Read the blog entry here.
more than THREE IN EVERY FOUR births was profoundly interfered with
I’m becoming a bit opinionated about birth. I’ve read two books, I’m clearly an expert.
What I seem to be reading is that medical intervention will likely lead to more intervention, and a possible cascade effect. So while I’m a big believer in drugs (don’t complain about having a headache, take a bloody pill), I can see that there are valid arguments for avoiding intervention in childbirth.
And click here for an eye opening article about uterine parasites.
Disco Knitter 
I’ve had 3 babies – so I feel I can speak from experience.
I feel that maturity, knowledge and being able to stick up for yourself make a difference.
You have all 3 in spades, you will be fine.
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Yup, that’s why my feminist ‘why should I have pain in childbirth when Queen Vic didn’t’ self rapidly decided my vision of a good birth was a drug free one. And yes, I got what I wanted …
Although perhaps the most important things are a safe, healthy birth, and that the mother gets what she wants/agrees with what is done … I’ve heard women regret both having had drugs/interventions and also being refused drugs/interventions(which later proved unavoidable, anyway).
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That’s why you MUST have someone with you that knows what you want to support you. And someone who is sensible enough to over rule you if necessary.
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I too have had 3 babies. What I know…No two births are the same. How you think you will be or feel when the baby is born is not necessarily how you are. I thought I would be so maternal and loving (birth #1), yet all I wanted was a drink of water and to go to sleep, I didn’t even care about the gender. I asked if the baby was fine, that’s all. Everything else came later..I was exhausted. This response both surprised and disturbed me.
The best advice I can give you is to go into it with an open mind. Have a birth plan, but be aware that things don’t always turn out as planned. Be open to that. I read heaps and decided that I would love to birth on a birthing stool. I tried it out early in the labour… and promptly fell off. I crossed this off the list and laughed at my lack of coordination! The reality is no-one really knows what to expect, you don’t know how you will cope. Childbirth hurts. But it is not the pain that is the hard part, that will end..it is the stamina… labour is like a marathon. You get tired. If they suggest you try to sleep in the early stages. Try to do it. Yes it’s exciting but you will be so thankful for the rest if your labour is long, so that you can cope at the end. Not all pain is the same. When the baby is born, nothing else hurts. Focus on this. At the end of the day, the important thing is that you have a healthy baby and that you are alive. If you are open to anything and the birth does not progress the way you had planned, you will cope much better later on. If you are focussed on a specific experience and it doesn’t happen you can be more vulnerable to PND. Have a birth plan, keep your options open, don’t be forced into decisions you don’t want and talk to your carer so they know your views, be flexible. Emergency caesarians happen, you may not plan it or want it, but if it saves your babies life and/or yours, then it is the best option. If you are open to it, you will cope better. If you aren’t, reconcilling this experience post birth will be much harder. My #1 birth was posterior labour. She did not turn, she broke my tail bone, she had a huge head, I haemorraged and required 4 blood transfusions. The labour was 19hours that you count, 8hours that you don’t. I joked to the doctor that he looked like he had seen a corpse, he left the room. I later learned that they were concerned that I might not make it. I still count this as my best birth. People think I’m mad, even more so for going back to have 2 more kids. But, I made all the decisions, was given options and even though things didn’t work out as I had hoped I felt like I was actively involved in the process. It’s not about what happens, it’s more about how you feel about what happened.
#2 was a water birth (21 hour labour)
#3 I had the flu..it was really hard work but I was so besotted with my daughter from the moment she was born. I think what you say is true, greater intervention from the start has a flow on effect. Sometimes this cannot be helped. I was lucky,I had a great obstetrician and I had no other health concerns that influenced the type of birth I could have. Non of my pregnancies was induced in fact all of them were overdue, (14, 10 and 8 days), but monitored. If the doctor had said she was concerned I would have trusted the decision. It is an important relationship. I did lots of things to induce, scrubbed floors, walked, perineal massage, sex, ate chilli and spiced food but the most effective was planned to do something else..have people over for dinner etc All were drug free because I am scared of needles. But I took lots of drugs afterwards. You’ll be fine..I am so thankful that my children were born in this era. 20 years ago I would have been dead. Sorry this is long, I wasn’t trying to scare you, but in the end, you make the experience for yourself. All the best 🙂
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