Active Birth Experience's

I think I have had an active birth 2 times now. I do so recommend that you stand up for as long as you can as it gets everything going in the right direction and gives you control.

Thanks Pupuce.

Alibubbles - I trained with Michel Odent.
There are several courses (not just his) available on
www.doula.org.uk
I personnally would not recommend the British Doula course (ex-Top Notch)... it use to be good (when you did it ) BUT many doulas have now said it wasn't anymore... the other courses are much more recommended.

Jessi- when you have an epidural your body no longer makes endorphins (pain-killing hormones)... so you and baby aren't getting those and these have been proven to help make colostrum more "opiate" like (addictive to babies). There are studies for example that demonstrate that on average caesarean born babies do not breastfeed as long and scientists say that's because the colostrum lacks this addictive substance.
Also endorphins (and oxytocin) help with the release of prolactin (to make milk).... again if you do not have a natural release of endorphins... you do not necessarily help lactation!
As for bonding... during birth process the foetus is also increasing its own level of endorphins so that the few minutes after birth, both mother and baby are still under the effect of opiates. This is the beginning of dependency and attachment.

All of this doesn't mean that a caesarean baby won't breastfeed or bond... but as a doula I have seen babies who won't easily breatsfeed and often I can relate it to the way they were born.

Hope this makes sense

occiput posterior

The baby's spine is against its mother's spine with its arms and legs in the bump on her tum.The labour is usually more painful because every contraction grinds the spines together - bit like if a child sits on your legs sometimes and you feel their sitting bones against your thigh bone. Imagine that for 90 seconds of a contraction every five mins or so.

The labour is usually longer because the initial contractions attempt to turn the baby into the best position to be born - occiput anterior (OA) - where its spine is in the bump of the mum's tum and pref slightly to the left.

HTH

Deegward.... I'm with you!! I've read this thread with much fascination and curiosity, but most of all.... confusion!! I've got all these weird explanations as to what an OP labour might be, but none seem credible.

Can somebody explain please??

Sorry - really stupid but what is OP?

slightly off topic here but if you had an OP labour first time round (I did) are you more likely to have one again? - just thinking whether the shape of your pelvis etc influences things as I did all the right things for optimal positioning last time round (although not this time i fear)

Long before I had my ds I went to visit a friend in hospital just hours after her OP labour. The baby was a beauty but her description of her labour for so horrific I was literally shaking as I left the hospital! My tip to the childless, NEVER visit anyone soon after an OP labour!

OP labours are particularly painful - there a midwife said it! thank you, mears!

Check your e-mail and see if I can reveal all. And no you certainly were not a feartie! OP labours are particularly painful. You were a star

Was it the 180 pounds of excess weight I was carrying? (I knew Dh would just get in the way...)
Or was it the fact I am genetically a feartie??

Being OP was not your main problem jasper, by the way. i am bound of course by confidentiality and can reveal no more at this juncture

mears are you anaemic or was I anaemic, drunk and OP???
Has everyone in Ayrshire been drinking tonight

OP even - anaemia and wine don't mix

Yes you were Op - woops, there's the cover blown

Jasper, that is funny!

bossykate I think my first was OP too ( my midwife if you are reading this and you recognise me perhaps you could confirm, or was I just a first time woossy?)
Isn't it funny how you can laugh at the most horrendous things in hindsight?

Jasper, I have just tried to relate your comment to my dh through fits of giggles and he smiled weakly - men hey, they just don't have a sense of humour!

Oh, Jasper, that's funny!

jasper, i agree. i had a horrendous labour first time round - OP, which tends to involve more interventions. if my second labour is not OP it will be much easier for that reason alone and will probably not require the same degree of intervention, regardless of the physical changes to my body in the interim.

Thanks bozza that is indeed what I meant.
Enid my first two births were like yours too - first scary, sore, interventionist (is that a word??)- still completely wonderful I should add. Second much more "natural"(less intervention) still sore, but like you say, incredibly empowering. In hindsight I could have had #2 and #3 at home. I might then have (eroneously IMO) concluded hospital/interverntion =bad, home/natural= good.
When in fact the truth is first = traumatic,scary, second = much easier , empowering!

I did not have a "bad " first labour because of all the intervention. I had all the intervention because I had a bad labour if you see what I mean. And thank the Lord I did as I might now have a three year old stuck in my birth canal.

Ha! I would have loved to have an active labour, unfortunately I had the midwife from hell who looked at my birth plan and said "No you can't" to everything and insisted on strapping me to the bed so she could monitor the heartbeat for the whole bloddy time. Every time I tried to move she just held me down.

I personally found no difference in the bonding/breast feeding aspects of the birth of my ds and dd. Ds was born by c-section preceeded by 5 hours of epidural (waiting for surgeon to appear) while dd was born vaginally with only gas and air.

Pupuce
What issues are there about bonding and breastfeeding + epidurals? I would be really interested to know more.
Thanks

But Enid I think Jasper's point is that at least part of your "easier" second birth was that your body had already been through it once (and meaning no personal offence to you) most women's bodies do not return to what they were. The exit route has already been prepared.

Although I suppose to have a caesarian followed by a relaxed, uncomplicated second birth (Sofia Ames springs to mind)might be different.