Disclaimer: Our purpose in this natural childbirth series is never to shame a mother who chose something different. We desire to educate mothers so that they can make informed decisions. There are so many things mothers do not get told before consent in the medical world, and also just because of the culture around childbirth. We want to support and provide a resource for those desiring a less medicalized experience. If you made that choice previously or unplanned interventions end up happening during your birth, it does not make you less of a mother. Our desire is never to look at another mother doing her best in judgment. We’re all in this together, learning and growing in this crazy, bumpy, wonderful motherhood journey.
What is a Natural Birth
There are so many opinions swirling around out there about natural birth. Many people view a natural birth as simply a vaginal birth, or non c-section. Some people would say that it is a birth without an epidural but other “more natural” options are acceptable.
Around here when referring to a natural birth here’s what we mean…
A natural birth is a vaginal delivery of a baby without the use of pain medications (like an epidural) and minimal to no interventions. It is allowing nature to take its course as much as possible. Natural birth van take place at home, in a hospital, or at a birthing center.
Our main passions for natural childbirth is birth without conventional pain medications, minimal interventions, and a mother truly tuning into her body as it works with her to birth her baby. It truly is a miraculous experience that only those who have had the honor of knowing it can understand.
** It is empowering and is the beginning of releasing the strength, intuition, and confidence you will need throughout your mothering journey. **
Anna Bourdess
Click here to read Anna’s natural hospital birth story!
1. Birth is not an Illness.
Baseline…sick people need medication. Birth is not a sickness, disease, or even a symptom that needs treatment. Birth is a natural, normal part of life.
Now, if you have a pre-existing condition or some other medical reasoning that arises to NEED medication, intervention, or assistance then please use it! That is what it is there for. There is a place for it and we are beyond thankful that we have these options in these times.
However, if you are a healthy person, giving birth to an otherwise known healthy baby- you do not need to treat birth as an illness that requires medication.
Birth is not an illness requiring treatment or medical intervention. Neither is it something to be feared. Rather, it calls for us to get out of our own way and get in tune with how God designed our bodies to work. Birth is natural, instinctual, and miraculous. We desired to experience birth in as natural a way as we could. To approach our deliveries with knowledge and confidence in our Creator and His design.
Anna Bourdess
2. This pain is different.
If this is your first baby, or first natural birth you may be thinking, “But how am supposed to not fear the pain of birth?” You have probably seen highly dramatized, unrealistic portrayals of birth from Hollywood. Maybe you have listened to all the horror stories of moms who had a bad experience with a natural birth. Or maybe you are just surrounded by people who have only ever had a medicated birth that say things like, “I could never have an unmedicated birth! It’s the meds for me!!”
Maybe they are right. But I am assuming if you are here that you want to try. Perhaps something in you is just a little bit curious about this natural birth thing. As a mom of two born naturally let me just say…
This pain is different. It is productive pain. Not like the pain of an injury or broken bone. This pain (I prefer to say “discomfort”) is productive pain. Every contraction in assisting your body and baby to get your baby out.
It also is not constant, excruciating pain for the entire labor. Contractions build, intensify, then decrease and subside. Each one is like a wave. It comes, builds higher and higher, then bottoms out and disappears. Often all but the last few hours of birth are filled with very mild, and very spaced out contractions.
Here’s how to make it through the pain of an unmedicated birth…
One contraction at a time.
That all, mama! You don not need to fear or anticipate the pain as if it were something terrible that you just will not survive. All you need to do is make it through this one contraction. After that one, you just have to make it through the next. Again and again you will make it through and you will be one step closer to meeting your baby!
Read all about how to manage pain naturally here!
3. Epidurals: What They Are and What They Do
Probably the most common medication administered during labor is the epidural. Neither myself nor Anna has ever had one but they described to be (by most women), a magical end to all the pains of childbirth! They have been praised as “the only way to have a baby” for years now.
If you are a first time mom all the epidural moms will tell you, “Just get the epidural!”
That’s great if you want one but we are here to educate, not just go along with what society says is “safe” and acceptable.
What is an epidural?
An epidural is a numbing medicine given by inserting a needle and a catheter (a small, flexible tube) into the lower part of the mother’s back. The needle is removed, but the catheter remains to deliver pain medication as requested throughout labor.
Hormones Involved in Labor and Beyond
*The following content was written from a study by Anna Bourdess.
Here is how your body naturally secretes different hormones and endorphins to bring your baby into the world.
Oxytocin
Also known as the “love hormone,” oxytocin is involved in contractions, fertility, intimacy, milk release, and birth. It stimulates contractions that help thin and dilate the cervix, move the baby out of the birth canal, push out the placenta, and limit bleeding.
Endorphins
Endorphins are calming and pain-relieving hormones that increase as labor progresses and pain intensifies. They are produced when you face stress or pain. Think of them as your body’s natural morphine during labor.
Adrenaline
Also known as the “fight or flight” hormone, adrenaline is secreted in response to stress, fear, and extreme pain. Too much adrenaline can slow or stop labor. If you come into your birth uninformed and unprepared, it can create a lot of stress and release adrenaline, which will greatly hinder the progression of your labor.
Prolactin
Also known as the “mothering hormone,” prolactin has many roles, including being central to milk production. It is also responsible for assisting your baby in the transition to life outside the womb, like rerouting the circulatory system to exclude the placenta and include the lungs. Birth truly is a miracle.
How an Epidural Effects Natural Hormones in Labor
*The following content was written from a study by Anna Bourdess.
When a mother decides to have an epidural, she turns off the signals going to her brain to avoid the discomfort. Studies show that in doing this, it greatly hinders or even cuts off completely the natural release of these crucial hormones. These hormones and endorphins are intended to be passed to the baby also, to relieve discomfort during labor, including moments of oxygen deprivation and molding of the head to pass through the pelvis. They are feeling that emotional “warm hug” from the oxytocin your intelligent body is sending them. They get relief from the endorphins sent as a natural pain reliever to them. Birth is as intense for the baby as it is for the mother. When we choose to turn off the discomfort, we might be feeling nothing, but our baby, in turn, is feeling everything.
I understand that is hard to read and think about, but we feel mothers should be aware of all factors. There are times that an epidural can be a benefit to a laboring mother and even a necessity, and we understand that. We don’t want to put guilt and shame on any mother for her choices. However, one of our core beliefs is that mothers deserve the truth, even if it is hard to hear.
Be empowered by your choices, Mama. Know why you make your decisions. You don’t have to go along with what anyone says. Only you know what is best for yourself and your baby. Come into your birth with the wealth of knowledge to be prepared to make the hard decisions. Even if your birth doesn’t go as you planned, you can have no regrets in the decisions you made because you were informed, but it takes work on your part to do that.
Anna Bourdess
Epidural Complications
Another one of my (Tori) top reasons for anti-epidural birth is due to the risk of complications with or from an epidural. There are chances of an epidural completely not working or only numbing half the body (which would greatly effect the mind if you are expecting an escape!). There are also risks of pto longed or permanent damage beyond labor and delivery caused by epidurals.
Of course, there are risks to any medical procedure, and while they are considered rare, the possibility of spinal headaches, paralysis, blood clots, chronic back pain, and nerve damage are still risks you have to assess for yourself. The potential side effects that are considered less serious include blood pressure drops for you and your baby (this can be helped by changing positions and giving the mother fluids), headaches, nausea, itching and so on. You should also be aware that some of the anesthetic and opioid (epidural) medications will reach your baby. It is considered a safe amount by the medical community, but it is still something you should be aware of and even research for yourself to see if you’re comfortable with.
We’re not here to give scare tactics. Those are simply facts, and I have found a lot of women were never told these things were even a possibility when “consenting” to an epidural. That is not true informed consent. Look up the statistics yourself (from a trusted source) and weigh the risks versus benefits for your situation. Then make your decision. That is informed consent.
4. The Cascade of Interventions
This was probably one of the top reasons going into my first birth that I (Tori) was absolutely against a medicated birth. Research is showing that one medical intervention usually leads to more and more, maybe even the possibility of c-section. (Again, we are not saying that all interventions are unnecessary.)
The cascade of interventions often looks like this…
- Induction. Due to being “overdue”, doctors pushing for a scheduled delivery, possible under/overweight baby (they get this wrong all the time!!), or an actual medical complication your doctor will schedule you to be induced. This can be done various way but all involve forcing your body and baby into a labor they are not naturally ready for.
- Pitocin. Because your body and baby were not ready for labor, your doctor will want to start moving things along with Pitocin. Pitocin is the synthetic of oxytocin, a hormone your body naturally makes on its own during labor to help things progress. However, when an induction is performed or things get rushed along with Pitocin labor intensifies at an unnatural rate.
- Epidural/other drugs. Because your labor is intensifying at an abnormal rate the pain becomes harder to manage. Often mothers are already exhausted at this stage because the induction/Pitocin stage can last several hours. This leaves mothers feeling like they have no other option than to get the epidural.
- Baby/Mother vitals drop/increase. Administration of an epidural or length/stress labor causes the baby’s body (or mother’s body) to go into distress. In an infant this often looks like an abnormal fetal heart rate pattern and is deemed an emergency situation.
- Use of vacuum/forceps. Because it is an emergency situation the doctor will undergo the process of either extracting the baby with a vacuum or the use of forceps. Both are said to be extremely painful and can cause major trauma surrounding birth.
- C-section. If use of vacuum/forceps fails or is not an option, you will be rushed into an emergency c-section situation.
*The cascade of interventions applies wherever you “jump in” at. It may or may not go this way for you but the research shows that the chances of the cascade grow higher and higher with each intervention. It also shows that use of medication drastically increase the chances of needing an emergency c-section. Do your research mama!
Studies show that receiving an epidural increases a mother’s chances of requiring other interventions such as Pitocin (to stimulate contractions), assisted delivery (forceps or vacuum), and even a Cesarean section. This is due to the hindrance of the natural production of hormones your body relies on to instruct it during labor.
Your personal situation greatly impacts the risks versus benefits of this decision for you. Consider your reasoning for desiring pain medication for labor. See what the benefits versus risks are for your circumstances and lean into your intuition. If your reason is because you don’t think you’re capable, I promise you are, Mama. You were literally created for this purpose. It will take some time to exercise your intuition and learn how to listen to your body, but you are absolutely capable.
5. Enjoyment.
As strange as it sounds I (Tori) NEED to FEEL labor. I enjoy feeling what my body is doing and the thought of that being numbed really just intimidates me, along with the other reasons we have already stated. The idea that I have no clue what is happening when there is so much happening would drive me crazy. Each “painful” feeling in labor is happening for a reason. It is there to signal us when things are off and to keep that momentum going as things naturally progress.
Click here to read all about my positive home birth!
Whether you are here out of curiosity, education, or you want a natural birth and you need some mindset encouragement- there is nothing like the experience of a natural birth!
Yes, it is uncomfortable- maybe even painful!
Yes, you will be exhausted.
No, it is not a walk in the park!
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But it is beautiful! The act of choosing the pain because you know it is what is best for your baby. The laying down of what would be more comfortable to you. The choice to feel every bit of this WITH your baby. It is such a priceless experience that is beyond worth it!
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