# Natural childbirth methods **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 26, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229 "2013-12-26T19:50:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/41 "2013-12-27T16:48:19Z")
WTF does natural childbirth have to do with not vaccinating your kids? ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/42 "2013-12-27T16:50:23Z")
I have no idea. But hardcore NCB and anti-vax seem to go together. As does the the “breast is best” and unschooling stuff. Ask them, I don’t know what’s up with that. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/43 "2013-12-27T17:39:28Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > WTF does natural childbirth have to do with not vaccinating your kids? Nothing. Some people do both and apparently that means that they are somehow of a piece, kind of like being an old person and driving like an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/44 "2013-12-27T18:14:37Z")
> [@Septima](#): > > I have no idea. But hardcore NCB and anti-vax seem to go together. As does the the “breast is best” and unschooling stuff. Ask them, I don’t know what’s up with that. Not in most of the world… heck, most of the stuff you guys are labeling “natural childbirth” goes under “normal prematernal care” in a lot of countries. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/45 "2013-12-27T18:53:44Z")
“Hardcore” NCB includes such things as no prenatal medical supervision, using only a lay midwife (not a trained nurse) without doctors oversight, no transfer to hospital (ever under any circumstances), intentionally solitary/unattended birthing, and things like that. I am pretty sure this is not considered routine standard of care anywhere but subsaharan Africa, where they are desperate to improve said standard. People in the US who think, for example, that totally unattended birth is a superbrilliant plan usually have other delusional antiscience beliefs, including antivax beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/46 "2013-12-27T19:09:33Z")
My wife and I took Bradley classes, and there was a strong push towards home birthing with a strong undercurrent of “hospitals are evil and want to kill your babies.” I don’t think that’s part of the Bradley Method, but it was definitely part of our experience based on our teachers. I can see how people might lump that anti-medical-establishment mentality in with anti-vaxxers, but I don’t think anyone in our classes were swayed by the crazy. I think it’s pretty far from mainstream, and “natural childbirth” as I use it just means a vaginal birth with no epidural or episiotomy. It’s worth pointing out that people tend to have kids in a relatively small window, and times change. We’ve had all 3 kids in hospitals, 2 of them in _military_ hospitals, and never had a hard time with our birth plan. We always had private rooms and the hospitals staff did everything they could to make us comfortable. I’ve heard my mom’s stories of giving birth in hospitals in the '70s and holy shit, they sound awful. Some people might not realize that things have changed for the better. The major benefit of the Bradley for us was all the detail they went into about the various medical interventions. We really felt that we knew the language when we went into the hospital. Like I said, they were all presented to us in the tone of, “These are the horrible things that the hospital is going to do to your baby,” but when there were complications during our first birth and the doctors went for the vacuum pump thing, I _understood_ what was happening and knew not to object. And my advice to the OP is, whatever method you decide to learn, practice, practice, practice. That’s what our Bradley teachers told us to do and we totally didn’t. Who needs to practice relaxing and giving back rubs, right? But when those contractions started coming on and shit suddenly got _real_, I felt completely worthless. Spend a couple hours a week practicing everything down to the letter, maybe it will help. Or maybe it’s just something you can’t practice for, I don’t know, but I wish I’d tried. ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/47 "2013-12-27T23:11:43Z")
I found the Bradley relaxation techniques very helpful in the last couple months of pregnancy when its just so hard to get comfortable. When it came time for the actual birth, it all went out the window and I just went with “whatever feels comfortable at that moment”. I didn’t know before actual labor started that I would find any clothing restrictive and that I would be most comfortable stark naked, kneeling on the bed, facing the raised head of the bed, with my arms draped over it. My naked arse just waving out in the open, eye level to all and sundry. Gack, when I think about it now, I’m embarrassed, but at the time I didn’t care. You’ll be amazed how much you won’t care about during actual labor, which is why it is good to have an advocate - a doula or a partner who’s attuned to your needs. My second birth was an at-home birth with a pool. Again, most comfortable laboring on my knees, draped over the side of the pool. That kid was born in under 2 hours start to finish. I did have two midwives assisting me for that one. I am not a “home birth advocate”, but being able to tuck into my own bed and nurse my baby in my own home was much much better than the experience with my first birth. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/48 "2013-12-27T23:31:54Z")
I had 4 babies without any medication. I took Bradley courses before the first, but didn’t actually find it all that helpful. The best thing for me was that they were all born at birth centers with Certified Nurse Midwives attending. Drugs weren’t an option (unless I was transported to the hospital) so no one suggested them and I wasn’t tempted. And all 4 were born underwater in spa pools, and the warm water helped a lot. But specific relaxation techniques that helped were different with each baby, so don’t go into thinking you know what you want. Just try different things and see what works for you. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/49 "2013-12-28T00:06:31Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > . . .Not only give birth in a hospital, but insist on an MD, not a nurse midwife - they can’t cut if they need to. I have a friend with a severely disabled daughter because of her insistence on natural childbirth and a midwife and by the time the c-section was called for, it couldn’t be done fast enough. . . . One doesn’t necessarily follow from the other. I cross-examined the birth center about this kind of thing, and their “decision to incision” time was the same as for a labor in the hospital with an O.B. > [@](#): > > I have another girlfriend who nearly died of blood loss - she turned down the recommended c-section because “doctors only recommend them to get to their tee times” in her case, they were recommending it because she was high risk . . . This is a great example of why I think it’s so important to have a practitioner you feel views birth the same way you do. If your HCP says “you really need a c-section,” you want to be able to trust in that, not screw yourself and your baby over because you’re trying to gauge whether it’s \*really \*necessary. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/50 "2013-12-28T00:26:26Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > One doesn’t necessarily follow from the other. I cross-examined the birth center about this kind of thing, and their “decision to incision” time was the same as for a labor in the hospital with an O.B. . It’s not just about “decision to incision”, but about who is going to be doing the cutting. It wasn’t until I was pregnant that I really focused in on the fact that it is the OB that does the C-Section: they don’t call in a surgeon. If you are under the care of a CNM, the one thing they can’t do is cut, and so the actual person doing the procedure might not be someone you know. One of the best pieces of advice I got about interviewing OBs was “In a pinch, do you want this person operating on you?” It focused my thinking tremendously. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/51 "2013-12-28T00:32:50Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > It’s not just about “decision to incision”, but about who is going to be doing the cutting. It wasn’t until I was pregnant that I really focused in on the fact that it is the OB that does the C-Section: they don’t call in a surgeon. If you are under the care of a CNM, the one thing they can’t do is cut, and so the actual person doing the procedure might not be someone you know. > > One of the best pieces of advice I got about interviewing OBs was “In a pinch, do you want this person operating on you?” It focused my thinking tremendously. Many OBs don’t catch their own babies - the rotate on call with the practice. So YOUR OB, who you have built a rapport with over nine months, will be in the office seeing patients or out to dinner with her husband while someone you have never seen before delivers your baby. Its another thing to ask during the interview process. Within my OBs practice, he was the only one who caught his own patients. It meant that I had several appointments rescheduled - or had them with a nurse or another OB, but the doctor I chose to deliver did deliver (he didn’t promise he would - sometimes he goes on vacation, or two babies are born the same day, or he is ill and won’t go near delivery). ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/52 "2013-12-28T01:05:43Z")
> [@](#): > > January 13, 2012 — A review of 21 studies comparing births attended by certified nurse midwives or physicians found no difference in infant outcomes between the 2 groups, and less use of interventions such as labor induction, episiotomy, and epidurals by the nurses. > > The review, published in the January 2012 issue of Women’s Health Issues, also found reduced incidence of perineal lacerations and a higher likelihood of breast-feeding in births attended by certified nurse midwives. > **[Births Attended by Midwives Safe, Need Fewer Interventions](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/756922)** > > Births attended by certified nurse midwives are as safe as those attended by physicians and require fewer interventions. Doctor assisted births are NOT safer then midwife assisted births, no matter what your anecdotes say. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/53 "2013-12-28T01:19:53Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > [Births Attended by Midwives Safe, Need Fewer Interventions](http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/756922) > Doctor assisted births are NOT safer then midwife assisted births, no matter what your anecdotes say. Statistics are great for populations - but when talking about individuals, they don’t hold up - its sort of the nature of statistics vs. anecdotes that if something only happens one in a million times, if it happens to you, it really isn’t important how many times it didn’t happen. For my friend, an MD attending the birth would have very likely made a difference - the decision to cut would have been made sooner, it would not have taken extra time for an MD to arrive and her daughter would not have been without oxygen for fifteen minutes resulting in a girl with brain damage, liver damage and severe CP. And, my friend would not kick herself wondering if maybe going with a midwife was part of the problem - which the malpractice suit confirmed was part of the issue as the midwife could not undertake the necessary interventions and the time delay contributed to the extent of the damage. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/54 "2013-12-28T01:28:33Z")
But the nature of statistics say that for a woman who is generally low-risk, it is equally likely that her and her baby will be better off being delivered by a midwife as by a doctor. Maybe your friend had problems with a midwife that she wouldn’t with a doctor. But just as many women had problems because they chose a doctor, that they wouldn’t have had with a midwife. ---
**Author:** ![amorali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@amorali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amorali)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/55 "2013-12-28T02:02:17Z")
I went to an MD who was a midwife at a birth center that was less than five minutes from two hospitals. I was 33 when I had my daughter and truly I know I couldn’t have gone natural when I was younger. But that is just me. I was lucky that I was unemployed at the time (looking back but at the time I was wanting to work) so I had a LOT of time to mentally prepare myself. I read every book I could about natural birth including Ina May. What I learned is that in a low risk situation the woman’s mental state and attitude is the most important part of having a natural healthy birth. I had always wanted to do a water birth and i would highly recommend it. My daughter was 8 pounds and has a big Irish noggin and I only had a level one tear that healed on its own. Her birth was amazing, I was euphoric after ward even though I had been in labor for close to 24 hours with hardly any sleep. I was walking up and down stairs, went home that day. She was healthy and beautiful, clear eyed and peaceful. If anything had gone wrong with my pregnancy they would have told me I had to go to an OB because they only took low risk pregnancies. Good luck to you. I would recommend getting a doula so you have someone there who is supporting you and your birth plan. Hospitals main goal is to get the baby out quickly during the day and to avoid law suits. So your OB will most likely encourage you to induce so its easier for them. Induction leads to more C sections but that’s what they want because they get it over with and get you out sooner and they control it. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/56 "2013-12-28T03:21:50Z")
No, the hospital’s main goal is to make sure that both mother and baby end up alive and healthy. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/57 "2013-12-28T04:26:02Z")
I went to a few huffing and puffing classes. I gave birth with my hands on the seat of a chair while squatting - facing away from the chair - all the pain was in my back so that kept the pressure off and all the weight was on my thighs. You’ll end up wherever you end up it seems. Not so great on the midwife’s knees though poor girl. My boyfriend didn’t want to be there, and I was glad for that. You really don’t want to be having to think about other people. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/58 "2013-12-28T05:45:34Z")
> [@amorali](#): > > I went to an MD who was a midwife at a birth center that was less than five minutes from two hospitals. > I was 33 when I had my daughter and truly I know I couldn’t have gone natural when I was younger. But that is just me. > I was lucky that I was unemployed at the time (looking back but at the time I was wanting to work) so I had a LOT of time to mentally prepare myself. > > I read every book I could about natural birth including Ina May. What I learned is that in a low risk situation the woman’s mental state and attitude is the most important part of having a natural healthy birth. > I had always wanted to do a water birth and i would highly recommend it. > My daughter was 8 pounds and has a big Irish noggin and I only had a level one tear that healed on its own. > Her birth was amazing, I was euphoric after ward even though I had been in labor for close to 24 hours with hardly any sleep. > I was walking up and down stairs, went home that day. > She was healthy and beautiful, clear eyed and peaceful. > If anything had gone wrong with my pregnancy they would have told me I had to go to an OB because they only took low risk pregnancies. > Good luck to you. > I would recommend getting a doula so you have someone there who is supporting you and your birth plan. > Hospitals main goal is to get the baby out quickly during the day and to avoid law suits. So your OB will most likely encourage you to induce so its easier for them. > Induction leads to more C sections but that’s what they want because they get it over with and get you out sooner and they control it. I’m glad you had a good experience, and I don’t think inductions should be done unless they’re medically necessary (my SIL’s was; she had pre-eclampsia) but I also don’t think doctors order inductions to increase the c-section rate, unless they’re sadists (which some are, I’ll grant you that). Did your “MD who was a midwife” have the title CNM, MD? If not, then you just had an OB, or a family practice doctor who delivered babies. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/59 "2013-12-28T05:46:40Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > No, the hospital’s main goal is to make sure that both mother and baby end up alive and healthy. Really? I thought it was about making people bankrupt. (snark) No, you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229/60 "2013-12-28T14:14:17Z")
Funny how people are all, “evidenced based medicine,” and, “studies, not anecdotes!” Until the evidence and studies don’t match their preconceptions or personal experience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natural-childbirth-methods/677229.md?page=4)