Going Natural

As a young teenager, I decided I wouldn’t have kids. Not because I didn’t want to be a mom, but because I didn’t want a needle in my arm (IV). I’d had such ordeals with getting my blood drawn and the needles hurting so much. I didn’t even know about the long needles used for epidurals. Looking back, I think it’s sad and strange that I didn’t know/realize that giving birth without needles was an option. While I still don’t like needles, I’ve become accustomed to telling nurses/doctors/phlebotomists that my veins are small, they roll and my blood doesn’t come out terribly fast. These issues would never stop me from having children today.

When I was younger, I didn’t realize that the pain of being poked by a needle repeatedly would pale in comparison to the pain of childbirth. I heard at some point that by having an injection in my back, I could give birth without the pain. I thought, “well, that’s the path for me.” Surely, the brief sting of the injection would be better than whatever pain causes women to moan and scream. I’d heard the first time my dad ever heard my mom swear was when she was in labor. That must be some crazy pain. So, I fully planned to go pain-free when that day came that I would give birth. (The fact that having an epidural does not equal a pain-free labor was unknown to me of course).

Fast forward to sometime in early 2009. My knowledge-hungry husband had watched yet another documentary, The Business of Being Born. Out of the norm, he said I really should watch it. So eventually, I did. It was the beginning of my education about birth. I was a twenty-seven year old woman just starting to learn about birth. Over the next two years, studying about birth was one of my favorite pastimes. I loved to read birth stories of complete strangers. I watched more documentaries (which is really unlike me). I read and read and read. During these two years, my knowledge grew and my opinions changed.

Today, I am 23 weeks pregnant. It’s August 2011. This week I will have another prenatal visit with my midwives at the birth center where I will give birth to our son. In the past few months, I have been surprised by the negativity I’ve encountered when people find out we are planning a natural, out-of-hospital birth. I realize that most of these people haven’t read what I’ve read or seen what I’ve seen. But I’m still surprised they think I would choose to put my baby or myself in danger or that I would choose to do something “out-of-the-norm” without researching the options and outcomes. So let me be clear: I am not giving up a safe, healthy birth. Period. What I am doing is choosing the safest and very best care I can for me, our baby, our family.

I could attempt to site all the studies and summarize all the individual accounts from mothers. But then I remember how long it took me to arrive at my decision to have a natural birth. I remember that I had to study it out for myself. I had to read countless articles and examine many, many studies. It took a lot to turn me, the “girl” scared of needles and desperately wanting to avoid pain, into a woman who knows that she can and will give birth without pain medication. Now, I’m a woman who not only knows that giving birth naturally is the best thing for me and my baby, but I’m excited to do it!! Holding my baby for the first time will be one of the most incredible, fulfilling experiences of my whole life. And I won’t be hooked up to a machine. I won’t hear endless beeping and unknown voices. I won’t be in a strange, unknown place. I won’t be numb or foggy from medication. I will be safe in the care of trained professionals. I will be comforted knowing that my baby is safe too. I will be strengthened, nurtured and renewed by my husband and care providers. I will know that I just gave the greatest gift possible to my husband, my son and myself. I will be in a comfortable, homey room. I will be enjoying my husband and child with only a few friends in the room. I will be completely in the moment basking in the glory that is our child. I will feel madly head-over-heels in love with my husband and son. What more could I ask for?