Why YOU might want to Choose Natural Childbirth After all!

Why choose Natural Childbirth

Many women today consider childbirth as something that requires some other type of anesthesia to get through. With Epidural rates climbing every day, it is understandable. ‘Gossip’ tells us that it is ‘standard procedure’ to be numb for the birth of your child. Society has become attached to the idea that pain is bad and should be avoided at all costs.

However, weighing the pros and cons of being numb through the birth of your child, the risks involved in epidural anesthesia, the fact of being ‘tied to the bed’ with monitors and tubing and numb legs, more and more women are considering the option of ‘going natural’----natural childbirth that is.

In speaking with many women who have had natural childbirth experiences, the miracle of childbirth is far more evident. Yes, labor is hard and it hurts. That’s why it’s called ‘labor’. Knowing how to deal with contractions and urges and hormones makes the ‘pain’ of labor a side-note to the wonders of delivering your baby. Feeling the baby move down, feeling as he pushes out into the world, being able to more fully participate in the birth of their child has its own rewards. Using natural childbirth methods gives women a sense of empowerment and control.

Actions done with natural childbirth, if the intended result is not achieved, can be set aside with no concerns. If a massage technique isn’t doing its job, it can be stopped. If sitting in a particular position isn’t helping, move. Medical interventions like pain relievers and anesthetics cannot. Once given, they cannot be ‘taken back’. The patient must deal with them until the body processes them. This can take several hours. Pitocin to induce a labor that has not yet begun can lead more quickly to fetal distress and cesarean section. An episiotomy to speed delivery of the head leaves a permanent scar. These thoughts alone have given many women reason to consider natural childbirth.

Using non-invasive natural childbirth methods to cope with labor also makes the woman more aware of her own body and how it works. She must learn to differentiate pain from pressure, communicate pain levels and locations, visualize muscle locations, and use relaxation techniques that work for her. She must learn to communicate her feelings and desires to others so they can help her position and move and massage. She must also learn to cope with multiple stimuli at once, like a contraction while explaining to a nurse how it is different than the others, or someone in the room setting up for the delivery while she is trying to focus on relaxing a certain muscle group.

Some of the rewards for using natural childbirth techniques are:

1) Being completely alert and feeling more in-control during baby’s birth

2) Being able to communicate with caregivers and support team members how you feel and what you need to do

3) Not having to worry about medication side effects on your baby or you

4) Overall, labor may take longer, but pushing stages are usually

5) Being able to participate completely in the birth of your baby

6) Hormones functioning properly allowing for natural progress of labor

7) Lower incidences of cesarean section or fetal distress due to medication response

8) Easier start to breastfeeding ( read about breastfeeding basics)

9) No residual epidural side effects from medication or anesthesia.

Although natural childbirth leaves a lot of things to ‘surprise’, like actual birth date and time, the outcome and decreased risks have more and more women looking into this very viable and doable option.

Debbie Kleinheider, Neonatal and Pediatric nurse, Childbirth Educator, labor and postpartum doula, mother of six, and grandmother of 4 (and growing). She writes from her vast experiences and extensive knowledge on the subject of children.