midwife natural birth
Here’s part 2 in our Birth & Parenting Series. See part 1 (Thoughts from a Mother of Four) here. This is an interview with a wonderful friend and very busy mother to seven beautiful children, Halyna K. She’s a mother who strove for unmedicated births with all her children, and went sans meds with six of the seven! She shares with us about what her birthing experiences were and encourages women to try to let go of the fear that accompanies birth and flow with the process. Although she’s a self-proclaimed “worry-wort,” talking with her about her amazing strength and ability to not give in to the birth phobia we all experience on some level elevates her to “super-mama” in my book! 1. Tell me a little bit about your beautiful children. I have 7 children, ranging from 13 years old to 19 months. The order is girl, boy, boy, girl, girl, girl, and boy. 2. When you first started to think about labor & delivery for your babies, how did you envision it going? Well, I don’t think I had a clear vision with my first. I think I was like any first time mom, you really don’t know how hard it is until it happens. But I did envision everything going “smoothly” and having no complications (which didn’t end up happening). 3. You had your births in different settings: hospital, birth center, water, and I think maybe a home birth in there? What are the pros and cons of…
Read MoreYou don’t die from pain in childbirth; you die from hemorrhaging. After much consideration, reading, consulting with other parents, and thought on the subject, my husband and I were determined to shoot for a natural labor. Were we crazy? Maybe. Did it work out? Yes. Would we go through it again without medical intervention or pain meds, in particular the beloved epideral? YES. This page is based on my experience. Unexpected things happen in labor and this is no criticism of mothers who do not end up going “med-free.” Rather, it’s an encouragement for all mothers to TRY to go “med-free.” 1) Why unmedicated? I thought you got pregnant, got bigger over 9 months, and then went to the hospital to delivery the baby. I assumed the doctors did their thing and then voila! the baby arrived. Labor and delivery are not so straightforward as this. Here are my two reasons for aiming for an unmedicated birth: 1) better for baby and 2) better for mama. The motivation to endure hard labor without pain medication is that simple for me. I read Erica Lyons’ “Big Book of Birth.” I talked to a close friend who had her son and daughter with midwives medicine-free. I watched a couple describe how the Bradley Method brought them even closer together throughout pregnancy, and then how it made the birth experience a mutual journey for them. I listened to accounts of infections at the site of the epidural (landing mama in ICU), moms being…
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