YOU CAN DO IT...and don't listen to the horror stories!

YOU CAN DO IT!

Giving birth without medication is totally possible!

I can't tell you how many people looked at me like I was crazy when I would tell them that my plan was to deliver my baby without medication.

Beginning as far back as the 19th century, society started to treat childbirth as more of a medically-centered event rather than a woman-centered event. Today, the prevalence of medical intervention in the U.S. is staggering with roughly 63% of women opting to use epidurals to manage pain during childbirth.

Is this why people looked at me like I had two heads? What caused women to become so afraid of the pain that comes along with labor and delivery? Your body was made to do this and it can do it if you give it a chance. My mom, grandmother and great-grandmother all gave birth multiple times without medication and I believed I could do it too!

The question I am now asked most frequently is "How much did it really hurt?" Of course it hurt like a son-0f-a-bitch and the pain grew progressively worse over the course of the 15 hours that I was in labor, but that is not what you are focused on when you are going through it and I am not joking or exaggerating when I say that the memory of the pain fades REALLY fast! When your baby is placed in your arms, you won't be thinking about anything else (including the small gathering of doctors and nurses that are working on delivering your placenta and sewing you up!) There really is some kind of mechanism in women that makes us able to handle the kind of intense pain that comes with labor and birth and that allows us to quickly forget it afterward.

It goes without saying that you should have an open mind when developing your birth plan because anything can happen. If you need help, there is no shame in asking for it. Whatever your birth plan may be, it is YOUR birth plan and you should be proud of it. Believe in your plan and don't let anyone make you doubt it! Don't listen to the horror stories that people like to tell and don't be afraid to politely tell someone to 'shut-up' if they do start in on this topic. You do not need to hear it. At the end of the day, the only thing that truly matters is that you leave the hospital with a happy, healthy, beautiful newborn baby! And if your plan is to give birth without medication know that it is possible!

"Don't Worry!"...easier said than done!

First of all, I would like to say thank you to all of the people that have started to read my blog! I really appreciate it and keep the topic requests coming! Can you believe it, I already have requests? So here goes...

As requested, I have decided to spend a little more time of the topic of pregnancy in an effort to relieve some of the 'worry' that is out there.

I did have my share of 'freak-outs' while I was pregnant and like many expectant mother's my first was about the fact that I had been drinking before I knew I was pregnant. My husband and I were not exactly trying to get pregnant, but there was one night (yes, it only took the one time) when we 'forgot'! I guess I knew in the back of my head that there was a chance that I could be pregnant, but I continued on with my life as usual which included the consumption of alcohol on a fairly regular basis, occasionally in large quantities.
My cycle was very irregular so I didn't end up taking a pregnancy test until I was already a couple of weeks late at which point I was already 4 weeks pregnant. The weekend prior to taking the test, we had family visiting and I may have indulged a little too much. Needless to say, one night I found myself hugging the porcelain. When I found out a few days afterward that I was pregnant, I FREAKED OUT!
I instantly started worrying about the damage I may have done to our baby and could not stop. I started Google-ing like crazy and discovered that a lot of women go through this very same thing. I was comforted, but this in no way stopped me from worrying. Even after my midwife assured me that my baby would be fine because I was not far enough along for it to have done any damage (apparently, when you start to experience morning sickness several weeks into your pregnancy is when what you put into your body starts nourishing your baby), I still worried.
As my pregnancy progressed, I started worrying about this less, but I have to admit it stayed in the back of head until I saw for myself that our baby was just perfect (although now I suppose I have to wait until she is a full grown adult to know whether there are lasting effects on her cognitive development...but, I suppose that could also be attributed to the fact that I drank while I was breastfeeding...I never ends!)

Eating (what to eat/what not to eat) seems to be another source of worry for expectant mother's. I was determined to eat super healthy throughout my pregnancy. I even went out and bought the book What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting. I did read the book when I bought it, but I have to admit, I never cracked it open again. I was a fairly healthy eater to begin with and decided that this was going to have to be good enough. Of course I gave up sushi, deli meats, coffee (cold-turkey...ouch), Coke, alcohol and the other foods and beverages that you really should avoid (or limit) when you are pregnant, but I stopped obsessing about what I was putting in my mouth. When I was feeling nauseous, I would eat whatever tasted good even if it was not the most healthy choice. I didn't deprive myself of goodies either (if you put anything chocolate in front of me, I will eat it). Toward the end of my pregnancy, I started drinking coffee again (1 cup a day), I would have a half of a glass of wine of beer on occasion and I took advantage of the fact that I was "eating for two"! So, if you are a relatively healthy eater and you take your prenatal vitamins, don't stress too much about what you are eating rather enjoy the fact that you are supposed to be gaining weight and eat up!

I don't want to scare any expectant mother's out there, but this whole 'worrying' thing only gets worse! I now understand why my mother would lie awake in bed at night until I was safely home when I was well into my 20's. I get why parent's say things like "It is not you we are worried about, it is everyone else out there!". Now that I am a parent myself, I know that I will be doing and saying the very same things in the not too distant future!

Welcome to mommyhood, a constant source of worry!

A Few Words About Pregnancy

I was "one of those women" that had a totally normal and easy pregnancy. I know I was incredibly lucky to have had the experience I did because so many women are not as fortunate.
As far as morning sickness, I only experienced a little bit of nausea and that was that. I gained the "right" amount of weight and did not have any problems with my blood sugar or blood pressure (although there were a few occasions after eating an excessive amount of junk food that my midwife insisted on doing a finger prick just to be sure).
One thing I will say to all of you mother's-to-be out there...RELAX as much as possible. My daughter is such a calm and relaxed baby and I attribute that partly to the fact that I made a point of remaining stress free throughout my pregnancy. I strongly believe that the temperament of a baby has a lot to do with the environment the mother creates while it is in the womb!
In closing, there were a few books that helped me along the way that I would like to recommend to any parent's-to-be out there:
What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff - This book guides you through your pregnancy month by month and answered almost every question I had along the way;
Fit to Deliver: An Innovative Prenatal and Postpartum Fitness Program: Safe and Fun Exercises Tailored by Professionals to Benefit Both You and Your Baby - It was very important for me to stay fit while I was pregnant as I did not want to gain any more weight than was recommended and I was determined to have an all natural birth. This book provided safe exercises to do throughout pregnancy and beyond.

My Inspiration to Blog

I recently found out that a friend of mine was expecting a baby. I was thrilled to hear this news! She is the first person I know that has become pregnant since I gave birth to my daughter 4 months ago. I had had a few glasses of wine (we were in the car on our way home from a wedding when I found out...more on drinking and breastfeeding later) and information just started pouring out of my mouth! I felt like I had verbal diarrhea! There was so much I wanted to share with her. It was suggested that I start a blog. I didn't think much of the idea at first, but the longer I thought about it, the more I started thinking this was something I could totally do!

Stay tuned...