After nine (almost 10) months of pregnancy, some mamas will do almost anything to get their babies out. And while many expectant women enter the hospital with a birth plan in place, once they know the end is in sight, they're often willing to try it all. Consumer Reports recently compiled a list of 10 overused birthing procedures that can put both Mom and her tot at risk during delivery. Take a look at the list and tell us if you have engaged in any of them!
Pregnancy is a journey filled with growth and learning. LilSugar reader Beaner has been bringing our readers along on her journey and is asking the Community for their thoughts on delivery in The Pregnancy Posse group.
In my Prenatal Yoga class last week, one woman said that she's camping out a week before her due date so she can get the epidural as soon as she has her first contraction. I know that giving birth will involve pain, but after reading a lot about natural childbirth, and seeing the documentary The Business of Being Born, I have a whole new perspective on how going drug-free will benefit both me and my baby. I was curious though to see what you other moms-to-be are planning on doing for your births.
Want to talk pregnancy with other expectant mamas? Get the conversation started in The Pregnancy Posse group!
I'm going to be honest. When it comes to surgery, the idea of being "put to sleep" for a couple hours freaks me out. I will admit it, I am more afraid of the anesthesia than the scalpel. Are you freaked out a little too? Maybe if we knew more about anesthesia, we'd feel better about it.
When it comes to anesthesia, there are 4 kinds:
So how does it work? To find out read more
In these modern times, a pregnant woman has many options in where and how to deliver her baby. She can labor at a hospital, a birthing center, or at home. She can give birth in a bed, in a birthing chair, or in a tub of water. She can also choose to have an obstetrician, midwife, or doula (childbirth assistant) there to help deliver the baby.
I just learned that in the U.S. and Britain, many women are now choosing freebirthing or unassisted birthing. These women have their babies at home, with no medical or professional help - no doctors, no midwives, and no painkillers.
Are these women against the idea of modern medicine? Not necessarily, they want their labor to be as relaxed as possible, and they don't want strange doctors poking and prodding them and making them anxious. Plus many of them are scared of hospitals and are worried doctors will have too much control over their experience.
Many of these women feel the act of giving birth is as intimate and personal as the act of conception, so it only feels right that they should be the only ones at the birth of their baby. These women also believe that since women have been giving birth for thousands of years they just simply need to harness their instincts to know what to do and don't need doctors interfering with the natural flow of events. It is fascinating to me that "freebirthers" are not interested in having a midwife at their births, since midwifery is ancient practice, practically as old as human culture, and considered by many to be an essential part of the natural birth experience.
Of course, many officials are outraged by this. They feel like it's unfair to the unborn baby, and they're also worried about the safety of the mother. What if something goes wrong, and there isn't anyone there to help? They feel that freebirthing is reckless, irresponsible, and selfish. Plus, with the advent of modern medicine the mortality rate, of both mother and child, associated with labor has dropped dramatically.
So, I am curious, what do you think about freebirthing?
No one needs to tell you that giving birth is a painful experience - we've all heard our fair share of horror stories. Thanks to modern science, an epidural is available if a woman doesn't want to or can't deal with the pain. It's basically a shot given in your spine that makes you have a loss of sensation and pain from your waist down.
Some women see giving birth as a natural experience, and want to be completely aware and in tune with what their body is feeling, so they wouldn't dream of getting drugs. Plus some women may argue that it's bad for the baby, and makes labor longer for everyone involved.
Other women go for the drugs because the pain of labor is way too unbearable not to. They'd equate it to getting a cavity drilled - would you go without Novocaine?
So I want to know...
