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Avatar universal

Sounds so dumb but...

FTM here and honestly can someone describe to me how giving birth all natural feels or I heard of them numbing you, do they do it just because or do you have to ask for them to numb you down there. I want to do everything in my power not to have to do an epidural.
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Avatar universal
I got an epidural with my first daughter and couldn't push her out on my own because I was do numb. With my second daughter I had her all natural and it went so much better. No delays or problems with pushing. The only thing that hurt was the contractions but the actual pushing didn't hurt . I am going all natural again this time.
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10048523 tn?1407547270
I did it natural. I loved feeling all the pain, of course it hurts. But you can feel the urge to push, you can feel every contraction. After your babys out your not on any meds or drowsy. I even got stitches down there right after with no meds. They will give you ib profit for pain but nothing too strong.  Its very tempting to want the epidural once you start dialating past a 5 but Alot of time epidurals don't work, ware off, or cause after effects. Some work & have no effects at all. Read about it & educate yourself on the pros & cons of both. I say if you have your mind on going natural, go for it!! Once my son was out i felt no pain except the healing process.
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Avatar universal
I didn't have any meds with my delivery. No epidural no numbing no open IV no fluids no nothing. My pain relief was pretty much all mental. I positioned my body for optimal delivery (hands and knees), I breathed effectively through contractions (if you hold your breath which you'll want to do instinctively then it hurts much worse) I had my partner to talk to and reassure me and keep me calm and I had my midwife doing perineal massage with oil through the whole thing.
It was hard. Hardest thing I ever did. It was painful. When I hit transition (just before starting to push, it's basically triggered by full dilation) I wanted to give up, I wanted to quit and take a nap and try again later. I asked my midwife for just a little something to take off the edge because I couldn't do it anymore and I wanted to die. She laughed - she's seen this a few times - and didn't give me anything except the revelation that if I was feeling that way then it was time for the hard part. Once transition was over it was actually easier, once I started to push.
It was so hard. I was in active labor for 21 hours and pushed for 3 full hours. My baby was 9 pounds and 22.5" long. I have no idea how I did it. But moments after that first cry I felt the most astonishing rush of oxytocin. Nothing hurt. I was so tired but felt amazing. A couple days later I told my partner I would totally do that again next time.
It is so hard. It is the most incredible thing I ever did. Nothing has ever made me feel so strong, so powerful. I conquered some really big fears that day - but tbh I had been climbing that mountain for months. I fiercely believe that it's all about the mental preparation.
Tell yourself every day how strong and powerful and amazing you are. Tell yourself women have been doing this since the dawn of humanity. Tell yourself you can do anything you want to do. And tell your doctor the same thing. If you know you don't want meds, put it in your birth plan that you don't want them given, you don't even want them offered, you don't want anyone to talk about drugs in your presence. Make sure your support person/people are behind you 100%. If (for example) your mom wants to be there but keeps telling you that you'll never be able to do it without drugs and it's stupid to try - tell her she's not invited. If your husband doesn't know how to be supportive of your choices make sure you teach him before you go into labor, or put a muzzle on him so he doesn't say anything stupid. If everyone in the room is on your side you can do anything in the world. Self-advocating against a nurse with a needle full of drugs when you're mid-contraction is nearly impossible and it shouldn't have to happen. Make a birth plan. Make sure everyone has a copy.
It'll go great. Believe in yourself. I can't wait to do it again. Good luck.
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