Passive Birth !!

[mogwai]

Ok, so I know there's all this stuff about "active birth" and yoga, meditation, releasing your natural endorphins and riding on the crest of your waves of pain.

I really admire people who have the courage to embrace an "active birth"

Personally I feel that advances in medical technology have allowed me the luxury of wallowing in my own cowardice and I want all the pain relief I can lay my hands on.

Should I strat up a "passive birth" centre to advocate us cowards having as little as possible to do with the whole process, a random selection of cream cakes and DVDs in the delivery suite and a full bikini wax under epidural?

Who's up for that??

... has landing gear after giving birth....

oh, and sarah, my dp offered to cut my toenails for me at 6 months as I was struggling for breath doing it..... he took the top of my middle toe off with the clippers. My bikini line subsequently got done by virtue of some long handled shears and a periscope...

that's hilarious!

My dh offered to paint my toenails at about 35 weeks. He tried so hard but it wasn't much good. Still, he came home with some vouchers for me to have it done at the local hotel, four times! Added benefits!

However, I now have an unhealthy addiction to pedicures.

By the way, I sincerely hope there's no landing gear after giving birth, if you know what I mean

love this thread
think there is a definite gap in the market for a passive birth centre, about time women weren?t bullied into believing "pain is good", "pain relief is a wimps way..." - it is like the middle ages.

Never be talked out of wanting an epidural, that's what I say.

I'll never whine again about my midwife who sat quietly in the delivery room throughout and hardly said a word except 'that was a real whopper of a contraction' once. The thought of her chatting on and telling me I was OK - wd have tried to drown her in the pool.

excellent!

Glad this thread is still going strong with no party poopers. Looks like we wimps are all coming out of the woodwork, loud and proud!!

It's such a breath of fresh air to be able to talk about this without someone trying to persuade us about the natural pain relief offered by the body's own endorphins! Bollocks!!

I remember talking to some friends about the fact that I was going to give birth in a non medical situation without pain relief as I thought there was too much medicalisation of what was, after all a natural process. They openly guffawed and I felt very affronted.

Oh how firmly the boot is on the other foot now.

IM A WIMP! Lasted 30 minutes of full on contractions on gas and air and went straight for the epidural - and my new MW reckons i could have this one at home - I DONT THINK SO! Book me that bed now and have the anethitist on stand by!

I've always been very closed to persuasion!

This thread Rocks !

So, here I go: I'm a whimp and I'm proud of it ! There I said it.

Go 'Passive Birth' !!!

I've found my people!

Covered pain relief in NCT class, conclusion = epidural only one to give full pain relief. Joyously blurted out 'that's the puppy for me then!'. Got 'looks' like i'd killed a puppy.

What's wrong with not being a martyr? (can't even spell the word).

Got a paper cut the other day - that was bad enough... Surely those who want an au natural birth haven't ever endured a really bad period (or a deep paper cut) before?

P.S Can't believe this thread hasn't yet been hijacked by an earth-mother-happy-clapper yet. Was waiting for us 'weak' to get stripped down by someone with 17 babies, smelly hair who wears orange tie die...

it really annoys me when people look down on you just because you have pain relief.

It aint a f^%$&ing competition! You don't get a bloody cash prize for doing it without drugs... you just have a much worse time!!!

My epidural was beginning to wear off by the time DS arrived, so I could feel the contractions, but just like a tightening.. and I could feel the pressure of ds's head pushing down... felt like everything was just gonna burst open down there! lol

actually i shouldn't say that... you don't necessarily have a worse time without drugs.

I think that some births are just more painful. Not just to do with pain threshold... i think some people must have births that really aren't as painful as others.

A lady in hospital with me didn't even know she was in labour until a midwife checked her at a routine appt!!! She came into hospital and had some paracetamol and then popped her dd out!!!

would the cream cake trolly also have hot savoury options? I had to send DH out for pizza after DS was born and I was none too impressed with the half hour wait

oh god you are all such hippy dippy hairy legged natural birth martyrs.... I had an elective c-section, so I am officially more passive than yow (to paraphrase the fast show). Boast, boast

Yay, I'm with you aloha! I'm a bit below you in the pecking order though, having put myself through a bikini wax beforehand. It NEVER occured to me to have it done under anaesthesia, in the passive birth stylee...........

Talking of which, has anyone tried rubbing in teething gel before a wax?

I had a waterbirth without pain relief, so hope I'm not party-pooping this thread

But not because I don't believe in pain relief and I definitely don't look down on people who have it!

I have had very bad endometriosis for which an epidural would have been a welcome relief sometimes - there's no let-up in the pain like there was between my contractions for most of my labour. SO I suppose I was used to that level of pain - in fact, my periods have been worse than labour in the past, much worse

And the other forms of pain relief on offer?

I tried gas and air when I was in the pool and made me retch - I loathe being sick (well, who loves it?!) and was coping OK, so figured I'd do without it.

Pethidine - opiate-based and I've had appalling reactions to morphine in hte past - vomiting, shivering and badly lowered blood pressure.

Meptid - didn't want to take the chance on it making me sick.

Epidural - am very allergic to all kinds of plaster, so didn't want a blistered crispy back after having DS!

Can't think of any others! TENS doesn't work in water...

Can I still eat the cream cakes? Please?!

HM, v interesting. Have often thought it was being used to awful period pains that made labour not as bad as I thought it'd be...

I was about to pop in HM but thought I might get drowned if I mentioned pool

but glad there's an up side to all that wrenching agony, Dinny!

Mears - splosh

mogwai... you're about to get hijacked - I can snif it in the air!! But anyway, to put your mind at rest, most of the "landing gear" got drawn back up into the "undercarriage". Yes, I said most of it. Least I don't trip over anymore. I am SOOOOO attractive - no, really.

Serah - no hijack intended, but would love to know what pain relief I should've had, given the restrictions my stupid body placed upon me!

general anaesthetic HM????

PMSL! Yes, that's a thought...

Mind you, have had the same blood pressure upchuck response to that in the past...although not while under, admittedly!

Didn't mean you Hunkermunker, or anyone else on the thread! hijack was the wrong word. (General Anaesthetic is a damned good idea btw!)