Usenet Writings

Why Did I Want Natural Childbirth?

©1994 Beth Weiss, Posted to misc.kids Usenet newsgroup, August 6, 1994

I wrote this when someone wondered why a woman would be so vehement about wanting a natural (drug-free) childbirth.

I know that everyone has their own reasons, so I thought I'd share some of mine.  (I did not have a drug-free delivery with my first, but I certainly hope to with the next one)

• I don't recover well from anesthesia.  It takes me 2-3 days to  recover from a general anesthesia.  I am aware that generals are not  often given for modern deliveries, but I had some medical problems  that prevented an epidural.  For me, it was narcotics or a general.

• Most medications knock me out completely--I didn't want that sort of  reaction immediately after giving birth.  (I got it)

• There has been some evidence that epidurals make pushing more difficult, thereby increasing the rate of cesarean section.

• I went for 9 months trying to medicate as little as possible  (including trying to outwait a sinus infection).  I certainly didn't see labor as a good time to start taking drugs that would go through my system to the baby.

• For the sense of accomplishment.

• Interventions lead to other interventions, and I wanted to avoid  getting started on that route.  (I did not succeed).

I realize that not everyone who wants a natural delivery shares my reasons, but there they are.

For some people, they figure the amount of medication that gets to the baby is so minimal that it doesn't matter.  My firstborn was "lethargic" after birth.  Was that due to the Nubane that I'd had?  I don't know.

Others don't care about the "sense of accomplishment".  For me, that's a big issue.  For some reason, that is important to me, and so I hope to experience it.

Whenever you ask "why would you want to xxxx", you're going to get a lot of varied responses.  And some people will never understand why xxxx is important to other people.  I don't think its dissimilar, in that regard, to many physical feats that people train for--but it's hard to re-do if it doesn't go the way you want!