Share your Birth Stories!

[nadia0801]

Thanks for the suggestion! Any particular Yoga DVD you found helpful?

[nhockaday]

I have to try to remember...will let you know...

[Nikita]

After my last child (not my last, as I will have more, but thus far...), they recommended I do a CALM birth course, a new thing out in Australia.  Actually, I dont need to attend a Calm birth class, I need doctors and midwives who do as I want and have made clear all along. All they have to do is give me an epidural as soon as I ask for it, and things would be very calm!!!!  But my first 3 births they have been determined to hold off on the epidural (public hospital, no private health insurance..we dont need it in Australia, hospital and doctors are free but you get what you're given when they want to give it)...
I learned that due to my ABSOLUTE fear of childbirth, I dont dilate. 2cm is all I get to, until they give me the epidural... then it's straight to 10cm, ready to push, and them not believing me!! that was my experience with the first, then I told them of this with the 2nd...same result, but still didnt believe me, til I got the epidural at 2 cm and was ready to push.  3rd child, 2cm, finally got epidural, ready to push...they insisted I needed to do a bowel motion, so I grabbed a dish, they all left the room, and returned 10 mins later to me still doing the BM (and giving birth at same time!)...the baby was half delivered in a bowl of poo while no-one was around.  So for the 4th kid I explain all this (yet again), and was given an epidural at 2cm as soon as I asked for it!!!  yet once again they werent believing I was needing to push, and poor bub was kept waiting longer than she needed to because they wouldnt examine me to find I was 10cm dilated when I told them I would be...so I just lay there twidling my thumbs til they decided they better check things out cos "nothing was happening". So they take a look "ooh, you better push now" (no kidding!!).
The other thing that I did find bad, was with 3rd kid, epidural didnt take properly, as I was stuck on one side, and I was half numb (one half), then when it came time to push it had totally worn off, and they did not believe I was in pain.  I was screaming my head off, "I'm splitting in two, I'm dying!!", and they were saying, "No, that's not pain you're experiencing, it's pressure!!" (I'd had 2 already, I knew I was in PAIN!! ).

[nhockaday]

Thanks for the suggestion! Any particular Yoga DVD you found helpful?

There are several out there, but I was looking for some specific things...massage, breathing, pressure points, pain management techniques...I wanted something more like a birth class to help me through the labor process.

I found a 3 DVD set called Rocki's prenatal yoga. The first DVD is more for the yoga to do throughout pregnancy, teaching you the different moves and helping you breathe properly and stuff. The next 2 are labor prep for you and your partner to get ready for labor. She really goes through a lot of helpful stuff.

They were pretty good and helpful. Here are the links for Amazon, notice they all have a very high user rating. The last link is to buy all 3 for $20 + shipping (a very good deal!)
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Yoga-Vol-Introduction/dp/B0007CEX0Y/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220171051&sr=8-33
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Yoga-Vol-Preparation/dp/B0007CEX18/ref=sr_1_31?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220170733&sr=8-31
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Yoga-Vol-Preparation/dp/B0007CEX1S/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220171108&sr=8-4
http://www.amazon.com/Rockis-Prenatal-Combo-Vols-1-3/dp/B000K7UHC4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1220171108&sr=8-2 (all 3)

[Nikita]

My friend, a midwife, gave me a book to read with this baby, which had a cd at the back.. will try to find out who it's by, but it's based on Dr grantly Dick-read's teaching that fear causes pain.  Might work for you, but for me, it was pain that caused the fear. I was afraid of pain, but I didnt imagine the pain.  If I'd gone into childbirth and there wasnt pain, my fear would have gone.  my fear has nearly gone because finally I got an epidural the moment I asked for one.  Mind you, my birth plan this last baby was this:

I want an EPIDURAL,
and i want it NOW!!!
(Please)


That was all.  Got the message across. Why should we suffer?? I think the epidural is the best invention in the history of the world, and whoever invented it.... I LOVE YOU!!! (You deserve the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE)

[Nikita]

I dug into the recesses of my memory, and lo.. it was there.

Hypnobirthing. The Mongan method by Marie Mongan.  www.hypnobirthing.com

Mind you, I tried hypnosis/hypnotherapy to lose weight, and it did nothing. I lost the money it cost me to attend the hypnosis session with licensed experienced practitioner. But maybe I need to listen to subliminal messages and hypnosis on cd over and over... I might be a tough cookie... it may be easier for some.
And have you heard of TENS? It involves numbing pain with electrical pulses...

[nadia0801]

Nhockaday, thanks for the links! I'm reading the user reviews now =)

[nadia0801]

My friend, a midwife, gave me a book to read with this baby, which had a cd at the back.. will try to find out who it's by, but it's based on Dr grantly Dick-read's teaching that fear causes pain.  Might work for you, but for me, it was pain that caused the fear. I was afraid of pain, but I didnt imagine the pain.  If I'd gone into childbirth and there wasnt pain, my fear would have gone.  my fear has nearly gone because finally I got an epidural the moment I asked for one.  Mind you, my birth plan this last baby was this:

I want an EPIDURAL,
and i want it NOW!!!
(Please)


That was all.  Got the message across. Why should we suffer?? I think the epidural is the best invention in the history of the world, and whoever invented it.... I LOVE YOU!!! (You deserve the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE)

Hahaha! I'm afraid I'd be very much like you when labor comes because I have a really low-threshold for pain! You're lucky that you've been given pain-relief the moment you asked for it because I heard stories that though they begged for it, it was denied for reasons like "not yet dilated enough" or "too dilated for an epidural". Oh well, much of what will happen we can't control anyway however well we prepare for it (see nhockaday's story) so I guess I should stop worrying about pain =)

[nadia0801]

I dug into the recesses of my memory, and lo.. it was there.

Hypnobirthing. The Mongan method by Marie Mongan.  www.hypnobirthing.com

Mind you, I tried hypnosis/hypnotherapy to lose weight, and it did nothing. I lost the money it cost me to attend the hypnosis session with licensed experienced practitioner. But maybe I need to listen to subliminal messages and hypnosis on cd over and over... I might be a tough cookie... it may be easier for some.
And have you heard of TENS? It involves numbing pain with electrical pulses...

This is an interesting pain-relief method..but I doubt I can be 'calm' enough come labor day to enter the hypnotized state. Teehee! Thanks for the link though! I'll certainly look more into it. Gotta see all the options out there =)

[nadia0801]

After my last child (not my last, as I will have more, but thus far...), they recommended I do a CALM birth course, a new thing out in Australia.  Actually, I dont need to attend a Calm birth class, I need doctors and midwives who do as I want and have made clear all along. All they have to do is give me an epidural as soon as I ask for it, and things would be very calm!!!!  But my first 3 births they have been determined to hold off on the epidural (public hospital, no private health insurance..we dont need it in Australia, hospital and doctors are free but you get what you're given when they want to give it)...
I learned that due to my ABSOLUTE fear of childbirth, I dont dilate. 2cm is all I get to, until they give me the epidural... then it's straight to 10cm, ready to push, and them not believing me!! that was my experience with the first, then I told them of this with the 2nd...same result, but still didnt believe me, til I got the epidural at 2 cm and was ready to push.  3rd child, 2cm, finally got epidural, ready to push...they insisted I needed to do a bowel motion, so I grabbed a dish, they all left the room, and returned 10 mins later to me still doing the BM (and giving birth at same time!)...the baby was half delivered in a bowl of poo while no-one was around.  So for the 4th kid I explain all this (yet again), and was given an epidural at 2cm as soon as I asked for it!!!  yet once again they werent believing I was needing to push, and poor bub was kept waiting longer than she needed to because they wouldnt examine me to find I was 10cm dilated when I told them I would be...so I just lay there twidling my thumbs til they decided they better check things out cos "nothing was happening". So they take a look "ooh, you better push now" (no kidding!!).
The other thing that I did find bad, was with 3rd kid, epidural didnt take properly, as I was stuck on one side, and I was half numb (one half), then when it came time to push it had totally worn off, and they did not believe I was in pain.  I was screaming my head off, "I'm splitting in two, I'm dying!!", and they were saying, "No, that's not pain you're experiencing, it's pressure!!" (I'd had 2 already, I knew I was in PAIN!! ).

Hilarious! It's my first to hear this kind of story =) I can imagine the doctors' reaction when they found that you're already 10cm dilated as you said you'd be hehe! How long does the epidural lasts anyway? You mentioned that it has worn off during the delivery of your 3rd kid right?

[nhockaday]

I would go ahead and get them asap if you like them. The sooner you start to use them, the better!

[haydee]

You better try their suggestions,  i had a horrible experience in giving birth, except for the fact that i finally saw my baby.  but it took me more than 2 days to see her because i delivered through cs section and she was in nicu.  sad to say, i was never prepare on it.  i've been so tough and i try hard to deliver normal but sometimes things didn't happen the way you wanted it to be.  24 hours of labor is really worst, that i almost sacrifice my baby's health. 

do a lot of exercise, my husband is very afraid that i will deliver without anyone with me because his workplace is quite far from home.  so he never wanted me to go outside for a walk.  i never thought that it's not that easy to deliver and the baby won't  just come up. 

talk to your baby!!! i remember telling my baby to come out when his daddy is off.  exactly on the last day of office, i gave birth....

everyone has different side of stories and i think all are unforgetable even if you have more than 1 child.

[Nikita]

The epidural used to be given in one big hit, then it would be topped up but some SILLY medical people believe that unless it's worn off by 2nd stage you wont be able to feel to push.  With my first 2, I had the urge to push, but no pain.  Come the third, the medical people, thinking they're the experts, just dont listen... I find this repeatedly... they seem to be brainwashed by their training and wont listen to personal experience. So they deliberately let me experience 2nd stage, thinking I wouldnt be able to push without pain. The end result was I was so traumatised, so much in shock, they went to hand me the baby and I said "no", and just shook and vomited for half an hour. I didnt experience that before. I didnt like gas... couldnt get the hang of when to use it, and it didnt do anything.  Didnt want pethidine, cos that's fine for drug addicts, but I like to have full control of my mental faculties and didnt want to be stoned, woozy, dopey and sleepy!! With the 4th, being such a big gap from the others, they'd realised epidurals did exactly as I had been saying, and they had brought ina self-administering thing, where you press a button, abd get another dose.  You cant get another dose before 15 mins is up, but they told me" just keep pressing" and I darn well kept on pressing!! So I was ok to cuddle bubby right away, wide awake, feeling well.

[nhockaday]

I had mine and didn't feel a thing from there on out. It lasted for several hours. I couldn't even move my legs for a couple hours after giving birth. I guess it just depends on if they put it in the right spot and give you the right dose. And I had no problems pushing. Those yoga dvd's I mentioned explain exactly how to push, even if you have an epidural. I couldn't feel a thing that I was doing, but I did it!

Next time though, I want to experience the whole thing natuarally. I feel as though I was robbed the first time around, but I'm glad I didn't have to have a c-section.

[Maddy]

Hi Nadia

I have some advice for you on how to dramatically reduce your risk of needing an episiotomy. Use the Epi-No childbirth trainer. Make sure you get the Delphine Plus model, which is both for exercising your pelvic floor muscles and stretching your perineum. The stretching only begins from three weeks before your due date, so you have time.

From what I have read, massaging the perineum is far less effective than Epi-No. I think it's terrible that so many women have episiotomies - and so few obstetricians and midwives tell their patients about Epi-No.

I used it successfully, reaching the stated target just in time for my baby's birth. I felt so empowered because I had an idea of what the pushing stage would feel like. You feel the burn that so many women describe, and you teach yourself to relax instead of clenching up when that happens.

However, I ended up with an emergency cesarean, so that's where my story ends.

Good luck Nadia!

Maddy

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