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*Printed with permission from Birthing with Guinever. This is an awesome site with several great articles about pregnancy and birth.

So you’re pregnant, and you think you might want to have a natural birth. Having had 5 natural births myself, I’d like to offer what I feel are a few of the most important things to do in order to achieve a drug-free birth.

1. Going natural is a mindset. Make the commitment during pregnancy that drugs are not an option for labor. Believe that you can do it, and you will. If you have the feeling that you’d like to try it to see how it goes, but you’re open to getting an epidural, I guarantee you that you will have the epidural. Labor is hard work and to get through it, you can’t be wishy washy going into it. One medical intervention leads to another.

2. Surround yourself with friends and family who believe that you can have a natural birth, who assume that you can do it. Tune out the negative birth stories that some girlfriends might tell you about how awful labor was until the epidural took effect. Instead, seek out labor stories from women who have had natural birth and you’ll hear how awesome the birth was, how the baby latched on right away, how the nurses kept making comments that the baby was so alert. You’ll hear how proud her husband was, what a great help to her he was during labor, and that the birth was an empowering, amazing experience.

3. Take a private, independent childbirth class. (in other words, don’t take the birthing classes offered by the hospital.) If this isn’t possible, prepare yourself by reading several pregnancy books and learning labor coping techniques. Consider my list of recommended books.

4. Choose your doctor or midwife carefully. If you don’t know where to start looking for a care provider, ask your local childbirth educators and doulas for ideas. Ask lots of questions in your first few pre-natal visits so there aren’t any surprises later on. Be wary when the answer is always, “I only do that when its medically necessary.” You need to ask them, “How often do you feel its medically necessary?” (to do inductions, planned cesareans, episiotomies, etc) You want to find someone with a low induction, low cesarean, low episiotomy (and low tear) rate. Don’t be afraid to switch doctors or hospitals no matter how late it is in your pregnancy. Remember, it is your birth, and you are hiring them to work for you. There should be a mutual respect.

5. During labor, just take one contraction at a time. Don’t worry about the length of labor–how long it has been or how much longer it might be. Women talk about their long labors, but remember, its not as if they were in constant pain for 18 hours. Contractions only last for about a minute (longer during later labor) and you get breaks in between. Don’t let anyone tell you that your body isn’t working if your labor slows down. That is just the body’s way of giving you a rest. Be thankful for the break because labor will pick up soon enough.

*To read points #6-10,  visit Birthing with Guinever’s website here. You can also read many other articles including several positive and encouraging birth stories. Click here to read the small but growing collection of birth stories on this website.

This video is amazing – and she has a beautiful voice!

Water childbirth is becoming very popular. Many women are finding that is a great way to give birth. They say it is more comfortable, easier, and healthier. Water is known to help ease pain during labor, making a natural birth more bearable. It aids in keeping a steady pulse, stabilizing your blood flow and helps you to be more relaxed. It also helps the baby slip out more easily, helping quite a bit in managing pain and cutting back on labor time.

In order to decide if a water birth is for you, you will want to do some research. Those who are nervous about a home birth should probably decide against a water birth as, currently, water births are not conducted in many facilities. In addition, women who aren’t comfortable working with a midwife are not prime candidates for water birth. For more information, visit waterbirth.org or birthbalance.com.

The next step in planning a water childbirth is to find a midwife. Since water childbirth is still relatively new, many midwifes are not experienced and are reluctant to try it. If you are not able to find a midwife who has experience with water childbirth, try finding one who is open to it. With the proper research, you and your midwife can learn what is needed. Some women choose to deliver without a midwife, but you’ll want to make sure you are 100% comfortable and as educated as you can be if you choose to do this.

The next step in planning a water childbirth is to obtain a birthing pool. You have the option of purchasing or renting one. Renting one will cost a few hundred dollars, while purchasing one will be around a thousand. If you plan to use your birthing pool for multiple children, it is probably more economical to purchase rather than rent. You should purchase a birthing pool that can comfortable seat you and another person. There are also birthing pool accessories available such as booster seats, thermometers and liner patch kits.

Author: Sarah Freeland

Pregnancy these days is trendy and fashionable. No more hiding a baby bump, motherhood is redefined! Maternity clothes are evolving too. Funky maternity clothes and punk rock baby clothes and maternity wear are now the norm! Shop for cool pregnancy outfits and funky diaper bags as well as alternative baby clothing and accessories.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_Freeland

Hypnosis for natural childbirth is making a come back. Future parents are interested in this tool but may have a lot of unanswered questions. Here are a few of the most frequently asked questions on hypnosis for childbirth and their answers.

Is natural child birth using hypnosis a new trend? Will we be guinea pigs if we use this method for the birth of our baby?

Hypnosis has been used for natural child birth ever since the first baby was born (or almost). It was frequently used in the nineteenth century before Ether was introduced in obstetrics and surgery. Long before the nineteenth century, men and women instinctively went into a deep focused and relaxed state whenever they needed their bodies to perform certain tasks. They just did not call this phenomenon hypnosis.

With all the potent drugs medicine has to offer, why would anyone consider child birth without using all the technology available?

Pregnancy and birthing are very special times and we always have to keep in mind that there is a precious and vulnerable being involved: THE BABY. The placenta transmits all the nutrients and oxygen the baby requires but although it acts as a filter, most drugs can cross its barrier and are passed on to the baby. The book Medications and Mothers’ Milk rates medications with their potential risks to the unborn. In summary, we can say that the classification goes from A to X, an “A” being a drug that has no harmful effect on the baby whatsoever. Counting the over-the-counter common drugs offered like Tylenol, Advil, Gravol, Maalox, can you guess how many medications are perfectly safe to use during pregnancy and childbirth and are classified class “A”? The answer is “0″! In short, besides water, a breath of fresh air and love, a mother has to be careful what she exposes her unborn baby to. This is one of the reasons so many expectant couples consider avoiding taking drugs during pregnancy and especially the birth of their baby and opt for a natural child birth.

I am scared to be a “zombie” during the birth of my baby. If I choose a natural child birth using hypnosis, will I remember all that happened or will I miss out on such a special event?

Hypnosis is only a state of deep physical and mental relaxation. Many famous athletes such as Tiger Woods use hypnosis regularly (if you look at him when he plays, he just seems deeply focused, not in a spaced-out state). The state of mind that hypnosis brings laboring mothers into has been described as being ‘in the zone” by many athletes; that is to say that you are deeply focused and living the experience to its fullest. Isn’t this exactly what everyone wants for that special day when their baby is born?

Programs of hypnosis for child birth also allow future parents to achieve, by practicing and mastering self-hypnosis, eyes-opened hypnosis. Laboring mothers are also able to talk and move around during their labor and use all the other important tools to obtain a peaceful and natural child birth using hypnosis. These tools include: using the tub or Jacuzzi, massages, changing positions frequently and using gravity to aid the baby’s descent.

Experience has showed that hypnosis for childbirth answers a profound need of future parents to have a natural and comfortable childbirth.

Author: Nathalie Fiset

For more complete information on hypnosis for childbirth please go to: http://www.hypno-beginning.com/products.htm http://www.hypno-beginning.com http://www.drnathaliefiset.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nathalie_Fiset

If you know you are planning to use an epidural to help you manage pain during childbirth, you may not be thinking about natural childbirth techniques. In contrast with an epidural which almost always provides good pain relief with no effort from the mother, natural childbirth techniques take time to learn, time to practice and you don’t know which ones will help you most until your labor begins. But as is so often true in life, there is great value in the things you have to work harder for.

1. Your labor may move faster than you expect – the typical labor may start slow, and slowly build to active labor, but not all do. About 2% of women experience a precipitate labor, one in which the early stages pass so easily they are unnoticed and the mother suddenly finds herself dealing with a fast active labor. If your labor starts fast, the natural childbirth techniques you learn will not only keep you comfortable, but also help you stay calm and as relaxed as possible until you get to your birth place.
2. It can take 20 minutes to an hour or more from the time you request an epidural to the time you get pain relief. Instead of being a specific medication, epidural and spinal are advanced anesthetic techniques. This means you need an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist to administer one. Unlike simpler, less effective pain relief methods which your midwife, doctor or nurse could administer, when you choose an epidural you need to wait for the anesthesiologist to be available.You could have pain relief in as fast as 20 minutes if everything was already set up and the staff ready, or you could be waiting for another woman to have an epidural administered first, or waiting for an anesthesiologist to finish assisting a cesarean surgery or come to the hospital. In some smaller hospitals, epidurals are not available ‘after hours,’ the staff relying instead on simpler methods of pain relief which are not as effective. Natural childbirth techniques will be your only choice for pain management until things are ready for an epidural to be administered, and can be helpful if you receive a less effective pain medication.
3. Holding off on an epidural allows you to use positioning to move the labor along as quickly as possible. Once you receive an epidural your mobility is greatly reduced, if your baby is not in a good birth position at that point, it becomes harder to get him to move. Epidurals inhibit fetal rotation for a posterior baby (commonly known as back labor). Henci Goer reports in The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth that one study found a 450% increase in persistent posterior (the baby never turned) with epidural use.Ms. Goer also reports that first time mothers with an epidural are more likely to have a cesarean surgery for failure to progress. One study showed women with a slow labor who had an epidural were five times more likely to have a cesarean surgery than women with a slow labor who did not have an epidural. Delaying an epidural gives you the best chances of getting your baby into a good position and labor progressing normally.
4. The longer you can wait to receive pain medications, the less medication you and your baby will receive. This means you lower the potential risks during and after childbirth. Even with lower dose epidurals to reduce the side effects, there are still some. Minimizing the time you have an epidural minimizes some of these side effects, such as risk of maternal fever. Minimizing the time you have an epidural also minimizes the amount of medication you and your baby are exposed to, further reducing risks of side effects.Using natural childbirth techniques can give you the ability to manage pain and discomfort well into active labor. You may find you labor so well with them, you do not need to add the risks of medications. This can mean a faster recovery from the birth, since your body does not have to spend time removing the medication.
5. Natural Childbirth Techniques are helpful for all stages of life, not just giving birth. Comfort skills such as massage and relaxation, can help you relieve tension or stress on a day to day basis. Good positions for childbirth can be helpful for relieving backaches and other discomforts during pregnancy. Women who practice relaxation techniques use them to sleep better before and after their baby is born. The good nutrition and exercise habits learned through most natural childbirth programs can help keep your whole family healthier.Many women find the coping mechanisms they develop using natural childbirth techniques in labor increase their self confidence which helps them manage other parts of their lives. Other women express that even though labor hurt, they were glad they did it because it challenged them in new ways and showed just how strong they were. There is no link to satisfaction with labor and the use of pain medication, which means you are no more likely to look back at labor favorably whether you use medications or not.

Natural childbirth techniques are useful in unexpected labor situations, when you can’t get what you want and when things are not going quite the way you planned. Knowing the medications have risks, and there are benefits to using natural childbirth techniques beyond labor, it can make a lot of sense to try for a natural childbirth with the understanding an epidural is available if you decide you want it.

Author: Jennifer Vanderlaan

How to Use a Birth Ball For Pregnancy And Labor: Finding Comfort …

This is a great article and video about some of the ways that you can use a birth ball during your pregnancy and labor.  Practicing ahead of time on your own, with your partner, and with your doula will help tremendously in preparation and helping you to feel comfortable with the ball.

Catecholamines
The Process of labor does stress an infant, resulting in a release of stress hormones (catecholamines, pronounced “cat-a-cola-means”) that are crucial for the protection and good health of the baby.
Catecholamines cause vital processes in the baby which help it survive and adapt at birth, according to researchers Hugo Lagercrantz and Theodore Slotkin. The effects of the catecholamines on a baby, which include a slowing of the heart rate, protect it from less oxygen during contractions. The baby is also put into a highly alert state that researchers believe may help in infant attachment at birth.

From: A Good Birth & A Safe Birth

What do Catecholamines do?
*Improves Breathing
*Increases lung surfactant
*Increases lung-liquid absorption
*Improves lung compliance
*Dilates bronchioles
*Protects Heart and Brain
*Increases blood flow to vital organs
*Mobilizes Fuel
*Breaks down normal fat into fatty acids
*Breaks down glycogen (in liver) to glucose
*Stimulates new production of glucose by liver
*Facilitates Bonding?
*Dilates pupils
*Appears to increase alertness

From: “The Stress of Being Born”, Lagercrantz and Slotkin

Endorphins-The Body’s Natural Narcotic
Circulating throughout your body are natural hormones that relax you when stressed and relieve pain when you hurt. Most mothers don’t even know these biologic labor assistants exist and, more important, that they can influence when and how these hormones are released. In the 1970’s researchers studying drug addiction stumbled upon the presence of specialized areas in the brain, called receptor sites, for morphine-like substances. They discovered endorphins (from, endogenous, meaning “produced in the body,” and morphine-like substances), chemical pain relievers produced in the nerve cell that attach to receptor sites on the cell blunting the sensation of pain in these cells. Here’s what we know about these natural remedies and how they can work for you.
*Endorphin levels go up during contractions in active labor (especially during the second stage of labor), are highest just after birth and return to prelabor levels two weeks postpartum.
*Endorphin levels were found to be highest during vaginal deliveries, less high in cesarean births in which the mother had also labored, and lowest in cesarean births performed before mother’s labor had begun.
*Endorphin levels are elevated in newborns who had signs of fetal distress during delivery. The baby also receives these natural pain relievers during birth.
*Endorphin levels are increased during strenuous exercise, and there is no activity in the world that is more strenuous than labor.
*As an added benefit, endorphins stimulate the secretion of prolactin, the relaxing “mothering” hormone that regulates milk production and gives a woman a boost in interacting with her baby. Researchers believe that it is a combination of these hormones that contribute to the “birth high”.
*Endorphins may account for the “high” mothers experience after a birth when sleep eludes them. Also, it seems possible that a mother having a surgical birth without going through labor may experience lower hormone levels after birth, which could account for the sometimes observed delay in milk supply after a cesarean birth.
*Like commercially produced narcotics, endorphins behave differently from woman to woman. This may be why some women are more sensitive to pain than others.
*Instead of the periodic “blast” you get with injectable narcotics (often making you groggy), your endorphins give you steady assistance throughout labor.
*Laboring mothers who are aware of these hormonal effects describe their feelings as “naturally drugged.” Set the birthing conditions that let these labor helpers work for you.

From: The Birth Book by William Sears MD & Martha Sears RN

Labor For a While Before Your Cesarean
You may think, “Why should I go through all that work and pain if I’m going to have a cesarean anyway?” While it may be inconvenient for the hospital or doctor, it is often medically beneficial for your baby if you labor as long as possible before an elective cesarean. Besides indication that baby is ready to be born, some precesarean contractions let the baby benefit from the natural hormones of labor. Studies show that babies delivered by cesarean after mothers labor a while have fewer breathing problems in the first few days after birth than babies whose mothers were not in labor. Labor prepares baby for changes that are coming rather than being snatched from his nest without warning.

From: The Birth Book by Dr. William Sears

http://www.mothersnature.com/pregnancy/info/catech.html