Is Gas and air and TENS machine still considered natural birth in your opinion?

[youngwife20]

Hey, this is my first baby and I am hoping for a natural birth , I thought natural birth was including birthing pool gas and air and tens, but i see others think its purely just no gas and air etc. so i would just like opinions Thanks

 

[lesbianlove]

i consider it a natural birth as the entinox is in ur system seconds, its not like pethidine where it affects you and your baby for hours and if taken too soon before birth can make baby too sleepy to breathe properly, but yes a natural birth where u have laboured of your own accord had no interventions and minimal pain relief is what i consider a natural birth

 

[Mervs Mum]

People have different definitions for 'natural birth' but really its irrelevant. Call it what you like and use what ever measures you like. Our births don't define us.

 

[madasa]

I think "natural birth" is a pretty meaningless phrase; it has as many definitions as there are people to define it. If it's a birth YOU are happy with, that's what is important IMO

 

[chysantheMUM]

I think I agree that 'natural birth' is a meaningless phrase and that there is no need to define the birth as being either natural or unnatural. However, I don't consider G&A or Tens machines to be natural. The ingestion of gas and the application of electrical impulses are not things that happen naturally to your body, they are interventions that you are inflicting (perhaps not the best word) on your body or at least thats the way I view it, I know not everyone agrees.

 

[BetsyRN]

I consider a natural birth to be one without drugs or medical devices. So, using gas & air or the TENS machine is not a natural birth. Natural would be breathing, using the tub/counter-pressure/birthing ball, or having back rubs. Sorry, just my opinion.

 

[youngwife20]

Thank you for your opinion ladies, all valid points.

i agree your labour is whatever and however u want it to be. i would love to have a naturual birth experiance.

betsy would you say waterbirth is still not natural?

 

[special_kala]

To me if your baby comes out ofyour foof its a natural birth

 

[BetsyRN]

I think that waterbirth can be part of a natural birth process. I guess I just think if medications are involved, its not natural.

 

[Fuchsia1412]

special_kala, I love your opinion, it made me laugh a lot...! As for my opinion..Yes I would say that sounded like a lovely natural birth, please don't get hung up on v.pedantic definitions, by the vast majority's opinion(s) if you laboured only using TENS and entonox you would have done beautifully! I'd take that lovely entonox a million times over! I had pethidine with my first, but knew I definitely did not want an epidural (and anyway it was a birth centre so they weren't offered) this one hopefully will be a home birth using entonox, movement, maybe TENS and water...I think if you want to give yourself a rough overview of what most consider natural birth, it would probably be (give or take) something along the lines of...a birth which doesn't include things that lingeringly affect you, the baby, or your ability to feel your contractions and push when it becomes an involuntary urge. Although by that token having pethidine wouldn't have affected my own view of my birth, as I had the injection a long long time before pushing, and baby was not affected (not drowsy, took to breast instantly) I loved my birth, I can only wish my 2nd will be as positive.

 

[Ju_bubbs]

I personally class a natural birth as a birth with NO pain relief at all.. I used gas and air on my first 2, and never considered them the kind of 'natural birth' that my last 2 were, simply because with the gas and air I felt completely out of it on drugs, almost like I had been drinking alcohol for a week.. which to me, isn't a natural feeling

I have however seen many, many women describe their labours as natural, while using gas and air/tens etc.. there are no rules when it comes to labour, so just use what you feel you need!

 

[ljo1984]

i agree with special kayla, if you push it out, its natural!! imogen was forceps so thats definatly not natural to me! i want to use G&A if i need it and i'll presonally still class my birth as natural, but thats my opinion.

 

[nov_mum]

Can I ask why TENs wouldn't be classed as natural for some? It's not something that enters your system. Just curious.

 

[chysantheMUM]

I've never used a tens machine, so I could be wrong but my understanding of it is that its a manmade device which sends electrical impulses into the body. Sounds very unnatural to me, i.e. not as nature intended, surely that is the true definition of natural. Just to make it clear, I am not judging anybodys birthing choices, I had pethidine at my last birth and I am keeping an open mind with this birth and will do what feels right at the time but unless I do it without any kind of drug or intervention I will not consider it a natural birth. Perhaps some of you do feel I'm being pedantic but if you were to stick to the true definition of natural then G&A would actually be more natural than a tens machine.

 

[Ju_bubbs]

Can I ask why TENs wouldn't be classed as natural for some? It's not something that enters your system. Just curious.

I've never used a tens machine, so I could be wrong but my understanding of it is that its a manmade device which sends electrical impulses into the body. Sounds very unnatural to me, i.e. not as nature intended, surely that is the true definition of natural. Just to make it clear, I am not judging anybodys birthing choices, I had pethidine at my last birth and I am keeping an open mind with this birth and will do what feels right at the time but unless I do it without any kind of drug or intervention I will not consider it a natural birth. Perhaps some of you do feel I'm being pedantic but if you were to stick to the true definition of natural then G&A would actually be more natural than a tens machine.

What the above poster said is pretty much my view on tens also

 

[Mervs Mum]

I guess the same could be said for aromatherapy or homeopathy too then....

I think its a case of, you say potato.....

 

[Ju_bubbs]

I have no idea what homeopathy is But with you 100% on the potato thing!

If i'm perfectly honest, I dont really even class my 3rd labour as completely natural, even tho I didn't use anything, no G&A, no tens, no paracetemol, no water, no nothing... but i was in hospital, and being in that environment just didn't 'feel' natural to me iykwim!? I'm not judging anyone elses ideas of a ntural labour, just giving opinions on my own labour.. if someone else wants to use G&A, tens, whatever.. and class it as natural, I'm not gunna jump on somekind of highhorse and tell them they're not allowed to say they had a natural labour!! At the end of the day, if YOU feel your labour was natural, then it was.. no matter what anyone else thinks!

 

[sugarcube84]

well i used a tens machine up to 7cm and then gas and air until i pushed and up until reading this i would have said i had a natural birth.

I also used massage and labour oil (aromatherapy) so now im feeling like i had loads of pain relief!!

I think its open to interpretation from no pain relief at all, in whatever form, from water to gas and air or to a labour using only temporary none invasive forms of pain relief. I think it depends on the person and you need to think about what you would class as a natural birth whether you dont want to use anything or would be happy to use something.

I am still going to say i had a natural labour, as soon as i breathed out the last puff of gas and air and turned the tens machine off, my pain relief was gone, i had no lingering effects and was able to enjoy my labour, birth and new baby (and remember it) with a clear mind not made fuzzy with pain relief.

 

[lesleyann]

It totally depends on each persons own feelings, With my son I had a whole 2 puffs of gas and air and hated it so did not use it again Id say I had a natural labour and birth.. But then again I got my waters broken for me as they would not break even at 10cm and had been for 30ish mins lol

 

[madasa]

Ha, or to look at it another way, since mankind is a product of nature, then ANYTHING we do to help facillitate birth or increase comfort or what have you... well it must be natural. After all, our big brains are "natural", no?