… as we all know, what is right now is wrong tomorrow
b) i've heard horror stories about epidurals
c) what if i was woozy when baby came out
d) i wanted to know what natural felt like, just plain curiosity
e) my husband wanted me to, he was worried for me and baby when it came to taking medications

there are so many reasons not to and none of them are about being a martyr or trying to make others feel like shi* just because they didn't do a natural birth. if someone feels bad about something, it most likely comes from within, not from others

That was me who posted that. It wasnt referring to anyone here, it wasnt targeted at anyone. Its something I've always thought about as for me personally I couldnt understand doing it without pain relief if I didnt need to be in that much pain. But then again I had syntocinon and it was absolute agony even through the epidural I did 12 hours with G&A and pushed for 3 hours in total, failed forceps and a c section thank god I had an epi cos if not I'd hve had to go under general that would've been even worse for me.

I mean you hve a headache you take paracetamol. In fairness we dont need the paracetamol we could just deal with it and eventually it would go away just as they managed before medication existed. And labour is far worse lol

Many women I've come across have made comments that they didnt have pain relief because "its what we were made to do" to me thats trying to prove a point i.e. being a martyr it was just a generalisation!

I'm yet to meet a woman who said they didnt want pain relief because they wanted to feel the lovely pain though some labours are worse than others, some women have a higher pain threshold so comments like the above make many women who have pain relief feel like they were hypochondriacs or that they were soft cos they couldnt manage the pain.

Kudos to those who did it with no pain relief at all cos they could manage without and had a happy lovely experience, those births were probably quite short in comparison to a lot of women who ended up having pain relief and perhaps not as intense as the ones who had pain relief. I cant imagine having to do 31 hours labour no sleep in 48 hours and no food in that much pain I wouldve collapsed in exhaustion.... Everyone manages pain differently though

My mums friend had a water birth and she said never ever ever again, her labour was 28 hours with no pain relief no G&A or anything and she doesnt remember him being born and fell asleep soon after without holding him she said her biggest regret is no pain relief so she could at least get some sleep x

Actually, no i dont

I only take painkillers if i really really need too, and thats usually for backache if its stopping me doing stuff. Im not pill happy. My OH on the other hand takes paracetamol at the first hint of a cold.

 

[Nessicle]

Oh and as far as Im concerned, its not my OH's choice as to whether I had pain relief or not! I'm the one in fecking agony thanks I'll decide lol cant imagine many men would do it "naturally"!!

Before they induced me, I asked for an epi as I wasn't coping with the pain as it was and knew it would get worse when they induced me. I was really nervous about the procedure and long story short, I sucked on the g&a so hard without taking a breath of air and ended up having an awful hallucination. I jumped up and grabbed DH and scratched the side of his face, drawing blood. He thought that was painful

ha ha ha! Apparently I was really nice in labour - makes a change usually he does my head in and I'm mean ha ha x

 

[Nessicle]

Why do people take things so literally lol I didnt mean "you" as in directed at anyone in particular, I meant the general public the majority of people WILL take medication when they have a headache or in pain....good grief....

 

[Katt]

Pain is our bodies way o F telling us something. If you ignore it, or cover it up using pain relief then you could do yourself more harm.

Childbirth is extremely painful though ( as we all know!) and if that pain gets to the point where you are unable to focus or manage anymore, then pain relief is useful.

I don't understand why people would cut the pain out to start with? Surely you should try to let your body do it's thing on it's own first? *this is a blanket generalisation, there will be cases where this is inappropriate.

 

[kes_a]

i would have loved to of had a natural birth but we had complications so there was no way LO was going to be able to come out on his own.I had a back to back labour and only had gas and air for 10hours of my established labour.The first 3hours in hospital i did it on my own the last 3 i had to have an epidural because i was exausted.Although it did end up in an emergancy delivery im still very proud of my self for bringing LO into the world.Women who can deliver naturaly are very lucky to be able to and are lucky to have straight forward problem free labours. Some Labours like Nessicle, Mine and many other womens are not so straight forward and end up with needing intervention for the safety of the baby and resulting in needing pain relief and a helping hand,like Nessicle said we didnt have a choice in the situation. We are still just as amazing as any other women and it shouldnt matter how a child is born,we have all been threw it and all survived with gorgeous healthy babies.

 

[bathbabe]

Why do people take things so literally lol I didnt mean "you" as in directed at anyone in particular, I meant the general public the majority of people WILL take medication when they have a headache or in pain....good grief....

So i should of just kept my mouth shut and let you assume everyone is drugged up all the time because of this that and the other? Because im not in the 'majority' im not allowed to say my piece?

I only used gas and air because it has no effect on the baby, but i wasnt going to drug my baby with an epi to make my labour easier for myself when i knew i could cope without it.

 

[superbecks]

A natural birth is without pain relief. A NORMAL birth is vaginally.

 

[special_kala]

Why do people take things so literally lol I didnt mean "you" as in directed at anyone in particular, I meant the general public the majority of people WILL take medication when they have a headache or in pain....good grief....

So i should of just kept my mouth shut and let you assume everyone is drugged up all the time because of this that and the other? Because im not in the 'majority' im not allowed to say my piece?

I only used gas and air because it has no effect on the baby, but i wasnt going to drug my baby with an epi to make my labour easier for myself when i knew i could cope without it.

Wow this thread has turned nasty.

Just FYI i didnt "drug" my baby up with a epi seeing as it doesnt pass the placenta.

I hope for a homebirth this time with no pain relief that doesnt make me better then people who use pain relief.

 

[Kerrie-x]

I have a forcep delivery and would be VERY offended if somebody said that wasn't a natural delivery, after all the pain i went through!

 

[pinkie77]

Why do people take things so literally lol I didnt mean "you" as in directed at anyone in particular, I meant the general public the majority of people WILL take medication when they have a headache or in pain....good grief....

So i should of just kept my mouth shut and let you assume everyone is drugged up all the time because of this that and the other? Because im not in the 'majority' im not allowed to say my piece?

I only used gas and air because it has no effect on the baby, but i wasnt going to drug my baby with an epi to make my labour easier for myself when i knew i could cope without it.

The same really, I didn't even have g&a this time as I never got to the point where I needed it. I think being at home helped, plus this was my first time not being induced. I was still on a bit of a high cos I'd gone into labour spontaneously lol. But the thought of losing control by not being able to move around quite honestly terrifies me. I know the pain will go once the baby is born but the affects from most drugs can last much longer.

I don't take paracetamol much either, only if I can't cope with the pain. And tbh if I get a migraine the only thing that works is to sleep it off!

But we're all different and we're lucky that we have all these options to choose what suits us best And surely the important part is not how our babies get here but how we care for them now they are here?

 

[bathbabe]

Why do people take things so literally lol I didnt mean "you" as in directed at anyone in particular, I meant the general public the majority of people WILL take medication when they have a headache or in pain....good grief....

So i should of just kept my mouth shut and let you assume everyone is drugged up all the time because of this that and the other? Because im not in the 'majority' im not allowed to say my piece?

I only used gas and air because it has no effect on the baby, but i wasnt going to drug my baby with an epi to make my labour easier for myself when i knew i could cope without it.

Wow this thread has turned nasty.

Just FYI i didnt "drug" my baby up with a epi seeing as it doesnt pass the placenta.

I hope for a homebirth this time with no pain relief that doesnt make me better then people who use pain relief.

I wasnt being nasty at all
And yes it does

 

[special_kala]

Why do people take things so literally lol I didnt mean "you" as in directed at anyone in particular, I meant the general public the majority of people WILL take medication when they have a headache or in pain....good grief....

So i should of just kept my mouth shut and let you assume everyone is drugged up all the time because of this that and the other? Because im not in the 'majority' im not allowed to say my piece?

I only used gas and air because it has no effect on the baby, but i wasnt going to drug my baby with an epi to make my labour easier for myself when i knew i could cope without it.

Wow this thread has turned nasty.

Just FYI i didnt "drug" my baby up with a epi seeing as it doesnt pass the placenta.

I hope for a homebirth this time with no pain relief that doesnt make me better then people who use pain relief.

I wasnt being nasty at all

that reads as pretty nasty and is actually wrong anyway.

I think that epidurals shouldnt be so easily offered and more natural pain relief encouraged like water or different positions but surely if a mum is really struggling its better for her to get pain relief then start freaking out.

I didnt realise until reading this thread that there was this silly competition about who did and didnt use pain relief. Its pretty sad really.

 

[special_kala]

This has come up before and ive never seen any information/studies that show that a epidural has any effect on baby...well unless you count articles written by the sort of women who think they are some kind of martyr for not using pain relief and giving birth in a forest.

Never seen any real evidence and every medical proffesional i have asked has said it doesnt "drug" the baby up

 

[Lottie86]

For me I'd consider any unassisted vaginal birth as natural.

 

[LJaydow]

My labour lasted 12 hours. I had useless pethadine at 4cms, then at nearly 7cm an epidural as gas an air wasnt doing anything. My waters were broken at 9cm, and about 4 hours later I was ready to push. The epidural had worn off at that stage, and i was told it was too late to have it topped up. I pushed for an hour, and after that they said his heart rate was going through the roof so I would need to have him delivered via ventouse and had an episiotomy. He was delivered, no gas an air or epidural, and then I hemorrhaged and lost 5 pints of blood when the placenta was delivered.

It might not have been a "natural birth" in so much as the text books, but it was natural for my body. I tried to do it without pain relief, he was back to back, and who knows about the hemorrhage, but it is what my body decided to do, and thats how it happened.

Regardless of the intervention, I had a baby - thats natural enough for me!

 

[JWandBump]

Does it really matter what kind of birth we all had? At the end of the day we all have beautiful, amazing children so I think we should be proud no matter what!!