Forgive me for asking but, what’s the attraction of a ‘natural’ childbirth?
For me, I don’t want a needle in my spine. It’s as simple as that - I’m more terrified of the epidural than I am of the pain.
I’d also like to limit the effects of any medication on my baby - and the easiest way to do that is to try not to have any.
I don’t get the appeal of the epidural (I don’t like the idea of being flat on my back, stuck in the bed while giving birth), just as others may not get my reasons for wanting a natural birth. But I think both should be viable options, and from my limited experience so far, less medical intervention seems to be the more difficult choice to obtain.
E.
I personally haven’t had any babies. But both of my good friends have had children in the last 2 years. One of them got really upset w/ her OB because she kept suggesting she should have a C-section. I thought this was very strange (and a little scary). My friend told me there weren’t any complications expected, but at every check up the doctor would bring up that a lot of women are choosing to get a C-section over vaginal birth. Mainly because you could choose the day of birth for convenience. :dubious: Thats the only time I’ve heard (personally) of a doctor pushing a mother to be to have an invasive surgical procedure. Why would a doctor recommend this for no apparent reason?
PS: this is in the US, BTW.
This is veering into GD territory, not to mention a hijack of this thread. Just quickly, I’ll mention that at least two doctors have been fired from their hospitals (and one had her license yanked) for not performing enough c-sections. Hospitals, unlike doctors, do make considerably more money for a c-section birth as opposed to a vaginal birth, and there’s some (controversial) evidence that hospitals in the US want to keep their c-section rate high not for patient health, but for their bottom line. If a doctor won’t cooperate, they’ll fire her and hire someone who will make them money. Google “Dr. Helen Sandland” and “Dr. Colleen Murphy” for more information on this topic.
Well, right about then I would start looking around for a new OB, unfounddoor.
I did have an ‘elective’ C-section (that is, after my first difficult baby, I had to have a scheduled section for the second; I didn’t actually get much of a choice). But my OB was always very good about not pressuring me into anything. I had my first kid on a Friday night and he didn’t push the C-section at all, until it became obvious that a vaginal birth was not going to work. (They opened me up and everyone went, “Oooooohhh, that baby wasn’t coming out on her own!” She was over 10lbs. and flipped over, she never even descended, but bounced off my pelvic bone.)
I did want a natural birth, and held out until exhaustion made it impossible to keep going. That’s when the epidural gave me a chance for a nap (not all of us actually wanted it, Elza, but sometimes that’s just what happens). Some of the appeal is that birth is usually something that your body can manage without drugs, and it’s a neat feeling to know that it is strong and all that stuff, then the drugs do affect the baby somewhat, and if it’s an easy birth you can just stand right up and not fuss with all the other stuff. Being de-catheterized isn’t such a fun time that you just happily go along with it.
Yeah - I’m not completely ruling out the epidural, but to be honest, it does scare the hell out of me for a variety of reasons. It’ll definitely be when I feel like I can’t go any further, though.
The epidural actually helped my friend’s labors twice - once she got the epi, her labor sped up (her second daughter’s labor was about 22 hours shorter than her first because she got the epi earlier). It worked for her, definitely.
E.