NO DRUGS: We went to our 8 hour birthing class last weekend and learned more than I ever wanted to know about my anatomy and birthing a baby. The class was interesting & even though it was long, we didn't get bored at all. I felt like the instructor solidified my desire to birth naturally. The mere fact that if I get an epidural, I would be restricted to a bed with a catheter in me, and not able be to walk around, because I've gotten an epidural makes epidurals seem less and less desirable. I'd rather feel the pain and POSSIBLY have a quicker birth, and be present in my birthing process than just lay in bed and not be an active participant in my delivery. We switched hospitals from Sienna to the Delima hospital because we were told the nurses really cater to woman who want to birth naturally, or at least try to. They provide whirl pools, birthing stools, & birthing balls. Alot of the nurses are older and are patient to a mother who wants to take her time and not be rushed. The hospital is less busy as well. (My doc said either way, if you get the epidural, you've still got a bowling ball coming out of the size of a grape, so don't think the drugs are going to dissolve the pain! It's going to hurt no matter what you do! And no one gets out of the hard work of pushing and suffering!)
Plus, if you go natural, it's usually quicker I'm told! But if you get pitosin to speed up your contractions, or an epidural so you don't feel the contractions, it's a long process of making your body do something it already knows how to do, and it can be hard on the baby....and annoying, I would assume for the Mom.
The nurse said that only about 1-2% of woman that she sees in hospitals give birth naturally. It's VERY rare and uncommon. If the drugs are available, people tend to want them once they get to about 4 centimeters. She also said that while you're going natural, you will hit a wall where you feel like you can't go on and you can't make it through the pain, but if you have a good support system around you, a good team, you can push through the pain and get through it.
My whole hang up is, I want control. I want to be present. I don't want to have drugs doing for me what my body knows how to do on its' own. AND most importantly, I'm impatient. I wouldn't want to be confined to a hospital bed for hours if i knew that without drugs i could be walking around, and working through contractions without an epidural...I don't want to go through a 12 hour birth with drugs, if i knew i could maybe go through a 6 hour (more painful) birth without drugs!
If I can make it past 7 centimeters without giving in, I'll be proud of myself. My mom and Dustin's mom have both gone natural and also have had drugs for their births and said it hurts like hell, but you can do it. it's not impossible or crazy at all.
DRUGS: The other argument is, why not just sit back, and get the epidural? You feel a little numbing from the waist down, but you'll still feel the pressure of the baby coming out, and you'll still be present! Lot's of woman get epidurals, and it doesn't mean you're less of a woman for getting one! THE DOCTOR DOESN'T HAND OUT TROPHIES TO THE NEW MOM WHEN SHE GOES ALL NATURAL...THERE IS NO PAT ON THE BACK, THERE IS NO RIBBON CEREMONY OR CASH PRIZE! Plus, we learned that the baby actually doesn't get as effected by the drug as you think they do. So why not?? I went through these thoughts with my Doc and she said that even with an epidural, the pain is still a reality....
So which is right for me?
Theres no harm in trying to go natural right??
36 1/2 WEEKS!!!
How I'm Doing:
I Went to the hospital last night after mentioning to my friend Angie on the phone that I had been leaking fluid a few times in the last few days, and (Angie who has been acting as my Doula, and will be my labor coach,) suggested that I go to the hospital because I didn't want to risk an infection etc. So I went and they did some tests to see if It was amniotic fluid that i was leaking, if my water had broken or if the baby was doing OK, and they found a kidney infection. I'd been complaining to my doctor that my back had been giving me pain for a few weeks now in one central spot (my kidney) and she said that back pain is common in pregnancy- well duh! I had been complaining about discomfort etc. FOR THE LAST FEW WEEKS and she said that UTI's are also very common in pregnancy and didn't investigate further...I am now on antibiotics with a kidney infect in, and everything seems to be ok now. I was having mild contractions 6 mins. apart, and am just a little dilated, so baby wont be making his appearance anytime soon, thank God, because the goal is for him to be full term obviously. I didn't sleep well last night as my brother has given me his cold and sore throat. And I've lost my cookies today as well. Can't go home though because we are short handed at work and staying busy at work makes me feel a little better anyways.
(I seem to have such a love and hate relationship with our health system...I LOVE that I can go to the hospital and have 5000.00 worth of tests done and get my baby monitored if he has decreased movement, but I HATE the system in general for so many other reasons!) BLURG!
IT'S THE FINAL COUNT DOWN!!!
36 WEEKS!!! I'm pretty excited! Wow, 36 WEEKS! He's almost here!!!
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