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| Evelyn Kate, brand new |
Working with one's body to allow it to do what it is meant to do, to function as it ought is the norm. In daily life, barring emergencies (and I know that emergencies do happen, and when they occur I am thankful for highly-trained doctors and surgeons), we don't drug ourselves or otherwise interfere with our bodily functions. Birth is a normal part of life. In the vast majority of cases, birth is not a medical crisis and it should not handled as though it is. The bottom line is that when a birth is perceived (from the very beginning of pregnancy up until labor) as a medical event, the anxiety and the anticipation of a stressful and even dangerous delivery interfere with the way a woman's body is meant to work. Fear causes the body to seize up, to become tense. It can completely and utterly slow or even stop labor. Then comes the pitocin, triggering unnaturally strong contractions, causing extra stress to the baby and unnecessary pain to the woman. When this crazy unnatural pitocin pain comes along, an epidural is often close behind. Unfortunately, epidurals, by their very nature, render the laboring woman numb to know her body's cues and labor often slows down, increasing the overall length of labor and stress on the baby. Lack of progress is one of the major reasons cited for unplanned Cesarean births.
This is my long-winded way of introducing the fact that pain during labor is pain with a distinct purpose. People ask (I know I asked!): does it hurt? And here my answer: Yes, but. . . unlike breaking a bone or pulling a tooth, labor (which certainly differs between women) is intense but it is normal. A woman in labor can work with the intensity of each contraction to find new positions, often moving in such a way as to allow more room for the baby to come down. The pain also informs a laboring woman when to spontaneously bear down or begin to push, instead of waiting until a nurse you barely know tells you that you are now "allowed" to push. This spontaneous pushing decreases the risk of tearing.
I had a lot of pain during labor. I will not mince words here. But I absolutely believe that it was because I had a natural birth that my daughter and I recovered as quickly and as well as we did. (And it was because of my choice of birth setting-- out of hospital, with a highly skilled midwife, and because of my birth support-- my husband and doula and Bradley classes, that I had a natural birth). Because I was aware of the position of my baby (Occiput Posterior) my midwife and I were able to work patiently with my body and use effective positioning. I was unencumbered by electronic fetal monitoring. Instead, my midwife checked fetal tones periodically with a water-proof doppler, meaning that I was free to walk around, to take a shower and use the Jacuzzi for a bit of pain relief during contractions. We had a rough delivery, which I won't detail now, but after a long pushing phase (two hours) my baby, who had a been a little stuck, was born. She didn't cry, or take a nice breath, right away, so she had a little oxygen and some suctioning (from the familiar resting space of her Mama) and she pinked right up. We went home five hours later, exhausted but healthy. None of this is to say that "I did it and so you should too!" but to say that the experience of birth is one to think about and prepare for. If women aren't in charge of their bodies, their birthing, someone else will take on that responsibility and he or she may have ulterior motives, ie: money, quick births so as to allow the next patient in, etc. . . . Instead, I guess that I am writing as a reminder that birth is by and large a normal, natural, and beautiful part of life. And, no matter how a baby is born, that baby is precious!
