Posted by Sue on June 30, 2003 at 15:57:16:
In Reply to: What's your opinion on "natural" childbirth? posted by Mels on June 30, 2003 at 14:04:16:
: Hey all. I know any birth is "natural" in that we all go through pregnancy and we all have little ones, one way or another. But as far as unmedicated...does anybody have an opinion?
: I had pitocen with my first and it was pretty awful. And even with the pit turned up full-blast, it was still 16 hours from start to finish (the pit was started after I'd been in labor 8 hours).
: I have been so afraid of childbirth, as many here know! And I've been reading & reading birth stories like they're going out of style. Nine-tenths of them seem to be inductions for one ridiculous reason or another! I don't get it! And then it's hours & hours of "I couldn't stand the pain," etc....and it still seems to take half a day or more anyway.
: Has anybody here labored primarily in the home & only gone to the hospital when you were down to the bitter end? Has anybody ever been offered pitocen but refused? How did your labors go?
: I've been thinking about this a lot! I feel like if I can stay at home, even if it's for a day or more of contractions, what if that isn't as bad as going to the hospital & getting all hooked up?
: Mels
: eDD 7.03.03
If you can handle it, hang around at home for a while. It gets boring really fast waiting out labor at the hospital, especially for DH. It's funny you see women on TV go 'oh, a contraction' and then their frantic husbands grab the suitcase and speed off to the hospital but it's just not like that. My doctor had told me that women usually come in sooner than they have to because they want pain management. She had said it's mainly time to come in when your contractions are 5-10 minutes apart, or if your water breaks or if your dr says to. I had a quick labor with pitocin, but it seemed that every time someone came in the room they were jacking up the dial. One time I saw them coming and ducked into the bathroom, IV pole and all.
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