Why you shouldn’t “TRY” to have an an unmedicated birth!

A friend of mine posted the article below on her Face Book a while back and I thought it was really good!  I think all too often we listen a little too much to doctors these days when we can do things the way God intended and use Drs. when needed!

I think I PREPARED well (mentally) before birthing  Luke and that’s why it went so well.   I stood up and made sure my dr. KNEW what I wanted and DIDN’T want.  I’m so thankful and praying that I get the labor I’m preparing for this time too! Its so amazing the difference with no drugs, and knowing its gonna hurt and be hard, but that I can do it, and that feeling in the end… I still can’t get over the ADRENALIN RUSH, that lasted a few days!  Which, is one reason I’d love to do it at home. I was ready to just GO HOME after he was born. I had the baby, I was ready to go. Ha! 

But I can’t see myself doing that. My Mom has had a couple births where if she hadn’t been there one of us might have died… so I just think I wanna be in the hospital but do it natural.

I have to give God my fears and pray that he bless me with the birth experience that I’m hoping for once again. 

Here is the article
“You will hear many women say they are going to “try” to have an unmedicated birth. To me, “trying” connotes sheer effort and endurance. What I hear women say when they say “try” is that they are just going to see how long they can stand the pain. My dictionary defines “to try” as “to make an attempt or effort”. What happens when you try something? Either you can succeed or fail.

There’s a lot of derisive talk out there about birth plans and women who “plan” an unmedicated birth – or really plan anything about their birth at all. There is a lot of fingerwaving about how birth is unpredictable and you can’t PLAN anything. After seeing a lot of births, I have to say I agree. My dictionary says to plan is to “decide on and arrange in advance” – you can’t really do that with your birth. What happens when you plan something? Maybe your plans work out, and maybe they don’t.

What I wish more women would say, and take ownership of, is that they are preparing for an unmedicated birth. My dictionary says ” to prepare” is “to make ready or able to do or deal with something”.This sounds just about right! Someone who is prepared does not fail or have plans not work out – they meet what comes with their goal in mind. They have made themselves ready to handle birth and any twists and turns they might meet on the way.

I encourage women to think of birth as a marathon – it is long, challenging, sometimes painful, sometimes exciting, and can be very rewarding. Many people regard having run a marathon as difficult, but very rewarding and a huge achievement. However, if you knew someone who told you that on Saturday they were going to “try” to run a marathon, you’d probably look at them a little askance. You’d start asking questions: “Have you practiced? Did you read up about marathoning and long-distance running? Do you know anything about the route?”

What would you think if they said, “I’m just going to start running and see how long I can stand it. There will be people along the way to tell me where to go.” You might have some more questions for them. “Don’t you think that at some point you’re going to get exhausted and want to quit? If you haven’t prepared, how will you have the resources to keep going? Wouldn’t you like to know something about the course – where the steep hills are, where to save your energy, where to expect things will be tough?”

If this person then tried to run a marathon, and dropped out at mile 10, or had a miserable time, and then told their friends how horrible marathons were and how stupid someone would have to be to go through that awful experience just to prove they were “tough”…wouldn’t you be skeptical about their opinion? And yet that’s where we’re at in a lot of ways. Many women see unmedicated birth as some kind of test that you pass via sheer endurance and “feminist masochism”, as one doctor in “The Business of Being Born” puts it. There’s often a vague, generalized perception that drug-free is “better”, but without much clear understanding of the actual risks of drugs. If you “try” to have the unmedicated birth and “fail”, then you have a lot invested in trying to convince people that this “test” is silly and has no bearing on your strength, motherhood, or womanhood (a position I agree with completely). I think many of the birth horror stories and dismissive “just take the epidural, honey, you’re gonna need it” comments that pregnant women here come from that place.
On the other hand, if you approach natural birth with the mindset that this is a rare and challenging event that you would like to fully experience, with interventions available whose risks you’d prefer to avoid, you can prepare for it. You can take classes, read, and find good coaches and support systems. You can remain flexible and open to changes in the situation. Let’s ditch this whole “trying” thing and switch to “preparing”.
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This Post Has One Comment

  1. Casey Martinez

    Have all of your births been natural? You are one brave lady;0. Granted, my epidural failed so it felt pretty dang natural but, I still want an epidural again next time as that was more than I bargained for;0. lol. I think it's awesome when people delivery naturally though!

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