I want to give birth without drugs, can I have your experiences ladies good & bad!

[nickyXjayno]

heya girls .
I'm not a nature/spiritualistic person but I do want to give birth as naturally as possible and go on to breastfeed.
I'm mocked and told I won't do it by people in real life so I want actual experiences told to me by people who have gone through it so I can see it's do able!
I'm scared of the idea of a section & hate the idea of being not in control of my body so drugs just don't do it for me, I'd rather be in blinding pain and still aware of things than be out of it and miss something.
My aim is to just take things as they come & make use of a birthing pool as have heard they help you relax, also to keep walking/using gravity helping positions.

So can I please have all your birth experiences please.
Did you aim for drug free and was it achieved?
If not why & was it avoidable?
Did it cause issues such as section/missing out on the birth.
What I mean by that was were you advised by someone at the time to do something but in hindsight you know you shouldn't have listened to them.
Have heard loads of stories of drs/midwifes scaring girls into decisions/actions they didn't need to due to protocol etc when they would have been fine carrying on as they were.

Thanks girls xx

 

[Tacey]

I had a drug free birth bar a few puffs on gas and air which just messed up my breathing and made my mouth dry. I wanted a labour with as few interventions as possible, so I went with a TENs machine up until I got in the pool. The pool was BLISS! The contractions still hurt, but there was not even a trace of discomfort between contractions after I got in.

I think it helped that I had a midwife who was happy for me to get on in my own time. I had made it clear in my birth plan what I would and would not be accepting in terms of pain relief, and I was fortunate that everyone who dealt with me read it and took it seriously. In fact, I hadn't expected to use a pool, but it was suggested to me by the midwife to avoid using drugs that I didn't want.

I don't really have any negatives. I had a difficult point around transition as I lost faith in myself (I think that's pretty common!) so my advice is to make sure that your birth partner is expecting a point where they need to be extra reassuring and confident to help you through.

It was great to go through the whole labour without wooziness and I felt very in touch with my body. I'm sure it also contributed to how smoothly Alice managed to latch and feed straight after birth. Hopefully things will go just as well this time round.

Good luck!

 

[nickyXjayno]

Thanks for replying .
What's the transitional period?

 

[Tacey]

Not sure I'll get the technicalities right, but I think it's the time when your cervix finishes dilating just before you are ready to push. The contractions tend to get really intense at this point, and some women (me included!) seem to suddenly have a crisis in confidence. My NCT teacher told us that a woman she knew started putting her clothes in her bag and saying she wasn't doing it any more and was going to leave! Annoyingly, I forgot about all this at the time. I think it would have helped if someone had mentioned that it was entirely normal for me to lose my rhythm, and that things would be getting exciting any minute!

 

[lynnikins]

i had tens , water and gas and air in both my labours and liked the control i had using the TENS, the relaxing effect of the water and the gas and air gave me something to grip when things got intense, it didnt help with my calmness though so im going to try not to use it this time lol, both times the boys latched ok and i had a natural 3rd stage with EJ after a managed one with Nate,
The interventions I had with Nate werent down to my choices of pain relief but lack of belief in my body and being totally exausted after an extremely long labour where instead of working with my body i fought against the contractions which wore me out

 

[RoxyRoo]

Hi, I had a home birth 6 days ago, I knew from the start that I wanted to use minimal pain relief, mainly for the safety of my baby and to hopefully reduce the risk of any interventions.

I managed to do it with just the use of a TENS machine, my MW offered me gas and air but (surprisingly even to me!) I declined it as I wanted to feel fully in control. I stayed standing up throughout, rocked my hips during contractions, and tried my best to relax my body and let the contractions do what they needed to do, I basically closed off and went into my own head telling myself that I could do it etc.. The mind is a powerful tool!

I'm really glad I got through it with just the TENS machine, my baby girl was born fully alert and latched on within minutes and breast fed for 45 minutes. We delayed cord clamping and had a physiological third stage, the placenta was delivered 30 minutes after my baby

It was a very emotional and empowering experience. I'd say to give it a go but don't rule out pain relief, it's best to have something on standby just incase

 

[Linzi]

I had my daughter 7 weeks ago and managed with no pain releif

I had wanted to get pethidine in before she was born because I wasn't sure Id manage but my GPs surgery is against homebirth and wouldn't prescribe it (which Ima ctually thankful for now!). I had a bad reaction to G&A in my first labour, so wasn't sure if Id be able to use it or not but I said I would give it a go anyway

My contractions started 12 mins apart at 6am, and got down to about 4 mins but 9am. Not painful just very intense. Took my son to nursery, went and did a shop in asda then came home and had a bath. I got out and they were coming every 2mins. Still not painful tho, just intense. I called delivery suite anyway to let them know I thought I might be in labour but I didnt know because it didn#t hurt. They sent someone out to check me, I was 5cms. She called for G&A to be delivered but Molly arrived first, 45 mins later!!

The only method I used was natal hypnotherapy and can't praise it enough it was fantastic. Only time I faultered was at transition, I lost it then so delivery was painful but up til that point I hardly felt anything, only intense #tightenings', no pain really was lovely and I still feel very proud of myself!

xxx

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I had no pain relief, not even gas and air, I had one try of it and like Tacey said, it just messed up my breathing which was the thing that really helped. I aimed to just use G&A and couldn't have had anything more because I was in a birthing centre, but in the end staying upright the entire time, being active and deep breathing were all I needed to stay in control of the pain.

I am the only person I know who found the pool unhelpful. I found it stiflingly hot and I just felt out of control in it so I got out.

 

[Dorian]

My first child was the only one I had some drugs with. He was born 5 wks early and I don't even recall being asked if I wanted the drugs or not. But I hated them, they made me sleepy/fuzzy headed.

So for my next two, I made sure that my mw was on tap with me, and I had no drugs whatsoever.

Contractions were fine for the most part, they get intense the closer you are to giving birth. Having a strong, supportive dh was very helpful. He would walk around with me, and hold me when I went thru a strong contraction. With my last one, I sat on a big, bouncy ball. You bounce on it to help things, I guess. Didn't really see any difference. But you just keep at it, and remember that soon you will have a babe to hold. Once you are at this point, it will hopefully be soon.

Pushing for me was a relief. You know when something is a little painful but feels 'good' at the same time? By pushing my baby out, I was relieving the pressure on my back.

So anyways, good luck with you. Make sure your dr/mw knows you want a drug free experience. My dr/mw are wonderful about it, but some aren't. So find one that you connect with and will be supportive of your decision.

 

[nickyXjayno]

Really appreciate all the replies .
I've read different things about the body fighting against contractions but never understood what it really meant, someone mentioned it just now and was wondering if you could tell me how to stop my body fighting the contractions.
Is it just a question of relaxing and not tensing up or is there more to it than that?

I was aiming to use G&A as it's supposed to leave your system when you next exhale and inhale, do you find this to be true?xx

 

[RoxyRoo]

Really appreciate all the replies .
I've read different things about the body fighting against contractions but never understood what it really meant, someone mentioned it just now and was wondering if you could tell me how to stop my body fighting the contractions.
Is it just a question of relaxing and not tensing up or is there more to it than that?

I was aiming to use G&A as it's supposed to leave your system when you next exhale and inhale, do you find this to be true?xx

I found that when I was getting a contraction I was tensing up and 'bracing' myself for it, if that makes sense. After a while I talked myself through them in my head, making myself relax my muscles and just breathed through them. I found it really helped for me.

As for G&A I didn't use it so can't help there I'm sorry x

 

[ljo1984]

Im using hypnobirthing this time and this teaches you to relax and let go during contractions. I had gas and air with imogen, It makes you feel drunk while having it but in between I felt tired, but this could have been due to lack of sleep, but o definatly didn't feel "drugged" between use and after I had th epi I was sat up wide awake texting friends so didn't seem to have any lasting effects. It does make your mouth really really dry though! Xx

 

[oread]

Did you aim for drug free and was it achieved? I aimed for one, but no I did not achieve one.
If not why & was it avoidable? I got the epidural around 5 cm. I probably could have practiced or taken classes to prepare myself better, but I think I could have done it just fine without the painkillers in the right environment. I felt like I had to argue with the hospital staff over everything - getting a hep lock vs an IV, not being hooked up to the fetal monitor the whole time (but 30 minutes every 2 hours was the minimum!), etc. They said they were supportive of natural birth, but not really, they wanted me strapped to a bunch of machines, blergh.
Did it cause issues such as section/missing out on the birth? No, the birth went very smoothly. I did enjoy getting to visit and laugh with my husband and my mom, and it wasn't a traumatic experience or anything. I was kinda bummed I gave in and got the epi, but if I have another child I will choose home birth. I would really prefer the option to labor or birth in water or however feels comfortable to me.

 

[riveragolden]

You should have control on yourself.. Avoid using drugs and give birth joyfully..The contractions tend to get really intense at this point, and some women seem to suddenly have a crisis in confidence,so have faith in yourself...

 

[diz]

Hi, I used a TENS before getting into the pool. I didn't use anything else although i was openminded about pain relief. The MW brought G&A with them and i also had a pethidine prescription ready to use if i wanted it - but never used it.

I just let my body take over. I did lot of hip winding during contractions and then lot of relaxing, leaning over the birth pool in-between contractions.

 

[rosie5637]

I had no pain relief, not even gas and air, I had one try of it and like Tacey said, it just messed up my breathing which was the thing that really helped. I aimed to just use G&A and couldn't have had anything more because I was in a birthing centre, but in the end staying upright the entire time, being active and deep breathing were all I needed to stay in control of the pain.

I am the only person I know who found the pool unhelpful. I found it stiflingly hot and I just felt out of control in it so I got out.

i didn't like the birth pool much either. i was really suprised at how hot it felt, made me feel a bit woozy! i thought i was the only one too

to the op - don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it. just make sure you have an open mind and don't let yourself feel like a failure if you do decide to use something.

i didn't want an epidural, mainly cause i'm scared of needles. it was something i wouldn't budge on and using a birthcentre helped because it wasn't an option!

i ended up having pethedine which i wouldn't have wanted ideally. i was a bit within myself and couldn't really communicate so my mum gave permission knowing i was open minded about it all. i'm glad she did. i didn't feel out of it. it didn't take any of the pain away but i was just able to cope with it much better. i had no problems or interventions and i think it might even have sped things up abit cause i was more relaxed.

i will ideally not use anything this time but will again keep an open mind about it all.

good luck, you CAN do it!