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Natural vs. Pain Meds
Okay so I saw a friend of mine today whom just had twins back last month (born at 30 weeks) well when I was talking to her today she said that she had her son naturally and she was going to have the girls naturally too but with the chance of a emergency csection she decided not to. Who has given birth naturally and why? I had always thought that when I have kids that I would do an epidual but more and more people aren't doing that. What is the benifit of having pain meds or not, and why an epidual rather than other pain meds. I also read somewhere that you have a catheter when your giving birth, is that true and is it a must or can you opt out?
Oh i understand.... and remembering the pain from last time, I am really thinking about getting one this time. Needle fear or not LOL
justice~ I hate needles more than anything but I don't like pain either. I have never gotten my blood drawn without being poked at least 3 times... that is how bad of a stick I am, and usually the flight team has to come to my IVs, yep it stinks! I would totally want a regular epidural, I don't want to feel a thing!
Well I had a natural delivery with no pain meds.... and I think I did it because i HATE NEEDLES, lol i know it sounds soooo silly but that was my main motivation.... I did not have a catheter either, I assume that would be given with an epidural becuse it numbs you from the waist down and you have no sensation (just a guess).... I did it all natural and of course it hurt... alot but it was very do-able....
The only drugs that drug baby is the pethidine injection its also called meptid (sp?). I heard the birthing pool is excellent but you cant go in one if you've had an epidoral. I haven't given birth yet, so i don't know what its like. In england they rarley let you have a cathater (sp?) unless you have had an epidural or c-section. What i suggest is wait and see. Some women feel like they can do it without meds, others need them. Don't go in there saying you definatly do or don't want anything you might change your mind.
here where i live the only way you can get a c-section is if there is an emergency. ie. something wrong with mommy or baby. So i had my little man naturally. i did howevver ask for the epidural to ease my contractions. when they gave it to me it felt GREAT unfortunatly it wore off for me just before i pushed my little guy out. so although i was painless during labour i felt everything during the delivery. it wasnt that bad. and the epidural isnt bad either. just feels like a little pinch.
With a regular epidural you don't feel anything, no crowning no nothing. With a high/walking epidural you feel everything except the contractions. Most hospitals don't do regular epidurals anymore and usually do the walking ones, but you can request which one you want when you speak with the anastesiologist(sp). Also yes you can interview hospitals, take tours of their L&D department and even the nursery. You usually don't get to tour the NICU but you can always ask to do so or to get more info on it.
As far as the gown goes....I doubt they will let you wear a shirt during delivery. Everything needs to be as sterile as can be, and their gowns are cleaner and more sterile than a regular shirt. BUT you can do what I do, I bring in a robe, and wear the robe so that my butt doesn't hang out of the gown lol.
And most of the time you have to go to the hospital where your OB or doc practices at. I hate providence hospitals, but those are the only ones my doc can deliver me at, so I have to make do.
As far as the gown goes....I doubt they will let you wear a shirt during delivery. Everything needs to be as sterile as can be, and their gowns are cleaner and more sterile than a regular shirt. BUT you can do what I do, I bring in a robe, and wear the robe so that my butt doesn't hang out of the gown lol.
And most of the time you have to go to the hospital where your OB or doc practices at. I hate providence hospitals, but those are the only ones my doc can deliver me at, so I have to make do.
Its like that at all hospitals but if you want your doctor to deliver you than you have to go to the hospital they are with. Unless you live in a small town and then I suppose it would be different.
Dang... well I know that in my home town, where we will live when we have kids there is one hospital that any doctor in town will deliver.
You can interview a hospital but most of the time its where your doctor delivers that you get assigned to.
Even with an epidural you are still going to feel a lot of pain. It makes it more barable but it doesn't completely disappear. Also, most likely you will have to get the cathater since like BTS said it is usually mandatory. As for wearing a shirt if you are planning to get an epidural than you have to wear a hospital gown since they have no backs and the epidural is attached to your back. I know because I asked them if I could wear my own hospital gown (my nurse practitioner gave me a really cute one they got as a sample) but it wasn't backless so they wouldn't let me.
BTS~ Thanks for that. Do you "interview" a hospital before delivery? I have a huge issue with hospital gowns and I would really love to be able to wear my own shirt and then just have a blanket on the lower half but I'm sure some hospitals wont let you and like you said about the catheter, that would be a no go for me. Can you have an epidural and other pain meds? With the regular epidural do you feel the baby crowing? Personally I don't care if I don't feel anything... I would kind of rather that than to feel some pain.
The cath is so you don't urinate on baby while pushing. They try to keep that area as clean and tidy as possible. You don't have to have one, and you can op out, but most hospitals say it is manditory. It isn't that bad, the worse part is peeing afterwards but after 2 or 3 times of going pee after a cath it isn't so bad.
The pain meds in a way are good, Some women don't tolerate the pain very well, and can *lose* themselves hence making the childbirth not as memorable. I wasn't able to enjoy the birth of my first and second child because the meds didn't work fast enough, I had epidurals with all my kids. Some meds can make you so sick and so drowsy that your not able to focus on the birth or enjoy it, and some can make baby very lathargic(sp) at birth so they don't breath as well or respond as well after being born.
There are 2 types of Epidurals that are offered. I will explain them below. I have had both types of epidurals done so I know the pros and cons.
Type 1- Regular Epidural, It numbs your entire abdomen and legs, practically making you paralized and unable to move. They usually do these types of epidurals lower in the back, and these tend to have the most side effects like headaches, spasms, and some people have had nerves hit. It makes it very difficult to push baby out, because you don't know how hard your pushing, and you don't feel anything there to push at. These epidurals usually lead in needing assistance with delivery, like the vaccum or forceps, which can leave baby very sore and bruised. Also with this type of epidural, it wears off slowly, and sometimes even falter, sometimes it only numbs half your side and sometimes it doesn't work at all calling for it needing to be redone. Thats because the vertabre in the lower back are more confined to eachother leaving the space very narrow and sometimes hard to get to with the epidural.
Type 2(my fav)- Walking/High Epidural, This Epidural is put in a bit higher than the regular epidural. It targets specific nerves instead of all the nerves like the other epidural does. This one numbs just the abdomen, blocking out all the pain from just the contractions. Your able to walk and move your legs with this as well. Recovery is a lot faster too. This allows you to feel like your having a natural child birth, but have a lot less pain then with natural birth. You get to feel the pressure of baby, You can feel baby moving through your birth canal as you push, and you can ultimatley feel baby's head come out (ring of fire) because it does indeed burn. It allows you to get up and shower and care for baby a lot sooner than the other one aswell, which is what I liked about it. I didn't have to depend on a nurse handing baby to me because my legs didnt work several hours after birth. There are a lot less side effects with this, because it targets specific nerves, and those nerves are easier to get to because the higher up your back the farther apart your vertabre are from eachother. So mistakes are a lot less common.
I had this done with my last pregnancy, and I loved it! I was able to feel like I did my birth naturally, but yet didn't have the pain of natural birth. I also healed very quickly, and was able to bond with baby a lot sooner than the others when I had the regular epidural.
So thats my take on epidurals and caths, Just make sure you make the best choice for you. I go in wanting a natural child birth, but I also go in knowing that I can have pain medication, and still feel like I had a natural child birth.
The pain meds in a way are good, Some women don't tolerate the pain very well, and can *lose* themselves hence making the childbirth not as memorable. I wasn't able to enjoy the birth of my first and second child because the meds didn't work fast enough, I had epidurals with all my kids. Some meds can make you so sick and so drowsy that your not able to focus on the birth or enjoy it, and some can make baby very lathargic(sp) at birth so they don't breath as well or respond as well after being born.
There are 2 types of Epidurals that are offered. I will explain them below. I have had both types of epidurals done so I know the pros and cons.
Type 1- Regular Epidural, It numbs your entire abdomen and legs, practically making you paralized and unable to move. They usually do these types of epidurals lower in the back, and these tend to have the most side effects like headaches, spasms, and some people have had nerves hit. It makes it very difficult to push baby out, because you don't know how hard your pushing, and you don't feel anything there to push at. These epidurals usually lead in needing assistance with delivery, like the vaccum or forceps, which can leave baby very sore and bruised. Also with this type of epidural, it wears off slowly, and sometimes even falter, sometimes it only numbs half your side and sometimes it doesn't work at all calling for it needing to be redone. Thats because the vertabre in the lower back are more confined to eachother leaving the space very narrow and sometimes hard to get to with the epidural.
Type 2(my fav)- Walking/High Epidural, This Epidural is put in a bit higher than the regular epidural. It targets specific nerves instead of all the nerves like the other epidural does. This one numbs just the abdomen, blocking out all the pain from just the contractions. Your able to walk and move your legs with this as well. Recovery is a lot faster too. This allows you to feel like your having a natural child birth, but have a lot less pain then with natural birth. You get to feel the pressure of baby, You can feel baby moving through your birth canal as you push, and you can ultimatley feel baby's head come out (ring of fire) because it does indeed burn. It allows you to get up and shower and care for baby a lot sooner than the other one aswell, which is what I liked about it. I didn't have to depend on a nurse handing baby to me because my legs didnt work several hours after birth. There are a lot less side effects with this, because it targets specific nerves, and those nerves are easier to get to because the higher up your back the farther apart your vertabre are from eachother. So mistakes are a lot less common.
I had this done with my last pregnancy, and I loved it! I was able to feel like I did my birth naturally, but yet didn't have the pain of natural birth. I also healed very quickly, and was able to bond with baby a lot sooner than the others when I had the regular epidural.
So thats my take on epidurals and caths, Just make sure you make the best choice for you. I go in wanting a natural child birth, but I also go in knowing that I can have pain medication, and still feel like I had a natural child birth.
alaysha~ So the only reason for the catheter is so you don't have to get up to use the restroom? Do they give it to you after you have had the epidural or before getting pain meds. I almost had to have a catheter before being in the hospital because they needed a urine sample but I refussed and went to the restroom while in the worst pain of my life. I would just think it is just so painful!
The epidural goes into your spine and blocks the pain. I was given other really nice pain meds in the hospital and none worked so good as that one. Also, a lot of people have their children naturally because they don't want to have their baby drugged since it can be dangerous. I was thinking about going naturally and actually held out all the way until about the last 2 hours. Now the catheter is a blessing in disguise and honestly actually very nice to have. When you are having intense, painful contractions every couple of minutes (or seconds it feels like) the last thing you want to do is hobble to the bathroom to pee. But I'm sure if you said no go on it they wouldnt make you use one.
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