How many of you had a completely natural birth?

[hot tea]

Does water, paracetamol, tens machine, massage, aromatherapy, hypno birthing count as intervention?

I wouldn't say so. Except the paracetamol, but that hardly counts as anything at all. aromatherapy sounds lovely, I need to look into that for my birth...

Id count paracetamol, water and tens maschine all as pain relief...they arent any different to gas and air imo

Being in a birth pool is completely natural! That isn't a drug or an intervention. As for a tens machine... i donT know what that is.

 

[EllaAndLyla]

Water Birth!!
Does it count if I had a few puffs of gas and air just while i was being..examined!? Apart from that was all natural and in water. I loved it personally and sometimes wish that I didnt have the gas and air and just went all natural, but i just couldn't take the examinations, think its because its not a natural pain whereas birth was and my body just dealt with it! x

 

[Ju_bubbs]

Me, twice.. and will be a 3rd time if all goes to plan!

Did you have a home birth with both your children, and will you again?

The first med free labour was in hospital, the 2nd was at home, and this one will hopefully be at home too!

Fantastic! Sounds about how I am going. Had my first naturally in hospital, and this one will be a home birth.

I did have 2 more in hospital with gas and air before I realised how much better med free was! Once I went med free, I was gutted I didnt do it the first 2 times! The gas made me feel so out of it, I didn't even know what was going on half the time, as tho i was drifting in and out of consciousness(sp?)
And the effects didn't wear off unti an hour ot 2 after birth.. for me or the babies!

 

[LoraLoo]

Does water, paracetamol, tens machine, massage, aromatherapy, hypno birthing count as intervention?

I wouldn't say so. Except the paracetamol, but that hardly counts as anything at all. aromatherapy sounds lovely, I need to look into that for my birth...

Id count paracetamol, water and tens maschine all as pain relief...they arent any different to gas and air imo

Being in a birth pool is completely natural! That isn't a drug or an intervention. As for a tens machine... i donT know what that is.

But you use it to relieve the pain, so I'd still count it as pain relief, as i say jmo

 

[hot tea]

Water is a natural pain relief. Like walking during labour can be pain relief. Water birth is totally natural, just like walking lol...... I am not sold on that.

 

[EllaAndLyla]

Does water, paracetamol, tens machine, massage, aromatherapy, hypno birthing count as intervention?

I wouldn't say so. Except the paracetamol, but that hardly counts as anything at all. aromatherapy sounds lovely, I need to look into that for my birth...

Id count paracetamol, water and tens maschine all as pain relief...they arent any different to gas and air imo

Id say water is more of a way to get you to relax, like hypnotherapy. I felt exactly the same amount of pain in the water than i did out of the water however when i was in the water i felt more comfortable and more relaxed to when i was out the water. x

 

[My_First]

Okay I too would say, in my opinion, that water is an intervention. We, as humans, are not meant to give birth in water, or we would lay eggs or have gills...again imho

 

[Rosie123]

I had a natural birth, no gas and air, drugs or anything! I labored on my own in a bed on the ward in silence!! (it's a long story!). Looking back at the birth it was an amazing experience that would like to repeat if I'm lucky enough to have another child!

 

[Cattia]

I had a water birth with my second, I had a couple of puffs of gas and air only to realise I was too farprogressed for it to make a blind bit of difference so I chucked it aside. My first birth was very different, epidural, episiotomy etc but it was a back to back labour so waaaay more painful! My only priority both times was to have a healthy baby, I wasn't fixed on having no pain relief but a normal labour wad so much easier than back to back that it just turned out that way. I have to say I found my intervention free labour a totally incredible experience.

 

[BattyNora]

I don"t know if you would class me as one at all, although I tend to.

During labour I used TENs, a bath and a paracetemol...my early labour was 2.5 days, established 4 hours and 20 mins pushing.

However my third stage labour was managed, ending in retained placenta. In fact after birthing with very little I actually ended up having gas and air when the midwife tried to remove it manually where the cord snapped, they tried for 50 mins to give me a spinal epidural and eventually was knocked out in theatre with a general.

Bow, technically that's still labour....so pre-birth yes, after birth no. In my mind anyway, I'm sure others have different ideas!

And to be honest, I don't care how people wish to label my birth. I'm bloody proud of myself, and anyone who has a child should be irrelevant of how it happened

Edit; I have to admit I wouldn't class water/bath as pain relief...otherwise surely walking, deep breathing or anything I did to get through the pain is an intervention...IMO. TENS, maybe and paracetamol definitely!

 

[Ju_bubbs]

IMO, baby has spent 9 months lying in a sac of water, so what could possibly be more natural for LO than being born into water?

 

[Maman]

tens is a machine that puts electrical currents on to your skin which blocks pain receptors. id class it as a pain relief. Paracetamol is also.

i think its quite interesting to see the numbers on this one. theres more of us who have had pain relief and intervention than who havent.

 

[My_First]

Its interesting, isnt it, how definitions of natural are so subjective. I would count having a vaginal birth as a natural birth, whether drugs are involved or not. Many others would disagree, and many other will just say having a baby, is natural, whichever way you look at it. I am not arguing with anyone, and I dont necessarily count those I mentioned as 'un natural', just its very different from person to person...

 

[Tasha]

Me, twice. My first was an induction, 27 hours of established labour and an epidural which I HATED, so I promised myself I would never do that again. So my second I refused drugs, just walked until 10cm I started shouting at the mw to give me drugs Third was an induction (she had grown her wings) but again no drugs (bar a paracetamol 12 minutes before she was born) despite them trying to force me to have loads, fourth was induction which ended in section so lots of medical intervention, fifth was natural and again no pain killers just walking, and head butting my husbands chest

 

[LoraLoo]

I think it does come down to the individual as what you class as completely natural. I had gas and air....so i dont class mine as completely natural because i used something to help with the pain. As i say, id count paracetamol, gas and air, water and tens machine all as a way of managing the pain. For me, completely natural would be as Rosie123 describes. Interesting to see everyone elses different opinions though

 

[Ju_bubbs]

Its interesting, isnt it, how definitions of natural are so subjective. I would count having a vaginal birth as a natural birth, whether drugs are involved or not. Many others would disagree, and many other will just say having a baby, is natural, whichever way you look at it. I am not arguing with anyone, and I dont necessarily count those I mentioned as 'un natural', just its very different from person to person...

This sums it up exactly!! Personally I class natural as no drugs, no medical aid etc.. but, that doesn't mean that someone else, like you can't class their birth with G&A or whatever as natural! It all depends on what that induvidual person feels!

 

[hivechild]

I was drug free other than 2 paracetamol about 15 mins into labor. I thought it was just my usual back pain and Braxton hicks contractions even though from the beginning my contractions were 3-5 mins apart and a minute in length!

The monkey was born 6 1/2 hours later and I would definitely do it again without any drugs.

 

[EllaAndLyla]

Its interesting, isnt it, how definitions of natural are so subjective. I would count having a vaginal birth as a natural birth, whether drugs are involved or not. Many others would disagree, and many other will just say having a baby, is natural, whichever way you look at it. I am not arguing with anyone, and I dont necessarily count those I mentioned as 'un natural', just its very different from person to person...

This sums it up exactly!! Personally I class natural as no drugs, no medical aid etc.. but, that doesn't mean that someone else, like you can't class their birth with G&A or whatever as natural! It all depends on what that induvidual person feels!

And every labour is sooo difference too, same as pain tolerance. Like I was in labour 37 hours established and went med free (apart from examinations, I still class it as all natural) whereas another person could have a 6-7 hour established labour and need an epidural and still class it as natural. Each to their own, we should all be proud either way

 

[pinklizzy]

I feel that I had as natural a birth as possible for a breech delivery, I did have an episiotomy and a couple of puffs on the gas and air though.

 

[Ju_bubbs]

Its interesting, isnt it, how definitions of natural are so subjective. I would count having a vaginal birth as a natural birth, whether drugs are involved or not. Many others would disagree, and many other will just say having a baby, is natural, whichever way you look at it. I am not arguing with anyone, and I dont necessarily count those I mentioned as 'un natural', just its very different from person to person...

This sums it up exactly!! Personally I class natural as no drugs, no medical aid etc.. but, that doesn't mean that someone else, like you can't class their birth with G&A or whatever as natural! It all depends on what that induvidual person feels!

And every labour is sooo difference too, same as pain tolerance. Like I was in labour 37 hours established and went med free (apart from examinations, I still class it as all natural) whereas another person could have a 6-7 hour established labour and need an epidural and still class it as natural. Each to their own, we should all be proud either way

I totally cheat.. my last 2 labours were 25 and 15 mins from start to finish so no drugs really isn't that big a deal!!