Why it is important to give birth without pain reducing meds like an epidural. For each woman the reason is a little bit different. I want to give you some reasons to ponder. Birth is not an easy task. And I want you to know that I know this. 

I know it is hard, but I know you can do it, and I want you to know that I am here to support you. 

Labor and birth have become known as an abnormal event that causes pain and needs a lot of interventions such as epidurals, monitors, cervical checks, assisted deliveries, and more. 

But I want you to think of birth a little bit differently. You are naturally capable of giving birth because you have an intuitive instinct to give birth. You are able to give birth without all of the interventions deemed necessary. You can get the support you need and be comforted through your natural birth process so that it is not a suffering birth process. 

Giving birth naturally (vaginally and without pain-reducing meds) is the best for Mom. 

I know that is a bold statement because if I am saying that vaginal, med-free birth is best, then everything else must be subpar. That is exactly what I am saying. 

C-Section births are not best because they put mom and baby at risk for infection, slower healing process, and complications with breastfeeding success and bonding. C-Sections should not be the first line of care. They are saved for emergency situations. 

Epidurals put mom in bed with constant stimulations. This decreases the size of the pelvic outlet (EXIT), which makes labor a bit more difficult. The stimulation disrupts the physiologic (normal) hormone processes that help labor to progress. 

So, now Mom has a slower and longer labor. 

There are times when epidurals, C-Sections, and assisted deliveries are necessary, and I want to make it clear that I am not putting these down. Each woman has a different situation. 

But I am here to tell you that amazing events happen in the body when a women lets her primal personality come out to give birth naturally. 

Things such as listening to they body, move with contractions, open up the hips and pelvis to make room for baby to move down into the birth canal, faster labor progression than with an epidural, decreased sense of pain, elated feeling, prevention of hemorrhage, and long-term bonding with baby. 

Crazy bonding! Not just the first few weeks or months, but years. Seriously, we get bonding results with our children into adulthood. Research is showing these results! 

Giving birth naturally is just a step at the beginning, a hard step that helps us do hard things as our children grow and we have to parent them through difficult situations. 

We get results because we chose to do something good for ourselves and our baby from the beginning. 

What this hormone I mentioned?

It is Oxytocin, natures love hormone. AND oxytocin causes contractions. 

Wait, I just said it is a love hormone. Yes, we all have oxytocin released daily when we see someone we love, when we love on our children, or when we have sex with our husband. This hormone is great. 

It is gradually increasing throughout pregnancy, and then it peaks at birth. 

Huge waves of oxytocin release from your brain and travel down to your uterus to cause it to contract. Most people think of oxytocin only causing contractions and pain in labor, but this chemical does way more than one thing at a time. Oxytocin has a huge effect on your brain to cause bonding and trust between you and baby. 

As the pain of the contractions increases, your body will also release endorphins to inhibit some oxytocin, take you into primal thinking, put you into a dream-like state, and decrease your pain perception because endorphins are nature’s own morphine. 

Your birth will continue, the oxytocin will peak, and mom will get the greatest feelings toward her baby. 

We know this and see this when birth is complete…Mom is elated and in love with her prize. This leads to a sense of well-being in mom and baby. As mom and baby bond with skin-to-skin, baby has a sense of well-being which research shows is more important than food itself for the growth and development of the baby. 

Whoa, that was a lot, and I hope it all made sense. 

I want to add one thing about oxytocin. I want to talk about induction or augmentation of labor with Pitocin. The medication Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) is administered through the vein and travels to the uterus to cause contractions. Pitocin does not travel across the barrier in the brain. So, mom does not get the full benefit of oxytocin in this way. 

Many moms that have to have their labor induced try to give birth with the medication Pitocin and no epidural. The medication is administered very fast compared to naturally occurring oxytocin, and many moms cannot handle that level of persistent pain. 

As I said naturally occurring oxytocin is released in waves. Some contractions are more painful than others. 

Pitocin is not this way. Contractions become stronger and stronger with little breaks. This is very hard to cope with in labor, and an epidural is naturally requested. The epidural can further inhibit natural oxytocin effects, and this interrupts the full bonding effect of mom and baby. 

I would love to discuss methods to prevent this from happening to you if you are interested.

You have been growing your baby through these past months, and there have been ups and downs. I mean admit it, it has not been easy. 

Birth will be the climax of your pregnancy journey, and it is a steeper journey than ever before. So, mentally prepare yourself for that. 

But you know that you got this far, and you can get to the top of this mountain to claim the victory.

You can do this!