Mommas who’ve experienced a natural birth, what advice can you give me? - January 2025 Babies | Forums | What to Expect (2024)

1. Make sure your labor team is supportive of your decisions! With a doula and a midwife, sounds like you’re off to a great start, but what about your partner? They should be totally on board, too! The Birth Partner is a great book!

2. Understand the birth process. We all know we dilate to 10cm, push, and there’s the baby. But understand how the hormones all work together, the different stages of labor and what to expect with each one.

3. Be prepared with natural coping methods. I’ve known a lot of women who use Hypnobabies or some other form of meditation for labor. Your doula will be great for this, but be prepared a little on your own so you’ll know some options. Counter pressure, positions for comfort, using a shower or tub, etc.

I have never used laughing gas, but I did have an unmedicated birth with a 9lb 7oz baby! If I can do it, you can do it! Good luck!!

i recommend reading the book the Bradley method - I delivered our 2nd baby naturally and had the best recovery. It really explains the difference stages of labor, how to relax your body during labor and what is going on inside of your body helping you visualize contractions, and staying calm.

The best advice I can give you is when you do go into labor to pretty much stay busy and distract yourself as long as possible.

With my first I went to the hospital way too early at the first signs of contractions and ended up being there for 13 hours on pitocin having unbearable contractions not being able to even walk around freely. I ended up getting an epidural and needing 30 stitches at the end . Not a pleasant recovery at all...

However with my 2nd I lost my mucus plug in the morning and then started having consistent contractions throughout the day I kept myself busy by prepping post partum meals, doing last minute tasks, laundry, cleaning, packing, etc. I was at home for 12 hours until my husband got home from work by then the contractions became more intense and closer together - we got to the hospital and i was 7cm dilated all of the nurses were shocked at how calm i was and were super supportive for me to do it naturally. I got to labor in a bathtub while I was in transition and soon after I got out my water broke and my body started pushing before the dr arrived baby was born in 3 pushes no tearing, no complications, got to go home the next day. That was 3 hours total at the hospital .

Another thing that helped right before I pushed was the nurse directed my husband to do counter pressure on my lower back and man that felt amazing

I have had 7 vagin*l births, and 3 caesarians (The first caesarian was absolutely necessary- my baby was in distress, and almost died).

I planned a natural birth with my first. I have had 4 epidurals, 2 with only entonox, and one with no medication.

I found entonox (laughing gas/ gas n' air) useful. If you use it, inhale at the beginning of the contractions, then stop at the peak.
If you don't like it, it wears off within 3-4 minutes.
I don't like it when it comes time to push - I like to feel in control. Also, pushing is much less painful than the rest of labor IMO.
Water helps a lot.

I tried for a natural birth for the first 50 hours of labor with my first...then went with Pictocin and an epidural. I think I had problems with disordered labor.
I would hold loosely to your expectations, and roll with the punches. I held too tightly to a natural birth, and my daughter inhaled meconium. She developed pneumothorax and was 3 days in NICU. If your labor is stalling - don't be a warrior - things can go badly.
First babies are nearly always the hardest.

I was different than everyone else in my natural birthing class - they all had normal labors of 5-12 hours, and we're doing well afterwards.
I had trouble walking for 2 months afterwards, and couldn't drive for 9 months. I was absolutely wrecked.

With my second, my labor pattern was again steady, but not strong contractions. They started Pictocin right away, I got an epidural, and she was born 5 hours later.
I felt better the morning after than I did 6 months after having my first baby. It was soooo much easier.

I had my 5th with basically no medication...I think I sucked on the entonox once before I felt the desperate need to push!
I wanted a home birth, but they wouldn't allow it due to GBS.
(I made it to the exam table 5 minutes before she was born!)
She was one of my easiest births, because she was the first that wasn't OP.
I also had my 7th, who was induced, with only entonox.

*birthing balls are wonderful*

If they're not OP - I'd say natural can work fine. OP can cause your labor to slow, and is infinitely more painful. Pay attention to your body.
Don't feel bad if plans change - what's important is a healthy baby.
❤️

I did get an epidural for both births but my labors were very fast and didn’t get an epidural until 9cm with both. I may just go fully natural this time, as the epidural seemed to be hitting me as I was pushing and after birth and made me feel a little woozy/hypotensive. I didn’t really have any tools for my first and was super freaked out and overwhelmed by the possibility of not getting an epidural in time haha.

For my second one, I knew a fast labor was a possibility but still planned on getting. I went from a 4 to a 10 in about 15 minutes so by the time the anesthesiologist was in the room I was ready to push and I should have just skipped it. But I did take the mommy labor nurse course to prepare for the possibility and learned about the mantras to say/going into the “zone”, etc. like a light crash course in hypnobirth haha. I tried the combs but didn’t get much relief. My biggest takeaway was to close my eyes and focus on breathing out and in, and attempting to relax my muscles slowly from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, and wiggling my toes and fingers so I wouldn’t tense up. I definitely tensed during my first labor. My nurse didn’t think I was actually at a 10 when my husband called her in a panic because I was sitting at the edge of the bed so calm and quiet haha.

But that being said, I know my labors once they are in the active stage are VERY quick. The hardest part of labor & pain in my opinion is that with your first, you really don’t know how much time you have left to go. It’s basically like running a race without knowing if you’re running a speed 5k or a slow ultramarathon ha.

I will probably try to prepare for an un medicated labor again, in case things progress quickly, but not shy in saying if I can have a comfy epidural nice and early, I’d try that ��