suggestions??

[sammiexsue]

do any of you ladies have any suggestions on how to have a successful vaginal delivery?? I know things dont always go as planned but im praying for a vaginal delivery in hopes to return to work before i lose a paycheck..

 

[Eleanor ace]

My suggestions, based on advice from my midwives:
Keep mobile. Walk, rock, bounce, keep moving to help LO to get into a good position and drop down into the birth canal. For me, things moved fast while I was upright and mobile, once I was on my back it all slowed down and pushing took a while, I avoided intervention luckily but it was heading that way.

Avoid the epidural. Obviously if you need/want one then go for it, but having an epidural can slow things down and makes intervention more likely.

Try different labouring positions. You'll probably find one or a few positions which feel right for you, and some which slow things down (or speed things up). Finding the right position to help LO down can help you to have a successful vaginal delivery.

Good luck!

 

[cupcakekate]

I'd second the above with regard keeping as active as possible, it definately helps though it can be hard if you are in alot of pain. I found my birthing ball fantastic.

My main one would be to keep focussed, things started to slow down for me when I started to lose it. Keep your mind focussed on the prize of your baby at the end of it, and count each contraction as one step closer to it. The moment I stopped thinking that way the whole process slowed down.

Epidurals also can give you a slower recovery, my friends who had them had to stay in hospital a couple of days after birth wheras I left less than 12 hours later.

Good luck xxx

 

[tinkerbelle93]

I've done research on this before (I had to have an emergency forceps delivery and I'm so scared of having a similar experience next time round :/) Anyway, ways to lower the likelihood of having to have an emcs (or other emergency delivery are:

- Try to avoid getting induced (if possible)
- Try to stick to natural forms of pain relief, and really try to avoid epidurals
- Keep active during labour (apparently people who are active and take walks etc. during labour feel a lot more in control and have better labours)
- Try to stay at home for as long as you can during labour
- Research hospitals (if you have the option to go to different places) and choose the one with the lowest rate of c-sections.
- Get a doula (if you can afford it. I'm not sure why but apparently women who hire a doula for births are half as likely to need a c-section. That's what I've read anyway )

xx