Should it be called a “natural” delivery?

[CaptainJason]

I’ve got two DC, my first was an emergency c section and my second was a VBAC, so I’ve had both types of delivery.

I have noticed the use of the phrase “natural birth” or “natural delivery” (one doctor asked if I’d had a “normal delivery”), and I wondered what people think of it.

I personally think it should be referred to as either a c section or a vaginal delivery.

I theoretically understand that a vaginal delivery is “natural” in that it is what nature intended, but I also think if you’ve had any form of intervention at all, “natural” doesn’t seem to fit.

I had 4 C sections. I was too small to give birth "naturally" although I tried for hours. My child was only 6 lbs 13 so not abnormally big. They decided I was made too small and whipped me in for an emergency section that my husband was not even allowed attend because it was a rush job. I did not choose to have a section but I physically could not do it and baby would have died.
It really grinds my gears when people try to "outbirth" other women. Ohh I did it alone, no pain relief, no stitches, no help, no bleeding, no pain, went home in an hour and did the ironing. My vagina is better than yours.

It's about 30%, up from about 20% 20 years ago.
I'd like to know the stats on maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, and whether they have improved commensurably.

Natural. It's like with my MC, i describe it as natural as I passed my embryo and placenta at home into the toilet. Very different to it being removed surgically for my friend via either D&C or MVA under anaesthesia. As an aside I would have much preferred the surgical option (or even a natural option with medication to support). Much less painful or traumatic but it isn't what nature intended for me.

No one has the weird sensitivity around MC that they do with live births. It's natural (which includes the medication) or surgical and they're all shitty options. Women are their own worst enemies thinking they are defined by how they give birth - natural does not equal better, but it comes with unique risks and problems to anything surgical that involves being put under and losing your control of the process.

Natural doesn't mean prehistoric - it's just a design that nature has created. It's not a man made way of giving birth. Our entire reproductive system has stayed the same for millennia, hasn't evolved like human beings have to walk straight and be less hairy (and we'll likely evolve to be hunched with humps from our screen use!).

Of course we've learnt to help the natural design along. Like periods is a natural design but we don't free bleed anymore. And we have contraception to stop it but if someone wants to get pregnant naturally they can't bypass periods. Until women evolve to stop having vaginas that facilitate birth, it will always be a natural design. Yes we may have help pulling a baby out when it gets stuck - like hands, forceps, ventouse but no one is bypassing the natural design in a vaginal birth like they are with a c-section.

'Normal vaginal delivery' or 'NVD' for short is the medical term.

Same when women try to out suffer each other. My birth was far harder than yours.

I had a natural birth, my vagina isn’t better than yours but I definitely feel lucky I got to do it the way I wanted. But if I dare mention it on here I get “do you want a medal?” “If you had a toothache…”

Please don’t think that natural birth means better. It means lucky. I feel for anyone who had any type of trauma or fear during birth. Whatever they went through to save themselves and baby is amazing. Please don’t put down my labour though. It was hardwork and I should be able to speak about it as well.

You worded that and explained it very well. Totally understand what you are saying. I guess I am still resentful and touchy because I was told by 2 close people to be that ‘ I did not give birth and took the easy option’ and ‘It must have been terrible not to do what a woman’s body is designed to do’. I tried my best but it was not to be. I am sorry if I came across bitchy. I didn’t mean to. I guess I am just sensitive around the subject. X

Well I think you sound incredibly brave to have been through all that. I don’t blame you for being sensitive. Maybe I could choose my words better when replying to others on this subject.

And I will choose not to get triggered 😂

Thank you for your lovely response. I really appreciate it.

I call it Normal Delivery but my job works with the ICD-10 codes and Normal Delivery is the description.

I suspect that for almost all emergency c-sections (and a good chunk of planned ones) a c-section comes with vastly less risk to both mother and baby than not doing one….isnt that rather the point?

If someone told me they had a "normal" delivery I wouldn't know how the baby came out. C-sections are just as 'normal' as vaginal births, at my local hospital it's around 50/50.

If someone told me they had a "natural" birth the only assumption I would make was that it was vaginal. I wouldn't make any assumptions over whether it was induced/spontaneous, assisted/unassisted or medicated/unmedicated. So I suppose natural and vaginal are synonymous for me.

My best friend had a baby two weeks before me via planned section. I had my baby vaginally (spontaneous, unassisted except for catching and accidentally unmedicated). She said a number of times that she felt she had taken the easy way out. She didn't feel that she could say she had truly "given birth". I told her I felt the opposite tbh, my biggest fear was having to have a section, whereas I wasn't anxious for labour. I think there's something very brave about it. Anyone who gives birth has been through it in one way or another.

I'm pregnant atm and a few mums at playgroup have asked about labour plans & how it went with DD. I'm very sentimental about the labour I had with her. It wasn't an enjoyable experience but I didn't think it would be. Despite that, it's the process of how I met her and I'm generally happy with how it went. I hope I don't come across as smug while talking about it! I just look back on it fondly and don't think I should make out that I don't for fear of others thinking I'm 'smug' 🤷🏻‍♀️

No there are elective-elective fully choice sections too.

I have had one and about to have another.

You can call me too posh to push if you like. I do get funny looks sometimes when people ask and I say maternal choice.

Personally I’m not too bothered what people think or say. Maternity care sadly is not what it once was and complication / injury rates from natural / vaginal births (whatever 😅) are sky high with many resulting in c sections anyway.

So when I looked at the stats it made sense statistically. It’s a hedge your bets kind of position. You’re not aiming for a perfect birth. But you’re avoiding a really shit one.

@BestZebbie not for everyone though. C-sections might be a safer alternative for a small proportion of women. But we haven't evolved to lose the ability for natural birth. C-section is an alternative to natural birth.

Let's not forget majority of the earth's population has and continues to be born by natural and vaginal birth because a majority of the world doesn't have access to planned c-sections or even emergency ones. Babies are born in war zones, remote poor areas, areas far from medical infrastructure, with no running water or electricity every day through natural birth. And the lack of c-section access is not causing a dip in those populations - so this isn't something that impacts the 'human race' - just a small proportion of it.