What made you decide a home birth or natural birth (i.e. no pain relief) was for you?

[aurora]

I'm delivering in our hospital but hope to do it drug free. For me... I usually take the natural route and so does my OH. This got me into researching and I found a few things which were confirmed to me recently through 2 friends births.

Firstly, our bodies were made for this job long before drugs were around. Having an epidural slows labor and prolongs it, and pitocin speeds it up and makes it more painful. Now, for 9 months we took no drugs because we were pregnant, how much sence does it make to pump them full right at the end?
I've watched some good videos on the breast crawl, and the difference between drug birth babies and drug free birth babies. The results were enough to prove to me they make a difference.

2 weeks ago a friend had a beautiful baby girl drug free. 10 hours start to finish, went home 24 hours later with breast feeding well established. 5 days later another friend had her baby boy, she had her epi at 3-4 cm and labor stopped. Eventually they started her on pitocin and it got her going again very painfully. She was almost taken off to c section more than once, and then her baby wouldnt eat for 2 days. They were almost medivaced out to a bigger city to deal with that problem. 30 hours labour and 3 pushing

It was enough evidence for me to want to stay natural!

 

[shimmy]

I have decided to have a water birth at the hospital, i dont want to have anything but gas and air because i want to fully bond with my baby. I chose the water birth because i think it will be the most relaxing environment, i dont really want to be on a bed/in a ward with everyone rushing around me i just want a closed off space for me OH and baby. Maybe my mum too at times. I know that it is going to friggin hurt thats why i am keeping in mind i might need to have an epidural but i really hope not.
I want to experience the moment fully and i know i can do it !

 

[chuck]

Hmmm i wouldn't say I want a painkiller free birth I just know that the best chance of me getting VBAC is at home, I can't stand the idea of being in hospital again I had a really awful experience last time - and that was only 10 months ago so still pretty raw in my mind.

I need to do this this time and i need to do it right!

 

[JellyBeann]

I decided on a water birth because I'd read/heard that water birthing babies are more relaxed after birth, and I didn't want to be overwhelmed with drugs, I wanted to remember my baby and the actual birth, not be clouded by drugs!

So anyway, my birth plan was, no gas and air unless I really needed it, and not until I really needed it, and nothing else (unless I was in too much pain) but I found the water took the most of the pain away, I lifted my belly out of the water once and I was in agony, the water really helped, I'm deffo going to do it again with the next one!!

 

[Greta Chick]

Hi

Both my DS and DD were born during active labours/deliveries and with only a little bit of Entonox in a wonderful midwife led birth centre. DS was induced and DS came of her own accord.

For me, I don't like the big maternity hospital in my home town, it stresses me out the few times I've been there and it's too much of a conveyor belt where everyone is rushing around and the midwives don't have enough time to be with your properly as I feel they should be. Not to interfere and shove things along as is usually the case there, but to be in the background giving support as and when the mum2be feels she needs/wants it.

Women have been giving birth for thousands of years on there own and for me personally, I feel it's a natural process which our bodies are capable of going through and not the medicalised thing it's become.

I wanted to feel in control with each of my labours/deliveries and to be able to move/do as I felt was best for me and the baby throughout. I'm not so stupid that I would risk the health of my babies or myself but I feel having a midwife 1:1 in the background throughout everything, I have the supervision and experience of a medical professional if I need it, but I am allowed to labour and birth how I want to without intervention or pressure from people who want to get me delivered so they can move onto the next woman.

DS was born on dry land, DD was born in the birth pool and I'm hoping this one will be born in the pool.

HTH
xx

 

[Mizze]

Im going to be using the birthing centre at my local hospital - which while being next door to the labour ward is midwife run and distinct from the usual ward. In my area all normal low risk pregnancies are directed to the birthing centre unless a home birth is requested.

I really do not want to be under the labour ward unless absolutely necessary. (and not even then - only if its best for LO)

I didnt want the labour ward for various reasons
1) I have long hated the idea of lying down to give birth on a bed - it seems totally contradictory to me to push against gravity
2) My sister's first labour on the ward was long and hard and had she known it she would have stayed away and upright and moving for a long time before she went in to the hospital. She was unhappy at how she lost control over what was happening
3) I suffer from anxiety I want to have as much control over what happens as I can
4) All of the literature I have had from my midwife promotes the idea of a more natural childbirth because they see it as better for Mum and baby for norrmal uncomplicated births - they recognise intervention leads to more intervention etc etc

The reasons for choosing the birthing centre over a home birth are very personal - 1) DH went white at the idea and to be honest although intellecutally he knows its as safe as a hospital he can be a terrible worrier - which would then worry me and a stressed mummy feels pain more. 2) My sister had a great experience at the birthing centre. And although my midwives encourage home birth its not recommended for 1st timers over 35 - im 38.
Also -
3) I want to use my Yoga training and my stress counsellor's methods to help me stay calm and relaxed. According to my stress counsellor pain can be twice as intentense if you are stressed. Being in a very clinical environment would stress me out. I can use the birth pool if its free - if not then sobeit.
4) My midwife is very laid back about what I want and very supportive so I know im likley to be able to control as much as possible what I do when I do it and how I do it
5) I hate the thought of pethidine in my baby
6) Not so keen on the entire needle in the spine thing
7) IF things dont go to plan and I end up desperate for the epidural then its across the corridor.
8) I want to be in hospital for as little a time as possible - its the policy of my hospital that as long as everything is okay after the birth (in the birth centre) and you are BF well (assuming you have chosen that) then you can go home - often within 2 hours.

Mizze x

 

[bobloblaw]

I did a lot of pregnancy yoga and got really into the breathing & relaxation techniques.

My midwife suggested an amazing midwife led birth centre, which had guaranteed birth pools, no doctors and minimum intervention. They encouraged you to be as active as possible and only had gas & air facilities. It was so different from the hospital experience of being hooked up to monitors and it really appealed to me.

I've always told myself I had a high pain threshold. Had no evidence to back it up, but I just knew I could do it without drugs!

I had my daughter two weeks ago, in the pool, with just gas & air. She was born in 6.5 hours. (I got to 7cm while wandering around the local shops!) It hurt like hell but was an amazing experience. I led the whole thing and told the MW when her head was coming out. I'd do it again tomorrow.

Unfortunately I had 3rd degree tears after she was born which meant I had to transfer to a hospital for surgery. Part of that included an epidural. I found that experience completely alien and very unpleasant. Just my personal opinion but there is no way I would ever want to give birth with drugs - it just felt so weird and detatched. Definitely not for me.

 

[Kalah]

Well for me, my first was born in a hospital and it was just the most awful, lonely experience ever. They made my OH go home because of visiting hours so I spent all the first hours alone. They didn't pay attention to me and when I asked for pain relief they only gave me paracetamol and said they can't give anything else until I'm in a labour room (which didn't end up happening until they were rushing me in at 9.5cm trying not to push). When I asked about going to a labour room the midwife said I have to be in established labour (which I wasn't until the last hour due to back labour) she tried to check my cervix but "couldn't FIND it!" so she said it's too early for pain medicine and left me on my own again. Anyway, I ended up getting through it all without any pain relief (other than paracetamol, but that doesn't really help at all!) and I think if I can manage 14 hours of back labour without it I could manage regular labour just fine.
I loved the fact that I remember every moment, there aren't any blurred memories from the drugs. As soon as she was born I was able to hold her and she was wide awake and looking around the room at everyone, I liked that neither of us were feeling drugged!
I did not like the fact that they made me stay overnight since I had high blood pressure throughout labour (and with all that pain, I wonder why!!) even though it went back to normal after birth. So I had my first night alone with a new baby (sent OH home again due to visiting hours). That night was horrible, I didn't get any sleep as LO kept crying and I got so sad that at one point I was just sat there in tears crying all over her while she cried at me. I felt so scared, helpless, alone and abandoned. It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life but instead it was one of the worst.
Next time I'll be doing a home birth, and if there are any minor problems I'll opt for a midwifery led unit rather than a hospital. My house doesn't have visiting hours and I won't have to be alone there! I'll try to do again without pain relief since I did like not feeling drugged in the end, but I'll have the midwife bring gas & air just in case!
I'm not pregnant again at the moment, but there are definite plans for another baby in the future and next time it'll be home birth all the way! =)


ETA: Incase anyone is curious about some other little details of my first birth:
-Started at 1:30am with my waters breaking naturally
-Took about 14 hours total
-30 minutes of pushing, which for me was the easiest part as my body was really wanting to get her out! The harder part was trying NOT to push while they were rushing me into the labour room!
-Had baby put directly on my chest after birth and she found the breast on her own without any problems! =)
-Only had minor tearing and the usual bruising which healed up fine on it's own within about 4 weeks.
-An epidural will never be an option for me, not only because of the risks involved, but because I have an "S" shaped spine and it would be very difficult to determine the right place to insert it, which would greatly increase the risks of it going wrong.

 

[angelic_one]

Pain is only a feeling, I don't want to be off my kite the first time I meet my child!

This is my main reason!!

 

[JellyBeann]

crossed threads

 

[callyd]

My first labour was 100% drug free and I plan on having my second the same way.

For me, I liked experiencing every aspect of the delivery. It was empowering for me to feel in complete control. Of course it hurt like hell but the pain disappears so fast once the baby is born.

I was pretty lucky that my labour was not a long one - only about 7 hours from contractions starting to delivery, so I could handle it quite well. I laboured at home til I was 6 cm and my water broke, and that is when we went to the hospital. I was only there 3 hours before he was born.

I am scared a bit more this second time around KNOWING what the pain feels like, but also take comfort in the fact that I've done it once before so I can do it again.

 

[Mervs Mum]

Having had a very medicalised hospital induction with the whole shibang from pethadine through epidural to episiotomy and forceps, I wanted a different more positive experience second time around. I felt that my birth 'happened to me' rather than being something I did. So the second time I had a different approach and I LOVED the experience! I was in a Birth Centre and had pethadine (under duress!) and G&A but a water pool labour and a hands off vaginal delivery on a birth stool - it was in the end a very empowering and enjoyable birth. I said to my husband minutes after she was born 'I want to do it all again'.
My third child was born at home. I knew I wanted to have a natural birth because I'd hated the pethadine and how it made me feel but the MWs (and my OH) talked me into it but hey ho! I read a book (Birthing The Easy Way) and knew I wanted to have this baby at home. I then read another book (Hypnobirthing) and this just confirmed everything.

My home birth was a moment in my life that I cant quite put into words. It was a defining moment in my life as a person and as a woman. I felt so proud that I really enjoyed and experienced my sons journey 'Earthside'. Incredible. And should I have anymore children they too will be born and bred at home

 

[Tegans Mama]

I wanted a home birth with my first, but that was not possible for me since she has Spina Bifida and needed to be transferred immediately to the childrens hospital, where she spent the next 8.5 weeks of her life.
This time I am even more adamant I want a HB. I DON'T want this birth to be anything like Tegans - my waters broke and I had to go straight to hospital due to a high risk of infection because of her SB. I laboured by myself for 10hours and got to about 5cm before they decided I was too slow and gave me oxytocinin. That really, really knocked my socks off and I hated it, so I got an epidural. I asked for pain relief and my MW said 'Well, you'll end up with a section anyway so just get an epi'. So I did. It was the worst thing I did - I got stuck at 9cm for ages and then had a section which went horrifically wrong.

My OH is not quite on board with having a HB yet, but I am working on that (and you are too, Mervs Mum ) and I'm absolutely sure she will come around. For me, its not so much about the pain - pain is pain, just a feeling that we all experience - but about being in my home and everything being different to Tegan's birth. Her birth was like it was because of her SB I believe, I was a nervous wreck and I didn't dare push her out because I was scared of what would happen - when the MW said 'You'll be pushing within an hour' all I could think was please G-d, no, I can't.. This time, I feel differently, I am actually quite 'excited' about the prospect of giving birth. I want to do it with close friends and family there, and a m/w I have met before who is devoting all her time to ME.

 

[Mervs Mum]

I wanted a home birth with my first, but that was not possible for me since she has Spina Bifida and needed to be transferred immediately to the childrens hospital, where she spent the next 8.5 weeks of her life.
This time I am even more adamant I want a HB. I DON'T want this birth to be anything like Tegans - my waters broke and I had to go straight to hospital due to a high risk of infection because of her SB. I laboured by myself for 10hours and got to about 5cm before they decided I was too slow and gave me oxytocinin. That really, really knocked my socks off and I hated it, so I got an epidural. I asked for pain relief and my MW said 'Well, you'll end up with a section anyway so just get an epi'. So I did. It was the worst thing I did - I got stuck at 9cm for ages and then had a section which went horrifically wrong.

My OH is not quite on board with having a HB yet, but I am working on that (and you are too, Mervs Mum ) and I'm absolutely sure she will come around. For me, its not so much about the pain - pain is pain, just a feeling that we all experience - but about being in my home and everything being different to Tegan's birth. Her birth was like it was because of her SB I believe, I was a nervous wreck and I didn't dare push her out because I was scared of what would happen - when the MW said 'You'll be pushing within an hour' all I could think was please G-d, no, I can't.. This time, I feel differently, I am actually quite 'excited' about the prospect of giving birth. I want to do it with close friends and family there, and a m/w I have met before who is devoting all her time to ME.

Damn right I am!

But seriously. You know what you want and where ever your baby is born, I 100% believe that this will be a great experience for you. For you all. xx

 

[Kristine30]

All you ladies have open my eyes to homebirth and going more natural....I was definitely on the gimmee drugs drugs drugs before reading this...
I guess I'm still scared I'd freak out and wouldn't be able to handle the pain at home, but at the same time I don't want half of the bad experiences people have been speaking about in hospital...
I guess it's something to think about and discuss with my midwife.
How many people hire doulas and are they more use at homebirths? I think my OH would bug me and annoy me (he's a darling all of the time, it's me and my bitchy hormones that get annoyed at the slightest thing!! lol)

 

[Mizze]

Kristine - you have to work out what is best for you - that might be the drugs or it might not - Im a great believer in whatever works for you as we are all very different, we react to pain in different ways and stress in different ways and need control in different ways.

Definately a good idea to talk it over with your midwife and have a think about your birthplan and what you might or might not want in it.

Mizze xx

 

[Jenniflower]

All you ladies have open my eyes to homebirth and going more natural....I was definitely on the gimmee drugs drugs drugs before reading this...
I guess I'm still scared I'd freak out and wouldn't be able to handle the pain at home, but at the same time I don't want half of the bad experiences people have been speaking about in hospital...
I guess it's something to think about and discuss with my midwife.
How many people hire doulas and are they more use at homebirths? I think my OH would bug me and annoy me (he's a darling all of the time, it's me and my bitchy hormones that get annoyed at the slightest thing!! lol)

I was thinking about hiring a doula but actually that was more when I was going into the hospital. I feel like I'll have more control in my own home so I won't need one as bad. Of course I would LOVE one it was just the money side of things that made our decision. I'm confident that my OH will be more confident at home too. Seeing as he knows where everything is and it's his personal space he won't be annoying me with asking if he can do this or that.

 

[PeanutBean]

I planned a homebirth for my first because I felt that hospital care wasn't necessary. In the end it didn't go to plan, for various reasons I ended up with an assisted delivery in hospital but almost all of the complications resulted from the medical intervention so I'm all the more determined to have a homebirth this time.

 

[JelloPanda]

My reasons for going unmedicated:
- My temporary comfort is not worth my child's lifelong health.
- My body was built to do this, why try to eff it up with drugs?
- Women have been birthing babies for many years (obviously), and the vast majority did it without drugs. If it was THAT bad to do it naturally, they wouldn't have had more than one child, would they?

 

[StaceyPreedy]

I had a home birth with my first and will with my second too, The reason i choose this path was because i used to have this incredible phobia of child birth since i was pretty much shown a video in sex ed. i had panic attacks at night and couldn't sleep for yrs. Spending alot of time doing psychology i know how your meant to treat phobias but didn't want to face it myself but eventually got myself on the path to getting over this fear. i watch births, many of varying types c-sections, forceps, normal hospital, home births. I had panic attacks each time but i started to like watching home births. There was something about it that seemed calming, not so much like a medical operation, yup still pain and yelling which made my stomach churn but i started to see the happy mum with a baby at the end rather than the process. It made me decide to have my first daughter and to have a home birth, the thought of any other birth still scares me big time and you'd have to drag me into the hospital as it terrifies me. I found it yup more painful than i though (sounds bad when i was so scared anyway) but i coped really well and it was so nice to throw the midwives out afterwards and shower and crawl into your own bed. This time round i want to keep the midwives away for as long as possible because when they turned up i almost starting fighting the labour because i was made to feel uncomfortable. Gas and air is rubbish anyway (good for a night out though tee hee) Its just so much more relaxed and i think that plays a huge part in coping with pain. if you can't relax even strong pain relief won't help so much. i think quiet and calm is a big must in labour and at home is the only place you can get it.