How I Prepared For Childbirth

For me, the childbirth decision was a no-brainer. God designed women to conceive, carry, and give birth to babies. If my body was created to give birth in the first place, I certainly was not going to use any kind of man-made intervention, if at all possible. The entire epidural philosophy seemed so much like what’s popular in our current culture: if I can have less pain, then I want the option, regardless of the consequences.

(In their defense, epidurals help mothers who need pain relief or rest during a particularly long or hard labor. And, they assist women with low tolerances for pain. Far too often, though, mothers eagerly ask for epidurals when an unmedicated childbirth wouldn’t be that difficult or painful.)

It’s time to move past the fear of unmedicated childbirth, though. It’s a completely natural function. To me, a few hours of sacrifice in childbirth was worth giving my baby the best start possible. Yes, I experienced pain, but it definitely wasn’t the worst pain of my life. In fact, it was manageable, because it was only for a short time. I was an active participant in the laboring process and the miracle of bringing a new life into this world.

As Dr. Robert Bradley wrote, [Through unmedicated childbirth,] “Women can take joy and pleasure for the privilege of being women and bless God for being able to give birth, instead of showing snarling hostility toward the men who love them – because men don’t have to have children.” 1

Preparing for a natural experience
When I prepared for the birth of our first child I knew I didn’t have to dread unmedicated childbirth, even though I had to ignore well-intentioned loved ones who emphatically told me I would never be able to make it through a natural birth. (As an odd aside, they never personally experienced an unmedicated birth.)

From the few people who did encourage me, intensive Bradley classes were suggested, but I heard that a friend of a friend learned the childbirth method just by reading the books, so that was my goal. I faithfully read the chapters, did the exercises, and reviewed the techniques over and over.

My doctor recommended a childbirth class, and Prince Charming and I went to a Friday night and Saturday morning session with about twenty other very pregnant couples. Because I had been reading for months, mostly everything about the birthing process was review. But my husband learned a lot.

The weekend did bring two important outcomes:  I had an educated husband and labor coach, and I was convinced there was no way I would ever agree to an epidural. After watching labor and delivery videos, I was horrified to see the epidural needle, watch the medicated laboring process, hear about the drugs – including narcotics – that are so readily administered, and review the long list of potential dangers. Yet the natural childbirth videos didn’t frighten me at all.

After the class, Prince Charming and I proceeded to make a birth plan where all our medical wishes were spelled out. We met with our obstetrician during a check-up, reviewed everything, and learned more about standard hospital practices. Some were contrary to the original draft of our birth plan, but this gave us time to review our hopes and decide what truly was important.

Even though my doctor told me pain medications would make everything manageable, I was undeterred and continued praying that God would allow me to experience childbirth without drugs. As my belly grew bigger and bigger, the only thing I feared was giving in to something I knew I didn’t want.

Interested in reading if I needed medical intervention or pain medication throughout my two childbirth processes? Keep reading Accidentally Green to learn more about my experiences. (Simply search for childbirth posts in the search box located in the upper right hand corner.)

Source

1. Husband-Coached Childbirth. Robert A. Bradley, M.D. Bantam Books, 1996, p. 20.

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