"Natural" birth

Ditto!

A patient told me, to her going natural meant not wearing any makeup

[quote=mjlrn97]What we do in hospitals is NOT natural childbirth, IMHO, no matter how few interventions there are. [quote]

I agree 100%. Drug-free can happen in hospital, but I wouldn't call that natural. I had my 6 drug-free, and one at home with a CNW. There is no comparison (p.s., the home birth was not #6. Once I had one at home I got that out of my system and could/wanted to do it in a hospital again). Birth is extremely gradual and almost anticlimactic "naturally". I never realized until I birthed at home that just the idea of having to decide several hours before the birth that "this is it" changes things dramatically. Stress (good or bad)=stress response=reduced release and response to oxytocin= slower labor, not to mention what the stress response does to your perception of pain. Just having a SL in your hand is limiting when you must relax your whole body and move freely to avoid tensing and feeling pain. So, for me, if a woman goes to the hospital and goes drug free, that is not natural. That is drug free. Most probably she will be forced to lay down (head up 30 degrees ain't sitting!), and that certainly isn't the position she would likely move into naturally to move her bowels or have a baby. All kinds of unnatural things happen in every hospital birth.

P.S. When I had my second, I shared a room postpartum with a teen mom with a drug-addict mother who came in and congratulated her on her "natural birth". I was blown away by my preconceived notions and later told her, "wow, you had a natural birth? I guess I assumed that being a teen and hearing you talk about your welfare benefits that you would choose to have anesthesia." She explained to me that for her, "natural" meant vaginal, since most people she knew got cut open!!!! I guess I really am/was naive!

Just a thought...do women in the US write birth plans? About 80% of the women who deliver at the hospital I work at do..sometimes it looks as though it's a list of commands, but we endeavour to work as closely to the plan as possible. Sometimes though, due to staff shortages we can't always give them what they want i.e an epidural, or even something as basic as a water birth

I've been reading this thread & have found it fascinating! The opinions are really diverse.

As a UK nurse & mother of 4 it's really interesting to see the differences. I had an epidural with no.2 because no.1 had been a horrible experience - POP, Keilland forceps - NOT fun!!

However, the epidural didn't work & I ended up delivering my 9lb 4oz baby with a tank of gas & air instead (was that natural or not ? )

For my other birth plans I just wrote "give me 3 tanks of gas & air & let me get on with it!" & the GREAT & FANTASTIC British midwives I was fortunate enough to have did exactly that. As long as the baby & me were fine they were happy to just provide the support & encouragement I needed to deliver safely. That has left me with only good experiences to relate.

Speaking purely from the mother's side of the fence there is nothing better you can do for your labouring patient than to try & allow them to carry out their plans as far as possible. Whether that be getting them the epidural or getting them the gas & air or getting them nothing.

No mother wants to put her child's life at risk but jumping on them with IV's, epidural requests etc etc if they don't want it can only heighten their stress & increase their chance of needing interventions.

Just take a step back, look at your patient, if she's doing just fine then let her be - she'll soon tell you if she needs something. If things become life-threating, or potentially so, then that's your turn. Until then your role should be supportive & that's the message I'm seeing from the members here who I would prefer to have with me as the professional in the room. I would not want those who want to stick needles in me the minute I walk through the door, or get the anaesthatist into my room before I'd even wramed the sheets or equally those who think because I just wanted 3 tanks of gas & air I'm a weirdo!!

That's vey interesting to me- in the US something like an epidural is "basic" and would never be denied. A waterbirth however, is something you would have to search far and wide for. What an amazing difference.

Can I ask a question? What is with the IVs? Does every laboring mother get one?

Gave birth in the UK, wonderful hospital, went in the birthing pool for most of my labour but jumped out before giving birth. No pain meds. Oh, and no doctor, just a midwife who was absolutely great. Whilst on clinicals in the USA the nurse I was shadowing was freaking out when I described my labour.

With reference to the IVs, only women who have GBS or have prolonged rupture of membranes, have an augmented labour or simply require an epidural have IVs, thankfully it's not a routine procedure

I completely and totally agree with you. After all midwives are "with women" and are there to be her avocate and support her regarding her wishes. Unless absolutely necessary, the last thing either mother or midwives need is Obstericians in the room ...you generally find as one intervention is made this leads to a cascade of intervention (As described by Midwife Sally Inch..not sure which year she published her research, but you can look it up on the internet)

In the UK only anaesthetists (Drs) are allowed to insert and set up the epidural, after that it's the midwives who "top up" or replace the infusion. Until the anaesthetist arrives in the room, he/she has no idea of the womans history. There are no nurses (unless dually qualified as a a midwife) practicing on labour and delivery. In the UK only qualified medical practitioners (Drs) or midwives can deliver babies

LOL sorry this should have been a reply to someone debating about epidurals..