For millennia women had children at home with the aid of a midwife. There were no epidurals or spinal blocks to relieve pain. The closest thing to partial anesthesia was a nip at the brandy bottle when the going got rough.
Eventually, however, childbirth became the province of medical professionals and was treated as a medical rather than a natural process.
In the 1960s, there was a movement against the "medicalization" of birth and a groundswell of support for what has come to be called "natural childbirth": labor and birth without pain medication. Today many women give a lot of thought to what kind of birth experience they want, and many choose to have their babies without pain medication and intervention.
This choice has many champions among mothers, midwives and many in the medical establishment. You can use this method of birth in a hospital, a birth center or at home. You can also choose natural childbirth regardless of whether your provider is a nurse midwife, obstetrician, family medicine doctor or a perinatologist.
Benefits to choosing natural childbirth:
If you decide you would like to have your baby naturally, there are some things you can do to help ensure a successful outcome:
Eventually, however, childbirth became the province of medical professionals and was treated as a medical rather than a natural process.
In the 1960s, there was a movement against the "medicalization" of birth and a groundswell of support for what has come to be called "natural childbirth": labor and birth without pain medication. Today many women give a lot of thought to what kind of birth experience they want, and many choose to have their babies without pain medication and intervention.
This choice has many champions among mothers, midwives and many in the medical establishment. You can use this method of birth in a hospital, a birth center or at home. You can also choose natural childbirth regardless of whether your provider is a nurse midwife, obstetrician, family medicine doctor or a perinatologist.
Benefits to choosing natural childbirth:
- Some studies indicate that the use of epidural anesthesia increases the chance of a cesarean by two to three times in first-time mothers, while others also dispute this data.
- Natural childbirth can give you more control of what happens during labor and delivery. You can choose your coping methods, how mobile you want to be and the birthing position.
- Natural childbirth can be a powerfully fulfilling experience that will help you bond more readily with your baby.
- If you don't have pain medication, neither does your baby. Some people have observed that babies exposed to pain medication arrive sleepy and more unresponsive compared to babies who haven't been exposed to this medication.
- An epidural can cause a drop in maternal blood pressure in some women. This can reduce blood flow to the uterus and potentially decrease the fetal heart rate.
- There may be more need for fetal monitoring when pain medication is used.
If you decide you would like to have your baby naturally, there are some things you can do to help ensure a successful outcome:
- Consider getting a doula, a woman specially trained to help you during the birth process and afterwards. Many women find having a doula very helpful.
- Take natural childbirth classes. There are many childbirth classes offered, so make sure you are taking a course specifically for those preparing for natural childbirth.
- Be sure your health care provider knows what you want before the birth.
- A birth plan is a great way to communicate your desires to your provider.
- Go to the library. There are many books about natural childbirth that can be helpful to you.
- You and your partner must educate yourselves and train for the big event. You will need to know what to do at different stages of the birth.
- Have support people in place who have committed to learning about and understanding natural childbirth.