Question about water birth and other pain coping methods

Question
Does a water birth really reduce the pain?
Natural birth seems like the right option for me. What are some ways to reduce the pain?

Also, when I get my period I have the most horrendous cramps in the world. Would that mean that labour would be pretty bad?


Answer
There are really so many ways to reduce pain in labor. What works for some women may not work for others. Every woman has a different background of experiences, and every labor experience is different. It would be helpful for you to talk with someone experienced about all your preferences, current coping strategies, fears, knowledge base etc.

Having a doula (professional labor support) to discuss things with before labor and to be with you in labor is very helpful. Several studies have shown that doulas reduce the need for epidurals, cesareans, and other interventions.

Another important factor is the doctor or midwife that you choose. Find out how they practice. If you have a doctor who practices with a high rate of interventions - cesareans, epidurals, inductions, etc, you may as well give up your hope for a natural birth.
Medical interventions are necessary and helpful in certain situations, but many practitioners overuse them.
If you choose a caregiver or a hospital that routinely restricts women to lying in bed, using continuous fetal monitoring, or inductions for no medical reason other than being past 40 weeks, then labor is going to be extremely painful. Lying back is the most painful position in labor, and induced labors are way more painful than natural labors.

Also, fear and the adrenalin that it produces increases the sensation of pain greatly. Feeling safe, cared for and supported helps women relax. Having caregivers they trust, and trusting that their bodies know how to give birth. Going within themselves and listening to their bodies is really helful for natural birth. When women in labor feel safe, they produce endorphin hormones. If you've ever run a marathon or something, you'll know that initially your muscles will hurt, but after a while the endorphins kick in and you start to feel euphoric. You don't notice the pain so much, you just feel great.
In labor that can happen too, and the baby gets all the moms hormones, so it feels it too.

Have you noticed how some women say the pain of labor was the worst experience of their lives, while some women say labor was the best experience of their lives.
This difference is due to the different hormones.
Fear, anxiety = adrenalin = slowing down labor and severe pain.
Safety, trust, support, love = oxytocin and endorphins = less pain and feeling great.

Once you've got the basics, you can try out some things women have found useful for dealing with the intensity of labor - moving, changing positions, upright positions, resting in side lying positions or kneeling forward over a chair or exercise ball or their partner, hot packs, ice packs, showers, warm baths, massage, counter pressure on the back and hips, moaning, swaying, making deep sounds, kissing, breathing, visualization, swearing :> , squeezing their partners hand till it turns blue :> ...

Attitude is important too -
The tendency is that when a contraction is starting, to tense up and
resist and think, "oh no, another one. shit!"
But tensing up makes the sensation of pain greater.
It's useful to think, "oh good, another one. That's one more contraction closer to having my baby in my arms. My body is doing great work." Then after the contraction take a deep breath and release all the tension in your body.

A lot of women have found laboring in warm water extremely useful in helping them relax into their bodies and re-energise when tired. The buoyancy helps them change positions easily too. It can help make it easier to move through labor in the water. On the other hand, if has a lot of anxiety, fear, or other issues, getting into water won't make a difference in and of itself. I hope that makes sense :>

As for your period cramps, I don't think that means a more painful labor. I think it means you've developed a bunch of coping strategies that can help you in labor.

Let me know if you have any more questions,

Kaurina JeerisRajan
Childbirth Central
childbirthcentral@gmail.com

Reply:


I greatly appreciate your response. I feel so much more relaxed after I had read your post and most of the information in regards to stress/pain relief I could relate to. Like taking a shower greatly relieves stress and pain for me.

There was not a thing that you had said that I didn't find useful.

Thank you again!

Making cesareans gentler and more mom and baby-friendly

Here's some useful new information for women who will be having cesareans :


From http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/dec/03/health.medicineandhealth

" Obstetrician, Professor Nick Fisk has pioneered this groundbreaking approach to surgical delivery called "skin-to-skin caesarean", or "walking the baby out" partly in response to the rising caesarean rate. "And while couples having normal deliveries have been given more and more opportunities to be fully involved in childbirth, very little has been done to see how we could make the experience more meaningful for those having caesareans."

As Fisk started to examine the conventions of surgical delivery, he was struck by how easily they could be challenged. Why, for example, did they need to be done so quickly, when slowing them down would give the parents more chance to participate in their child's delivery and might give the baby a gentler experience of coming into the world? Why, too, was it so important for the parents to be screened off from the mother's abdomen? And was it really essential for the baby to be whisked off for an immediate medical examination, rather than delivered into the arms of his mother?

"What I realised was that caesareans were done a certain way because they've always been done a certain way, but in fact they can be done differently - and in a way that parents love," says Fisk. Other doctors are sometimes shocked when they hear what he is doing. "They say, but surely you have to get the baby out fast so she can get oxygen straight away? And I say, when the baby is being born she's still attached to the umbilical cord and is still getting oxygen from the placenta. Caesarean birth can be gentle, just as vaginal birth can be gentle.

"Obstetricians are too hung up on getting from the point of incision to the birth of the baby as quickly as possible: that's been the benchmark of a skilled surgeon. But I'm challenging that because, from the baby's and from the parents' point of view, it's not very helpful.

" I've never known a baby born by my method to have problems - going straight onto the mother's chest helps regulate breathing."

Smith, who works closely with Fisk, says it's a hit with parents. "They feel more involved, which gives them a better start to family life. Breastfeeding is easier to establish, and you can see how much calmer the baby is."

Project In Uganda

WOW! I found this great project being done in Uganda by Canadians to provide birth kits, birth support, sustainable income generation, etc to women and girls there.

Birth Quotes

Birth is not only about making babies. Birth is about making mothers ~ strong, competent, capable mothers who trust themselves and know their inner strength. Barbara Katz Rothman


The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." Rajneesh

The genius of her body is designed to give birth with ease and grace. In our soft warm hands, we are holding the keys to the future. Elena Tonetti- Vladimirova

It seems that many health professionals involved in antenatal care have not realized that one of their role should be to protect the emotional state of pregnant women. Michel Odent, MD

We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong. Laura Stavoe Harm

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." Elizabeth Stone

Before you were conceived, I wanted you
Before you were born, I loved you
Before you were here an hour,
I would die for you
This is the miracle of love. Maureen Hawkins

Childbirth classes neglect to teach one critical skill: How to breathe, count, and swear all at the same time. Linda Filterman

Before I was married I had six theories about raising children. Now I have six children and no theories. John Wilmot, earl of Rochester

They say men can never experience the pain of childbirth. They can...if you hit them in the goolies with a cricketbat for fourteen hours. Jo Brand

Question about the end of pregnancy

Q. I'm almost 38 weeks and not dilating?

I will be 38 weeks on Saturday and I am STILL not dilating. My doctor's appointment was yesterday; he checked me and said my son is still pretty high up there. I haven't dropped at all but I feel terrible. My whole pelvic region feels so heavy (almost like someone hit me) and it aches badly. I'm scared I will be overdue again (was 10 overdue with my daughter) and my need a C-Section in the end. With my daughter I was overdue but at least (around this time) a cm or 2cm dilated.

Has anyone gone through this with a subsequent pregnancy? In my mind I thought, this one would go a lot quicker but I'm losing hope and my fear seems like it may become a reality. I had an all natural birth with my daughter and I wanted to experience it again with my son. I'm scared I will have to go through getting pitocin and so forth. Any suggestions, words of encouragement, anything?

To add I have been having BH's constantly that have been getting pretty painful, but still nothing!
I just am getting frustrated because I am very uncomfortable, even more so than my other pregnancy.


Answer :

It's normal to feel anxious towards the end or pregnancy. Try to do relaxing things to help yourself feel grounded - go for a nice walk, have a warm bath, sip some herbal tea, talk to your baby, breathe.

Not being dilated or having dropped is totally meaningless bits of information. You're 38 weeks. You're not in labour yet, you don't need to be dilated. Your baby doesn't need to have dropped. It will drop when it's ready, and your body will open when it's ready.

As for being overdue, actually the normal range of birth is from 3 weeks before the due date to 2 weeks after. So if baby wasn't born by 2 weeks after the date, you would be overdue. Women and doctors today are so overly focused on times and dates, they expect babies to be born by that due date. Also, the due dates are estimated based on the average woman's cycle of 28 days. If your cycle is longer than that, you're date of ovulation would be later, and your due date should be later. Some doctors take that into account, some don't.

There are many ways of getting labour started naturally once labour is already imminent (meaning that it would start on it's own anyway in the next few days). One of the best ways is sex.
Oxytocin is the hormone involved in love, sex, labour and breastfeeding. So kissing, making out, nipple stimulation, sex and orgasm can make your body produce oxytocin which can start labour.
Prostaglandin, which is is semen is the hormone which softens the cervix. So that can help start labour too. Don't have intercourse after the water breaks though.

There are lots of other natural ways to start labour.
You can find them just by doing a Google search.

Have fun and do find things to help you relax. Feeling anxious can actually stop labour.
If you have any further questions, you can email me.

Asker's Comment: Thanks! I'm just going to be patient and wait it out.

Question about breast milk production

Q. My breast milk is getting low, and i just gave birth 3 mos ago ?
what can I do to make more.


A. How do you know you're milk is getting low? do you mean you're baby seems hungry after feeding, or you're pumping and getting less milk than before?

Breast milk production is stimulated by baby's sucking. that means that the more baby drinks, the more milk you will produce. it has nothing to do with how long ago you gave birth.
if baby is not latching and sucking effectively, or is being supplemented, your milk production will decrease. if you are only pumping, that is not as effective as a real baby sucking.
Many women pump to see how much milk they are making, and are surprised if they see so little. but you must understand, the baby is able to get tons more milk out than a pump.

so the short answer of how to get more milk, is simply to breastfeed your baby more.


Comment: Thank you. I really appreciate your help!

Choosing a Caregiver

One of THE most important determinants of what happens during your labour and birth is your caregiver's style of practice. Yet hardly any books, classes, or websites even discuss this topic. I say caregiver to refer to the physician, group of physicians, obstetrician, or midwife you choose to attend your birth. Writing a birth plan is entirely useless if what you want in the plan is at odds with the caregiver's normal style of practice.

Many people hoping for a drug-free birth, or not to cut the cord immediately, for example, don't find out until labour that their caregiver practices in a way which may be at odds with their wishes. At that point, it is too late to negotiate new decisions, or change caregivers. It is best to find out in early pregnancy what styles of practice various caregivers have, and which ones suit you best.

What people generally don't realise, is that different caregivers can have different protocols for the exact same situation. There is much disagreement about what is the safest and best ways to manage various birth situations. different caregivers have different viewpoints, just as different mothers have different viewpoints. Some women want epidurals, or cesareans, or a highly medically managed birth. Some women want to try to avoid epidurals, or cesareans, and have medical intervention only when necessary. Either way, women would be much happier choosing caregivers that matched their own philosophy. Being satisfied with the way you are treated during labour makes for an easier time post-partum.

People are under the impression that medical practice, being very scientific and all, is based on solid research and evidence into what is best practice for each situation. Shockingly this is not true. Studies in the British Medical Journal state that only around 30% of current medical practice is evidence-based. In hospital maternity care, decisions about how to manage normal labour is often based on what doctors before them did, and those before them and so on. So even when solid research emerges that shows those practices may be harmful instead of helpful, changes may take years or decades. It is quite difficult for individual doctors to keep up with the multitudes of research, some of which is contradictory. Some decisions are made based on what is convenient for caregivers, or what will protect caregivers from being sued, rather than what is best for mother and baby. Midwives also may or may not practice based on what is best practice according to the evidence. It is up to you to ask questions and suss out if what they beleive is in line with what you believe.

There are various ways of describing the general schools of thought. Among doctors, there are those who practice Active Management, and Expectant Management.
In addition there is the Midwifery Model of Care. Midwives and physicians only attend low-risk births. Obstetricians are trained to manage high-risk births.

Active management's philosophy is that labour is full of potential dangers, and medical intervention is necessary at every step of the way to prevent disaster.
Expectant management's philosophy is that labour is a normal process that usually works out well, but if problems arise, intervention is useful. The midwifery model of care is similar in that it believes that birth is normally safe and mothers are best left to follow their own instincts, but to intervene if problems arise.

Active management caregivers often have short prenatal appointments, make use of lots of technology such as frequent ultrasounds, and make the decisions for the mums. If this makes you feel comfortable and safe, then this is the caregiver for you. Having options and making informed choices can feel very overwhelming to some mums. They would prefer a caregiver who made all the decisions for them.

Expectant management caregivers usually use more hands on techniques to feel the baby, spend time discussing the mum's emotional well-being and support the mum's informed choices. Midwives often spend between 45 min - 1 hour at each prenatal session. If it is important to you that your unique preferences and needs be respected, find a midwife or a doctor who has a low inductions, low epidurals, and low cesarean rate, and is genuinely listening to your needs.

In choosing a caregiver, ask questions about things that are important to you. If you want to get an epidural asap, ask your potential caregivers how soon they are comfortable giving them. Some caregivers don't mind giving epidurals any time in labour. Some will only give them between 4 cm and 8 cm dilation. If you would prefer not to have an epidural as far as possible, but choose a caregiver who has a high induction rate, expects mothers to stay in bed, and uses continuous fetal monitoring, you can throw your expectations out the window. Inductions, and being confined to the bed drastically increase the pain in labour, making epidurals the only way to cope with the unnatural pain.

Most importantly, choose a caregiver that you trust and feel safe with. There is no one option that is suitable for every person. A good reference book to read is "The Birth That's Right for You" by Amen Ness and Lisa Marie-Goulding.

Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting - Welcome Message

Hi,

Welcome to my new blog devoted to moms, dads, families and moms and dads-to-be worldwide!
Let's share our common threads and interesting differences in this crazy journey from pregnancy to parenting and beyond.

Before having kids of my own, I was not the type to swoon over babies, and could never imagine myself being pregnant or looking after a newborn. But after the birth of my first child, I was hooked. The birth journey was such a profound experience in my life - revealing to me the depths of my soul that I had never before seen. I wanted to talk to everyone I met about this strange and magical feeling I had experienced, but could not understand why no one else seemed to care. Why wasn't birth headline news everyday?

And then there was the newborn. Evey newborn a magical creature in and of itself. At first glance, they may seem to be helpless, unmoving blobs. But spend a few moments queitly in their presence and you may notice the peaceful serenity that surrounds them. I found myself, day in and day out, staring at sleeping newborns, wondering at their exquisite beauty. It didn't matter how exhausting and chaotic looking after them was while they were awake, and believe me, it was exhausting and chaotic. Once they fell asleep, the magic was evident. Never again will we be able to sleep with such complete and perfect peace as we do when we are babies.

It's been many years since life first initiated me into life's mysteries, but I still have infinitely more to learn. I know that mothers and fathers everywhere have a world of knowledge in their own stories and journeys. We can learn so much from each other. I feel so priviledged to be a mother, and to be admitted into the world of mothers. Once when I was working as a crisis worker, there were clients from Russia, Iran, China, Native people and so on. As soon as they found out I was pregnant, all the women who were mothers instantly came to offer advice and tell their stories. I felt so touched that this common experience could connect us across cultures and languages. And yet every birth is so different, every family so different, every story so different - each one magical in its own way.

I know parents usually don't get enough credit or support for the unpaid work that they do. But usually get all the criticism. :>
And they're own knowledge and experience is usually not listened to, next to the voices of "the experts".

I want this blog to be a place for moms and dads to share their wisdom and respect.
I am looking forward to receiving your stories of pregnacy, birth and parenting. What is important to you? What have you learnt? What would you wish if you could do it over? Tell us the joyful, the funny, the downright crazy, the painful, the sad, the angry, the wonderous, and the magical stories.

I hope you savour every moment of the journey!

With Love,

Kaurina