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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

What constitutes a natural birth?

35 replies

Fruitloop · 12/09/2003 15:44

With my dd i was given a pethedine injection at 6cm dilated and had her 45 minutes later. Does that mean that I had a natural childbirth because I was later told that the pethedine would not have worked in time? By the way, I am a great advocate of pain free births but I was too fast with both children to benefit.

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motherinferior · 16/09/2003 12:58

I agree with Willow2 on that one. There is a limit to how we 'choose' to react/feel - sometimes the pressure on us is too overwhelming and/or the emotion we feel is undeniable (a boyfriend of mine who'd just dumped me kept saying 'you choose to feel hurt, you don't have to'!)

FWIW I think 'natural' means no drugs of any kind, but personally I don't give a stuff.

oliveoil · 16/09/2003 13:12

I had a c-section and felt I had 'missed out' on a 'normal birth' but after a while I just thought what is the point of stressing about something you can't change.

I now think that as long as mum and baby are fine, the birth is a success. I would agree with her Countesship and say that a natural birth is a vaginal one.

Not that it matters an iota either way.

Melly · 16/09/2003 13:19

Fruitloop, I think when I had ds back in April was about a "natural" as it gets, 45 mins from first contraction to baby delivered by paramedic on our hall floor, no pain relief at all, everything happened too quick!

wobblymum · 19/09/2003 12:30

What about if you have no drugs to help the birth but need other drugs - is that classed as a natural birth? Because of Strep B, I will be having intravenous antibiotics with the next one, so can that still be a natural birth or not?

Honestly not bothered, just interested in the answer!

pupuce · 19/09/2003 13:42

My answer would be NO because you will not be allowed a natural birth (I suspect) you will be managed... it's not the anti B that doesn't constitute the "no natural childbirth" but - unless I am mistaken - they will recommend an injection for the 3rd stage for example.
If ALL you get is the Anti-B then yes it would be natural in my book of definitions (for what that's worth ).... but when you have something like GBS - the issue is a safe baby !

Original poster

Fruitloop · 20/09/2003 13:19

Wow Melly that is the fasted birth I have heard of. Big Up( Without wanting to upset anyone) Cor I am almost down with the kids with that phrase! Must be listening to too much Steve Wright.

OP posts:

wobblymum · 20/09/2003 20:05

Thanks pupuce! Ok, so 1st was natural baby, 2nd will probably be chemical baby, 3rd could be water baby so if we have 4, what will the 4th be???

Eulalia · 20/09/2003 21:16

Seems that most of us rarely have a 'natural' birth these days on these terms, but why should we put ourselves through a lot of pain?

I do agree that there is a huge rise in CS and sometimes these are unnecessarily and because of this the art of midwifery has declined but on other occasions these are lifesaving.

A wee shot of gas and air is not natural either? I bet people in 'ye olden timess' took all sort of herbs and concoctions. It has always been 'natural' surely to try and relieve pain (childbirth or otherwise).

I don't think this is a clear cut definition because it means defining what is 'natural' and this varies. I think vaginal yes is difficult but with a little assistance is natural too.

We need a social anthropologist to answer this one ...!

FairyMum · 22/09/2003 10:21

A natural birth in my books is one without any artificial pain relief.
I agree that you can be made to feel inadequate by other mothers who are proud they had a natural birth. I know many women who alwways go on about how they have avery high pain threshold and managed without any pain relief. The way I loko at it every labour is different and it's pointless comparing. When I had my dd I had an easy birth. 12 hours of labour, all very textbook and I only needed a little gas&air towards the end. I guess that was almost a naturay labour? With my ds, however, I was induced, had a very painful labour where I used all the drugs I could get and which ended in C-section. I am definatly more "proud" of all the pain and hard work I went through with my ds eventhough it was as "unatural" as you can get......

pie · 22/09/2003 10:29

Last night a friend rang and she was asking me whether I have decided on the c/s. I told her I was probably going to be induced.

She then told me about a mutual friend (well more acquaintance for me) who had her second DD at Queen Charlottes (where I'm booked). Her first had been a c/s and she was determined to have a VBAC the second time. However she didn't bother with the birth plan or talking to the m/w. She turned up in labour and apparently all she could say was 'I want a NATURAL birth' Shouted it over and over again. All the m/w took this to mean no drugs, and didn't even offer her any. After she had the baby she started screaming at the staff 'Why the f**k did you not offer me drugs?' and they all said because you were screaming you wanted a natural birth. To which she replied 'Isn't a natural birth when you deliver vaginally?' And they replied 'No its without pain relief'.

So thats the QC definition, which my friend learnt the hard way.

Its it really bad of me to laugh when I heard this tale, the lady is one of the stupidest people I know, I mean one of the main reasons she didn't want another c/s was that she couldn't get outside to smoke for 2 whole days after having her first. She told me that herself. Sorry different subject!

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