Why we are choosing natural birth...

"we are hoping to have a natural birth"
"what?! You mean no epidural?"
"yeh, no epidural and hopefully no other meds or interventions"
"ha. Good luck, when I had my baby... Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah."

Seriously!? How come people aren't supportive? Do you really think I (or any pregnant woman for that matter) wants to hear your horror story?? Hearing people's birth horror stories has been right up there for me with "wow, you look like you're going to pop!" and "are you sure you're not having twins?!"
Let's think about this.. You are talking to a woman expecting a child who is more than likely already afraid of what's happening to her body and now you want to share the awful things that happened to you? It's just like telling a person who's going in for heart surgery how when you had heart surgery you just about died on the operating table. It's just not the best time to share your bad experiences.
Something I've found interesting is that most people who have shared their bad experiences are %99 of the time people who never planned on having a natural birth and so they didn't prepare their body physically or emotionally for such a thing. I've heard it said that if you knew you were going to run a triathlon in 9 months you wouldn't just show up, you'd prepare your body before hand. Well, that's not what the majority of pregnant women do- so of course their experiences aren't pleasing!

Anywho, I'm not writing this post to rant and rave. I just wanted to share our pregnancy and birth experience with others so that maybe I would inspire others.
Birth is a scary thing. Trust me, I know. Just last night at one of our birth classes I about had a panic attack when the instructor was explaining how a c-section is performed. & I'm typically not one to let blood and guts bother me, but there's just something about having my abdomen cut open and the muscles separated by hand that just doesn't sit well.
Everyone naturally has fears about giving birth. But I'm not one to just sit back and say "oh the docs got it covered, I don't need to do anything" and let the hospital "handle" my birth.

I guess I should start with how this all got started.. It began when I first found out I was pregnant I had a desire to find out all that I could about the medicines given during childbirth, particularly just the epidural at that time. I'm not one to take meds and knowing the dangers of taking medication while youre pregnant made me want to research it. A friend suggested that I watch "The Business of Being Born" by Rikki Lake. It's a documentary about the birthing process in America. If you haven't watched it you really should. Its on netflix. It's very informative on how birth has changed over the past few years and the dangers of birthing in America. We have the second highest infant death rate. Wow, that should wake us all up! Basically the documentary gives some statistics on the effects of epidural use as well as other drugs like pitocin.

After watching the documentary I began my Internet research and with support from the hubs we decided a natural birth was what was best for our baby. I know there are many different definitions of natural birth so I will clarify what we mean. Our birth "preferences" and I'm calling them "preferences" because as our doula pointed out things don't always go as "planned" so calling it a birth plan isn't the most accurate term. Anywho, our birth preferences will be no epidural, or other pain meds, no pitocin, no form of induction, no c-section, no suction or forceps, intermittent monitoring, allowed to labor as long as needed, delayed cord clamping, and immediate skin to skin contact until breast feeding is established.
Like I said, these are preferences and I fully realize that things happen and interventions like c-section and induction are needed. I am simply stating that these are our wishes for our baby.
Did you know that in America 1 out of every 3 births is a C-section? This number has DRASTICALLY increased over the past few years. This is because women aren't allowed to labor normally. Hospital staff and schedules are keeping patients in a time crunch. Most OBs aren't use to seeing natural births and some nurses admit to never having seen even one!

All of this to say, and you can hear more statistics on the documentary or just research it online, not all interventions are necessary and they are simply done for convenience. I really could ramble on and on about the interventions. Did you know that pitocin, the drug commonly used to induce or speed up labor actually puts baby in distress? AND makes your contractions longer and closer together making them more painful. Now, I know some women simply don't progress so pitocin is necessary in those cases but it is NOT necessary for the typical woman, and dont let your doctor tell you it is. Women have been having babies for years without this drug and we are fully capable! One reason for the increase in c-sections, pitocin induced infant distress!

Anyways I'll get off my rant. But please, please educate yourself about the birthing process and what is safe for your baby! I mean, you'd research before buying his or her nursery furniture, right?

Sorry this post was so long. And I feel like I really didn't get to explain a lot of things and I really hope no one is offended by any of my statements. I know all births are different and many of the things stated above can be necessary so I'm in NO way trying to make anyone feel bad about their birth. I'm simply trying to encourage everyone to do your research and really understand the birth process. You were all created to birth babies and that is a beautiful thing no matter what stigma has been placed on it!
Xoxo,
Lacey