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Article:
The Truth about Childbirth and Labor by: Suzanne Doyle-Ingram Labor and childbirth was an amazing, positive experience for me, both times. I am very fortunate, I know. But I do believe that if you prepare yourself through education (reading books, reading websites like this one, taking prenatal classes, etc) and taking good care of yourself while you are pregnant, you will have a far greater chance of a pleasant birth experience. There are many things you can do to increase your chances of an empowering childbirth experience. These are the things I did: Pregnancy yoga classes Regular Chiropractic care Chose a Midwife instead of a doctor Hired a doula to be with me through the labor and birth Took high quality vitamins, folic acid and natural iron supplements (made by Flora, derived from natural sources, not metal) Took a 18 hour prenatal class from a former midwife (NOT at a hospital) Lastly, I believed, truly believed that my body knew what it was doing. I was not scared at all. I knew in my heart of hearts that pregnancy is a healthy state of being, and that my body would know exactly what to do when the time came. And it did! So many people seem to enjoy telling stories of excruciating pain during childbirth. Others will tell you their labor was 87 hours long! I do not know why women do this to each other. Yes, I will grant you, labor is painful. But it is also powerful and incredible what your body can achieve! One important note: I am Canadian, and our medical system is much different than the United States. BUt I am aware that most visitors to my website are American, so that is why I often try to include American statistics and information. One major difference between our two countries is that midwives in most parts of Canada have hospital privleges, i.e. they are allowed to deliver babies in hospitals. They perform essentially the same procedures as doctors, except they do not perform surgery. Whereas doctors view childbirth in terms of what can go wrong, midwives see childbirth as a natural process and medical intervention is only necessary in the event of an emergency. I had many questions before I gave birth the first time, and the following onformation is what I leaned about labor and child birth. I am not a doctor, and I have no medical training whatsoever, so please ask your own doctor for clarification or more information. Am I going to be pregnant forever? In terms of when the average woman gives birth, a woman's due date is determined to be 40 weeks after her last menstrual period, which is about 280 days. Most women deliver very near their due date, but anywhere from 38 weeks to 42 weeks is normal. You know you are in labor when you have strong (generally more painful than period cramps) contractions, five minutes apart, which last for a full minute. The first stage of labor is the longest and that is when your cervix dilates from 0 to 10 centimetres and becomes thinned out (or 'effaced'). The second stage of labor is the pushing stage, which begins after you are fully dilated. The third stage of labor is after your baby is born and you deliver the placenta. I was worried that my water would break in the supermarket and I would be mortified. However, the bag of water, (the membrane that surrounds the fetus and protects it during your whole pregnancy), contains amniotic fluid and it only breaks at the beginning of labor (mine did) 10% of the time. It does not hurt. You may not even know it has happened, but you may feel warm water on your legs. You feel a tiny 'Pop!' and then a little fluid trickles out. It's not a huge gush - I think this is because the baby's head is acting like a cork. Most commonly, about 90% of the time, your water breaks when your cervix is fully dilated. Sometimes your midwife or doctor may break it. When that happens, prostaglandins are released, and contractions become stronger and more regular, and the progress of labor speeds up. Many women also wonder when they should go to the hospital. Your doctor or midwife will educate you about what they want you to do. Some may want you to phone the hospital as soon as anything happens. A midwife usually comes to your house, so you don't have to plan so much as you would with a doctor. When you get to the hospital, you will need to register at the Maternity Department. Usually you can do this a few months prior - call the hospital where you will deliver and find out. Depending, again, on whether you have a doctor or midwife, a lot of different scenarios can take place. Also what kind of doctor you have: is he or she someone who believes that your body knows what to do? Or will he or she insist that you are given an IV and hooked up to a monitor constantly? You do NOT have to labor this way, but you need to decide before you choose a doctor what is important to you and how you want your experience to be. (A birth plan would be a good option. If you present your birth plan to your doctor and he or she laughs at you - reconsider using that doctor!) How long does it take? Every labor is so different, but generally speaking, first labors take about 12 to 24 hours. My first labor was about 10 hours but my midwife said that I was only in 'active' labor for 5 hours, which I disagree with because the first 7 hours were not spent sitting around comfortably! What about the pain? Is it really that bad? I am not going to lie about it, it is painful, but your body is an amazing machine. I did not take anything for the pain during my labors, but I was very fortunate to have a wonderful doula and husband who supported me throughout. Studies have shown that continuous support during labor decreases the need for pain relief by 60%. See my article entitled 'What would I do without my Doula?' here http://www.pregnancy-leads-to-new-babies.com/doula.html. What's wrong with having an epidural? Why go through the pain if you don't have to? This is simply my opinion - I am not a doctor, but I have done the research. For me, I was not trying to be a martyr. I just wanted my baby to have the very best chance of being healthy. Generally, it is true to say that epidurals are a safe and effective method of relieving pain in labor, but safe does not mean risk free. There are risks; I would be lying to say there are none. See Thorp, J.A. & Breedlove, G (1996) Epidural Analgesia in Labour: An evaluation of Risks and Benefits 23(2) 63-83. In terms of risks for your baby, epidurals can cause maternal fever and this can potentially harm your baby. Newborns sometimes also exhibit poor nursing behavior for up to one month. Many newborns exposed to epidural anaesthesia in labor are very sleepy and they would rather sleep than nurse, which can be problematic because the more you nurse at the beginning, the faster your milk will come in and the better your experience will be. It's shocking to me that most women take such exceptional care of their babies while they are pregnant, i.e. no alcohol, no Tylenol, etc., but they willingly expose their babies to drugs during childbirth without fully educating themselves of the risks. Here's something you want not want to know: Hospital-employed childbirth educators WANT you to have an epidural. Hospitals make a lot of money from epidurals. The nurse often comes into your room and says, 'Are you ready for your epidural now?' In the U.S.A, an epidural costs from $500 to $'2500
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