Are you planning on an epidural? If you are I would recommend that you do your research. This article is a good starting point. I want you to challenge your thoughts and beliefs about pain in birth. If you frame birth as excruciatingly painful, you will be fearful. That fear will cause tension. That tension will cause the pain you were expecting to feel. When you can trust in your body, when you expect pressure instead of pain, when you prepare yourself for the sensations of birth you will be much more relaxed which opens your body and allows for your baby to pass without the resistance found in a fear based birth. Heres an excerpt from the linked article: The bottom line is that childbirth is a huge physical act that involves pain for most who experience it. But the pain of labour, it turns out, is important. It is hormonally tied to healthy labor progress. If you take away the pain, you may take away the progress, which requires intervention that can cause harm (and more pain!). Your doctor/friend/mother-in-law may be saying, “Don’t be a hero, get the epidural!” But this isn’t about heroics, this is about protecting your body. It may turn out that after hours of labour and every other trick in the bag, an epidural is just what is needed to facilitate the baby’s appearance. But research suggests it’s best left as the serious medical intervention it is — taken when really needed. That’s not to say that women who shoo away the anaesthesiologist don’t need help getting through the pain — massage, a deep warm tub, a shower, hypnosis, and relaxation techniques can all help. Most importantly, you need to be able to move your body. What you don’t need is to be stuck in a situation with access to none of these options, or in a hospital bed with an electronic fetal monitor tying you down and a Syntocinon drip in your vein.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 09:32:18 +0000
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