natural childbirth....

MyLuvBugs wrote: Ok! So there are lots of theories and suggestions out there, but I'd like to hear from actual moms what has/has not worked for you in childbirth (natural childbirth preferably).

Did music help? or a TV on in the background?
Massage of the back/feet/shoulders?
Birthing balls - good or bad?
Did you have a picture or special object to focus on while pushing?
Was there anything that your DH/SO did or said to you that helped?

Thanks!!

siblingtoolivia replied: I walked and walked and walked and walked.....I was much more comfortable moving around than sitting still or laying down.......in the end though, I had a c-section so over the 2 1/2 days I was in labor I would have to say up and moving helped the most

boyohboyohboy replied: My first child was born naturally, I had a good birthing experience. I was able to meditate, just praying silently in my head, I had a great midwife, who talked to me and kept informed of what was going on, made me as comfortable as possible, and I have my son in 4 hours.
Now I intended to have the same experience with the second birth, however just goes to show me, that you cant plan anything, you have to go with the flow....because it was harder, the pain was worse then I had remembered, I went as long as I could and had an epidural that didnt work, and then had more then 12 hours of hard pushing....it was terrible. I also had just the dr, who hardly spoke to me, and never told me if we were close or not, I much prefered the midwife.
thats just my experience.

but I think the basic thing is to keep an open mind, and just see how it goes. I know that praying each time really helped me.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I didn't have a natural childbirth, but before I had any meds what helped with the pain the most was walking around - I was a lot more uncomfortable sitting or lying down. I used the birthing ball during labor too and that helped a little.

1lilpeanut2love replied: I walked and had nokie. I finally couldn't take it anymore and went to the hospital at 5 centimeters. I wanted the bed to be in the sitting position. I did that for a little bit. About an hour later Kaylee was born. I found it easiest for me to focus on the ceiling and do the breathing routine. HE-HE-HOO---HE-HE-HOO!!

Trust me I wanted the epidural, but my labor was progressing so fast there was no time for it. The pain wasn't too bad for me anyways. I have a HIGH tolerance for pain. My family and Michael were SO proud of me and couldn't believe I did it without an epi!! WOOHOO to me!!

kit_kats_mom replied: I'm on the pda & typing is hard but music? thought I'd like it but didn't. massage...yes. tv, focal point? nope. I was stuck in bed too but I suspect if I'd moved around it may have been more plesant.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Actually - what helped me most this last time was my doctor telling me to shut up and stop moving around so much, to focus and breathe, to relax, otherwise i'd end up with an emergency c-section.



otherwise - the ball made my hips feel worse.... the tub was a pain to get in and out of...but it did make me go from like 7 to ready in about 2 minutes... lol although that could have been the walk to the tub...

semi-sitting was good.

I can't honestly remember if there was music and candles and all that crap... and I don't think it really would have mattered at that point.

MyLuvBugs replied: This is interesting. Definately walking seems to be helpful for most of you, but the birthing ball not so much. Very interesting and good to know.

I'm starting to get a little wiggy that I don't know enough still to do this the way I want it done. lol My second kid and I'm more nervous than I was with my first. Go Figure!

With my last birth they refused to let me walk around and didn't help with positions to try or anything. They had a TV in the room, but wouldn't give us the remote until after I had gotten an epi? And I REALLY needed something to distract me. I guess I'll do some more research, but it helps to hear what works and doesn't work from you all. Thanks!

MyBrownEyedBoy replied: Did music help? or a TV on in the background? Aaron watched college football for most of my labor, but it didn't really bother me. I kind of tuned it out, like I do at home.
Massage of the back/feet/shoulders? Yes!!! My midwife used aromatherapy lotion from bath and body works and rubbed my feet, calves, lower back, hands, forehead, etc. It was great.
Birthing balls - good or bad? Good if you can get comfy. I have short legs and couldn't get really comfortable on it. But walking really felt good as did leaning forward toward a wall.
Did you have a picture or special object to focus on while pushing? No, I just wanted him out. That was my focal point.
Was there anything that your DH/SO did or said to you that helped? Yes, it was Aaron that figured out how I wasn't pushing correctly. He reminded me to get a FULL breath between pushes.

AlexsPajamaMama replied: I had a natural childbirth. I chilled out in the birthing tub for a long time and that relaxed me! Actually relaxed me too much and my labor was progressing enough so they made me take a break from that!

Moving around helped, I did not want anything to do with laying in bed!
Walking the halls. And I sat on a big ball and moved around on that.

DH rubbed my face with a cool cloth and that felt relaxing.

ZandersMama replied: My mom was my focal point, she held my hand, rubbed my feet, walked the halls with me. I walked until I was 9 centimeters and only pushed for 5 minutes literally. As long as I stayed on my feet i was fine. Every time i layed down for them to check me was horrible, but as soon as i got back on my feet i was fine.

iluvmylife replied: Hey everyone!! I am new and I thought this one would be perfect for my first post because i had a COMPLETE natural childbirth with my daugther Makayla. NOT AT ALL that I blame or think badly of those who get medication because I truly beleive that everyone and every birth is different.

As for the thing that worked WONDERS for me was water. Tub at home was sooooo soothing, calming, and helped with contractions. Then got to the hospital and hopped in the shower. I dialated from 5 to 10 in 57 minutes exactly. But more than that, the pain was bearable in the water. Anyway like I said, everyone is difffernt and I know that, but Water was the way to go for me.

zdk753 replied: The only things that seemed to help for me was laying on my side, closing my eyes, & breathing. I couldn't stand any noise or anybody touching me. If someone talked or tried to massage me it seemed to make my pain worse. I think just b/c I couldn't concentrate on my breathing. I don't know if walking or a birthing ball would have helped or not. I wasn't allowed to get out of bed.

gr33n3y3z replied: I had such bad back labor with all 4 kids I didnt want to move (I have a bad back any way) and labor just made it so much worse.
Plus 2 of the 4 kids were born face down

My3LilMonkeys replied: I had Madison natural, and what really helped for me was walking. I was about 5 cm and having light contractions when the nurses told me I was getting up and going for a walk for an hour. When I told them I needed to lay down 20 min later they thought I was just trying to get out of walking - but I was 9 cm dialated and almost ready to go.

That's all I can really offer - I had a very fast labor and there wasn't really time for much else.

jcc64 replied: 2 of my 3 kids were w/o any meds. The only thing that helped significantly was water, and lots of it. I spent the vast majority of my labor in either the shower or the bathtub (at home, b/c I did most of that labor before I got to the hospital). Water has always calmed me down, and it really did make the pain subside.
My 3rd, I got something similiar to an epi, and it was not a good experience for me. I think I got it too late, by the time the anesthe. decided to show up and do his thing, she was born 10 minutes after I got the epi. Had some bad side effects. Would much prefer the pain of child birth to the weird and scary things that happened to me as a result of the drugs. Just my own personal experience.

PrairieMom replied: With both my children I only used a little stadol. with the boy I found that the tub worked really well. I just closed my eyes and tried to relax. I used my breathing and just focused to relaxation. I didn't think the stadol helped at all.

with the girl I used the birthing ball at home before the contractions got really hard just to help get her down in my pelvis farther. I don't know if it helped tho. By the time I got to the hospital I didn't have time for the tub. I still used the breathing tho. I ended up trying the stadol because I wasn't able to relax all the way between contractions. I could start to feel myself tensing up and getting scared. The Stadol helped me return to baseline between contractions.

i had really fast labors with both. I was at the hospital for 5 hours before The boy was born and 2 before the girl arrived, so really, it wasn't that bad.