To ask for opinions on ‘medicalised’vs ‘natural’ birth?

[birdonawire1]

Read so many stories of mismanaged births, CTG not read correctly, babies not monitored and damaged and then read romanticised stories all about the perfect ‘natural’ birth.

It seems very polarised so what do people think really?

First was in hospital. Supposed “textbook” birth but lots of coached pushing, lots of stitches.
12 hours of sitting in a room with no bed as they had neither beds or staff to discharge me.

Second. At home. Midwife came 15 minutes before. I stood he whole time. Felt the ejection reflex. It was amazing. And no stitches.

While childbirth hasn't been the biggest killer of women for many years now, maternal mortality rates are still fairly high and worldwide around 830 women a day die due to childbirth. 99% of those women live in developing countries with limited or no access to healthcare.

www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/maternal-mortality

Report is here. It also states that most of these deaths are preventable.

Comeymemo I think you're right - I had it drummed into me at the hospital antenatal class that all methods of pain relief have negative effects on the baby and could prevent successful breastfeeding. I was so worried about it that I laboured with no pain relief at all for 70+ agonising hours with a back-to-back baby and was still trying to refuse a spinal when they rushed me to theatre for forceps (thankfully the consultant said there was no way he was performing an episiotomy with no anaesthetic!)

Had one semi medicalised (moved from birth centre to labour ward. Constant monitoring, had diamorphine..... Had a natural delivery in the end but was very close to needing assisted delivery)

One natural (me, DP and MW in birth centre, just g &a)

One induction (was in labour ward, niggles for 22h but when I went into labour proper it was just minutes until I delivered and there was no time for the monitoring I was meant to have... Had GD so they were meant to check my blood sugar etc)

Each birth was different. Each birth was painful and I had moments of great fear. Each birth was magical

My 3rd DC had to go to neonatal, so whilst none of my births were technically medcialised, I am so grateful we were in hospital and fast action was taken with my non feeding and non crying 3h old baby.

Here you go...

Interested in opposing statistics as I do this as a job. Not being goady!

Birth place study 2011

www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/downloads/files/birthplace/Birthplace-key-findings.pdf

I am a mw, so pretty well clued up on the pros and cons of analgesia grin

Well your post certainly suggests you are not. 🙂

Of course you’re a midwife, your religious fervour about vaginal births is the big give away.

Seriously. You’re not an anaesthetist, so your views on analgesia are limited at best; and you seem ready to embrace any new theory that babies benefit from going through the vagina. Do you have any Cochrane review to back that up?

I’m so sorry about your baby and what happened.

I didn’t have a birth plan as I knew it would be out of my hands early on. I had a high risk pregnancy because my twins shared a placenta and I knew they were going to be at least a month prem (they had to be born by 36 weeks at the latest to lower risk of stillbirth) They then stopped growing ended up in NICU for 3 weeks.

So for me I had no expectations of a “natural” birth. I have no problem having had a c section, only one person has ever said “too posh to push” to me and that was a man 😂
I’m just glad my children were born safely and are healthy. The only things I feel a bit of sadness towards are not having skin to skin contact (I only saw them for a couple of minutes in the first 24 hours) and that I couldn’t enjoy pregnancy.

I think it’s sad that some women don’t get the experience they want. I also think for those of us that are high risk, we are just happy to have our babies born alive so the other stuff just isn’t as important.

Cheers, and ditto!

Epidurals increase the risk of an instrumental deliveries though so that was a reason for me to avoid one

1st birth 16yo all natural no problems until after with retained placenta put under general to detach with bruising and stitches as a result. 2nd birth 32yo up until 32nd week planned natural DS decided to go footling breach and was not moving! Due to go in on the Friday of 36th week to talk about cesarean when DS decided he wanted out. Need as emergency cesarean. Was fine with both as all I really cared about was a healthy baby at the end

The perfect birth is possible but more importantly is that it's perfect for you. That no matter what the situation you are in control and empowered to make decisions throughout that are right for you and the baby at that moment in time. For some people an emcs could be traumatic if the woman feels out of control and like things are happening to her. For another woman in the same situation if she feels informed and involved in decision making it's likely she will feel much different despite the outcome being the same.
The perfect birth is never the same ideal for two different women but getting informed, researching, asking questions and writing a range of birth preferences for different scenarios can help you stay at the wheel of your birth. Knowing the risks as well as the benefits and making each small decision weighing up benefits and risks and knowing you don't have to do anything.
A lot of women feel coerced into doing things but its your body and your choice what happens. You don't have to do anything you don't want and that includes things like induction for going overdue.
You are allowed whatever birth you want.

@AnonymousAgain

I assume you're replying to a separate comment but I don't think those statistics are at all reassuring! Of course if you compare the causes of death of women amongst all age groups it's unsurprising that childbirth isn't among the top ten. It's still one of the most dangerous things that can happen to a woman or baby. Historically the death rate is 1 in 100 births. That's only death of the mother and doesn't include the death or severe injury to the baby. That's insanely high.

Dreaming “Epidurals increase the risk of an instrumental deliveries though so that was a reason for me to avoid one”

Actually that has not been true since 2005, due to the lower concentration of drugs given by epidural.

www.cochrane.org/CD000331/PREG_epidurals-pain-relief-labour

Giving birth still has risks, so many unknowns medicine isn't an exact science there is a reason why maternal and neonatal death rates were so high!!

Healthy baby with hopefully no birth trauma or lasting damage for Mum are the optimal outcome.

I had a terrible birth with DD1 no one at the hospital believed I was in real labour. Was sent home very unsympathetically with paracetamol which did fuck all and a cardboard sick bowl from throwing up with the pain. Gave birth to her with my husband in our bathroom an hour and a half later. He had to drag me off the toilet and I was so weak and sick afterwards it was horrendous. That was a natural birth.
With DD2 was in hospital and had gas and air and a failed epidural right at the end but overall much better. So natural for me was just horrific. Much better to just have a well managed birth and if you need pain relief who cares. Far better that you and baby are both safe rather than whether you had drugs or not.

I’ve had two c sections. Some people can’t labour or give birth vaginally and medical intervention is a godsend then. Whilst they were very nice for me and the second one especially was a very peaceful birth they were presumably not an ideal start for my babies in the way giving birth normally is. So it’s not a birth choice I would have made if there was any choice in it but I made the best of it. (Skin to skin and breastfeeding ASAP, gentle lifting out letting him wriggle out of my stomach, seeding with vaginal secretions etc). I didn’t know with my first that half of this was an option but I’ve turned into a bit of a hippy in the years between babies !!

A lot of women feel coerced into doing things but its your body and your choice what happens.

Most of the coercion comes from midwives refusing care, refusing pain relief and creating false urgency by failing properly to monitor the baby.

@Comeymemo - my trust has 'walking epidurals' but our anaesthetists still tell women they are at an increased risk of instrumental when they have one

I hope you will direct them to the up to date Cochrane review I pasted above? As that is no longer the case.

@Comeymemo and I hope you've raised your concerns with midwives 'refusing care, refusing pain relief and creating false urgency by failing properly to monitor the baby' appropriately

@AllMYSmellySocks
The death rate for mothers is 1 in 100? Never heard or found a statistic remotely similar to that before. Where is that from please? I'd like to have a read.

My initial comment was in response to childbirth being the biggest killer of females. I've always found statistics to show me it isn't.

The remainder of the birth place cohort study (published in the British medical journal) shows that:
'For 'low risk' women the incidence of adverse perinatal outcomes (intrapartum stillbirth, early neonatal death, neonatal encephalopathy, meconium aspiration syndrome, and specified birth related injuries including brachial plexus injury) was low (4.3 events per 1000 births)'
Effectively including things other than mortality, the chance of adverse outcomes in the Uk is 0.43% based on a study of 65,000 women. Mortality and still birth rate would be lower, from my understanding.

Anyway, I am sorry OP to have hijacked part of your thread. I am off to bed now, so will happily leave you all be (although I would appreciate that link, smelly socks )

There is no right or wrong, medicalised or not, you need to decide what will be best for you.

Medicalized for me. Planned section at my request and home within 48 hours.
I've seen it go wrong too many times to have wanted it any other way

I had a "natural birth". In hospital mind (not sure how natural you mean?) but no pain relief. It was quick and complication free. But was horrific and traumatising. The pain is unbelievable and I didn't cope well with it at all. I fell pregnant again and requested a CS as I the thought of going through that again was terrifying. Unfortunately I miscarried and cannot now have another for medical and age reasons.