Drug Free Labor

[cuca_]

Although I'm still about 6 weeks away from my due date, I'm beginning to get very nervous about the whole labor thing. I want to try to have a drug free labor, because I am not comfortable with a lot of the side effects of the painkillers and epidural. I am not, however, totally opposed to the epidural, it is just that I would rather not have one if I can. (I've instructed my DH that if I ask for one at any given point, I probably really need it and he should not try to disuade me). For some reason, though, lately I'm beginning to get a little anxious, thinking that I will not be able to deal with the pain. This probably has to do with the fact that I recently saw the labor video at our lamaze class, and that my DH decided that it would be a good idea if we watched Maternity Ward earlier this week. I would really, really like to avoid drugs. Could those of you who did not have drugs during labor tell me what your experience was like? Sorry for rambling. TIA!

[brubeck]

The pain is not what you think, it's like intense cramps. No one ever told me that contractions would be like the worst PMS I ever had, so boy was I surprised!

I did have an epidural BTW, and the reason (the first time) was because the cramps were so intense that I was curled up into a ball with each one. When I realized that I couldn't give birth that way I went for the epidural.

Hopefully there are some drug-free Moms who can help you out with this.

[gour0]

I had a drug free labor. I was very motivated by the thought that drugs were bad for baby. I had a wonderful support network. DH was great. And, I had a birth doula, too. I couldn't have done it without BOTH of them. I basically had to walk through all of my contractions. Nothing else worked for me. I couldn't sit, lie down, rock or be in the tub. Dh held me up by my armpits while I was deadweight in his arms for some. Later, I needed strong counter-pressure on my lower back for every contraction. So, I was in the shower and DH was standing beside me pushing against my back. It was very tiring for both of us so LAura (my doula) would spell him. She also was great moral support. Everyone kept telling me how brave and strong I was and what a good job I was doing. It helped a lot. I didn't take Lamaze so I don't know about breathing exercises. I groaned low, deep and LOUD to get through my contractions and that helped me. The nurses were also very supportive. I had twenty hours of labor and I didn't get any rest. The midwife offered me drugs and I turned her down. She also offered to break my water to get things moving. I waited over an hour to take her up on that. They broke my water at 7 cm. It turned out to be a good idea. That got me into pushing. DH was on one side and Laura on the other. They held my kness with me and put cold cloths on my face. And, they kept encouraging me. Yes, it hurt. Yes, it was exhausting. But, yes it is doable. And, you will be surprised by how strong you really are when you have to be. It is all up to you. You just have to decide what is important to you. If you really want a drug free labor, I believe you will have one. If you don't, then that's ok too. I hope you have a wonderful birth. However it goes. Remember to focus on your baby and both of you being healthy.

[deenass]

There was NO ONE more afraid of labor than me. I used to cry every night in fear ... even walked out of my childbirth class during some discusssions. Throughout it all I wasn't sure if I was more afraid of the pain or the needle required for the epidural. I even chose a hospital that didn't require a hep lock. I got through 15 hours of labor with NO PAIN MEDS but after 15 hours developed a fever so I needed an IV. At that point I was only 1 1/2 cm I knew I was in for a long haul. SInce I had the IV I got some pain relief with staydol, then 3 hours later, I was 4 cm and TIRED. At that point I asked for an epidural. I knew I ahd a long way to go and really wanted to sleep (I DID NOT want to end up with a c-section). WIth my epidural I was able to feel my legs (felt like pins and needles) and the contractions (much less intense than without) and I was able to labor in positions othenr than on my back (my big fear with the epidural).

I do have to tell you, when I started contractions I was surprised that they didn't hurt like I expected. For the first few hours I kept thinking, "is this a contraction? This isn't so bad."

Don't make any epidural decisions now. You don't have to until you are in the moment. Believe me, if you want one you can get one and deciding 6 weeks before you give birth is pointless, you'll just stress yourself out even more. ]

Good luck!

[KathyO]

Like you, I'd have done the epidural if it seemed like what was needed, but preferred not to if I could get away with it. I had a pitocin-accelerated labour, and it was pretty rough. On the exterior, I had my husband rubbing my back with lotion during contractions, and that helped enormously. I didn't bother with a "focus object", and the music we brought along ran out unnoticed very early on. I did end up with a quick shot of painkiller to make it through the worst half hour, but that was it.

Internally, I visualized the contractions as tidal waves, and as each one came on I'd sink deep below the surface, into the blue, tranquil waters beneath, while the wave passed overhead. (The trick was remembering to keep breathing.) When they got really bad, I remember holding onto my husband and chanting, but that part didn't last long.

I'd say, practise your breathing exercises, and when you're in the thick of it, don't panic if a contraction comes on before you're quite "ready". Write that one off, get through it, and be ready for the next one.

I think the other attitudinal thing is to consider how you view the pain. Yes, it was painful, more painful than anything else I've ever done, but it was a pain of creation, not destruction. You will go into the ordeal a woman, and come out profoundly changed, into a mother. Sounds kinda weird, I know, but it helped me feel like the experience would be a demonstration of my power, not my helplessness.

And don't be too freaked out by the stuff in the videos. It's hard to know what they're really feeling as they make those faces and those sounds. I've taken martial arts, and for the pushing phase (after 43 hours of labour), I met each contraction with a full-out war cry, kind of like a karate kiai. It was the only way to gather any strength. After one push, the nurses were back on the phone to the doctor, saying, "Come NOW, this one's not going to take long!!" It didn't. I shouted my daughter into the world twenty minutes later. The nurses didn't seem to mind - they've surely seen and heard it all by now.

Also remember that you will be in good hands, and that people will be there to help and guide you, so you won't be dealing with this all alone. Retain your flexibility, go with the flow, and everything will be fine. You'll do great. We promise!

Cheers,

KathyO

[Kristine]

This was a lot like how my labor was also. I had been in pre-labor (or real, for all I know!) through most of the weekend and on Saturday night only slept a couple of hours, and then all day Sunday through Sunday night I just walked through my house. I decided after midnight on Monday morning to call the hospital to see if I should be admitted. I knew if I wasn't 4 cm. dilated I wouldn't be, and as it was dark and stormy outside didn't want to venture out until I thought I was closer. Fortunately I had my midwife appointment on Monday morning at 10. However, the contractions were well under 5 minutes apart by later that morning. I was congratulated by my midwife and told I was officially in labor at 4 cm. It was very nice and casual, and she told my husband and I to have a nice lunch at a restaurant by the hospital before checking in. I was lucky to have a supportive husband who helped me to relax with each contraction throughout lunch.

By the time I had checked into the hospital, been given a room (great view of the city too), put on my gown and met with the midwife on call that day, I was 7 cm. dilated. I cannot stress enough how important GOOD SUPPORT is. My husband, nurse and midwife were fabulous. I have a low threshold for pain and even I managed it! Only standing helped me. Any other position hurt too badly. Everybody in the room would stop talking while I zoned out with each contraction. At the end I felt a strong urge to push when trying to go to the bathroom, and they checked me again and I was fully dilated and ready to push. I realized that was as painful as it got - just intense cramps in my stomach and back. 30 minutes of pushing later and our son was born. It was well worth it and if I can manage it, anybody can!! Just make sure you have good support and lots of encouragement. That is what makes all the difference.

[barbarhow]

I had taken the hypnobirthing class which showed footage of women in very tranquil states as their babies slid out of them with hardly a grimace on moms face. I never expected it to be like that. My expectations were to get through it drug free in the least traumatic manner. I got to the hospital at 4 cm. dilated. Walked for a while. spent 2 hours in the tub which was awesome. We had music playing and I could do some of the visualization techniques-all of it really helped. I also spent another hour in the shower which also helped. My transition period seemed endless (about 4 hours) and the contractions were very painful. Somewhere in there I begged for drugs-but was told it was too late. What got me through was the endless patience and love of my husband who rubbed my back smoothed my hair, put cold cloths on my face whispered things (can't remember now what they were) to me. He was a rock and made all the difference. I do remember that through my fog I was pissed at the midwife for not giving me drugs but in the long run I was so happy to be drug free. As soon as Jack was born I was sitting upright in bed and I felt awesome. It was amazing how quickly the thoughts of pain went away.
One book you should read-or chapter anyway-is Christiane Northrup's book "Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom" She has a chapter on labor and delivery which every pregnant female whould read. I remembered her thoughts on making whatever sound feels right. I am sure some horrible sounds came out of me but believe that it helped.
There is a theory that they talk about in hypnobirthing (I can get you the name of the book if you want) that there is a pain/fear/pain cycle to labor and delivery that totally makes sense.
They also have a belief that we have medicalized labor. It isn't an illness-it is a process and in other cultures women do not have the same pain and fear that we do. It doesn't help that everyone you meet after you are noticeably pregnant has to share a horror story with you. Block out their stories and believe that you can do anything that you set your mind to. And you can.
Good luck to you-you will do beautifully-and have the most precious and wonderful reward when you get through it.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03

[AngelaS]

With my first dd, I had preeclampsia. I spent my 15 hours of labor stuck in bed, hooked to WAY too many moniters and had an ITN follwed by an epidural. I pushed for 2 hours and was so exhausted that once she was born, I just wanted to SLEEP.

When I was pregnant with dd#2, I knew I wanted a totally different delivery. I talked it over with my midwife who seemed pretty confident she could get me thru the delivery drug free. I did some reading and the book, "The Baby Catcher" by Peggy Vincent inspired me.

My midwife broke my water when I was 4 cm and about 80% effaced. I walked the hospitals halls for hours, until I was having to stop and breathe thru the contrax. Then I lounged in the whirlpool tub for a few hours until I started to moan thru the contrax. I was at 7cm when I got out.

I then stood and swayed while my MW and nurse gently rubbed my lower back. I 'toned' during contractions. Basically, I said, HUUUUMMMMM thru each one. LOL (Poor dh---my toning about made him crazy!). BUT---it worked!

My midwife told me I could push at 9+cm and I told her I wasn't ready. I knew from reading, that I would feel the urge to push. A few minutes later, I DID! I delivered her head in about 3 pushes and then waited while she was suctioned (meconium). One more push and I had her out to her chest.

At that point, since I was sitting almost upright (My doing---I pushed the button to sit my bed up once she started to crown! LOL) I reached down and grabbed her and pulled her out the rest of the way! It was INCREDIBLE!

I've gone the epidural route and I've gone naturally. If I do it again, I will do my darndest to go natural! It can be done and I felt SO much better after Gabrielle's delivery than I did after my first child's. :)

I hope you have a great delivery too!

[cuca_]

Thank you all for sharing your stories with me and for your words of encouragement. I am feeling more confident already!! I really want to do this without any drugs, I hope I am strong enough. I will let you know how it goes. I've been reading a lot about labor with the hope that this will help me feel more confident and allows me to deal with the pain better. Thanks for all your recommendations.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I have some book suggestions for you. The Thinking Woman's Guide To a Better Birth by Henci Goer and Birthing from Within by Pam England. The first one will help you to be better informed so you can make decisions before and during labor. The second one has some exercises (mental and physical) that will help prepare you.

I had a totally unmedicated birth. NO IV, no epidural, no pitocin, nothing except some novacain after the birth so she could stitch up where I tore a little. Contractions feel like cramps, and if you can relax through them and let the uterus do its work, they are more bearable.

I would suggest that anyone who wants to try for an unmedicated birth to take Bradley classes rather than Lamaze. And definitely hire a doula, especially if you don't have a midwife. We planned to have a doula, but the baby arrived before the doula got to the hospital. :)

I do want to comment on your idea that if you get to the point that you ask for an epidural then you probably need one. That is not necessarily true. There is an emotional state during labor where you are not the best judge of what you need. Your birth partner's job at that point is to remind you that you wanted an unmedicated birth. The medical staff will be pushing drugs on you as soon as you come in the door. Your partner needs to protect you from that while you are in a highly suggestible state.

In my case, I am a big baby about pain. I am more afraid of a needle in my back and the side effects from that than I am of anything that can happen to me during labor and birth.

...Karen
Jake age 12
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[Rachels]

You can do it! I had a natural birth even with a nearly 38-hour labor. Support is the key. I would NEVER have been able to do it without my doula. You WILL have points where you tell everyone around you that you can't do it anymore. It happens in every labor, but doesn't mean you can't do it and doesn't mean you will continue to think you can't do it. The feeling passes. If you don't want medication, you need to be very clear about that decision with your DH and whomever else will be at your birth, because otherwise you will have it in what might well have been a passing moment. I said I couldn't bear it rather early in my labor (dilation-wise, not time-wise), but NEVER said that in the most intense phases. There are theories that maybe the adrenaline rush that comes with that moment is important in some way for moving the labor along.

I'm SO glad I had a natural birth. Six hours later, I was home in my own bed with my baby and my husband, feeling just fine. There was no body trauma to recover from, everybody was healthy, and I was up and showered with my hair dried the next morning. It was totally worth it.


-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[gour0]

BTW, I wouldn't watch the birth shows on TV....they're very sensationalistic...like ER or Cops...so of course they're going to show birth as being very high drama. I would recommend the video Gentle Birth Choices. I got it at the library. It shows a lot of natural births and talks about medicated vs. unmedicated labor. It is very slanted twd unmedicated, but so was I! :) I had dh watch part of it, and he was like, "What's she DOING?". LOL! He had never seen anything but the TV version of birth so it was a good video for him to see. I think it helped him prepare mentally for what it would REALLY be like.

[Ryansmom]

I also had a natural childbirth - although my L&D was extremely fast, and DS came too quickly for any meds. It was painful, but I could handle it! Once DS was born, I felt great - I had a clear head and could really enjoy every minute.

Leave your options open. Discuss your plan in advance with your doctor/midwife/doula. Regardless of your choice, giving birth to your DS/DD will be an awesome and wonderful experience. You will do fine!

[deenass]

Remember, choosing pain meds if you need them doesn't mean you weren't strong enough, it just means that you arrived at a time and place where you needed help and you were wise enough to ask for and accept it. I made it through 15 hours before I needed relief and know that without it I would have probably needed a c section because I wouldn't have had the energy to push for 5 hours!

It's about what you need at the time and how you feel, you haven't failed either way.

[Tondi G]

we took classes in the Bradley Method and it was very informative and helpful for me and DH! I was determined to go natural and drug free and I DID!!!!!!

My DH still talks about it and tells all the women at his work that I went Completely natural and A lot of them are surprised and say'Oh man I don't know how she did it". It was NOT easy and it hurts like hell.... I have to say bumping that Heparin Lock on my hand was Worse though!!!! OUCH! They finally took that damn thing out while I was pushing cause blood was backing up and out from the pushing ... YUCK... and what a waste, didn't need it!

My labor started on a Saturday afternoon .... mild contractions, Dh and I went to lunch (be sure you eat till you go to the hospital and a glass or water every hour to keep you hydrated!!!! Anyways contractions got closer and I was breathing through but "working" through them.... we tried to lay down and rest a bit and I had a pretty strong contraction and started bleeding a bit so we went to the hospital.... I was checked 2.5... figured I would go home... they told me to walk for an hour and would check me again cause baby was sleepy... I got up and a nurse came aroudnt eh corner to ask where i was going... my OB wanted me admitted to a room... OK fine!!!!

So we walked and rested etc... till I was tired! by 7am they wanted the Hep lock in... fine. My doc came in around 8 am and said , OK lets get this show on the road and break your water! I just wanted to get on with it. She broke my water and WHOA did things get hectic... I thought the contractions hurt before... SURE! My Bradley instructor came through the door 2 contractions later and heard they broke my water..... kept encouraging me to get in the tub/shower (thank god I had declined the IV for that... hep lock was enough). The shower really did help and had we been able to ge the tubs drain to work... the tub being fuller would have felt great!!!! If you can get in the bathtub DO it!!!!! I started really bleeding and got too hot in the bath.... made my way back to the bed... had to take a break for a contarction on the toilet which honestly felt kinda good too! Back in bed the OB checked me and I was almost complete... this was maybe an hour after she broke my water! I had a lip on one side... had to get over on my right side and it was tough.... finally I did and suddenly my body was pushing... I told my OB "I'm pushing... I have to push" they said wait till we can check you...SURE tell my body that! I was complete! I pushed and I have to say... that was the best part... pushing during the contraction I was finally working with my body and it did not hurt at all...so if you are worried about pushing hurting DONT... it is much better than waiting to dilate!!!! My son had the cord wrapped tightly around his neck twice and we really believe he would have been born quicker if the cord was normal... anyways I waited on the episiotomy... I wish I hadn't it sure made him come fast..... it healed up really nice... better than my firends who had torn! MY ob did lots of massaging and it just wouldn't stretch... she did the EPI... be sure you ask for a little numbing shot for that...OUCH... it was not a pressure Epi like the Bradley book talked about! All in all I need a few stitches but ti didn't bother me at all.... I took NO drugs... even though I told everyone in the room that I couldn't do it and was ready to go home and finish this another day!!!!! There were times I considered taking something and I'm glad my hubby and Bradley instructor were there to tell me, just get through this one and we'll see about the next.... I made it and I feel like my baby was better without the drugs... he had a tough start with that cord being around his neck and scared the heck out of everyone in the room with how blue and lifeless he was at first... had I taken an epidural it could have slowed labor and his heartrate more... who knows what could have happened???!!! by the way... they broke my water around 8am and he was born at 10:22!!!!

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!! Be strong and use your breathing and relaxation techniques you are learning!!!!! I did it once and even knowing how painful it is I will most likely do it again!!!! Good Luck and Easy Labor vibes coming your way!!!! Sorry this became a birth story!!!! Hope this helps!

~Tondi and Mason 7/8/01! (a Natural birth mommy all the way)

PS.... if you do break down and go for an epidural then so be it.... give it your all and if you really can't make it then get some help! There is nothing wrong with it... keep in mind MOST babies born today are epidural babies! I've also heard Demoral is GREAT so maybe opt for that first and see if it offers enough to help you get through it before you go for a full blown epidural!!!! Good Luck! I'm sure you will do great!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

>
>I'm SO glad I had a natural birth. Six hours later, I was
>home in my own bed with my baby and my husband, feeling just
>fine. There was no body trauma to recover from, everybody
>was healthy, and I was up and showered with my hair dried
>the next morning. It was totally worth it.
>

yes! that is the best part about a non-medicated birth without interventions. The body does what it knows how to do, and the recovery is so much easier. I had just a small tear in the skin with a few stitches to recover from, no bruising and swelling from pushing too hard too soon and too long like can happen with medicated births.

My first baby, 12 years ago, my water broke so they started me on pitocin. That made labor progress too quickly, so I got to the pushing stage before my body was ready. I pushed for almost an hour, and I pushed HARD. I had an episiotomy because things were not stretched enough since labor had progressed too quickly through artificial means. Recovery was sheer hell from that episiotomy. Recovery was more painful than labor and birth. And I was exhausted from the pushing and the fast labor. (5 hours of labor)

With this baby, I labored at home for 12 hours slowly letting my body stretch and get ready. By the time we got to the hospital, she slipped out with a half a push and I had only a small tear in the skin. My water broke as she slipped out, so the bag of waters was protecting her and protecting me and gently stretching me with each contraction. I couldn't have designed a more perfect birth, except maybe we would go to the hospital a little sooner. (she was almost born in the car). I realize that I am very lucky that things went so well, but it isn't all luck. Do the research, read the books, take the Bradley classes and you will be better equipped to make the best decisions for you.

...Karen
Jake age 12
Logan Elizabeth 3/25/03

[cuca_]

Thanks for sharing your stories and for your words of encouragement. I'm trying to read as much as I can about labor, and hope that being prepared will help me go without medications. Thanks for all the book suggestions, I'll try to read some of them. It's very inspiring to hear your labor stories. I'll soon add my own!