Beth's birth Experience

The Birth Experience from Medicated to Natural Birth

When I was delivering my first child, I went into labor believing that I would take advantage of all the medicines and epidurals possible.  I took the classes for breathing etc but felt that if I needed to depend on medication for discomfort, it was perfectly ok.  

My labor lasted for over 24 hours.  At first it was fine and I was as calm as could be.  As time went on, however, I became more and more tired and uncomfortable so I began to ask for pain relief.  That was also ok until I started to go into transition then the pain became very acute and I don't think I was really ready for it.  

I asked for an epidural but it didn't take and I had no pain relief.  They tried to give me another epidural but it only worked to completely numb my left leg.  So,  I was left to my own devices and I really didn't know what to do...I really started to freak out.  I wasn't ready for this-I was in a world renowned medical facility and no one had prepared me for this.  

As I lay writhing and crying the nurse told me sternly that I better get a hold of myself and concentrate on having this baby.  To make a long story short I did and gave birth to the most magnificent baby girl in the world.  

After a few hours the numbness in my leg finally went away and all was well.

But, knowing I wanted more children, and never wanting to have that kind of experience again, when I next became pregnant, I heard about and began to study visualization and relaxation.  I never wanted to be in a situation where I felt so out of control and scared.  

The long and short of it is that I now have 5 incredible children who I could never live without and are a constant source of joy, literally from before they were born.  

Visualization and relaxation techniques provided me with the gift of really enjoying my childbirth experiences incredibly.  I had never been into new age approaches to things before in any way.  I don't know what made me try it, but through each subsequent pregnancy I became a little better each time till I was finally able to self hypnotize myself (I never thought that would happen!).  

I've now taught what I know and what I've learned to others who have heard about my experiences through the grapevine. I would not have changed one second of any of my experiences with childbirth and would highly recommend learning some of the techniques if possible.  If I can do it, anyone can and you feel more in control and by relaxing, actually reduce the amount of pain and have an easier birth.

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Page Last Modified by Catherine Beier, MS, CBE