Well, everyone says that you need to make a Birthing Plan and of course, be flexible with it. To me, all I had really planned was going into labor sometime and then going to the hospital, getting an epidural and then having the baby! This really has been my "plan" or idea since high school. However, all these new methods are coming around that I had no idea even existed. These methods range from 1) a silent birth (Katie Holmes, a scientology thing), 2) natural birth (no drugs), 3) epidural, 4) water birth (giving birth in a tub?), 5) HypnoBirthing.
Recently I have heard about HypnoBirthing and that every woman who has done it has SWORN by it. I have a friend who is doing it this way and she is due a month after me, and she is taking this six week course to do it! I definitely don't have six weeks to spare but I will have to admit, this method does sound appealing to me after hearing different testimonials about it. I am enrolled in a prenatal class that I am hoping will be sufficient enough to get me through because I do want to be able to relax as much as I can and let my body do what it needs to do. I know it's completely possible, I mean epidurals and water births haven't been around for that long! I do want to say, however, that I am definitely not ruling out an epidural... that still sounds appealing to me as well. Anyway, if anyone has any advice/opinions on any of these methods, I welcome them so it can help me make a decision on what would be best for me.
Hope to hear from you all soon!
16 comments:
I say that your basic original plan is a good idea, then you are flexible and won't be disappointed with whatever happens. Each birth is different, my first was awesome, I had no idea I was in labor (I only made it to the hospital because I hadn't felt my daughter move all day, and I didn't feel great, but not terrible :). I got to the hospital and was at an 8, they told me to either get an epidural immediately or not get one at all, so I got one. It worked great, I didn't feel anything, and Kinley was born 2 hours later. Mason, on the other hand, was a week late, I had to be induced, I got my epidural after 5 hours, sat for another 5 hours waiting for it to work, they broke my water after 11 hours and he was born about an hour later - the epidural never worked. Having done it both ways, I vote for the epidural. But, being flexible would help if it doesn't work, or if you plan on not having one then change your mind, it doesn't matter. All that really matters is getting that baby here safely, and you are the mom, whatever you feel good about is what's best for your baby. Good luck! You will be such a great little mom!
My advice:
SAY YES TO DRUGS :)
(if at all possible)
-Sara Blume
I found out why I was not crossing the plains while having children...I dont think i would have made it :)
ok i dont know much about this sorta thing but what is hypno birthing? do they hypnotize you when your in labor?
totally go with the flow. I read all this stuff about a birthing plan, but what it really comes down to is that you trust your doctor that they will know what is best for you and your baby. Oh, but do put epidural on your birthing plan.
I like your original plan. I would keep epidural on your list! I know I wouldn't have made it without it!
Epidural all the way. I'm no superwoman, though. Maybe superwomen like you can go without. But, like my mom's doctor says, "We don't beat rugs anymore because we have vacuums." Why go through pain that you don't have to endure?
I have been going through the same thing, so I completely understand!!! And have a lot of the same questions. But while it seems like most everyone here says to go with an epidural, I've had a lot of people give me advice the opposite way. They say that when you're body goes through the pain it knows to naturally produce pain-relief and when you have an epidural the recovery is a lot worse because you're body hasn't been preparing for it. But I don't know... totally up to you! I am interested in hypnobirthing too... but like you feel no desire to take a huge class on it! I did have a friend lend me a book on it which has been educational. I'd suggest doing something like that if you haven't already! Good luck and keep me posted!
I highly recommend Tourettes Birthing. It is the one time in your life when yelling obscenities is ok and actually acceptable. You can start chewing out the nursing staff and Nate all at once. The mother in Saturday Warrior actually did this in the movie. If you remember she yelled at her husband, "YOU DID THIS TO ME"!!!
I'm so for having a birthing plan. You take control over your birth experience. Just make sure you're the most educated you can be about what your body's going through. I just think it's not something to be scared about if you're prepared. JD and I are taking some classes. You and Nate should totally come! Let me know if you're interested.
I think birthing plans are all fine and good, I would just be careful to not have too many expectations of what is going to happen. I had a labor/delivery that pretty much went against everything that I had envisioned (because I had this idea of how everything would happen in my head) and it was really hard for me when it didn't go that way. I got induced early because of complications, my husband was at work in another state when I got induced, I spent 29 hours in labor, was manually dialated without an epidural, my baby had meconium and spent 5 days in NICU, etc. So next time around I will keep my expectations simple: 1 - that my doctor I want delivers me, and 2 - that my husband is there for it. Otherwise, you might be setting yourself up for disappointment because complications happen and we can't script birth out entirely. Good luck. :)
Ok I just realized that my previous comment may have sounded really harsh! I hate blogging comments for that reason because you come across different when you can't hear the voice intonations and laugh about things, so please, read it knowing I wasn't complaining, just hoping to help someone!
I had a birthing plan, but then it didn't even really matter much. I had thought that I was going to have an epidural and then everything would be great-"heaven"-from there(since this is what others who had one had told me)...however, I ended up being in labor for like 20 hours and having the baby naturally with no drugs and had to push him out for a few hoursall by myself (feeling EVERYTHING). So you never really know! You just have to be open-minded because who knows what will happen. Everyone's labor experiences are different and unique and totally unpredictable. But you should have some ideas of what you do and don't want and then be flexible in case things don't turn out as planned (have a Plan "B."
I like Michaels comment, that's funny! Okay, for advice...well I've had one baby with and epidural, and one baby naturally. I didn't choose to go natural though, it was just circumstances. First of all, everything is totally your decision, and please know that every birth is completely different. There is no RIGHT way to do it, that's for sure! If you want to try and be brave and go natural, it could be a good experience, definitely painful, but it's cool to know what it does feel like so you know what you're capable of. Also, somehow you really appreciate the birth of your baby more when you do it naturally. But, epidurals are wonderful too, because you can just relax and not worry about how much you think you're going to die of pain. For my future babies I plan to have epidurals, but that's just me. Just make the best decision for you!
True, you should definitely be open-minded. There are certain things you may want to be sure about before though, and let your team know. Like who cuts the chord, whether you want to help pull the baby out, how long you want to hold them, nursing in the labor room, episiotomy vs. tearing (I strongly recommend tearing since it's usually not as bad; all of my friends who did episiotomies took forever to heal), etc. Other things like epidural and labor helps you can decide when you are there. It will probably be so different than you plan, but I am glad I let my doctor know certain things that I preferred before hand. Good luck! It will be the most amazing day of your life!
Oh, by the way, my grandma totally did hypno-birthing and said it totally worked. She said it worked a little too well cause she can't remember much from the labor. Lol.....
Also, are you taking any lamaze/ labor classes? I strongly recommend them even if you do an epidural. Kevin and I LOVED taking the classes together. Just a thought......
We've been totally looking into natural childbirth and will probably go that route once we decide to have kids:) Good luck with your labor, you'll be great!
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