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

[Fuchsia1412]

ChrysantheMUM, it stimulates the nerves that relate to pain pathways/provide pain relief, the impulses alone aren't the pain relief. So....that would also mean that massaging your pulse points (if you believe that certain points relate to areas of the body etcetc) during labour wouldn't be natural, as they are not going to naturally stimulate themselves without touch...? What about third stage then,girls who feel that TENS machines wouldn't constitute natural labour..? I assume it must follow that you only believe in the cord pulsating and not cutting the umbilical cord until it naturally dries up and separates from both placenta and baby? (Lotus birth) Because obviously...getting a pair of scissors out brings a tool in to the process, one that would eventually happen by itself. That wasn't meant to be sarcastic, by the way, it's an actual question. What

 

[Ju_bubbs]

ChrysantheMUM, it stimulates the nerves that relate to pain pathways/provide pain relief, the impulses alone aren't the pain relief. So....that would also mean that massaging your pulse points (if you believe that certain points relate to areas of the body etcetc) during labour wouldn't be natural, as they are not going to naturally stimulate themselves without touch...? What about third stage then,girls who feel that TENS machines wouldn't constitute natural labour..? I assume it must follow that you only believe in the cord pulsating and not cutting the umbilical cord until it naturally dries up and separates from both placenta and baby? (Lotus birth) Because obviously...getting a pair of scissors out brings a tool in to the process, one that would eventually happen by itself. That wasn't meant to be sarcastic, by the way, it's an actual question. What

Very good point! One that I can't answer lol. But while I dont do the whole natural thing because I'm against anything 'un-natural', I only found out by accident that I much prefer to labour without G&A/TENs

I used G&A and TENs on my first labour, felt awful all the way through, like really drugged/drunk, I just assumed this was what labour was meant to make you feel like as the midwives kept telling me that the G&A wouldn't have that effect, and so I again used the G&A with my 2nd labour with the same effects. I can barely remember anything about those births!

I had planned to use the G&A again for my 3rd labour, the only reason I didn't is because i woke up contracting, got straight in the car, and by the time I got to hospital, LO was crowning.. 1 push and he was out. It wasn't till then that I realised it was the G&A making me feel so 'out of it'.. which is the reason that I now refuse to use it, and didn't on my 4th out of choice,a nd wont on my 5th!

As for the TENs, half way through my first labour, the pads came unstuck from all the sweat and I didn't even realise, so I figured there was no point using it again if it didn't do enough for me to even notice it wasn't there!

So, I don't know about the ladies who feel strongly about G&A not being natural etc, but to me, tahts not the case, so I'm not bothered about cord cutting etc.. I even still have the injection after birth to help expel the placenta quicker, which again, isn't natural at all in my eyes.. but I'm not bothered about that bit, coz I've already got my baby by then! lol.

I should imagine that if my experience with the G&A was like ive seen a lot of ladies descibe, ie.. not feeling drugged and out of it.. I'd probably have no problem using it and classing it as a natural labour still

 

[lozzy21]

I think people are confusing pain relief and pain medication. If you see natural birth as something with out pain relief you wont go on your hands and knees because you find it more comfortable or walk or sway your hips or even change your breathing because it hurts less.

Wanting to stop something from hurting as much is part of being human, we hurt our foot we walk with a limp. What can be more natural than that?

A tens machine works by helping your body release its natural endorphin's. So for me yes it is natural.

 

[aliss]

If not then the vast vast majority of women have 'unnatural' births, even those women 1000 miles away from the nearest hospital living in mud huts. Yes, their forms of pain relief are not the same - they use smokes, herbs, ropes, teeth guards, massage, heat, pulling/yanking other women, even alcohol to bear the pain. There are very, very few women on this planet who do not use pain relief at all, not even in 3rd world countries.

If a woman in a mud hut of the Mongolian plains delivers her baby through her vagina on her own accord after smoking herbs and yanking on a rope, is it natural? I don't see how it is not. I don't see how that is any different than a woman using G&A.

 

[clarsair]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought g&a wasn't technically pain relief/medication as it's not an analgesic, it just makes you feel more relaxed?

 

[madasa]

If you class a "natural" birth as one with no pain relief, then virtually NO birth is natural. If you class a "natural" birth as one with no intervention, then those are pretty darn rare as well (although that depends how you define "intervention").

I saw one post recently from someone who "used only cocodomol (sp?) and really enjoyed giving birth without drugs...." Eh? Cocodomol is not a drug now? Whatevs. Define your birth however you want, if natural is important to you and you want to describe it that way, great! I just think it's bloody confusing.... And, IDK, kinda odd. When did "natural" become the holy grail of birth, and why?

Birth is like sex. In lots of ways. Do you have "natural sex", and is it that much "better" to have "natural" sex than "unnatural"? How do you define "unnatural" anyway? If you have to use some kind of aid or lubricant for intercourse, is that unnatural and therefore not as good? If you do it with an extra person, or with something you bought in Ann Summers or if you film it.... Is THAT unnatural? Not as good? Sounds silly, right?

 

[lynnikins]

well my view on it is that Pain Relief and Pain Medication is 2 different things entirely

G&A is a distraction not a drug in my mind and although i plan to do without this time if i want it in the moment i'll use it, i would say its pain relief
TENS is a way of stimulating nerves the same as massage, heat, accupressure which makes it acceptable to use as pain relief in my opinion, my DH isnt great with massage and normally i dislike being touched in labour so TENS allows me to stimulate those nerves without someone else touching me.
Water is pain relief also but a natural form of it and as is movement and many other things we do in labour like swaying our hips , changing posistion etc.


pain medication would be , paracetamol ( though most people will still take 1-2 of these in early labour ) or other medication used for pain. pethidine , epidural etc..

so basicly if i use methods of distraction or otherwise to provide pain relief then yes i'll still consider this labour natural , if i use drugs then i wont.

i think dont get hung up on it if you want to avoid using medication to cope with labour then good on you but dont get yourself worried about it, in all likelyhood i will have taken co-codamol in the hours prior to my labour for my PGP but i wont take any during labour if i can help it for the sake of the baby

 

[youngwife20]

If you class a "natural" birth as one with no pain relief, then virtually NO birth is natural. If you class a "natural" birth as one with no intervention, then those are pretty darn rare as well (although that depends how you define "intervention").

I saw one post recently from someone who "used only cocodomol (sp?) and really enjoyed giving birth without drugs...." Eh? Cocodomol is not a drug now? Whatevs. Define your birth however you want, if natural is important to you and you want to describe it that way, great! I just think it's bloody confusing.... And, IDK, kinda odd. When did "natural" become the holy grail of birth, and why?

Birth is like sex. In lots of ways. Do you have "natural sex", and is it that much "better" to have "natural" sex than "unnatural"? How do you define "unnatural" anyway? If you have to use some kind of aid or lubricant for intercourse, is that unnatural and therefore not as good? If you do it with an extra person, or with something you bought in Ann Summers or if you film it.... Is THAT unnatural? Not as good? Sounds silly, right?

lol cocodomol i do consider pain releif lol i dont think natural birth is the holy grail of birth. i just think for me i would prefer it to be as natural as possible. mainly so i remember everything and i dread the idea of an epidural.. i was just curious to know others definitions but when it comes down to it. i know that i will be a big wimp but with my mum and hubbby there theyl stop me from ending up having an epi lol hopefuly i settle for gas and air lol

 

[madasa]

Heck I don't just mean this thread. It just seems to this attitude amongst certainn people and I can't wrap my brain around it. It just seems a strange way to define your desired experience... But this is because I think of birth as being very much like sex, which I'm sure other people also find hard to wrap their brain round!

 

[nov_mum]

I think of TENs the same way as massage. The electrical pulses are create a response in the body like massage or heat would. I found TENs awesome and I loved the fact there was no ill effects or chemicals that are not naturally occurring in my or my infant's body, left after the labour. I consider it as part of a natural birth because of that definition I guess. I do remember having the pads put on and the it started up and I was thinking 'how on earth would this combat pain?'. I am reading up on hypnobirthing this time around hoping to maximise my own body's resources but will definitely be going for TENs as plan B

 

[nov_mum]

If you class a "natural" birth as one with no pain relief, then virtually NO birth is natural. If you class a "natural" birth as one with no intervention, then those are pretty darn rare as well (although that depends how you define "intervention").

I saw one post recently from someone who "used only cocodomol (sp?) and really enjoyed giving birth without drugs...." Eh? Cocodomol is not a drug now? Whatevs. Define your birth however you want, if natural is important to you and you want to describe it that way, great! I just think it's bloody confusing.... And, IDK, kinda odd. When did "natural" become the holy grail of birth, and why?

Birth is like sex. In lots of ways. Do you have "natural sex", and is it that much "better" to have "natural" sex than "unnatural"? How do you define "unnatural" anyway? If you have to use some kind of aid or lubricant for intercourse, is that unnatural and therefore not as good? If you do it with an extra person, or with something you bought in Ann Summers or if you film it.... Is THAT unnatural? Not as good? Sounds silly, right?

I think it is interesting to discuss - what is natural and why is natural seen as the holy grail. I guess it depends, for most I know pain free was the holy grail not natural. In fact, my friend who is hoping for a home birth is constantly ridiculed for her choice. I find it odd that she gets so much flack about her choice and is encouraged to fill her body with chemicals, enter a foreign environment of a hospital, give up all control and ability to a Doctor and this is seen as a responsible choice??

For me, natural - or as natural as possible, is my holy grail as such as I want the best recovery for me and bubs plus I want to BF. These things are not made impossible by interventions but they can be delayed. Also, I have been induced twice and likely to again due to preeclampsia so I want to maximise bubs and my health by reducing the crap hospitals do to us.

 

[FeistyMom]

Being in the US I don't know much about TENS but am really intrigued.

I don't usually use the word 'natural' anymore for birth because its so subjective and somewhat controversial. I've taken to describing my wishes as 'unmedicated', which is what my first two were - and not by choice for the first one!

I've found that the number of people who look at me like I'm crazy seems to be going down lately - and that home births, natural births, and unmedicated births seem to be gaining in popularity over the past 5 years.

But other than that, I would still consider TENS use as an unmedicated birth. G&A (which I also have no real knowledge of, other than hearing from others on this message board) seems more like a medication, but I agree with the other posters who said it really boils down to whether you feel like its natural or not.

 

[wigglywoo]

I think for me personally, I would see a birth with gas and air to be a birth with drugs and a birth with TENS/water/aromatherapy etc as natural.

I agree that the definition of 'natural' birth is open to interpretation. At the end of the day, birth is such a personal thing and no-one can define another person's birth for them as we all hold different views on what constitutes natural.

 

[NaturalMomma]

No, but who cares what I think It only matters if it is or isn't to you.

 

[Ju_bubbs]

Just a side note, for those who dont feel that G&A isn't a drug... I have a 'friend' who makes a fortune throwing 'nitrous parties' in a big warehouse in london. It's basically a load of druggies who meet up, pay to get into this party, listen to music and suck away on medical grade nitrous oxide AKA entonox AKA G&A all night, for recreational purposes!

Theres a huge trade for it in the illegal drug market!

 

[youngwife20]

I do think G and Air is a drug.. the question wasnt wheather it was a drug or not. is wheather you would still consider it natural. Like the TENS isnt "natural" because of what it does. but i still consider it part of a natural labour. and G and air though a drug, i think its may still me natural only for the fact , it doesnt stay in your system or cause any harm to baby or make baby sleepy etc

 

[9babiesgone]

I am not going to argue about tens and air, bc over here in the usa, we dont have it. but to me natural is what someone wants to think it is. I just dont care enough to make a term for it, this being natural and this not. etc.

for me my 2nd birth was natural, or so my opinion on my own birth and mine alone. bc I didnt have pain killers. but it wasnt as natural as I would have wanted. the next one will be water birth.
but to me natural is relative to who is defining it. we all have our own definitions none are better than others.

 

[Ju_bubbs]

I am not going to argue about tens and air, bc over here in the usa, we dont have it. but to me natural is what someone wants to think it is. I just dont care enough to make a term for it, this being natural and this not. etc.

for me my 2nd birth was natural, or so my opinion on my own birth and mine alone. bc I didnt have pain killers. but it wasnt as natural as I would have wanted. the next one will be water birth.
but to me natural is relative to who is defining it. we all have our own definitions none are better than others.

So THIS explains why pretty much everyone on US birth shows on TV have epi's!!! I've often wondered why the US ladies seem to opt for epis so often... Had no idea you didn't have G&A and such over there!

 

[9babiesgone]

nope we dont have that, I got one done with my first (epi) and I regreted it bc I couldnt walk for 24 hours after giving birth. it was awful. they gave me too much. I made a big change in 3 years since she was born adn more of a natural oriented person.

 

[KerryGold]

I used both. I deluvered in the pool and had a natural 3rd stage but have never considered I had a 100% natural birth.

I don't care though because I had 100% the birth I wanted.

xXx