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I definately consider Rylie a natural birth. She was born v____ally with no pain meds. Even though it was no choice of my own, lol. V- haha ok. i didnt think you were directing it at me. Ive basically just been speaking in general about c-sections and inductions, not specifically about Angels situation. Angel- I dont think its true they dont lat you hold your baby until the epidural wears off. They usually make sure the mom is the first to hold the baby if circ_mstances allow. Rylie had a low temp and needed to be put in the incubator and they still laid her on my chest first.

Angelmonkey-As you have noticed with all of this birthing stuff, things kind of depend on the situation. There are situations with c-sections or pain meds where the woman reacts a little different than average to the medicine and yeah they are unable to hold the baby. But I haven't run across someone like that yet. And usually in those cases, if they are conscious, they will lay the baby on your chest, yet still help by supporting it for a bit. Then not too much later, the stuff wears off enough for you to function again. Also, I just wanted to let you know, because you were saying you can't deal with the pain already. Try to imagine the worst pain possible, enough that you'd want to die. Then imagine yourself getting through it because you bear it and then push the pain out of you. That's what I did, and then the actual pain was less than what I expected so I mentally dealt with it better. Also, don't let too many people distract you while laboring. Learn to find a happy place and start visuallizing taking yourself there. That helps too when it gets intense. Lastly, get in tune with your body and feel where the pain is. If it's in your back, that's your body telling you to get on all fours. Rolling your hips in circles helps soooo much too. Doing cat stretches where you are your back and release also is good. These motions also help move your baby comfortably down. I'm telling you this because you can't always rely on the epidural to save you if the pain becomes too much. I know with me, and almost every person I know who's had a baby in the past 10 years has had a situation where they were either too far gone by the time they needed it, or it didn't work as well. With me, it only numbed a spot in my back. For one of my friends it only numbed one side. While even that helps-because really every little bit helps, it was still painful. Anyway, not trying to scare you, just giving you tips cuz I want you to enjoy this as much as possible. Just think of it as an adventure, like your indiana jones and the pain is what you have to defeat to get to the treasure, and that's that little girl inside of you that you've been dying to see. When you take it like that you will be so amazed at how powerful you feel when it's over. Because a lot of times there is a point where you will hit that brick wall (mainly if you've been laboring for a while and are tired). For me it was in the last 3 pushes, because I could size up this head and my body, and it didn't feel like it would be humanly possible to get it out of there, LOL! But I turned that into determination and pushed SOOOO much harder! You're going to do great, just remember to never lose your determination.

My epidural worked fine. I heard if you lay on your side it will only numb one side of you, which apparently happens pretty often. But anyway, they let me immediately hold Ellie. Right after her cord was cut she was set on my chest. White chucks, blood and all. They took her away for a moment to weigh her and clean her, but never left the room and gave her right back. I had to get into a wheel chair to go to the recovery room while my legs were still numb. I held her in the wheel chair. I think I probably held her my entire stay at the hospital. The only time I set her down was to get her diaper changed or give her to a nurse for her tests and shots. My epidural took a while to wear off too. I remember having to go to the bathroom and not being sure if I was peeing or not. I had to check the toilet to see if it was blood or urine haha. Anyway I'm getting side tracked... I also didn't have much of a problem pushing. It's a little bit weird because you know you're using the muscles you would normally use to push, but you can't feel yourself pushing.

My epidural didnt work at all. But that was because the anesthesiologist screwed up. A couple friends of mine had an epidural and they laughed and joked through labor and delivery.

thanks guys V i always imagine things to be worse than what they are and then when there not as bad as i thought it doesnt seem to hurt as much........but its so hard to imagine what labour will feel like! i really want no pain meds.well gas and air and just think it will be ober and my little girl will be here........i just know i,ll be disapointed in myself if i get the epi

angel: i was pretty woozy and they kept my baby for a while because she was so big she had blood sugar problems, so by the time they brought her to me, i was pretty much close to normal, but i still had an epidural. they had given me one before i had her and one after due to the severe tearing. but there wasn't a problem with me holding her because they propped me up with pillows all around and my husband sat close. and if the pain meds were done right, then only your waist down would be numbed. luna: unfortunately, i think that definition is a bit outdated. by the definition you find when you google it, there's minimal or no medication. even if a woman had a baby with only antibiotics for strep b, then they weren't natural either. being given a gram of meds every 12 hours isn't considered minimal medication. iona: don't be so thick. you think it's right that someone try to scare angel out of what she is trying to do to keep herself and her baby healthy? that's just stupid. what would you two "experts" suggest? and going two weeks past a due date isn't safe. after 40 weeks, the amount of fluid decreases quickly, putting the child in danger. would you have your child die in your stomach so you can say you had a "natural birth"? i won't preach natural childbirth to anyone because i didn't have it. i would have loved for it to come unexpectedly, but i would have done anything to keep my child safe, and that makes a better parent than someone who would put their child at risk just to have natural birth. the only ways i'd define a birth as not natural is if a mother schedules an induction out of convenience for a holiday trip or some other non medical reason or if they scheduled a c section for any other reason other than to keep her and her baby safe and i truly believe that's the best definition.

I'm sorry is it just me, or does anyone else notice that lunamoo and iona are always on the same post and always agree with each other? Most likely one will come on and make a point no one agrees with, then the other will pop up and say "Hey she's right!! That's a brilliant observation!"

yeah i noticed and it's pretty annoying. either it's one person with two names to try to make themselves feel right or someone who is too much of a sheep to have an opinion for themselves. ...is "themselves" even a word? it stopped sounding right after i said it like 10 times lol.

Each to their own, but just for the sake of it I did google "natural childbirth" and I have to say Teddy that you are wrong. I am not taking sides, just seeing what all this discussion was about. The first 10 hits said the same thing. No meds, all natural, no epi, no picotin, no kinds of pain killers etc. basically "just as nature intended". Any I have to agree with lunamoo on this one...though that is not often the case : ) Good luck everyone!!!!

i had my scan today, heidi weighs 6lb 11oz which is just fine, a little large but still in the right weight range..................they are going to induce me at 39 weeks as i have a severe rash all over which has been getting worse over the weeks, my stomic is red raw from it and because they cant work it out they will induce me as they think its pregnancy related, will get my date at my next hospital appoinment i will be 39 weeks 3 days so she will pretty much arrive on time......................and for thoses (lunmoo iona) that think i am still wrong to go ahead with induction even though she,s not dangourosly big, my appoinment is 39 weeks 3 days say they induce me the day after so 39+4 12 hour labour 39+5 so she,l arrive right on time which i dont seea prob with................even if i wasnt getting induced i woulnt be having a natrual childbrith as you call it as i have to have a drip of antibiotics......... what gets me is if i had a fall (touch wood i dont) and because of the fall i went in to labour, but didnt have any pain meds ect would that not be natrual childbirth as i didnt go in to labour when nature inteded? just a little brain teaser there lol......... teddy i got told today that after i have her i will have to stay in for 24hours so they can keep an eye on her because of the group B strep, but i thought with the antibiotics everything would be fine? i thought they only kept an eye on them if you refuse antibiotics?

Oh God, seriously...And forgive me if I sound kind of huffy, I'm kind of stupified and also half-a__sing this because I'm doing homework. Anyway, Amanda, you are right. It also sounds very ignorant. Okay, on this debate about what natural labor is. COME ON! Everyone knows that NATURAL labor is when a woman labors with as little medical intervention as possible. But if I wanted to be a REAL a__s, I'd say that you guys probably didn't have natural labor either-if you have kids. Because if you were in a hospital, hooked to any machines, it doesn't fall under your forced definition or the original definition of natural labor. If the doctor did anything or put anything in you, it wasn't natural. Again, we all know what natural is, but just like a lot of terms, it gets used in our modern common world and takes on different forms. So with the world of increasing elective c-sections and elective inductions natural gets thrown into conversation because we followed what we had to do and had a v____al delivery. Angelmonkey-stop explaining to them! Seriously! Your water could break tomorrow, and I guess there's something wrong with that, right? Maybe because you considered an induction then it's your fault and the baby was born too early. I mean come on! You are fine, your baby is fine, you are following the natural precautions and flow of what is needed. The truth is, yes it would be awesome if we all could just push our babies out with no drugs, no problems, our waters just break when our babies are ready, etc. But that isn't how it always happens. Not even back in the day when women used midwifes and didn't go to hospitals to give birth. But there were WAYYYYYY more deaths of mothers and/or children. Let's please remember that and not seem judgemental. No one on here elected c-sections to keep their v____as tight, or so they wouldn't have to feel pain. No one on here got induced because they were sick of being pregnant. So for those expressing their opinion-your fine because I do understand it, but at the same time, don't do so in a way that makes it sound like your judging people who got induced or had a c-section. Especially when they did so for the right reasons. Angelmonkey-They probably just want to keep her to be absolutely certain, because I hear that Group B strep can be very serious in a baby. Though you get the antibiotics, I don't think you really want to take a chace. Take comfort in the fact that they are being so thorough with your little one! It really sounds like you have some awesome doctors by your side! I really can't say that enough. It shows in every update you give us.

For the record : ) my 2nd DD was a homebirth. I tested positive for strep B as well but after my personal research and discussion with midwife decided on just monitering DD after birth. Anyway even if I wanted antibiotics her birth was so so fast it would have been impossible to administer what they consider an "effective amount" 2nd DD due next month will also be a home birth. Sorry for being a stickler on what is natural and what is not...I just am very pa__sionate about empowering women and giving them the strengh and confidence that is so often and so easily taken away from them. Inductions and "interventions" and what have you have literally sky-rocketed the last years. And women are constantly being told how they can not do labor on their own, that they are high-risk, that the pain is unbearable, etc. I wish anglemonkey the best. I am very curious as to how your birth experience will be, good luck!!!

i see your point iona, but not everyone is as pasionate about it as you, i think its a personal decision and you should never tell anyone its wrong to do whats best for your baby, im sure lots of women would love to be able not to have any pain meds but not having them can severly stress some women out. im curious as you say your second dd was a homebirth, how was your first born?

Well she says 2nd DD was a homebirth, then she says 2nd DD is due next month.

angelmonkey, 1st DD was a horrible hospital birth with every intervention you can imagine. It was sadly a very bad experience for me and my baby so therefore for my 2nd I decided on a home birth. I am also due next month and plan another homebirth. With my 1st I was very determined to have a "natural birth." I was in painful labor for about 8 hours with no support from the docs. They seemed very pressed for time and every 1/2 hour would tell me to get on picotin. I had read many times that once you start one intervention it leads to the next and my story follows that exactly. OF COURSE, a mom doesn't want to risk the baby and after so much pressure from the docs about how stressed out my baby was and how I was not progressing--basically all negative stuff--I finally got picotin. That then stressed out the baby with such hard, fast unnatural contractions as my body and baby were not prepared so then they said an epi. So I finally said yes. Then of course EVERYTHING slowed down to a near stop, so more picotin, more stress and then the threat of a c-section. They were yelling at me to have it and my husband refused and tried his best to work with me and (thank god) a supportive nurse. In the end I ripped and had my DD v____ally. She was so doped up b___st feeding didn't start out well, I was so depressed....well for me it was truly a bad experience. So I opted for home birth. When my midwife read the birth report of my 1st she said "this is exactly why I don't work in hospitals anymore." You are right everyone has to do of course what they are comfortable with. I have done both and I know now what is truly best for me. Good luck!!! And lucky you to see your baby soon!

Angle where I live you can decide on either midwife prenatal care or your OBGYN. A midwife here schedules hour long appointments and talks to you about every aspect of pregnancy, emotions, fears, answers all the questions. Their goal is to educate and empower the woman and help them understand all the physical and emotional changes a woman goes through in pregnancy. AN OBGYM for the most part, just weighs you, takes your BP, and blood, tests your urine. You are in and out of their office in a matter of minutes. For my 1st I had my OBGYN and my 2nd and 3rd a midwife. Boy what a difference. I think my 2nd birth was so quick and easy as I really understood and respected the process of labor. Of course it was painful and somewhat scary but nothing compared to being in the hospital. The major difference was I was in control, I could do what I wanted. I could walk, bathe, cook something, open the window and stick my head out. I was comfortable in my own home with my own germs : ) and smells. Like Mc D's slogan, I was having it "my way." I think simply that in itself makes a huge difference.