Anyone had a natural birth in hospital?

[MrsHuxtable]

I'm wondering. I'd like to hear some positive and lovely birth stories. Has anyone on here managed to have a natural and intervention free birth at hospital?
If so, was it hard to get it?

I want to second BlueberryPancake's post and say I don't think it's what you "get", it's what you are given. Reminds me of that Gomez song, "and when all is said and done, it's the things that are given, not won".

I was uber-prepared for birth, mixed Juju Sundin's "Birth skills" with some hypnobirthing, had also educated myself hugely on perineal care and treated the whole thing like a marathon really, had developed a whole personal philosophy of birth and how it would be and all the different ways it could go. If it existed, I had researched it.

My waters went at 40+10 and I was induced two days later because contractions didn't start. Not part of the plan, but hey ho, I was totally calm and in control and managed pain without so much as a whimper. Made a really controlled decision at 5cm that I would take the epidural because I was due a vaginal exam and I just knew that as soon as I was touched that I would lose my zone, and somehow instinct was telling me to opt for it too (uterus was actually being hyperstimulated but I didn't know that too.. I suppose I felt it wasn't "natural" pain so something in me decided that I would change tack).

Was there a cascade of interventions then? Well, yes and no. I now know that ds was back to back from very early on which had led to the whole stop-start labour, SROM with no contractions etc and actually after the epidural he turned around and labour started to heat up, and he looked like he was going to get himself out sharpish. Until he changed his mind and twisted himself back into a very awkward position (deep transverse arrest). He seems to have rotated a number of times to try to get out of this position but ultimately he was delivered by rotational (Kiellands' forceps). This, incidentally, is an IDENTICAL labour to the one my grandmother had with my mother (minus the epidural)... there are all sorts of factors I won't bore you with here that contributed to the birth I had, I feel.. but what the hospital "decided" was really only a very minimal part of that.

The one thing I can advise you, or that struck me from reading your post is.. be careful about telling yourself that you don't like being out of control. I don't much suppose many of us do when we are in our normal everyday life but labour is a very different situation and actually, being "out of control" or at least being in a state where control is something completely different to what you think of it as being in everyday life is almost mandatory. I was intensely focused during the pain-relief free part of my labour, right from those first contractions on my due date, through nearly two weeks of latent labour to 5cm on the synto drip. It was like being on drugs, I can't explain it as anything else... I was completely and utterly out of it and I was 100% pain relief free right up until the epi. But it was not unpleasant. It was very intense and it was DEFINITELY pain, I wouldn't call it anything else, and pain like nothing else I have ever experiened, but it was absolutely fine.

But I had to give myself over to it.. wouldn't have worked otherwise.. and yet I knew that if I had a VE it would become something different.

I truly believe that if I had gone into labour on my own at home I would never have wanted drugs like the epi but they were absolutely what felt right to have in hospital in the circumstances I found myself in, the dreaded back-to-back long "dry" drip-induced labour. I have no regrets now.

I had a lovely birth (though we nearly didn't make it to the hospital).

Planned a home birth (but got high bp at the end) as others have said I planned the birth.I thought through it all the time imagining the position I would be in and how I would 'think' my way through contractions (I thought of my mum.mil, nans and great nans all having gone through what I was doing).

I think because of this I was apparently very calm, had an active labour of 2.5 hours and didn't tear :)

I read 'Orgasmic Birth' and the things I read really helped me stay calm and let my body do it thing.

My dd1 was a hospital birth, I think I was lucky with my mw, one wanted me to have an epidural, the one that delivered dc1 said 'you don't need one'.

I was a 20 year old girl, I had read about what I wanted but was vulnerable, and lucky.

For my dc2 and 3 I had homebirths, dc2 was 'back to back' which is no walk in the park, but I loved my homebirths so much.

OP Best wishes for your birth, it will make a mother of you. How exciting is that?

I had an only very lightly intervened in birth with DD (DC1) in hospital and completely natural with DS (DC2) in the MLBU.

I had continuous monitoring with DD because of IUGR but only needed gas and air. They broke my waters and gave me a syntocinon drip because they felt my contractions were fading in the 2nd stage and I'm not convinced in retrospect that was necessary but neither of those things ruined the experience for me and I felt really happy with the overall experience. It was 24hrs from start of contractions to birth but only 6 hrs in hospital.

With DS it was 8hr labour, 3hrs in the MLBU. I had no intervention whatsoever (despite him being OP). No VE, no pain relief, waters intact almost until delivery, natural 3rd stage. I kind of surprised myself as I wasn't set on no intervention I just went with what the midwives suggested and what felt good at the time.

I didn't do a whole lot of preparation at all. No hypnobirthing or even NCT classes. I read active birth by Janet Balaskas and had a general idea that I wanted minimal intervention and to stay active. I would say that the attitude of the midwife is crucial and that is a bit of a lottery but those working in MLBU seem more likely to be pro- natural birth.

I planned a home birth for DD1, but went to hospital due to meconium in the waters. It stayed natural and I felt really in control.
DD2 was born at home as planned with ambulance outside due to meconium again - I felt totally out of control and quite traumatised. It was all down to the midwives. I wanted a midwife to tell me what to do - "breath like this, push hard now, come off the gas now, great" rather than being left to my own devices "just carry on as you are, everything's fine, have gas if you like".

I'll know better next time - a female friend was there for DD1 and I think that helped a lot.

I had a water birth in a midwife led unit within a hospital. I had no pain relief, no gas and air and not even paracetamol. I really didnt feel like I needed it. I know speaking to friends that I was so so lucky but I really believe my positive attitude, no fear of childbirth and supportive DH's voice got me through it. Im not saying DS popped out without me enduring any pain, it did hurt, especially crowning. I was just so excited for birth I was like, 'bring it on; and its pain with a brilliant purpose, and every contraction was one being closer to meeting my babba. Midwife just let me get on with it and i reached down and could feel the head, and i said to her 'errr, what do I do now?' and she said, 'just let your body do the work', So I did, and it worked. I didnt let my head get too involved. I didnt even need a stitch!
Read the hypnobirthing book by Marilyn Mongoose. I only got as far as introduction but i liked the philosophy and it worked for me, and it worked for another friend of mine too. Best day of my life and i would do it again tomorrow. The worst thing for me was breastfeeding. I was in tears for 6 weeks! :)

forgive the long post! 2 hospital births, poles apart. First was v slow and I ended up on a drip (synto?). I got very tired so opted for epidural to have a rest but it had worn off by the time it came to push. Dr was waiting to jump in with ventouse because the last bit took sooooooooooo long. I ended up giving birth on my back with my feet up - the last thing I wanted - but I did deliver him without assistance. The midwives tried their best and definitely didn't pressure me at any point to have any intervention I didn't want. It wasn't them that shaped the whole experience of birth, it was me: I only accepted very very late in the process that I needed to stop resisting the pain. If I'd realised earlier, this would have given me an awful lot more energy for pushing. I honestly think that if I'd understood that sooner, the labour would have shorter and easier. Not less painful, but easier.

I went into the 2nd labour expecting it to take days. I was mobile throughout and it was all very quick (3 hours altogether and I gave birth not long after getting to hospital). Joy! I gave birth in a quiet darkened room on the steps of the birthing pool (didn't have time to get in properly) with a bit of gas and air. It was different for a host of reasons, but this time round I knew not to try to tense against the pain so I did this weird walking up and down slowly waving my arms (bird-in-flight - god knows where that came from) to keep myself from tensing up. I had read nothing, hadn't meditated, learned no techniques but this time I knew not to try to resist or control the pain but to just let it be (mindfulness at work, but I didn't know that's what it was!). First time round I was super-tense and tried to push the pain away. Second time round I was actively relaxing and tried to see the pain not as pain but as my body doing its thing. Not that it didn't hurt. But it felt so different...) First time round I had a plan which I had to abandon. Second time round my only plan was to relax around the pain and take it one contraction at a time.

The midwives in both cases were committed to only intervening when absolutely necessary and I'm really glad I was in hospital both times. All the best to you and I hope you have a very positive experience.

I had a natural, hospital birth with my DD (first child, hoping to ttc a sibling next year!) so yes, it is absolutely possible

For me, one of the things that helped me feel relaxed was knowing all the kit and doctors were right there in case things didn't go to plan. I was high-risk because of various issues but was quite happy to go to hospital, and agreed to monitoring as long as I was allowed to stay mobile, so everyone was happy!

I read this book which was enormously helpful when writing my birth plan.

All the people I know who've managed sucessful natural labours have 2 main things in common - they've stayed active during pregnancy and done sensible excercise like yoga to encourage baby into a good position; and they've stayed mainly upright during labour. If you lay on your back you're literally pushing uphill. Get gravity to work for you instead . As others have said, SO much rests on the baby's position and interventions are much more likely if your baby is back-to-back/brow position etc.

I went into labour at 11am, took some paracetamol as the pains got stronger, went to hospital at 6pm (was examined and found to be at 8cm) and then things slowed down a bit due I think to the new environment. DD was born just after midnight after labouring upright at home, then on a ball/on all fours in hospital. Gas and air took the edge off it all and I did just go with the flow, it was a very primal experience, your body just takes over.

Good luck for your birth

I had a natural birth - although I was induced - oh maybe that means it wasn't natural? It was one of those pessary things. Well anyway, I was in a hospital and gave birth without intervention or pain relief. It was jolly painful and the baby was ten pounds but they didn't have to cut me, or forceps, or epidural or anything. Went home few hours later!

Second time, yes. Rocked up at hospital at 7.30am, left at 3.30pm with DD2. On way back called into posh chocolate shop wearing cardigan, pjs and bickenstock (plus socks) to buy present for neighbours who'd dropped DD1 off at nursery - greasy hair, no sleep, felt just lovely (and DH had been moved on by parking attendant by the time I'd left the shop so I had to run around in the rain, trying to find him) . Picked up DD1 whose first words to DD2 were to observe the respective difference in their car seats. Then we went home.

Had two lovely 'natural' births. Just gas an air for both. Both v big babies. My 2 top tips - move around lots and stay upright(sway hips etc) take your own stuff in so the room feels personal and familiar (like a familiar quilt cover to lay on the bed or bean bags). Good luck!

The best way to increase your chances of a natural birth is to aim for an undisturbed birth.

That means minimal touching/prodding and almost certainly no routine internal examinations (insist that they will only be allowed if a midwife has a specific concern)

It means privacy and quiet and calm, not conversation, bright lights, and changing rooms etc. And avoid being tranported if possible by having a home-birth.

Ye, but not until the third, VBC number 2. I think as many posters have said it's all about feeling prepared and confident. The confidence helps with you staying at home for longer which is a huge help in the naturalness of the whole thing, I found.

Unfortuantely never managed totally natch as I had gas and air and the unnatrual third stage as per.

I had a drug and intervention free birth in hospital.

I had stayed active throughout my pg (was still playing netball at 20wks!) and used hypnobirthing. I spent the last few weeks of the pg trying make sure baby wasn't back to back by leaning forwards over a birth ball rather than slouching back on the sofa.

BUT the main reason I had an easy drug free birth was pure luck. I didn't even start feeling contractions until I was 6cm, and I delivered DS about 3hrs later. By the time I started to think about pain relief I was in transition. I tried a couple of puffs of gas and air, but it completely broke the rhythm I'd got into with my breathing, so I abandoned it. By then I was pushing so there wasn't any point in having anything else. If I'd had a long drawn out labour then I'm pretty sure I'd have reached a point where I needed some serious drugs. Similarly if DS had been stuck then I'd have needed intervention to help him out.

Sorry yes the staying at home meant arriving at hospital 40 minutes before the last baby. As starlight says - it might well have been better to not have the drive and have her at home.

Yes for me x 2 but realise I was lucky, you never know how it'll go.

My local hospital has a great midwife-led birthing centre on the 1st floor, with the regular natal unit & operating room downstairs in case things take a turn for the worse. They will only accept uncomplicated cases though.

For DS1 I just had gas and air, was fairly textbook (if there's such a thing), eight hours. No rips or tears (though crowning was ). I did try the birthing pool at one point but it actually slowed the contractions and I couldn't find a comfortable position without sinking so gave up. The birthing centre rooms were fab but it is potluck whether there's one free when you turn up.

For DS2 the birthing centre was full when we rang, they directed us to the labour unit downstairs. In fact it went so quickly I nearly gave birth in the car and only got as far as the examining room (and not even onto the bed). Had I gone for the birthing centre I would probably have given birth in the staircase . Went into shock afterwards but they took good care of me and was all fine.

just like to add that DD1 was very much not intervention-free, quite the reverse. However, what made the difference for me was that I felt the hospital staff were aware of what was going on and in control so I didn't feel I was having to keep tabs, if you know what I mean, when i was at my most dependant.

DD2 was a waterbirth which I found to be really helpful. 2 doctors delivered DD1, I saw one midwife with DD2 (plus student medic who I'd given permission to observe).

I had a natural birth in an in-hospital birthing centre. They don't do gas and air in America, so I had no G&A, no TENS etc. My foremost instinct was to curl into a ball and quietly breathe, and that seemed to do the trick in keeping my mind distracted.

My friend who went natural swears by those hypno therapy cds- the other friend gave birth in the bathroom so relaxed was she by her cd!

To be honest, I think it is all down to luck. I did hypnobirthing and NCT and was very prepared for my first birth - I never felt as though I didn't know what was happening at each stage. But the one thing you can't prepare for is how intense it will feel - you can't know until you experience it. If you like to feel in control all the time, then surrendering to the fact that you cannot control your birth can be very frightening.

I'm interested to know why you think a "natural" birth might be hard to get? I had very similar concerns to that before DS was born, which stemmed from my NCT class. The class was obviously very pro-natural birth, and there was a lot of talk about how you would need to assert yourself in hospital because midwives will be desperate to intervene at the drop of a hat. This really worried me in the lead up to the birth, because I pictured myself having to be constantly on my guard and prepared to argue with the hospital staff which was not going to be conducive to calm, peaceful birth. In actuality, it was completely different and although I ended up with a lot of interventions I never felt that they were forced upon me; rather they were a clinical necessity.

I like Starlight's phrase "undisturbed birth".

Threads like this worry me. It is so very easy for women who, for whatever reason, don't have the birth they usher for to blame themselves. "if only I'd been better informed/more assertive things would have been different" ibthink the NCT ( fabulous organization though it is) does have questions to answer about this. When it was founded the were many battles to be fought about how wome were treated both before and during birth. A friend of my mother's was a leading light in those days and has such dreadful stories of women being strapped to tables, given drugs and interventions without consent- awful things. But things have changed hugely and most of the battles have been won. The NCT doesn't seem to have caught up with the changes and is to some extent stuck in the 70s.

For most of us, birth is a natural process that our bodies are designed to do. We can do things to help ourselves, and make it a better experience, and reduce the pain,but mostly it just happens. Whale music, chanting, Hopi ear candles, hypno birthing are all ways of making it easier- or even possible - to wait while our bodies get on with the task they are designed to do. But sometimes it's just not going to hqppen- and it's not anyone's fault. It's important to remember that in the times before interventions were available, a significant number of women and babies died. They don't now. Sometimes a medicalized birth is a wonderful triumph of science and human development and should be celebrated, not regretted.

I had a very difficult birth with dd, with epidurals, venteuse, 4 days in hospital.
Ds was a piece of cake, 45 minutes from waters breaking, no time for pain relief, home in 4 hours.

I agree with seeker...as long as your baby and you are fine, it doesn't matter what birth you have. I didn't have a birth plan as such....as long as everything was done to keep me and dcs safe.

I don't fully agree with just looking at the outcome, because too often it's seen as "healthy baby" = everything. And it is, in many many ways and there isn't a single one of us who wouldn't take any type of birth if we were told the alternative was an unhealthy baby...

BUT

I had trouble walking for 9 months after the birth. I couldn't have sex, it interfered with feeding, there were endless tears etc. It wasn't a very good outcome, although it was of course preferable to any situation in which my baby would have been seriously unwell, or worse, not come home from the hospital.

I have Starlight to thank for helping me realise that next time I can ask for no VE's, as fear of these were a crucial factor in how I chose to give birth as despite all my preparation, I didn't realise I could choose not to have them. Still not quite made the leap to home birthing but I might get there in the next 8 months!

Hi seeker - whilst I agree with much of your post - a safe arrival is something for universal celebration - I do think we have some way to go to properly resource good maternity services so that better birth experiences will be more available to all women at such a key time in their lives, and the life of their baby and wider family. Those who have had better birth experiences can perhaps be forgiven for sharing on here something of their sense of empowerment as it is always accompanied by a wish that more positive experiences be more widely and more often experienced by others. There is still a need to campaign for improvements in maternity care, especially as a relatively small increase in resourcing could make such a difference to the experience of many at such an important time.