Natural Childbirth Part 1: My Preparation and General Thoughts

So 6 months after giving birth I'm finally ready to talk more about it. And of course by now a lot of my thoughts and feelings have faded or changed. I wish I had wrote about it about 6 weeks after the fact. By then I'd had time to analyze my feelings but not so much time that I forgot those same feelings. However, I still felt...traumatized...then. I spent a lot of time thinking about labor and birth, but the last thing I wanted to do was actually write it all down. It somehow felt wrong to talk about it in depth or write about it at that point. It hasn't been until the past couple of weeks that I felt ready...but suddenly I didn't know what to say. Part of the reason I think I finally feel ready is that I'm already thinking about TTC baby #2. Yep, you heard me. But that's another topic for another post. However, I've been thinking about birth in another way and thinking about what another future birth may be like has made me more accepting about thoughts of Evan's birth.

So as most of you know, I had an all natural labor and delivery. I planned that before I got pregnant. My plans were even more solidified when my mom shared that she had gone all natural with the birth of her third child, my younger sister. I felt more confident with my decision after hearing that. I had her support and Matt's support. So many people were discouraging about my choice, but the 2 people who mattered the most to me encouraged me and that was important. I knew not to get my hopes completely up because birth can go so many ways, but I was confident in my choice and I knew I could do it when the time came.

I didn't spend much time thinking about my decision until towards the end of pregnancy. I wrote a birth plan and talked to my midwife about it a little. Things were a little crazy with me since I had gestational diabetes. There was a chance I'd have to be induced at 39 weeks and/or have a c-section since the ultrasound technician estimated he was very large for his gestational age. Before I got the GD, my placenta was partially covering my cervix, so once again, we thought there was a chance I'd have to have a c-section for much of the pregnancy. So I spent most of my pregnancy not getting attached to any particular method of birth. Probably a smart thing for all women to do! However, Evan ended up coming a little early and while my labor progressed slowly towards the end, it was going smoothly and I didn't have to worry about inductions or c-sections. Therefore I had the opportunity to go all natural.

I didn't take any birth classes and I read very little on the subject. Which is odd for me because usually I over analyze and want to be prepared for everything. But I'm so glad I didn't waste money on classes or waste time reading a lot of books on the subject. I did read half of the Bradley Method Workbook with Matt which I did find helpful. The best parts were the chapters on labor stages and the exercises to do during pregnancy. I read part of Husband Coached Childbirth and Matt read even less. I think it was good because it made me feel more confident about L&D. However, so much of it was ridiculous and after having birthed a baby using the relaxation techniques that Bradley teaches, much of it wasn't true (like the parts about being able to run around and do cartwheels after delivery...I could barely move the 2 days after delivery!!). Anyway, that was the extent of preparation I did and honestly, I think it worked in my favor not to do any more and I recommend other women who want to do natural childbirth do the same. I mean, everyone is different, but I just don't see the point in doing so much "preparation" when so little works!

Next post I'll write about my experience and then the post after that my feelings on the subject and plans for next time around (if there is a next time!).