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1763 sats \ 6 replies \ @gnilma 10 Nov \ on: Thoughts on natural birth? AskSN
My wife gave birth to 3 children, all natural births, no c-section, no epidural, but all happened in hospitals. All she used was the laughing gas during labor. She told me later that the gas didn't really do anything to help the pain, but breathing the gas helped her focus on her breathing between contractions. She took the pain like a champion through all 3 births.
Yes, there are stories of women having a very short labor and giving birth very smoothly / quickly, but I think those are the exceptions, not the norm. Labor is typically long, especially the first child. Our first child took about 10-11 hours, from the moment she noticed frequent contractions to the time of birth. That is not to say you can't be the exception, but just be prepared and manage your expectations. Being in good physical shape helps a lot, as it does take a lot of effort and energy; it is called labor for a reason.
I'm not sure how it is in US hospitals, but here in BC, Canada, the hospitals encourage and promote natural birth. I think they will give mothers epidural if requested, but mothers have to request it.
Personally, I think the benefit of giving birth in a hospital is that there are medical professionals in case of any "oh shit" moments, such as baby's position not coming out right, umbilical cord catching baby's neck, mother having excessive bleeding, or whatever reason that require immediate medical attention. Child birth sometimes do have complications and there are definitely risks. That said, life is about trade-offs, and each person make their own trade-offs according to their own preferences. I can totally see the advantage of giving birth in the comfort of one's own home; the feeling of familiarity and support probably can never be matched by hospital births. In our case, my wife and I took the trade-off of giving birth in a hospital, because we wanted immediate access to medical professionals in case if something went wrong. Luckily, all 3 births went smoothly, and all kids came into this world healthy and loud.
All those complications you mentioned, midwives are trained to respond to.
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I guess we just made up our minds early and didn't even explore the possibility of using a midwife. But you are correct, midwives, especially experienced ones, are train to deal with issues and complications during birth. They are trained professionals specialized in aiding women bring life into this world.
My sister in law did hire a midwife, and she had regular meetings with my sister in law during pregnancy. The birth was planned to be at home, but my sister in law ended up having to give birth at the hospital because her child decided to come into this world early. The concern was my niece might need special equipment to support her life. Her midwife was also at the hospital to deliver the baby and remained there to provide support afterwards.
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that's awesome! Congrats to your family!
When I read your reply, I thought I read about myself and my own experience. Amazing.
I would perhaps add to this:
When the whole process is voluntarily handed over to medical professionals who take care of sick people
that in most “western” hospitals, the professionals assisting with births and taking care of sick people are not the same people.
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that in most “western” hospitals, the professionals assisting with births and taking care of sick people are not the same people.
There's probably maternity departments and doctors / nurses usually specialize, so I agree that the medical professionals assisting child birth and taking care of sick people are probably not the same people. In our case, we have a Women's Hospital (located right next to the Children's Hospital, with buildings connected) dedicated for pregnancy care, child birth, and post birth care. So, the professionals assisting births are not even in the same hospital as the professionals helping sick people.
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