why i chose unmedicated births

i had unmedicated births with both my kids. in fact i insisted on homebirths to lessen the chances of any medical interventions. i can't take all the credit for the decision. my mother gave birth to her kids (me and my sister) without medications so i always assumed that that was how it was done. it never really occured to me to do it any other way.

another factor was my husband. being from south america, he has a much more natural opinion of childbirth and also didn't think that medications or drugs should be a part of the process.

to be honest, before i became pregnant i knew very little about birthing. but once i knew that i was going to go through it, i began to research. i read books and medical journals, i surfed the net, i talked to everyone i could find.

and my personal opinion was formed using both scientific and anecdotal evidence. my conclusion?

an unmedicated birth reduces risks for both the mother and baby. in turn, epidurals increase the risk for complications.

i have too many friends who had complications with epidurals (one friend's epi went "up" instead of "down" and so she started to suffocate; another friend still has pain in her spine 2 years later). I believe that women absolutely have the right to birth is the way that they are most comfortable. what i take issue with is the manner in which pain relief options are presented. far too many health professionals gloss over the risks or worse, deny that there are any at all. this is not "good medicine". good medicine includes communicating with the patient about the benefits and risks of their chosen pain relief.

my births were wonderful. in large part because i was not afraid. i felt confident that my body was going to do what it needed to in order to birth my children. i also had the comfort of being in my own home, with only my midwives and my husband in attendance. i felt cared for, loved and unhurried.

those factors allowed me to have an unmedicated birth. it was the memories of my own births that led me to become a doula myself. i hope other women will feel empowered and informed about their birthing options and make use of their inner strength to make their own wonderful memories.

the birth of kalden

the midwives said i was due on march 3rd while i insisted my due date was the 1st. i guess they won this one. ;)

on the 2nd, i woke and and went to my parents house not realizing that my water had broken and was slowly leaking. by around 11am i figured out what was going on and so i called the midwives. they were at the hospital so they told me to come in and get checked. this was my first visit to the L & D ward and i felt uncomfortable and edgy as soon as we arrived.

the midwives checked me out and said indeed, my water was leaking. I had an NST and everything was fine. now the "clock" was ticking on when this baby had to arrive... 24 hours "they" say. so off we went, to walk and walk and walk and get labour started. contractions started and were painful but they were totally irregular. that night they started up but disappeared by morning.

our midwife met us at home in the morning to check out what was happening and she said i was about 4cm but that kalden wasn't low enough to progess any further. 24 hours had come and gone but i wasn't about to give up and go for a hospital birth and induction. so we went and bought the dreaded castor oil.

it was disgusting and did nothing. i had contractions if i was walking and they were crippling but if i stayed still - they stopped. it was infuriating!

at that point the midwife said we had to meet at the hospital to discuss our options. i was devastated and in tears. the thought of having my baby in a hospital terrified me. we got in the car around 4:30 and on the way to the hospital, the contraction started. they were 5 minutes apart and 30-45 seconds long. we had another NST, the contractions were strong and my midwife told us that we couldn't be "forced" to stay in the hospital but that the doctors were HIGHLY recommending that we start an induction.

we left the hospital as fast as we could and on the way home my husband joked that i'm the only person who goes into labour IN the hospital and runs home as fast as i can!

we stopped at my parents house to see our 2 year old daughter and then i requested a hamburger. i wolfed it down and realized that the pain was getting intense. we went home and laid down to sleep. i had the amazing ability to fall asleep between contractions even though they were less than 4 minutes apart!

we both woke up and my husband pointed out that we should probably call the midwives. by the time they arrived, i was in excruciating pain from contstant waves of contractions. it was much more intense than it was with my daughter. i laboured on the toilet for a few minutes and then got into bed and laid on my side.

in transition, i tried to cancel the whole thing and told everyone i was giving up. lol.... then i realized that i needed to push. the midwives agreed and i closed my eyes and was so focussed on pushing that i didn't even realize when kalden was born. suddenly my midwife said "open your eyes" and when i did my son was on my belly.

it was 6:55pm - less than 2.5 hours from start to finish. my beautiful baby boy.