Am I crazy for wanting a natural child birth?

[Evianontoast]

Hi. I'm 31 weeks and starting to think about my birth plan with my
first baby. I've never really been one for taking any kind of drugs - I don't even take paracetamol (I also don't drink alcohol or caffeine, and haven't done for years, even before I was pregnant. Not really sure why, I just don't like the idea of it).

I really feel like I'd feel better going in to birth with a plan to not have any pain relief if I can help it. I understand that many people feel this way and end up with the pain relief in the end (thank goodness it's available if you need it). But whenever it comes up in conversation with anyone, I get the "just you wait!" attitude.

Am I being completely naive? I really think I can do it without it but maybe that's just first time mum naivety? Anyone else do it with no drugs? Do you regret it/ are you glad you did it?

Thanks in advance.

I normally don't take painkillers, caffeine or alcohol. I have practiced relaxation and meditation for years, read about hypnobirthing and flirted with affirmations. I wanted a water birth with gas and air and bought a TENS just in case.
Few hours contractions in bath before I sacked off water in favour of TENS. Paracetamol. Into hospital. Codeine. Breathing. After more than 24 hours still on TENS, got gas & air. Then got forced onto drip, cue epidural and then to theatre for assisted delivery with a spinal (which was fabulous). Needed zero pain relief postnatally, the only time the midwives were actually keen to provide it! Just see how you go. Good luck.

@doyouwantachuffedybadge

Those saying why would you want the injection for the placenta - I wasnt given any choice - are youmeant to have a choice?! I asked for my placenta the day after and they said it had already been incinerated, despite me putting it in the birth plan that I wanted it. I was on so many drugs I didnt think about the placenta until the day after. Are they meant to ask your permission to give you the injection to encourage it out?

I didn’t express any views on mine, they did the injection & whisked it away so I never saw it and I only wondered what had happened to it after leaving hospital

Although I can see why that would annoy you if you wanted it @doyouwantachuffedybadge I mean it’s your property isn’t it

2 no pain relief
2 epidurals

Epidural EVERY TIME.

( Or would you have your appendix out / your open heart surgery / your leg off without pain relief??)

With a natural birth, pain ends immediately.
You can bend and lift baby, lie it on your tummy and just look at her/him.Go in planning a natural birth but bye prepared to change if you feel like it. There:s no shame in that. Good luck!

I had two drug free births. The first time it was just because things progressed quicker than expected. The second time I went into it thinking I would try to manage without.

Birth is different for everyone. Both of mine were quite short labours; I dare say I’d have needed drugs if they’d been longer.

Just keep an open mind. There’s nothing wrong with approaching it with the intention of not having any drugs, just as long as you are ok with the idea that you might need them, and that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

@Glassofshloer

Although I can see why that would annoy you if you wanted it *@doyouwantachuffedybadge* I mean it’s your property isn’t it

Yeah - I wanted to see it - afterall it had been feeding my child for all those months. I remember it was whisked away in a box and I wasn't even asked about it. All very strange, like as you say, it belonged to me.

I wanted a natural birth with my first , DH still likes to remind over 20 years later how I was screaming and begging for an epidural I had to have gas and air as it was too late at that point .

Had two quick labours. Both labours, midwives didn't seem to believe I was in labour and I was examined both times and was ten cm and ready to push. Given some codeine to push my first out and some Entonox to push my second. Probably could have managed both without, but the Entonox made it so much more comfortable. Wish I'd been offered it first time round. Lovely stuff, wears off quick and I'd deffo be asking for some if there's a next time!

I think birth plans are probably the domain of 2nd+ births to be honest which are a lot more predictable.

@SammyScrounge

With a natural birth, pain ends immediately. You can bend and lift baby, lie it on your tummy and just look at her/him.Go in planning a natural birth but bye prepared to change if you feel like it. There:s no shame in that. Good luck!

That's not always true.

I had a natural birth and was in agony for days after birth and discomfort for months. I couldn't sit down, I couldn't bend properly, it was awful.

Had my first earlier this year with no pain relief so definitely doable. I don’t take paracetamol etc either.

I do realise I’m one of the lucky ones who didn’t feel contractions or any burning etc though. The midwife just said I must have a high pain threshold.

I've got three children. First I had pethidine and ended up with a spinal block for a ventouse delivery. It was awful - despite the pethidine it was extremely painful and scary. (Back to back baby who got stuck).
Second was an unattended homebirth no drugs or gas and air. Intensely painful in transition but a pain I wanted/needed to feel after having had the spinal block and assisted delivery first time. It ws hugely healing in terms of my belief in my body, and the natural high lasted for days afterwards.

Third was supposed to be another homebirth, but I could feel the baby was back-to-back and didn't want to risk having to go in by ambulance- so went to hospital, confirmed that baby was back-to-back, but the midwife knew I had wanted a homebirth so reassured me I would be able to get through it and sat on the other side of the room. Again intensely painful in transition and I really felt her head being born but no painkillers or gas and air.
I think we can endure much more than we think, particularly when we are not actually injured or in danger. It's painful, it's really visceral, there is nothing like it (I can only describe it as feeling as if my bones, muscles, and internal organs were all being pulled apart), but you won't be harmed by the pain and it is finite.

I’ve had four natural births. The more prep work I did in terms of learning and practicing how to cope with stress and pain the better they were (I was also just plain lucky because I was physically able to birth naturally). Almost all births are stressful and painful at some point so these skills aren’t wasted if it doesn’t go to plan.

I think if you go in there unprepared and thinking you won’t ask for pain relief because you don’t take paracetamol you’ll soon be begging for anything drug they have going. That’s not to discourage you but I’d recommend putting some practice in and thinking through why it’s important to you. Good luck.

[quote Glassofshloer]**@Hardbackwriter* the injection lowers the chance of pph?! Ok now I know* people are just being obtuse not having it! I didn’t know that![/quote]
Yep. I had the injection with DD, it didn’t work though (or didn’t work very well) and the placenta wouldn’t come. It came eventually, after they thought maybe my bladder was in the way so they put a catheter in, but I did have a PPH (so my home birth ended in a ambulance transfer after DD was born), and they’ve said this time I’ll have to have the injection again due to previous PPH - not that I’d turn it down after last time anyway.

I had very medicalised caesarean births for my first two and hated every second of them. For my third I was determined to be as natural as possible though with my previous experiences of birth going sideways I made three different birth plans for each scenario I could find myself in. 1st was a home birth, second was hospital/ induction and third was theatre. I got my home birth which was fantastic.

I just wrote in my plan that I didn't want midwives to offer pain relief and that I'd ask for it if I felt it was required. I got to transition without anything (just water/ birth pool) but once I hit the pushing stage I found it easier with gas and air. I didn't find it painful, more that the gas and air disassociated me from the pressure which I liked the sensation of. I found the positive birth book by Milli Hill really helpful for breaking down what to expect in labour and it helped me reframe the idea of expecting it to be painful to most of the time not being in pain. I can't explain it very well but it's definitely worth a read!

So yeah, go into it with a plan of what you'd like but be prepared to add to it. One of my friends told her husband she categorically didn't want pain relief and to support her in that and ended up regretting it as he kept reminding her and preventing her from getting it when she really wanted it.... 🤦🏼‍♀️

Good luck!

Your not your not crazy, it is doable. I have friends that have done it with no pain relief and my mum gave birth to me with no pain relief.
I was like you and really wanted to do it without, I wanted a water birth and if it really came to it I was happy to accept gas and air. Unfortunately baby had other ideas and was back to back so the pain was unreal and I just could not cope without. I managed without an epidural/spinal but ended up having to get one anyway because I tore very badly and needed surgery.
I think I went into it a bit naive and looking back I wish I'd had a bit more of an open mind and researched and explored all avenues of what if's before I gave birth. Knowledge is power as they say.

I do find the comparisons to surgery etc a bit disingenuous. Going under the knife isn't a "natural" procedure, the pain is different because it is coming from without us - same as injury pain or illness pain - they all come from something which isn't "suppised" to happen.
Birth is natural, our bodies produce endorphins and other hormones/chemicals to help us with the process.,
My body wasn't supposed to be cut with a scalpel, but it was supposed to give birth - it's a very different pain.

@ftw163532

It's this kind of attitude that's probably getting people's backs up in conversation btw:

I've never really been one for taking any kind of drugs

The only people I've met who talk like that have the immense privilege of never having experienced any significant illness, injury or pain, and look down on people who have.

I mean, nobody who'd had to have major surgery would say something so silly and dismissive. It does make you sound naive and judgemental.

Being in pain actually impairs recovery from surgery and leads to poorer outcomes, so failing to adhere to pain management regimes post-op is unwise - which is something else to have in mind in case you need a section.

This.

I've never been one for taking any kind of drugs that I don't need. I do take asthma and epilepsy meds every day though as I don't think the risk of death is worth taking. I also take quite a few painkillers and sumatriptan as giving up work due to the frequency of my migraines also doesn't seem like a great option.

I'd suggest being more open-minded than you are right now. Don't take pain relief you don't want in labour but you are setting yourself up to feel like you've failed if you need them.

I have 2 kids btw and my second labour was significantly less painful than my first due to position of the baby. You will hear some people talking proudly about a pain-relief free birth but I would not pay that any heed as some births are easier to go through than others. Epidural with my first, gas and air for about 30 mins with my second. I take no blame or credit for either.

@KingofQueens

I do find the comparisons to surgery etc a bit disingenuous. Going under the knife isn't a "natural" procedure, the pain is different because it is coming from without us - same as injury pain or illness pain - they all come from something which isn't "suppised" to happen. Birth is natural, our bodies produce endorphins and other hormones/chemicals to help us with the process., My body wasn't supposed to be cut with a scalpel, but it was supposed to give birth - it's a very different pain.

Bodies don't always produce endorphins, that is a bit of a simplification. My second labour was 1 hr 40 mins. No time for endorphins to really get going and I think as I am a low responder to exercise (in terms of endorphins) there may be individual differences anyway.

It wasn't a different pain to me.

I had an induction and no pain relief (apart from paracetamol but that was earlier) wasn't that bad - it was painful while you were in the contraction but then when it each stopped the pain went away and was forgotten.
I think a lot of it is to do with your state of mind and being calm.

I found it more helpful to think about what I did not want. So, for example, I had no consent for Kielland's forceps - proceed to caesarean birth on my plan.

In the end I used TENS then the pool for DD1 and TENS then gas and air for DD2.