Introduction
Natural childbirth is when labor and delivery progresses naturally with minimal medical assistance or medicines. Natural childbirth may be an option if you have a low risk pregnancy. With the help of a birthing professional such as a midwife, doula, or other health care provider, you may be able to use relaxation techniques and controlled breathing to manage pain during labor.
Many women choose natural childbirth because it makes them feel more in control and in touch with the experience of giving birth. Some women also choose natural childbirth because they are concerned about medicines affecting them and their babies.
What types of natural childbirth techniques are available?
There are two types of natural childbirth techniques, which are taught in classes:
The Lamaze method. In these classes, parents learn that having a baby is normal, healthy, and natural. Mothers are taught to take a neutral position regarding pain medicine and numbing medicines, and to make an informed decision about using these medicines if the time comes.
The Bradley method, also called husband-coached birth. In these classes the father or partner learns to be the birth coach. The mother is encouraged to exercise and eat a balanced, nutritious diet. Parents also learn relaxation and deep breathing exercises and are prepared for emergency situations.
What are some natural pain and relaxation techniques?
If you are considering a natural childbirth, you should explore your options for managing pain and discomfort during your labor and delivery. Some natural pain and relaxation techniques include:
Meditation.
Yoga.
Hypnosis.
Acupuncture.
Massage.
Changing positions, such as by walking, rocking, showering, or leaning on birth balls.
Lying in warm water or a whirlpool bath.
Finding an activity that keeps your mind off the labor pain.
Listening to soft music.
Focusing on a particular object (visual imagery).
How can I prepare for a natural birth?
Talk with your spouse or partner about your goals for having a natural childbirth.
Decide if you will have your baby in the hospital, at a birthing center, or at home.
Decide which type of health care provider you would like to assist you with your delivery
If you have other children,
Giving birth should be a beautiful experience even though delivery can be terrifying and discomfort. Even though women have the decision to choose between having a natural childbirth or get an epidural majority of women give birth at a hospital get an epidural. Make sure when you base your decision on what’s best for your infant and not base off anyone influencing you. What constitutes a “Natural childbirth”? A natural childbirth is when a woman gives birth without any medication. You can choose between having a mid-wife and having an at home birth or you can give birth at the hospital without any medication either way is consider giving natural childbirth. According to Kristeen, an epidural is drugs called local anesthetics, such as bupivacaine, chloroprocaine, or liocaine it numbs the abdomen or pelvic region during labor. An epidural is given when the women is about 4 or 5 centimeters dilated (Cherney, par.2-6). In order to get an epidural you have to get a shot in your spine (lower back). In 1909, the first caudal anaesthesia was given for labor pains by a German obstetrical, Walter Stoeckel, and he study 141 cases of healthy laboring women with epidurals. In 1931, the first catheter was used in an epidural. By the 1940s, epidural were being used sporadically for labor but did not gain true momentum until the 1970s. This was in large part due to the fact that other
The author is a nurse in a level two trauma facility in a community of approximately fifty thousand people in Oregon. The community is a college-town surrounded by a large agricultural area. There is a minimal ethnic diversity within the community. The diversity present occurs mainly from internationally students and faculty from the college. There is a growing population of women who desire low interventional births in the community. The author has worked on the labor and delivery unit of the hospital for the last 14 years. The hospital is the only one in the area to offer trial of labor services to women who have previously undergone a cesarean section. The unit on average experiences around 1000 deliveries annually.
According to “Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America,” women and couples planning the birth of a child have decisions to make in variety of areas: place of birth, birth attendant(s), medication, preparedness classes, circumcision, breast feeding, etc. The “childbirth market” has responded to consumer concerns, so its’ important for prospective consumers to fully understand their options. With that being said, a woman has the choice to birth her child either at a hospital or at home. There are several differences when it comes to hospital births and non-hospital births.
For almost all of the previous 25 years roughly, the knowledge of pregnancy, labor, and delivery has changed little for some women. But change is arriving to the most traditional establishing, the hospital.
Delivering a baby in the home and in the hospital both provide comfort to some, but homebirth offers decreased cost and hospital births offer more options. Some women have different birthing methods in mind when it comes to delivering a child. Some women feel that it is more convenient to stay home to deliver their child. Mothers-to-be will choose to have a hospital birth because they may feel safer or more secure knowing that if something is not right or if she has had complications, the doctor is there and she is in a hospital and everything will be okay.
An argument for the case of minimal medicalized intervention during birth can be made in terms of low-risk pregnancies and reserving medical interventions for high-risk deliveries and emergency situations. The purpose of this paper is to ensure that members of the childbearing community, including healthcare professionals, are familiar with alternative interventions to cesarean section and thoroughly consider the risks and benefits of said interventions so that natural child-birthing methods can be promoted in low-risk situations.
According to the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNMb) (2015), home births account for 1.4% of all births in the U.S. In eight years the number of home births in the US increased by 41% (ACNM, 2015b). Providing home births falls within the scope of practice of midwives and is supported by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM, 2015b). A mother can have the option of a home birth as long as the home birth follows regulations set in place by the state and can provide a favorable safe environment for both mother and newborn (ACNM, 2015b). Both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) state that the ultimate decision of having a home birth is a patient’s right, especially if she is medically well informed (Declercq, & Stotland, 2016).
Many women prefer a choice of a homebirth option for quite a few reasons. One options said is, “a desire to give birth in a familiar, relaxing environment surrounded by people of your choice” (Mayo Clinic Staff). In a hospital, a room that a laboring mothering is in may not be as spacious as a room in her own home. There is a limit in the amount of people that may be present in the delivery room. If a mom-to-be wants quite a few of her family members and friends to share this amazing experience with her, she has this option to do so when choosing a homebirth. A woman does not have to limit the amount of people she would like to see the birth of her child as she would have to do when having a hospital birth. Another reason of choosing a
Providing continuous physical and emotional support during labour can reducing maternal fear, stress, and anxiety and protect physiological birth (Steen, 2012). Research shows that fear and anxiety during labour and birth can be detrimental to physiological birth. An environment that women feel unsafe in may stimulate a surge of neuro-hormones that can influence both fetal and maternal physiology, causing irregularity of contractions, fetal distress and subsequent medical inteverntions (Fahy & Parratt, 2006). Conversly, maintaining an environment where women feel safe, protected and supported can facilitate favourable physiological performance (Fahy & Parratt, 2006). Midwives can do this by giving women one-on-one continuous support and placing her at the centre of care throughout childbirth (Steen, 2012). As observed in practice, by constantly reassuring the woman about her progress, her baby’s health and addressing any of her concerns, the midwife can provide a calm and relaxing environment that is conducive to the labouring woman (Buckley, 2015; Steen, 2012). The midwife worked with the woman, encouraging her throughout labour and birth by telling her that she was doing extremely well. The midwife also breathed in-tune with the woman while giving her a back massage, inducing a sense of comfort. The atmosphere was calm and this contributed to the woman garnering confidence in her ability to avoid medical pain relief. Downe (2008) noted that the positive impact of
The only con there really is to natural childbirth would be that it is painful. However, if a pregnant woman does not deal well with pain or if she has a complicated delivery, an epidural might be an answer for her.
This method usually is very limited with the medical assistance and the mother will try to give birth all on her own. With natural birth, the mother may use only breathing techniques to get through the birth, or she can use natural methods like massage, walking, or using a birthing ball, to help her along. There are also two class taught methods that can be used; Lamaze, learning about a natural birth (Lamaze), or the Bradley, the husband coaching the wife (Bradley). This can also be, if by the mother’s wish, an unassisted birth; people, such as a physician or midwife, are only standing by in case of emergency. This type of birth can be done at the Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina (Piedmont). The advantages of this birth method are that the mother may feel empowered and there are no medications that can harm the mother or baby. Natural birth is usually a very safe option. The disadvantages are that many women have complications when they ignore what their body is telling them or if there is a complication that the physician for midwife can see
Childbirth is a beautiful thing. After the hours of labor, there is nothing more special than having the newly mother able to hold her child the minute after it’s born. It makes the pain that you had just experienced go away because all that matters in the world is that newborn child in your arms. During labor, every woman has her own experience but one common experience is the pain. According to Kitzinger (1978) “Labor pain can have negative or positive meaning, depending on whether the child is wanted, the interaction of the laboring woman with those attending her, her sense of ease or dis-ease in the environment provided for birth, her relationship with the father of her child and her attitude to her body throughout the reproductive
-Mother and father can take lessons from massage therapist during early pregnancy period so that he can do the massage himself. It will help in bringing the emotions and thought of the child hence increasing the bond.
Central Idea: Pain management is an important aspect of childbirth that women need to educate themselves on so they can make an informed decision when choosing which method they will use.
Childbirth can be described as one of the most rewarding and also painful experiences in a woman’s life. Most women choose some type of method to ease pain, however, there has been a lot of controversy over with pain management method is the most effective. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control), In 2013, there were 3,932,181 births recorded in the United States, 32.7% of those births were surgical procedures. In 2012, 1.36% of recorded births occurred out-of-hospital, meaning these births took place mostly in homes or birthing centers. Without the option of medicine that a hospital provides, how were these women able to manage their pain during labor and delivery. There are many different methods for easing pain during childbirth, some methods involve the use of medicine and surgery, and others include natural techniques, such as hypnosis, Lamaze, and many others. It is a personal preference of the parents over which method is right for the needs of the mother and child. This can be an overwhelming decision for new parents to make because they have to take into consideration the safety of the mother and child, pain management for the mother and desire for medical involvement.