Deep Breathing is the key to Easy Birthing !!

Recently I have seen some birthings in movies or on TV, and I have a hard time believing how they depict the birth experience. The women are screaming, flailing their arms, holding their breath, demanding epidurals, cursing their mates, shouting at everyone, and then the doctors are also demanding that the mother "Push, push, push !". This was not my experience, and I always feel so sorry for the women who won't be able to look back on that special day with any feeling of joy or elation. What went wrong?

I had 5 birthings, and each one just kept getting better. I never screamed, had no medications, was preoccupied, but kind to my life partner and children, and never "pushed" at all. I deep breathed my way till the climax, and then something from within pushed the baby out, all I had to do was stay out of the way. I accomplished this by deep breathing my way through contractions, and did not let myself get distracted from the matter at hand.(don't let them sneak up on you). I found deep, steady breaths and concentration on "riding the waves" of each contraction, was all that was necessary to allow my babies to be born with ease. I always wish I could step in and coach these mothers who are floundering around for some focus, and that focus I believe is always "the breath".

What has your experience been ???

 

Hey thanks for that post A.B.E! You really never had to physically "PUUUSH!"? I'm only 21 and I've only had one child, but I feel really grateful that my experience was pretty pleasant, although I did get the epidural because I had been awake for 30 hours beforehand (no one told me to try to get some sleep when I started getting those mini cramps) and I was so tired I was almost delusional. so I got the medication so that I could sleep a bit before the PUSHING.

I'm really interested in your experience of not having to push at all, because to me that seems like the best way to do it. Just let your body do what it does naturally, you don't have to force it. I've seen other animals give birth and none of them that I've seen have ever squated and pushed with all their might!

I do agree that deep breathing is the key. I found that as painful as the contractions got (before the medication), as long as I stayed focused and breathed through each one, I could take them pretty well. I think that helped me to stay in a fairly peaceful state of mind.

 

I did this. Had the easiest birth ever. My first child I was going natural with and they scared the crap out of me. I was 17 and alone and they told me if I wanted to get the baby out without a c-section I should let them "help" my contractions and go with pitocen(i think thats it). Needless to say they messed things up and I went natural but it was all the way up to the moment they had me in the c-section room prepping for an emergency ones. I fought it and gave birth. Second one I feel asleep and woke up in hard labor. Rushed to the hospital and gave birth pretty much right the moment I layed down. I just looked at my first little boy and it kept me calm and determined. Now my third birth was exactly what I wanted. I had no one bugging me, I had my support time and my husband right there with me. I imagined being in the sea floating over huge waves everytime a contraction came and breathed it out(thats what it feels like to me, floating alone over them). She came calmly and quickly into the world... I didn't push until I had to to get her all the way out.

 

oh and i forgot... you never had to push? I had to give one push at the very end... how did you do with no pushing? How long did the whole birthing process that? I'm having baby fever right now. I want another one sooo bad but I know we can't so I'm just occupying myself by listening to other mamas.

 

i've had three births and the first two i had an epidural and had to push like a mofo but the last one, oh joy, my body pushed the baby out all on her own. i'd never felt the "urge to push" with the first two and when my body folded it self up with my third i was sorta wondering what on earth was happening lol it was so awesome! yeah, if you just step aside and let your body do what she's designed to do, you don't need to push much at all, your uterus will just sqeeze that babe out for you, you couldn't stop it if you tried lol

 

wow that sounds much mroe pleasant than most birth stories Ive heard. Doesn't it just make sense to let your body do what it already knows how to do? I hope my expeience is as positive as some of yours.... I would hate to end up being one of those screaming, arm flailing women on tv...

 

What went wrong for me was that I did not have proper support. My boyfriend wanted to have his older son present for the birth and ended up having to give all his attention to him while I was laboring. I had called my mom and sister early to tell them I was in labor but it took them over 5 hours to get there, by then I had been pressured into the epidural by the nurses. If I had it to do over again, I would have hired a doula and had my boyfriend stay outside until the baby about to be born. I ended up with a c/s because the epidural stopped my labor completely. I was devastated when I found out I needed a c/s because I had never even thought it could happen to me.

With my 2nd baby, I had no choice but to have another c/s if I wanted a hospital delivery. I was not comfortable with a home birth and I had many months to prepare myself for the c/s (that was something I didn't even consider the first time). I had a wonderful experience with my 2nd birth, even though it was a c/s and I felt that it was healing. It turned out that my daughter was breech so I would most likely have needed a c/s to get her out anyway, so I was relieved that I didn't try to do it naturally.

 

I sort of saw education as the key to easy birthing. If you knew how your body naturally worked, and knew that no matter what, a baby will come out (in most cases), and knew that the pain was normal and beautiful, then you could relax through it, concentrate through it, and just let your body do it's thing.

I have never felt so powerful as when I was having natural contractions. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Yes, it hurt. But knowing my body was performing this wonderful experience all on it's own made me truly grateful!

 

(((((jgirl)))))

 

with the birth of my second child (not in the hospital, no doctors), I only pushed when I couldn't not push anymore. At a certain point, there was nothing I could have done to stop myself from pushing. For the most part, I was trying not to push, because it hurt so much. I agree, though, doctors tend to make childbirth a much less pleasant experience than it has to be. I can't watch those shows on tv without crying, after the horrible experience I had in the hospital with the birth of my first child. Women who trust their bodies to do what they should, and who don't have care providers overly managing their labor and delivery do have much better birth experiences. Just read either of Ina May's books!

 

I took an epidural. I'm glad I did. I was dazing in and out, and couldn't breathe. I was getting faint, and almost passed out. I decided for myself that I needed the epidural. A lot of women may look at it as wussing out, and tell me that I could have done it naturally, but I know how I felt, and how my body felt, and I just couldn't have done it. More power to any woman that does it naturally. You really are strong mamas.
When I showed up at the hospital, I was in hard labor. 7 cm. My contractions were about 3 minutes apart at that time. The doctors were pulling and stretching on my cervix. I was being asked a lot of questions. I'm sure that if I were in a much more calm environment, I would have been less stressed out and had the energy to calm myself down, but the hospital isn't the best place for that. And, I just don't dig on the home births. You never know what could happen.

 

My first birthing was a footling breach (both feet first), and I just happened to be at TheFarm in Tennessee where Ina May Gaskin lives. She wasn't on the farm when I went into labor, but I had several midwives and a resident MD, who attended because of the unusual presentation. I had a smooth labor, and it instilled in me how the attitude of the people who are with you during this very intense time, can make a big difference in your experience. They were so supportive, and into letting it all happen naturally.

I had a midwife for my second daughters birth, but the next three my partner and I just did it alone (he made a fine midhusband), and those births are the most relaxed and awesome. I am so glad I discovered that natural birth was the way to go.(for me anyway)

 

I gave birth to my second child at The Farm, too.

 

omg! i totally envy you guys. what an awesome experience!

 

wow that makes me really happy.

 

Mamaboogie, does The Farm still operate?

 

uh, yeah...
the link doesn't seem to be working for whatever reason right now http://www.farmcatalog.com/birth.htm

try this one
http://www.thefarm.org/midwives/index.html

 

aww, i'm glad

 

The Farm is so great.

I wish I could have had vaginal births. I have an android pelvis, and HAD to push. My doctor has a very low C Section rate, and after 54 hours of a basically undisturbed birth, I HAD to push. Android pelivi don't give up babies easily. Mine didn't give up babies at all. After several days of labor and hours of pushing (without pushing, my kids didn't move at ALL) ended up with Sections. I really don't care. I have live babies. I would not have without the surgery. The hospital "experience" did NOT cause my C Sections. My body did. There is a big difference.

I KNOW that if had been one of those mamas 100 years ago one of two things would have happened, they would have used a Craniotomy Hook (don't Google this device, unless you have a strong stomach and are NOT pregnant) or my first baby and I would have died. Womyn DID die in childbith WITH midwives, BEFORE doctors ect. I would have been one of them, or the midwife would have had to destroy by (now alive, by C Section) baby to save my life.

Some people have it rougher than others. I didn't have it rough because I was in the hospital. I had it rough because of my body. I am glad I lived in an age where my children and I lived through, what less than 100 years in our past, would have been a death sentence.

A freind of mine had a baby die during a "perfectly safe" home birth. One minute everything was fine, the next they were losing the heartbeat, and by the time they got to the hospital the baby was dead. She hasn't been able to get pregnant since and it was more than 4 years ago. A tragedy indeed. That isn't to say that home births aren't great for most people, but I can't help thinking if she had been down the hall from an ER, her beautiful baby girl would be alive and 4 years old now. But, she reamins hoping to become pregnant again (or maybe she is afraid to, I really don't know.) When I heard her history, she probably should have been declaried "high risk" and had a "horrible" hospital birth. But, at least her child would be alive. IMO, if I had to choose between a "birth experiance" and a live child, I would (and DID) choose a child. There IS such a thing as "High Risk" pregnancies. And, in these cases, a tech birth can mean the difference between a homecoming and a funeral. My great grandmother died in childbirth. My husband's grandmother died in childbirth. My grandmother had a sister and three aunts who died in childbirth. It DID and still does happen. (All these were home, midswife attended births, between 80 and 120 years ago.)

If you have never been to a funeral with one of those tiny white (or pink) caskets, you don't know how awful this is. WORSE than a murse being mean to you, worse than a C Section, worse than getting an episiototomy, worse than not getting your dream birth. I assure you. A seemingly beautiful birth "experience", at first, ending in "We're so sorry. There was no time to get you to the hospital." is worse. Then you make funeral plans, and don't sleep, because the baby is dead, instead of making party plans and don't sleep because you are taking care of a healthy (but C Section) baby.

I give Blessings for all the mamas who have not had to go through such a thing. In MOST cases birth goes well. In the cases it doesn't, the "high tech" stuff does save lives. The problem is when it is applied to LOW risk births, and causes more problems that leaving the mama alone.

But, we can't say "All pregnancies would turn out well, if there was never any high tech procedures." For a small number of us, these procedures mean the difference betweeen being childLESS and being a mother. Or being alive or being dead ourselves.

 

Best baby wishes to your friend, Maggie. That story made me cry.