TTC and beyond - Naturally

[JoJazie]

Hi there,

I'm considering as natural a process as possible for the TTC process and beyond. I've done reading and watched documentaries, and I can see the benefits of the natural process.

I know that we can never fully plan for things medically, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

I've spoken to a midwife and am considering a doula too. Hubbie is uncomfortable about a home birth and so I know I can't push it bc it won't help me if he's stressed!
I've seen a nutritionist and am taking care of my body well (naturally) with my food intake and exercise. I also eat organic and although I have a headache right now (hormonal - lasted two days!) I have avoided panadol (pain relief meds). So I'm practicing meds-free now

Please share your thoughts and progress! I'm officially starting TTC in a week and a half when I expect to O. Good luck to you all!

 

[2ducks]

Yay for you! I gave up sugar when TTC because I was diagnosed with PCOS. It was like detoxing from drugs, headaches, chills, fatigue...after a few days I was fine though. Diet and nutrition are so important! Make sure your partner is taking care of his body as well. Alcohol, smoking and drugs have negative impacts on sperm health and quality so now is the time for him to give up any bad habits.

I would recommend temping and charting right off the bat. I wish I had done it earlier in the ttc process because it would have helped me learn early on that I wasn't ovulating. Have you read Taking Charge of Your Fertility yet??? It is a great read and will really help you learn your body's fertility signs. Another book I enjoyed was Healthy Parents Better Babies.

I am currently at the end of my second trimester with my first. We are practicing Hypnobirthing and plan on having a natural birth at the hospital with a nurse midwife. We are also hiring a doula for support. We talked with three doulas and have finally settled on one. It was actually my OH who pushed to hire the doula because he also wanted the support in the delivery room. Luckily our hospital is very friendly to natural birth. You really need to advocate for yourself, many women report that hospitals automatically want to put an IV line in your hand as a precautionary measure. My hospital doesn't do that. My hospital also practices skin to skin directly after birth and delayed cord cutting.

Good luck with the home birth! If your husband is really uncomfortable with it you may want to look into some other options, like a birthing center. Both of you really need to be on the same page for that. It is important that you are both on board. Do you have hospital options in your area? You may want to check out a few different hospitals along with their labor and delivery units.

What hypnobirthing is teaching me is to be prepared to accept whatever turn my birthing takes. Most births are uncomplicated but if there are unexpected circumstances I can use my relaxation techniques to get through it all. I can use hypnobirthing techniques for natural, medicated and C section births! I also am not completely closed off to meds in the delivery room. The doula and I are going to have a code word so if I want meds I will tell her and she will help facilitate to make sure no one is pushing me towards something I don't want. I am keeping my birthing plans to myself for the most part, if I tell someone I am planning a natural birth they assume I am crazy and can't do it.

There is a forum on natural birthing but it is pretty quiet, you may find some useful information there with like minded ladies.

I hope you get some responses from ladies who have actually given birth!

 

[JoJazie]

Hi 2ducks, thanks heaps for the post. I have been temping, though not regularly enough to be able to get a pattern - something always happens! I have read Taking Charge of your fertility. I will look into the other one thanks! I've actually also ordered a book on hypnobirthing. Sounds right up my alley Is the natural birthing forum called Natural Birthing? I haven't come across it, I'd love to follow it?

Super exciting that you are coming in to your third trimester! Congratulations! Hopefully I will be able to follow suit in time Are you taking prenatals? My nutritionist said I should still take them, particularly for the iodine and folic acid. What were your thoughts on that?

Many thanks and all the best! Looks like you will be a Mum in 2017!!!

 

[Ele3085]

JoJazie ,

I am with you on the at home birth(both my brother and I were born at home and our dad delivered us , its the way my mom wanted it) . I plan to do that with all my babies(once I am pregnant though) . I would like to eat healthier as well , but I do like sweets a bit too much : / , so I fell giving that up will be tough , but totally worth it . I was raised on no medicines , so I don't get sick that often , I am medicine free as well .

2 ducks ,

Congratulations on your precious baby boy! I think it is great you are planning a natural birth : )

 

[Cppeace]

When I get pregnant, I plan 100% natural pregnancy- no ultra sounds or goofy tests. I plan a natural home birth, no shots, no eye goop, no hatting, no heel pricking.

 

[Ele3085]

What is eye gooping and hatting? : /

 

[JoJazie]

Ele, if you have always looked after yourself I'm sure a couple of sweets won't be too bad? What are you doing to eat healthier? Are you cutting out foods, or adding more veg etc? After seeing my nutritionist, I've continued to have sources of green in a meal, two fruits, two dairy, a meat once or twice a week, a source of omega 3 (sardine cans, salmon, chia pudding etc), grains (biscuits, grain banana and zucchini muffins etc), variety of veg, and lots of colours (especially oranges and reds etc for vit A). I've also been jogging most days and thanks to a suggestion on these forums, yoga daily as of yesterday (I can say daily a this point! Hehe, but I may keep that to three days a week).

 

[JoJazie]

ccpeace sounds fabulous! What are your reasons for it?
And same for you Ele, other than telling others "I feel this is best for me", what are your philosophical reasons for your choices? Many thanks in advance

 

[Ele3085]

I would like to go jogging daily , but the weather hasn't been jogger friendly lately and whenever I get off work its too dark out , I should start doing yoga on my computer at night . I've never liked hospitals(the smell of them makes me ill) plus I feel they are too crazy and busy . The at home birth is calmer , quieter and more personal , for me when it happens it will only be me , my husband , best friend and the midwife or doula in the room . While at the hospital there is a constant flow of people coming in and out of your room very invasive and impersonal . Plus I feel it is a better environment to bring the baby into . But that is just my personal opinion on the idea . Hope that helps a little : )

 

[2ducks]

Hi 2ducks, thanks heaps for the post. I have been temping, though not regularly enough to be able to get a pattern - something always happens! I have read Taking Charge of your fertility. I will look into the other one thanks! I've actually also ordered a book on hypnobirthing. Sounds right up my alley Is the natural birthing forum called Natural Birthing? I haven't come across it, I'd love to follow it?

Super exciting that you are coming in to your third trimester! Congratulations! Hopefully I will be able to follow suit in time Are you taking prenatals? My nutritionist said I should still take them, particularly for the iodine and folic acid. What were your thoughts on that?

Many thanks and all the best! Looks like you will be a Mum in 2017!!!

If I were you I would continue with taking your supplements. My midwife recommended pre natal vitamins and vitamin D. I take a bunch of other stuff too. There are various thoughts on whether or not vitamins truly help you or just give you expensive urine, I figure it doesn't hurt so I take them. I love my hypnobirthing practice. I have read that for home study Hypnobabies is an easier method. We took a class on hypnobirthing in the second trimester, I am so glad we took it early because it is giving us lots of time to practice. We also officially hired a doula, she gave birth naturally using the Bradley Method.

 

[2ducks]

This is a great BBC documentary which highlights four births. One C section and three natural births.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs-UvtDfJaU

 

[JoJazie]

Oh thanks 2ducks! I actually watched it! Great doco - i wish it had more info on the methods!

So, please forgive the questions gals, but so far thoughts are that this is a better, more personal approach. I completely agree with that
What do you say to the non-believers? Where I come unglued is when medicos talk about the risks to baby or mother. I'm one for minimising risk -that's hugely me, but I'm also one for the natural method, which is a newer approach for me! I need others' thoughts on it so that I can feel strong enough in my time of vulnerability, so that I can stay strong using natural even when medicos or hubby get skeptical.

 

[Cppeace]

Eye gooping is the gel like goop they put in newborn eyes because they are trying to cut back on possible std transmission-whether you have an std or not. It dries out the babies eyes and makes them pretty much blind for tge first 12-24 hours. It's full of garbage and just uneeded 95% of the time.
Hatting is when they put a little hat on a newborn. They do this as they feel it will help them stay warmer, but it generally makes their temps unbalanced. Also, the smell from newborn head/hair smell is laced with positive chemicals that give you that birth high and help with milk production.
Also a newborn doesn't need a bath. If really bloody or caked with after birth a damp towel can used but a full bath is removing healthy and needed bacteria from the newborn.
Also unless it is a medical emergency, the cord should not be clamped or cut for a minimum of 15 mins-really until it goes pale and stops pulsing. A baby is born with only 60% of their blood supply.
The rest is left in the placenta and needs time to go back to the baby. Also, vit k shots are a scam and possibly can cause higher chances of childhood cancer.

 

[Cppeace]

I generally tell them I have done tons of research and that women have been giving natural bith for thousands of years. Only been giving birth in hospitals about a hundred years.

 

[Ele3085]

I was considering an at home water birth , I saw a youtube video of one that was so sweet and the connection between the husband and wife was so loving it brought me to tears , that's the way I want to have all my babies

 

[JoJazie]

Ccpeace I just googled vit k - there are signs to look for if you have any issues - I think I'll go for no vit k. When I use that line, people say "but there are so fewer deaths now because of all the medical interventions!" Now, they haven't done the research, but they are automatically going back to what they are used to. What do you say to that?

Although I don't neeeeed to say anything back, because it's my choice at the end of the day, I need to feel confident in myself too, as I said.

 

[Ele3085]

Ccpeace I just googled vit k - there are signs to look for if you have any issues - I think I'll go for no vit k. When I use that line, people say "but there are so fewer deaths now because of all the medical interventions!" Now, they haven't done the research, but they are automatically going back to what they are used to. What do you say to that?

Although I don't neeeeed to say anything back, because it's my choice at the end of the day, I need to feel confident in myself too, as I said.

Hi JoJazie ,

You can tell them that "everyone has different opinions and views on things and just because ours don't match , doesnt mean either of us are wrong" If you researched it and found something that makes you feel even more comfortable with the decision you made , then that's wonderful . At the end of the day , the opinions that mean/matter the most are yours and your husbands(since this will be your baby) . Hope I could help a little : )

 

[JoJazie]

But what if it IS wrong? What if we fall into the low percentage that should have gone ahead with the medical intervention?