February 10, 2010
Natural Birth, Duggar Style
Secondly, I think the Bradley recommendations about eating certain foods and the daily exercises readied my body for the marathon of birth. I felt a bit like an athlete getting ready for a great feat, including the high-protein-and-lots-of-good-fats diet. I also was advised to stay away from the hospital as long as possible to avoid all the checkups and interventions. Instead of being hooked up to a monitor, I labored at home, walking around as much as possible. I was able to eat what I wanted and able to get into positions that felt most comfortable from minute to minute, like Anna. She ended up having a home birth, something I would have had if I would have stayed home another half an hour.
Clearly, the last factor was a bit of luck. I was only in labor for nine hours and had my son twenty minutes after arriving at the hospital. All the preparation in the world couldn’t have guaranteed that I would have a natural birth. Maybe I was fortunate with how my body was build and how my son happened to maneuver himself into the world. Not every woman is that lucky and things can go wrong and require intervention. I also have to say that I didn’t end up using the Bradley relaxation techniques. My husband had so dutifully studied to be my coach yet in the end I didn’t even want a foot rub; I was so busy with tuning into my body.
Watching that “19 Kids and Counting” episode, I was so proud of Anna Duggar for giving birth to her baby at home, so proud that this young woman had educated herself by attending classes for weeks and mentally prepared herself for that special day of her child’s birth. She is a great role model for other women, young and old, about empowering yourself with the information you need about labor.
If you want to be more in command of your wishes and choices while giving birth, I recommend you believe in your own strength, chose your support team wisely (I had a doula), and educate yourself about the best options for you. There are many other classes available beside the Bradley method. If more women would take charge of their life like Anna, I believe many could avoid epidurals and C-sections and have a more positive birthing experience.
{I originally wrote this post for the now defunct New York City Moms Blog. It was posted Febuary 10, 2010}
This post should generate some interesting comments (or heated discussion?). What do you think, do you feel — like me — that more women could achieve a natural birth if they had educated themselves more about how the hospital is set up to push you into c-sections and believed more strongly in their ability to give birth naturally (hey, I did it, and I am no superwoman)?
Did you have an epidural or a C-section? What was your experience?
Were you happy with your birth experience? Would you do anything differently the next time? I appreciate your input, because I want all of us to learn from each other. Knowledge is power!
You can find birth resources I compiled on my Birth page.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
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My first daughter was born at the hospital, and I was GUNG-HO about natural birth. I was very familiar with all the risks of an epidural, had all my reasons for not wanting one, knew that the hospital would be pushy, etc (I had a VERY good educator on the topic…a wonderful aunt who was a L&D nurse turned doula/midwife/NCBE!). However, 9 hours in I got an epidural. I don’t necessarily regret it, but I appreciate the learning experience.
My next two were unassisted homebirths (and I know for a fact that, had I been in a hospital with #3, they would have sectioned me unnecessarily!!). There is NO comparison and Lord-willing I will never have a baby in a hospital again. I LOVE childbirth now and cannot wait for the next time I get to experience it!! :)
I had 2 home births. Animals don’t go to the hospital and they seem to be just fine most of the time. I look at birth as natural and normal. I do think medicine has it’s place, just not in every single birth! The cesarian rate is way too high!
.-= Scarlet ´s last blog ..Dimes 2 Vines- A blog with great resources! =-.
I had both an epidural (planned) and a c-section (unplanned), but my pregnancy and delivery were complicated by some serious medical issues that meant that I am not eligible to make all of the same birthing choices that most women can. That said, here are my thoughts.
I really appreciate that you mention that there is a bit of luck in achieving a natural labor and I think that maybe instead of so much emphasis on entirely drug-free, we should put the emphasis on tying the intervention to a need rather than a popular culture image. For example, an epidural after you’ve been in labor for days and are stalled is a slightly different scenario than “hook me up the minute I walk in.” But sometimes these get lumped together. There is grey area that is sometimes ignored.
One of the purely selfish reasons I wish epidural and c-section rates would drop is that they are now so high, that as someone who truly had medical complications and an emergency c-section, I find most people don’t believe me that it was necessary. C-section has now become synonymous for “too many interventions” “bad OB” etc and that make healing (emotionally and physically) much harder. I’m not saying that those women are to blame for their c-sections, but not only have we created a culture that sees c-sections as normal, but we have also created a counter-culture that sometimes alienates women who are not free to choose a drug-free homebirth (be it economic, medical, or other reasons).
I am so very thankful for all of the medical advances we now have available to us. I just wish that we didn’t need to use them so much. I do believe that a lot of interventions are unnecessary and that education (of women, their partners, their medical providers, their childbirth educators) and normalization of natural birth could go a long way to lessen their use. I believe that the history of childbirth is so muddled with bad information and scare tactics, much of which is still believed today that it limits our ability to make good choices about birth. I believe women should have a choice in how they labor, how they deliver, and where, but these choices should be based on better information than many are currently given.
I had 3 c-sections. I will always wonder if I could have done it, but I will never know.
.-= Brenna´s last blog ..Love and stuff.. =-.
Glad to see so many great post about birth experiences. My Natural Birth experience led me to write an eBook with my husband, titled “The Psychology of Natural Childbirth.” I include 12 Steps I followed that led to a successful natural birth with my first son that I can look back on positively. Women don’t need birth medication… they truly need birth education.
If we are blessed with another child, we will definitely go the homebirth route. With our son, I labored at home for quite a while then we went to the hospital. Any woman who is uneducated about the procedures performed in U.S. hospitals can easily be swayed into unnecessary interventions that complicate labor. Chiropractic adjustments and exercise definitely helped my body prepare for the labor marathon!
.-= Olivia´s last blog ..Avoid These 7 Foods and You’re Off To A Healthier New Year! =-.
For me the thought of having to go to a hospital is what scares me! lol!
I am a 20 something yr. old mom, had my 1st at 19 and 2nd at 21. Both at home with a midwife. Both went just fine, even though I was in poor shape on the second one (had gotten something in my system that made me sick). And she was born 5 weeks early, but was healthy and fine! Both my babies have been early!
I compelety agree that women can have their babies at home, naturally, just like they did hundreds of years! Of course people would argue that so many died back then too, but hey we live in 2010! Our midwifes have more rescources now too!
I wish more homebirthing moms could reach out and help educate young women!
God bless!
~Hannah
.-= Hannah´s last blog ..~Benjamin Franklin Fridays~ The Words of Our Founding Fathers =-.
Even though it was not my intention, all four of my children were born the natural way. I wanted an epidural but every time I always missed my chance.
.-= 1stopmom´s last blog ..Survivor Villains vs Heroes, Finally! =-.
I would love a natural birth! I’d like a normal pregnancy. If I ever have a 3rd I’ll be going for a natural VBAC!
I did want a natural childbirth and did educate myself. But it was not meant to be. My water broke a week prior to my due date and I went into labor. I labored at home for 10+ hours and at the hospital for another 15 with minimal intervention. I finally conceded to an epidural when my labor stalled at 8cm for 3 hours. I immediately went to 10cm and proceeded to push for 3 hours in many positions with no luck. Tried Vacuum extraction and Oscar was strong but stubborn. Had the csection and he was an 11 pound baby with a 14.75 inch head. Not gonna fit. After all that I felt secure knowing I tried everything to get him out, but I also felt like I “knew too much”. I felt guilty for not being able to get him out naturally and I felt somewhat betrayed by the natural labor books I had read telling me that it was all a mindset. I hope to have a VBAC with my next child and I will try for natural birth again. But if I have a csection, I won’t take on the guilt that I could have done better if I had only tried. My whole story is posted on www. lilkidthings.com under Birth Story.
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