A pain-free and drug-free labour may be many expectant mothers’ dream but a review in the open access journal BMC Medicine reveals that reality hits hard. Most women’s labour experiences differ markedly from their expectations. They are often ill-prepared for what might happen and consequently may be disappointed when the birth does not “go to plan”.

Click Here for the Bowen Natural Pregnancy Pain Relief Guide.

This is an interesting article I found about a study done on women’s expectations for labor vs. their actual experience.  I think that they touch on some very interesting issues, and I would like to discuss how their findings fit into the real world of pregnancy.

First, I think that they are right to assume that many women go into birth with unrealistic expectations and with little or no information.  My first birth, I said that I wanted a natural birth, but never even thought about preparing for it in any way.  I just assumed that I would tune out the pain and that it wouldn’t be that bad.  Luckily for me, it wasn’t, but that is not the reality for most women.  My first birth occurred very slowly, over the span of a week, so I did not have to experience it all at once.  My second birth, I was induced.  The level of pain was totally on the other end of the spectrum.  It was a very intense labor, but luckily, I had a plan in place for coping with the pain this time around.

The number one way to achieve a natural birth, if it is your goal, is to learn about birth.  Read, read, read.  Not bad stuff, either.  You need to fill your mind with empowering birth stories from women who have had natural birth and lived to tell about it.  You need to learn about the process of birth and really understand what is happening during pregnancy and labor, so that you can work with your body and not against it.  You also need a way to manage the pain during labor, because chances are, you will need it.  ( Some great methods that I have heard of are The Bradley Method, Hypnobirth, and water birth.)

The next thing that you need to understand is that where and who you birth with will greatly affect your birth experience.  If you plan a natural birth with a doctor in a hospital, you must realize a few things.  First of all, you will have to do some searching for some one who is used to natural birth.  Not all doctors are, in fact, most are not.  They will want to control things and manipulate things, in order to make money, make things convenient for themselves, and to not get sued.  Also, many hospitals still require things like mandatory IVs, continuous fetal monitoring and internal monitoring.  It is a money making business, and they will nickel and dime you to death once they have admitted you if you have any decent insurance and maybe even if you don’t.  So even if you have a birth plan, certain things will not be followed once you get in the hospital, and it will be almost totally out of your control.  All they have to say is that it is “for the safety of the baby” or tell you that there is some problem like you are bleeding a little and so on, and there you are with 4 IV’s an internal fetal monitor and a catheter.  Well, that may be exaggerating, but you get my drift.  This is where the woman’s expectations or plan for birth can go completely awry.

A birthing facility staffed with midwives or a home birth attended by a midwife may be your best bet for a natural and satisfying birth experience.  These women believe in the ability of women to birth naturally, and understand that there are very few complications when birthing this way.  They are also trained to care for you should a tough situation arise, and know when you really should go to the hospital if the problem is too serious.  (This is where the doctors and all of their technology really shine!)

The biggest thing to remember, is that if you want a natural birth, you can do it.  YOU CAN DO IT!  YOU can do it! Here are some resources I found helpful:

Click Here for the Bowen Natural Pregnancy Pain Relief Guide.

• Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, by Ina May Gaskin
• Husband-Coached Childbirth, by Robert A. Bradley, M.D.
• Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way: Revised Edition, by Susan McCutcheon-Rosegg, Erick Ingraham, and Robert A. Bradley
  
• Immaculate Deception, by Suzzane Arms
• Birth Stories from real women, just like you!