Re: medicated birth or all natural?
I haven’t really heard of gas/air being used in the US anymore. It’s either and epidural or go natural, although like sgc said, opiates like morphine and demerol can be administered. These do run the risk of crossing through the placenta to the baby though so I’d rather go with the epidural.
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
uff my labour was so long I was stuck at 2 cm water bag broke I took epidural and I was so proud of my decision , no side effects allhumdullah, in the end baby got stuck (thnkx to big head) and finally she was delivered wth the help of vaccum
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
All these big headed babies of ours! Lol 
Bella it’s definitely too soon to worry! Just be calm for now and focus on growing a healthy bub!
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
This is a great article! And a stupid show premise…
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
I love this article.., I could have said every word written there!
I always knew I wanted pain medication so that was no brainer to ask for epidural when I felt the need for it. I also am the person who took every pill on the dot after c section.. I read stories about women not taking pain meds after 5 days but Nopse not me.. 2 weeks and 3 days.. I took it.. Yes I was sleepy but I also couldn’t function without being in pain.. So yeah if you do end up with c section , please take care of yourself and take the prescribed meds even after you are home.. Happy mamma, happy child(ren) 
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
i dont understand why would someone choose to have a natural birth outside a hospital and in their home if they have access to a hospital. what if something goes wrong and you need medical intervention? as some women mentioned here, sometimes baby can change their position so how would natural birth even work in that situation?
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
^ from what I have seen, women choose second or third baby birth at home because they think “they know it all” by then. A midwife is present and probably transfers you to the hospital if she can tell it’s not worth the risk.. I mean seriously if everything goes well, yeah ok great.. But if something was to go wrong and you don’t make it to the hospital? Just the thought itself makess me shudder!
Natural birth, no vaccination, homeschooling.. I lump them all in being “cool” these days.. Peer pressure I tell ya!
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
and cloth diapering
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
I’d love to see this. But knowing some people, the poor woman would be so vilified for having the audacity to be poor and having a child.
Meh.
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
But but but TV taught me that all babies are born in 20 minutes and it’s so easy that your average cab driver/college kid can do it. Not true? 
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
yeah a few screams and the baby pops right out. there is no such things as fetal distress, prolonged labor, cord prolapse, or life threatening hemorrage. just propaganda so doctors and hospitals can make money.
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
Oh don’t even get me started on the anti vaxxers 
Ok, so in terms of home births, a few of my friends have opted for it and it is sans pain relief because the midwife can’t prescribe medication or administer it in that setting BUT they all made the choice in an informed manner and delivered healthy babies. One did it because she’s very religious, one did it because she ran out of time and baby was coming, and one did it because she’s deathly afraid of hospitals. It’s not a choice I would make but knowing the women personally I can say that none of them did it because it was cool or trendy. They had reasons which were valid for them and they had qualified midwives on hand. This tv show though showing women giving birth in the wild with supposedly no assistance is so dumb. And also, who will be watching?? It’s not like giving birth is glamorous or even all that entertaining. Gah!
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
Too religious for a hospital and Drs? Ugh whaaa? :-/
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
Ya. She was under midwife care from the get-go so she literally didn’t need to visit the hospital at all. It’s an alternative option here vs. An OB and a hospital.
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
I guess she didnt want any men tending to her?
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
im wondering that too. i have never heard even religious person say they cant go to a hospital.. is it because there can be male doctors there??
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
^ I think that was it.
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
Pethidine injection anyone?
I haven’t formally planned my pain relief yet but the only reason I’m leaning away from epidural is the idea that you may have to have an assisted delivery as you can’t feel the pushes - and I’m not too keen on the idea of forceps or vacuum 
The pethidine is supposedly injected in your thigh and relieves pain to a greater extent than gas & air, but less so than epidural. Plus, I believe it doesn’t require an anesthetist to administer it.
Re: medicated birth or all natural?
^ Few thoughts with the assumption you’re in the U.S. b/c I don’t know how things work in other places:
Not all epidurals are the same. Meaning that the type and amount of medication given through the catheter can vary. Yes, they can give you enough to the point where you are numb. However, its also possible to get a different mixture of drugs in very little amount where even after being given “epidural”, you can still walk around. So getting an epidural doesn’t automatically mean you’ll be numb.
Have you spoken with your OB about this option? Just because this option exists, doesn’t mean it’ll be available to you. Also, if you plan on delivering in a hospital, you won’t be getting any pain meds without the anesthesiologist’s approval. Why? B/C as I mentioned earlier, OB and anesthesiologists can be sued by you if something goes wrong. A M.D. doesn’t have to administer Tylenol to you but as a patient, you can’t even get Tylenol without a M.D.'s approval (even though its the nurse handing you the pill). So no matter what type of pain relief you want, please make sure you speak to the OB…or even speak to the nurses at the hospital you’re planning on delivering to see if that particular pain method is USUALLY approved by the anesthesiologists. And once you get there during labor, you can also talk to the anesthesiologist OR CRNA about your concerns and wish for minimum amount of medication through the epidural.
As for Pethidine…it passes into the placenta and may directly effect the baby for a few days after birth. So please make sure you fully research it and are perfectly comfortable with the effects it can have on the baby so you’re not surprised once the baby is here.
It crosses the placenta and may affect your baby’s breathing and make her drowsy for several days, particularly if your birth progresses more quickly than expected and your baby is born within two hours of the drug being given to you.
It may be more difficult to get breastfeeding started because the drug may affect your baby’s rooting and sucking reflexes.
medicated birth or all natural?
I had vommited throughout my pregnancy & hoped for an easy labour since i was very active in pregnancy but surprising things happen and you should be prepared for all.
I had a labour of 2.5 days.. Yup u read it right! From 0 - 10 cm took THAT long. First 24 hours were bearable pains, second 24 hours was terrible pain, last 12 hours i was vomitting crazy and so hungry! I don’t think i would’ve been able to get through those 6 hours without an epidural. I have a low pain threshold .. Plus i had HAD it by the time i was to deliver. Epidural was heaven for me!!! Of course it had its side effects.. With me having no energy to push even though i did for 2 hours .. Ended up in a forceps delivery with 2nd degree tear. First week of recovery was tough but it got better! Haven’t experienced any other epidural issues.
Next time around In Sha Allah i will try my best to go through naturally but i dont see myself going that far but still will try. Nonethless, if it doesnt go that way i will In Sha Allah get epidural again.