Natural birth or epidural?

I have heard of this. Also, many have it ground into a powder and converted to capsules.

Apparently it helps to avoid post partum depression. 

I saw that! I like her because she adds bear at the end of her terms of endearment. I have been calling my husband babybear for YEARS, I was taken aback when she referred to her husband as babybear. I have also been calling my baby babybear since I got pregnant, had never heard anyone besides her do that. Once I found out it was a boy, Hezziebear became his nickname. That alone made me subscribe to their channel. I found out about them through Naptural85--who had her baby girl!!! 

lol my doula actually offers that as a service, but I decided to rely on prayer if I feel down. 

Jesus has pulled me through some horrible things. To me having a baby, something I have longed for since I can remember is not something I can see myself being sad about of all things. I know it's hormonal and that women can't help it, but I believe in the power of prayer when it comes to my state of mind. I am not judging a woman who wanted to take placenta capsules to try and avoid or manage baby blues though, don't get me wrong.

In fact, I am CONVINCED that if I had a traditional hospital birth I would BEG for relief, lol.

That's actually WHY I am doing it at home. If I don't have that to fall back on there is no way I would cave and take the drugs. 

I have heard of having sterile water drops injected into back. One of my friends did this with both of her kids and she was able to avoid drugs and deliver them naturally. A lot of the time this non invasive way to deal with pain is not even mentioned as an option to a laboring mom. The more they intervene, the more they can charge you. A c-section is a lot more money than a vaginal birth. 

I also found out that it is possible to deliver an 9-13 pound baby naturally and without tearing. Apparently a woman is to get on all fours -this makes the pelvis 60% wider and allows to baby to be pushed out with ease. Same thing with the shoulders of large or normal sized babies having stuck shoulders. According to Ina Gaskin this has worked for every birth she has attended for women who have this happen. 

Our bodies are AMAZING!!!!!! God knew exactly what He was doing when He designed us. I think the media, entertainment industry and modern obstetrics have partnered and succeeded into fooling women that we aren't capable of giving birth on our own and without augmentation or intervention. There are billions of dollars to be made off of the fear and ignorance of the average woman (I was one of them) in regard to childbirth and the mechanics of a woman's body and how it adapts to deliver a baby no matter the size or position of baby. 

The info is out there though, thank God. America women seem to be the main ones being short changed this way. C-sections are the leading cause of maternal death in the US, but it is under reported. A lot of times complication arise from the bowels being nicked during surgery, which results in infection, which leads to death. Or from uterine rupture due to the new technique Ob's have been taught for the better part of ten years to only stitch the outer layer of the uterine muscle as opposed to stitching the inner layer AND the top layer before finally the abdomen in stitched shut. They tell you delivering vaginally is risky after a c-section, but either way having another baby after a c-section is risky due to the insufficient stitching of the incision. 

This angers me to even think about it, because so many of my friends have been duped into C-sections when they weren't really medically necessary. Sometimes they are warranted, but most times they are a result of the unnecessary interventions that occurred during labor. Things that hinder productive labor and pushing are what cause these problems. Example;

Laying on the back--being strapped to all kinds of different monitoring devices

Maternal exhaustion (this is due to being drugged and not being allowed to eat during labor-delivering a baby is hard work, eating and staying hydrated make a world of difference for mom's energy level)

Being poked and prodded and asked all kinds of questions while you are laboring

Having strangers coming in and out of your room

Being pressured to progress and drugged if you aren't doing so at the rate the doctor would like (labor takes TIME!) a woman shouldn't feel like she is being rushed. This pressure can actually slow down dilation--a calm, RELAXED atmosphere is a must!!!  This normally leads to pitocin (a synthetic hormone that speeds up contractions)  being introduced and that leads to a chain reaction of more drugs/augmentation---which most times leads to an emergency c-section.

This is outrageous and the worst part is that most women don't even know they are being manipulated and taken advantage of. Many women don't care to even look into this because we have been taught from a young age that you get pregnant and whatever happens during labor is beyond your control and the doc is to be trusted to take care of everything. More women are starting to take responsibility to educate themselves. 

I am seriously considering becoming a doula if for no other reason just to get the experience. 

I hope this didn't come off harsh, I just hate the way things have gone for women in regard to what should be an amazing experience. We are being bamboozled and taken advantage of and I don't like it.

epidural for my daughter 5yrs later, 8lbs 12oz

 

two, very healthy kids w/no complications.

 

they gave me some type of bullshyt painkiller for my son, but it didn't do much.

 

I contemplated suicide. I'm not kidding, either