Giving Birth: Reflections

• Packing List for Birth Center and Hospital

Reflections 

• The Environment
• Could not have done it without Geoffrey's help and the Bradley classes. 
• Dim lighting and soft music helped with relaxing. 
• Using a water bottle with a straw was super helpful.
• For Myself
• Focus, focus, focus on one contraction at a time and controlling my breathing. 
• Keep grunting/yelling/groaning deep in chest. Don't go high pitched.
• The pain prompts you to adjust your position which can help with the alignment of baby.
• Don't panic! 
• It hurts like crazy but was not hell on earth. 
• Bring on the pain because it means my baby will be here soon :) 
• For Us
• If have to give birth in a hospital a doula could be very helpful. 
• Make sure coach is eating too. 
• Both of us needed to be persuaded that giving birth naturally was the best thing for me to do was crucial for me to succeed.
• The biggest concern was doing the best we could to prepare for a natural birth because we were convinced it was the best thing to do and then we were to actively trust God with whatever happened.

Round Two

• No back labor is amazing!!!!!
• Being on knees causes baby to come way faster.
• Dim lights, have music playing and try to keep interruptions to a minimum.
• The two things better about the hospital in contrast to the birth center are that the bed can sit up with the push of a button and the supply of postpartum care products.
• There's a lot of nurses, monitors and changing of rooms at the hospital.

THE WHY'S

• The Midwives
• Believe pregnancy is a natural and normal event. 
• Believe the parents are the best people to care for the baby.
• Are not quick to jump to medication and interventions. 
• Have lower rates of C-sections. 
• Listen to and trust the mother's instincts.
• Constantly check the baby's position from about 30 weeks on and if the baby is not positioned well do all they can to help.
• Have an arsenal of strategies to help you be comfortable and address problems as they come up.
• Are willing to gently stretch you to minimize tearing when giving birth. 
• Will not cut the umbilical cord until it has fully drained to the baby giving it all the blood and nutrients.
• Believe nursing is best and are quick to place baby skin to skin so baby can nurse within a half hour of being born.

• Not the Hospital
• Hospitals are more likely to do interventions.
• Any intervention adds risk.
• The more interventions the more likely you are to have a C-section 
• Babies born by C-section are more likely to experience respiratory complications because birth canal squeezes the fluid out of baby's lungs. This squeezing kick-starts the breathing through the lungs which is critical for the suck-swallow-breathe reflex. 
• Drug interventions can cause breast swelling which can make nursing more of a challenge. 
• Didn't want an epidural.
• A massive needle in my spine scares me.
• The drugs in the epidural cause the baby to be drowsy for a little while once it is born making it harder to nurse.
• Epidurals almost always require pitocin because epidurals slow down the body's natural laboring process.
• Pitocin is way harder on your body than normal contractions. It squeezes from both sides and the top while contractions only squeeze from the sides.
• Without being able to feel what is happening you don't know what pushing correctly feels like and are not able to discern how hard you should push. 
• Convinced feeling how you should push minimizes tearing.
• There's a very small risk of being paralyzed with the epidural. 
• Hospitals hook you up to IVs and monitors which require you to stay in bed.
• Laying on your back with back labor is one of the most painful positions to be in.
• You are not allowed to eat any food.
• Didn't want Baby C in the nursery without our supervision.
• The nurses just took Baby C from us without asking when we checked in to make sure her blood sugar levels were ok.

• The Birth Center
• Significantly cheaper than any hospital. 
• Works with TMC
• The midwives at the birth center can be in touch with the doctors at TMC if any problems and/or concerns arise 
• The hospital is less than five minutes away from the birth center in case medical interventions are necessary. 
• Could snack on food while in labor.
• The privacy and home like setting of the birth center was very comfortable.
• WATER BIRTH was amazing! 
• Not having an IV and not being hooked up to a monitor allowed me to move around to be in the most comfortable position. 
• Baby C never left us after she was born while at the birth center. 
• Got to hold her immediately. 
• Being able to nurse within a half hour with a baby who was completely awake and alert was amazing. 
• The baby checks were not at all intrusive. 

• The Bradley Classes
• Wanted my best friend to be my coach. 
• Equipped my best friend to be my coach!  And he did phenomenal!
• Agreed with their belief that my body was created to give birth. 
• Gave us an arsenol of ideas and suggestions on how to manage pain and have the type of birth we wanted.

Geoffrey's Responsibilities

• Being an advocate for me. 
• Helping with pain management. 
• Making sure I was hydrated. 
• Encouraging me. ("You can always do one", "Take one at a time", etc.)